I’ve been struggling to give a name to the type of coaching that I do. There are life coaches who partner with clients to help them thru transitions and stresses like divorce, new career, or a move. I do that. Then there are health coaches who guide clients thru the resolution of health issues like hypertension, diabetes, excess weight. I do that too. But what I really do is more than the sum of health and life coaching.
I’ve been an RN coaching people for over 30 years, and what I’ve learned is that for most people the stressors of life are at the core of their health issues.
Whether the stress is caused by a relationship, job, finances or something else, high stress over time causes us all physical and mental exhaustion, raises our blood pressure and blood sugar, causes symptoms of anxiety and depression, and actually blocks us from burning fat! Its virtually impossible to maintain good health under chronic stress.
I think legendary football Coach Lou Holtz summed it up pretty well when he said, “Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you respond to it.” Much of a person’s health is about their response to stress. I guess what I do is help people learn how to better respond to their stress by combining life and health coaching, with education about health issues and stress management.
I’m still not sure what to call it, but it works!