Episode #188 Michael Harris Blocked Care Why Caregivers Go Numb and How to Come Back

Feb 10, 2026

When you are raising a child with FASD, you can spend years in problem solving mode. Meetings. School calls. Safety planning. Advocating. Repeating yourself. Holding it together.

And then one day you notice something that can feel scary to admit out loud. You still love your child, but you feel flat. Numb. Irritable. Disconnected. Like you are going through the motions.

That is what this episode is about.

In Episode 188 of The FASD Success Show, I sit down with Michael Harris, known online as FASD Elephant, to talk about blocked care. Not as a moral failing. Not as a sign you are a bad parent. But as a nervous system response to long term stress.

This is a conversation for the caregiver who is still showing up, but feels like the spark has dimmed. And it is full of grounded ways to come back to connection without pretending things are easy.

Meet Michael Harris

Michael Harris is a caregiver coach and writer known as FASD Elephant. He has a gift for naming the things caregivers feel but rarely say. In this episode, he explains blocked care in a way that is simple, compassionate, and practical, and he shares tools that can work in real life, not just in theory.

In this episode, you will learn

What blocked care actually is and why it happens
Why your nervous system can shut down connection when stress stays too high for too long
How anxiety pulls you into worst case futures and how to return to the present moment
The difference between self regulation and auto regulation and why that matters for caregivers
Small nervous system resets you can use in the middle of a hard day
How grief and ambiguous loss can hide underneath anger and resentment
Why progress is easier to see when you track the gain, not just the gap

Why this matters for FASD families

Blocked care is not you giving up. It is your system trying to protect you. When your brain has been in survival mode for a long time, it can get harder to access empathy, patience, and flexibility. That does not mean you do not love your child. It means your body is tired.

This episode helps you reframe what is happening inside you, so you can respond with compassion for yourself, and start taking small steps back toward connection.

Start here first
Caregiver Kickstart Workshop (free): https://www.fasdsuccess.com/fasdworkshop2026

Watch or listen to the full episode

Watch on YouTube
https://youtu.be/2jcTNnkMfR0

Listen on Apple Podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-fasd-success-show/id1492499195

Listen on Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/6ntB51glqYnRPmXCh6lOGq

Start here firstCaregiver Kickstart Workshop
https://www.fasdsuccess.com/fasdworkshop2026

Resources mentioned

FASD Elephant on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/fasdelephant

Michael Harris email

michael@fasdelephant.com

Michael’s writing hub on Medium

https://medium.com