Mother’s Day can be a beautiful celebration for many people, but for Black women who have painful, complicated, or estranged relationships with our mothers, it can also be one of the most emotionally difficult times of the year. In this episode, I talk openly about how to care for your inner children during Mother’s Day when your relationship with her carries grief, trauma, and/or distance.
Drawing from my work as a racial trauma therapist, as well as my own experience of family estrangement, I explore how this day can activate younger parts of us that still long to be seen, loved, protected, and understood. How different younger parts may show up, how childhood trauma shapes the ways we soothe ourselves as adults, and how we can begin rebuilding trust with parts of ourselves that were ignored, neglected, or silenced. I also share the practical ways I care for my inner children, creating intentional self-mothering rituals and learning how to protect my younger parts through healthy boundaries.
Mother’s Day does not have to be a day of shame or emotional isolation. It can become a day where you gently turn toward your Black mother wounds and offer the love and care your younger selves deserved all along.
Key themes in this episode include:
- Why Mother’s Day can be triggering for people with difficult mother relationships
• How different inner child parts may be activated during this time
• The impact of childhood trauma on adult coping behaviours
• Rebuilding trust with your inner child
• Self-parenting and compassionate self-care practices
• Setting boundaries with challenging family dynamics
This episode is an invitation to slow down, listen inwardly, and honor the younger parts of yourself that still deserve care.
Listen to the episode here. or watch below