Inna Shukshina

In the autumn a client from Germany, a young mother, came to me. By the time she found me, Kseniya had already worked on herself a great deal; she had been through therapy, read books and taken part in trainings. But she could not manage to move further; she lacked organisation, a system and discipline. On top of that she had severe emotional exhaustion. In the emotional burnout test many of her scores were off the scale. She scolded herself a lot, her thoughts went round and round the same circle, and every time it was hard to make decisions because she was very afraid of making a mistake. That is typical of many former straight-A students and perfectionists 🙂 She was also tired of apathy and physical exhaustion, despite the fact that outwardly everything in her life was fine — a wonderful husband and a long-awaited child. She wanted to stop living in a constant attempt to live up to other people’s expectations.

And after just 3 months of coaching, the worrying scores in the repeat test had come down consistently. You can see it in the chart — all the scores dropped to normal. Even her voice changed — it became stronger and more confident, and wonderful changes started happening in her life. We are continuing to work together. Here is an extract from a letter she wrote to me:

“Now, 3 months on, I already feel as though my shoulders are straightening out, as if some weight has fallen from them. I can now carry that growing pile of unfinished and postponed tasks (with a small child it is hard to get much done). It no longer frightens me that I do not manage everything, and I do not scold myself as much as before when I am late for something or something does not work out. My resistance to structure, to a strict daily routine or to doing tasks I dislike has also lessened. I look ahead calmly and take a more constructive attitude to problems, even when things are not working out as I would like right now. I do not take criticism so badly and can say something in my own support to the other person in good time. Every week I feel as though I am becoming lighter and my heart is becoming wider. A feeling of self-confidence and gratitude comes to me more and more often. This state gives me wings and I want to accomplish a great deal and give good things to people!”

At present I do not have the capacity to take on many new coaching clients, but if you are genuinely ready for change and it is specifically my help you need, write to inly@list.ru or to Skype desnly and I will try to find a free slot in my busy schedule!

Inna Shukshina, clinical psychologist and inspiring coach