Raw and Alone | My Story of Single Motherhood, Sobriety and Starting Over

You are not broken. You are rebuilding. And what if the loneliest, hardest season of your life is the very thing that hands you your purpose?In this episode of Raw with J, I do something I have never done before. No guest, no co-host, just me, straight to the camera, telling bits of my story for the first time.I am Jacintha, though most people call me J. I am a family and child counsellor, art therapist, play therapist and kids yoga teacher, and the founder of Happy Souls Kids. But before any of that, I was a little girl who stopped smiling, a woman who spent fifteen years in an abusive relationship, and a single mum who hit rock bottom and then went lower. This is the story of how I found my way back to myself.Together, I take you through the moments that shaped me: the secret meditation teacher who handed me a pencil when I had no words, the decision to get sober that no one around me understood, the brutal separation during COVID, the thousands of people who walked away, and the offhand moment ("LeBron James meditates") that became Happy Souls Kids.In this episode I cover:How turning to sugar and then alcohol became the way I suppressed emotions I was never taught to feel. What fifteen years in an abusive relationship taught me about self-worth and the questions I had been asking all wrong. The day my body said, "This isn't you anymore", ten years of sobriety began. Why separation, divorce and single motherhood are impossible to understand until you live them, and how little support single parents really receive. Why I trained as a child counsellor and art therapist, and how I used every modality on my own son. The birth of Happy Souls Kids and the mission to give kids the tools we were never given. Friendship circles, the people who vanish when you can no longer be useful to them, and learning that there is no greater power than standing on your own two feet. How to actually show up for someone in trauma, even when you are not good with the feelings.Connect with me:Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/jacinthafieldTikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/jacinthafieldYouTube → https://www.youtube.com/rawwithjLinkedin →⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacinthafield/Connect with Happy Souls Kids:Instagram → ⁠https://www.instagram.com/happysoulskids⁠TikTok → ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/happysoulskidsYouTube →⁠ https://www.youtube.com/happysoulskidsLinkedin →⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/happysoulskidsRAW with J is the podcast that has the conversations that matter. Real, raw and honest conversations about parenting, children's wellbeing, education and everything in between. If this episode made you feel seen, hit follow so you never miss a conversation.CHAPTERS00:00 Given to someone else on a silver platter00:25 My first-ever solo episode00:56 The girl who stopped smiling01:13 Sugar, suppression and "you'll be right"01:42 15 years in an abusive relationship02:23 The meditation teacher who told me to draw02:56 Brené Brown, Oprah and the start of healing03:18 Pregnancy as an unexpected gift04:53 The night my body said "this isn't you"05:52 10 years sober06:49 Separation, COVID and rock bottom08:03 Glennon Doyle and painting the house08:44 Pulled over with nowhere to live09:21 Healing at the beach10:21 Fighting for what I wanted12:05 Four years of solo driving12:45 Thousands of people walking away14:12 Why I trained as a child counsellor15:48 The slime lady16:49 "LeBron James meditates": the birth of Happy Souls Kids19:40 Betrayal in the wellness industry20:02 My real gift: the repair22:56 Chasing stability24:12 Fired after two weeks for being a single mum25:21 What single parents carry26:40 Friendship circles: who belongs29:50 The friends who vanish31:46 How to show up for someone in trauma33:07 What do YOU need?33:52 Happy Souls Kids and sign-offLLG, Jxo