When Laura (49) first started her coaching sessions with me, she explained that she had mixed feelings about life after breast cancer. On one hand, she was grateful and relieved to have come through it but on the other hand, she didn’t know how to move on and felt anxious and lost. Laura was on hormone treatment and struggled with fatigue due to poor sleep. When she approached me in May, she had felt lost and depressed, and wanted to take steps towards improving her life.

As well as being a wife and a mother to grown up children, Laura gave a lot of her time to others, including looking after her young grandchildren. Laura wanted to be able to prioritise more time for her, but she didn’t find it easy to say no when others asked for help. Exploring new work opportunities was on Laura’s agenda and she also wanted to focus on exercise and improving her confidence.

After our first session, Laura had settled on these three goals:

• To work on her self-confidence.

• To live more mindfully and exercise frequently.

• To explore new work opportunities.

Laura explained that she had suffered with a level of social anxiety for a long time, and that this was exacerbated by breast cancer. She lacked in confidence and felt nervous when she was going to a class at the gym or when she met new people. Laura’s confidence was something that we continued to discuss and review throughout the sessions. She was giving a selection of exercises and tools to work with, which were aimed at Laura recognising her strengths, talking kindlier to herself and celebrating her success by keeping a confidence journal. Laura also worked on her anxiety by implementing positive affirmations and she became more acceptant of what she could and couldn’t control.

Due to her hormone treatment and age, Laura was suffering with a range of debilitating menopause symptoms. This was really affecting her sleep and with a busy life, there wasn’t much time for her. We discussed the idea of setting healthy boundaries and planning her week ahead. Laura found this very helpful and during our sessions, she gradually began to lift weights more frequently; introduced a bit of running again; practiced regular morning meditation and improved her nutrition. This had such a positive effect on her mood and her menopause symptoms eased greatly.

Laura was curious to get back into work, but her lack of confidence and energy held her back. By using an action plan and discussing her skillset, she started to identify where she might be an asset. This was a long-term goal but the process of planning the steps, made Laura feel more focused and motivated.

As the coaching sessions progressed, Laura seemed more relaxed, happy and smiley. She explained that the coaching had made her realise how life can improve with small tweaks and by changing your mindset. Laura felt a renewed energy and she was fully committed to a life where her health and wellbeing ranked top, while still being a loving and helpful grandmother.

After the coaching sessions, Laura wrote: