When People Think You are Fine & You are Not Artwork

The Special Needs Mom Podcast

Think of this podcast as your very own special needs mom support group--except it's helpful and fun! You will leave with the hope that you can have a super happy life even when your life includes parenting a medically complex child or a child with something like autism and ADHD.

You likely didn't ask to be the parent of a disabled child or to live portions of your life in the hospital NICU or PICU. Your story is unique; it’s hard to find a place where you belong or where you don't feel so isolated and alone. Your child might have a rare disease, be undiagnosed or experience something that almost everybody has heard of like Downs syndrome yet the weird thing is that whether your child has an intellectual disability or physical disability, the experience as a mother is so similar. So regardless of your child’s disability, we can all find a home in this community.

You find yourself managing everybody else's needs; your child, their siblings, and all the guilt that you have about that. All this has you feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and dizzy---not knowing who to turn to or what to do next for help. This podcast is your lifeline, you’ll find encouragement and inspiration as we connect to other moms’ journeys. We’ll get practical and look at what it takes to stop feeling so stuck in your life.

You know this podcast is for you if you find yourself googling:

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Dealing with anger as a special needs mom

How to manage special needs mom burnout and stress?

How do I deal with mom's guilt?

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How do I cope with a disabled child?

How do I manage the grief of my medically complex child?

How to keep from drowning as a caregiver

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I'm tired of taking care of my special needs child

Finding balance between my child’s needs and my own mamas needs

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The Special Needs Mom Podcast

When People Think You are Fine & You are Not

May 28, 2025 • Kara Ryska • Episode 252

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This is a rebroadcast of Episode 130 that was aired back in 2023.

"In this episode, I open up about those moments when everyone assumes you're okay, but inside, you're struggling. It's a common experience, especially for us moms navigating the complexities of raising children with special needs.

I share personal reflections on the internal work required to acknowledge our true feelings and the courage it takes to express them. We delve into the layers beneath the surface and discuss the importance of authenticity in our struggles."

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Connect with Kara, host of The Special Needs Mom Podcast:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thespecialneedsmompodcast/
Website: https://www.kararyska.com/

0:02

Hello and welcome to the Special Needs Mob Podcast. Well, I'd like to say Happy Memorial Day. Sadly, I'm recording this on Memorial Day and it's gonna be Memorial Day week. When y'all hear this for the first time, and this is not the episode I had planned, some of you might remember that a couple weeks ago we lost audio for another recording we did and dog on it like the same thing happened again. But not to worry. Our amazing editor and my very, very patient friend Alex, proposed that we bring this particular episode out of the archives. And when I, took a look at it, I was like, oh, this would be perfect. This is a really simple episode, but, impactful episode and feels very, appropriate for this time as I think about all the different things we've been talking about on the show. One of the things I reference in this episode is what I describe as the evolution of a special needs mom, and this is essentially a framework that I created based on listening to the process that each of you go through as you evolve and grow into a special needs mom, particularly into an empowered and joyful and well supported special needs mom. This. Episode focuses on the first few phases of that journey and. It's gonna really talk about normalizing this aspect, particularly when people think you're fine and you're not. So this happens to be something that happens to many of us, not just you. And so we're gonna normalize that in the episode and talk specifically about what we can do about that. And I wanted to mention that many of you know, I don't necessarily say it in the introduction. So if you're new to the show, welcome first of all. But I come to this podcast as a mom of four. And clearly a special needs mom, but also as a life coach. Life coaching or coaching can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. It's not necessarily, clear cut, especially if you've never worked with a coach before. And even if you have worked with a coach, not all coaches are, trained in the same ways. So that still can mean a lot of different things. But what I wanna mention is that how I relate to coaching is that it is a tool. And it is specifically designed to empower you. It's like to bring the power back to you. One of the ways this tool works is through bringing awareness. So it's like we become aware, we learn to notice what's actually happening for us that has things going the way that they are, and having the experiences go the way that they are. And when we create that awareness, that's the thing. It's the key that unlocks the door for us to be able to then. Maybe have things go differently. It's the thing that gives us, well, I mean it sounds cliche, but empowerment. It's the thing that kind of gives power back to us when we now know what's going on. We can do something about it. So in the episode, I want you to listen for how you might approach and support yourself through this phenomenon that we're gonna call when people think you're fine, but you're not. So let's jump over to the archives and listen this originally aired back in February, 2023. So if you're new-ish around here, then it's definitely new to you and I know you will enjoy.