Have you ever played with a hanging mobile, like the kind that might hang in a child’s room? Even the gentlest touch or breeze can set off a dance of colors, shadows, even sound. Sometimes, the delicate equilibrium is disrupted. The careful choreography of colors and shapes dissolves into chaos, as each piece sways, spins, and struggles to find its footing once more.
Several years ago, my husband was diagnosed with Dementia/Alzheimer’s type. From my rich life experiences and my coaching work, I knew that the years ahead with my husband would be a major transition. It was devastating news that extended beyond us as a loving, married couple of almost 60 years. I likened our experience and diagnosis to a hanging mobile; one piece moves and all the other pieces land in different positions. Our close-knit family of children, grandchildren, and siblings each had a different perspective about this information and how to handle it.
I have been a committed life coach for 13 years. This work is incredibly rewarding to me, and has become an important piece of my mobile, giving me grounding, purpose, and balance. To cope with my husband’s diagnosis, I began to rearrange my schedule. I dove into learning about grief and loss. I formalized my studies by becoming a certified End of Life Coach. This work made sense and came at the perfect time.
Meanwhile, the theme of loss kept popping up in life coaching sessions with clients. Between COVID, the rapid growth and abuse of AI, the political climate in our country, and the civil unrest in many parts of the world, these are unprecedented times. We are all coping with major changes in our lives. Helping clients through grief and loss became an area of focus, because everyone experiences it. The common thread was the surprise many clients felt at their own sadness, disorientation, lack of motivation, and the “stuck” energy that made personal goals feel out of reach.
As time passed, more pieces in my mobile had to shift. I further explored and examined my new role as “primary caregiver” and the accompanying lifestyle changes. Rebalancing has been difficult, because every few months brought new challenges and adjustments as we were thrown out of equilibrium yet again. The freedom to choose how I spend my time was replaced with responsibilities and obligations that I was not skilled at fulfilling. I had a lot to learn. And how I missed the support of my life’s companion!
As I navigated through various stages of grief, I learned that there are many avenues available for support.
Grief support groups; individual grief coaching; specialized dementia groups; resources including educational materials, coping strategies, and spiritual guidance. And, grief coaching with a one-on-one approach to help individuals deal with the complexities of grief. A grief and loss coach works closely with clients to address their specific needs and goals. While self-coaching has been valuable, I now rely on my own coach to provide me with:
- a listening ear,
- empathy,
- a safe place to process loss,
- ways to work with my grief instead of against it,
- ways to identify areas where I can enjoy myself and enrich my own life as I age,
- access to non-judgemental conversations and powerful questions to help me find my own answers.
I have always believed in the power of coaching, and have relied on my own life coach at various stages in my life. I am now a beneficiary of the very training I had for my own grief coaching work, and I am so grateful to be navigating this journey with the help and support I need.
I’m Listening
As a Washington, D.C.-based life coach specializing in grief and loss, I am interested in listening to your story. I share mine to illustrate that I too have navigated loss, and have come to understand grief as a normal part of the human experience. Sometimes, losses are ignored, swept under the rug, not discussed, or unrecognized. Our culture encourages us to move on, be productive, and to get over it. But processing loss and sitting with the feelings is just as important, if not more so. Over the years, clients have come to me with losses that include:
- Physical loss of someone they love due to death, a geographic move, or changing jobs
- Loss of a child in an accident
- Loss of contact with a friend or family member
- The death of a pet
- The loss of a job
- Loss of control over some aspect of their lives
- Chronic illness, or chronic illness of someone they love
- Loss of confidence, security, goals, or a life plan
- Personal physical losses due to illness or the natural aging process
- Climate-related grief
- Grief related to racial injustice
Having help, or the ability to look at the “mobile” of your life from a new perspective, could be just the thing you need.
Click Here to Schedule a Complimentary Coaching Call With Me at a time convenient for you if you are in the midst of a transition and recognize the need for support, compassion, and being heard.
Outcomes of grief and loss coaching *may* include:
- Learning to work with your grief instead of against it
- Building a relationship, setting goals, making changes, building on what works for you
- Increased freedom and a better sense of personal identity
- Access to a non-judgemental space and powerful questions that allow you to find your own answers.
Interested in working with me as your coach? Use my Appointment Scheduler and pick a time that works for you for a complimentary, no-obligations life coaching phone consultation. Although many look for a grief coach near me, I’ve found it makes the best use of everyone’s time to schedule appointments online and conduct them over the phone. This means I am a grief coach based in Washington, DC, and serving the world. I look forward to hearing from you.
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