M.J. came to Mingus Mountain Youth Treatment Center for trauma informed care after discharging from another facility. She was struggling with horrible self-esteem and a sheer lack of self-confidence that was incredibly debilitating for her. She believed that everything she did was wrong. M.J. hated herself, and struggled daily to find something positive about herself.
I told her, ‘You can do hard things,’ and we laughed it off.
During her time here, we tried to start implementing positive affirmations with her to boost her self-confidence, but nothing really stuck. One day, a couple of months into her treatment, M.J. was half jokingly complaining about brushing the tangles out of her hair before bed. She really did not want to do it and was joking about how “hard” it was, so I told her- "you can do hard things." She laughed and ironically said it back.
For her, the affirmation, "I can do hard things" started as an ironic quote to get through simple tasks and expectations. Until one day, it wasn't. M.J. started to use, "I can do hard things," to push through hard therapy sessions, hard assignments in school. This was no longer an ironic quote, but an affirmation M.J. believed and found in herself.
Growing Confidence
We have a lot of girls come to us for trauma informed care as a result of trafficking or traumas they have experienced. Our goal is to help them grow in trust and confidence as they work through their traumas with our treatment and therapeutic teams. As M.J.’s confidence grew, she became a Mountain Lion Leader which is seen as a leader at Mingus. Later, M.J. became President of the dorm! She used her affirmation to inspire those around her to also be able to feel this belief in themselves. This became a mantra for all the girls to tackle CFT's, family sessions, or difficulties getting through the day.
Last Day, Best Day.
On her last day, M.J. shared with me that, she will never forget that she will be able to do hard things and how it felt when she started to believe in herself. She shared that, whether it's walking the dog, getting up and going to school or anything that life [will] throws at her, she will tell herself and believe, "I can do hard things," which she never thought would be possible for herself.
Our author, Madison is a Client Care Technician for one of MMYTC’s Cottonwood Dorm and is so inspired by the breakthroughs she sees in the girls daily. “Sometimes it takes a while but if you keep focusing on recovery, that breakthrough from the trauma will come!”
Want to read more stories about trauma informed care and breakthroughs at Mingus Mountain Youth Treatment Center? Check out this story about our Equine Director, Michelle Kissell in “Horses are the best Listeners” https://www.mmytc.com/horses-are-the-best-listeners/
Learn more about our Empowerment Over Exploitation Program at https://www.mmytc.com/empowerment-over-exploitation/
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