When your adult child is struggling with addiction or mental health, people may tell you to walk away. But what if you can't — and don't actually want to?

Because this is your child.

You remember who they were before all of this. The clever little boy or girl you were so proud of. The child who climbed into your bed in the middle of the night. The child who once thought you were their hero.

And even though they are grown now, that instinct to move towards your child when they are hurting is still there.

So what happens when your instinct is to fix, protect and make things better — but this is something you cannot fix for them?

In this episode, Sandra explores the very real tension between being a mum and recognising that your adult child has a life, choices and a journey that you cannot live for them.

We talk about why the urge to step in can feel so hardwired, what happens when your child isn't ready to do the hard thing, and why wanting life to be different and knowing how to make it different aren't always the same thing.

And perhaps most importantly, we look at what it might mean to stop choosing between carrying everything and walking away.

If you've ever thought, "I'm their mum. Who else is going to be there for them?", this episode is for you.

There is another way.

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