The more I share my story about how I became a grief specialist, the more I fall in love with my journey:
I began as a sleep coach (helping parents get better sleep for their children and themselves!). My now eight-year-old daughter, Jenna, didn’t sleep very well for the first nine months of her life—so I didn’t sleep very well and it took a toll on me.
In fact, late one night as I was holding her, she was crying and crying. I felt that there was nothing I could do to calm her down.
I just had enough.
I handed her over to my husband, grabbed my car keys, got into my car and left.
I had no intention of coming back.
I cried and cried as I drove. I was about 15 miles from home, near the last exit before open road, and I heard a gently voice say, “Turn around. Go back, it’ll be OK.”
I got off the exit, turned around, and went back home. When I got home, I snuck into my house and went to the backyard. I let the tears flow through so many emotions: frustration, discouragement, disappointment, and shame. There were so many things going on in my head. I thought to myself, “We need help, I can’t live like this anymore!”
As I calmed down, I searched online for sleep support and found a coach who I hired. It was the best step I could ever take in that moment because for the first time, I had hope. After some coaching and applying what we learned, within a few weeks our daughter was sleeping longer and better…and so were we!
Sleep brought on a whole new perspective:
I realized that we don’t always instantly connect with our babies, which can bring the crazy out of us!
Anxiety, frustration, and loss of energy can affect the way we parent, which in turn, our babies (kids) response to us.
I started searching for ways to connect better with my daughter and came across infant massage. Through my training, I found that massage is not only about connection and communicating differently with our kids—it also helps relieve colic, constipation, and congestion, which makes a happier baby!
Teaching infant massage was such a fun tool to share with parents. I could see how the babies really enjoyed it—and it brought relief to parents that they had the ability to calm and learn new tools to help their children.
After a little more time, I felt that there was more to this parenting thing than sleep and massage—more than we can ever imagine! I always say, if you want to learn about yourself, get married, have a child, or start your own business! This is where life coaching came in and not too long after grief support.
While working with clients (and through my own experiences), I found their underlying problems and familiar feelings may be unresolved issues. A lot of their challenges, battles and frustration can be linked to unresolved grief.
We may feel grief in different areas of our lives and not even know how it’s affecting us.
When we focus on identifying our grief, there lies answers to what we are feeling, our perspectives, beliefs, and the way we connect with others.
When I look back on the last eight years, it wasn’t always sunshine and roses. I am so thankful for that one step I took to seek help. When I took that step, there were different people to support me, different people that I met along the way as I began my entrepreneurial journey—which is also my healing journey.
I want thank your for being part of my journey and encourage you to take that first step—that first (sometimes scary) step to create something different in your life. That step may come when you are facing one of the biggest challenges of your life…or you may not be struggling at all, but realize that you want more in life: more happiness, more peace, more connection.
As always, however you are feeling today, you are never alone. I am here for you. I encourage you to give me a call 951.523.7959, send me an email at Teresa@restorationshoppe.com or schedule a call.
I promise you, I may not know what to say or do, but I can always be a huge heart with ears.
I believe in you,
Teresa
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