I’ve been busily knocking things off my “shit list” lately, and I have a big one that I need some help with: A few years ago, I did a Life Coach Training Course with Beyond Success. I was unwell at the time, and was drawn to the course because it had a large emotional intelligence component that I sensed would be important in helping me recover from CFS. I completed all the training (and then some!), but never actually finished the final accreditation process because it involved working with real live clients and getting their feedback; and I thought I was too sick and depressed to help anyone else. Who wants a depressed Life Coach?

As a result, this nagging sense of incompletion has been hanging around me for the past few years, and I reckon it’s precisely this sort of thing that leaves us feeling that we’re not moving forward the way we’d like. I had decided to focus on comedy in the future instead of coaching, but I don’t feel well enough to get up on stage doing gigs just now. I’m well enough to talk to sick people on Skype though, and they always seem to find that helpful. In fact, I have a hunch that helping other people get better is the final key to my own recovery.

So here’s what I’d like to offer you to help us both recover quicker: I’ll give you 3 months of free emotional-intelligence-based life coaching, if you promise to fill in a short online survey about the experience once each month. The coaching will consist of a conversation on Skype each week lasting up to one hour, focusing on dealing with the emotional issues in your life that are holding you back from being happy. Of course I know that being unwell is a huge issue, and I’ll be looking for the primary contributing factors that you might not be aware of; rather than just the secondary factors like how you feel about not being well. I’ll also be asking you to take action (within the limits of your energy resources of course) to knock things off your shit list, so that life doesn’t feel overwhelming any more. I’ll no doubt naturally incorporate what I’ve learned from the myriad of courses and therapies I’ve done, along with my experience living with CFS to help you focus on what you need to do to get well. The length of each call will depend on where you’re at, how long you feel able to talk for, and whether you’ve completed the tasks you set for yourself on the previous call.

It’s really important to me that you complete the online survey each month if you want me to coach you. It should only take about 10 minutes, and I’ll send you an email each month when it’s time to do it. I’m conscious that people with CFS don’t need yet another thing to have to do, but I believe you’ll find that the time taken to complete the survey is more than compensated for by what you get from talking to me. Look at it as a gratitude exercise.

At the end of three months, if you want to continue getting coaching from me, I will begin charging $100/hour. (See, Life Coaches are like drug dealers… they get you hooked on a free fix, and then start charging.)

I only have five slots available, so please [intlink id=”171″ type=”page”]contact me[/intlink] ASAP if you’re interested. Even if you’re just lonely and want someone to talk to (in return for filling in a monthly survey), it’s worth it.

Thanks,
Graham

Update: I had a lot of interest in this, and ended up coaching 6 people with CFS for four months which helped them improve their health and led me to successfully getting my coaching qualification. Three of them went on to become my first paying clients. I can’t keep offering coaching for free since I have bills to pay, but if you think I could help you for a suitable fee, see my page on How Coaching Works.

If you found this helpful, please send me a donation via PayPal to say "Thanks!"


Graham Stoney

I'm a guy in his early 50's, recovering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

1 Comment

Michelle Bourman · September 18, 2015 at 7:32 PM

Hello Graham

Crikey!! I have been praying for someone or something to come my way who would validate my feelings and possibly give me some insight in to why I suffered all my life with rejection and experiences which seem to say that ‘I’m not worth it.’

‘It’ can mean all things for example – attractiveness, intelligence, physical ability, personality & worthiness as human being for the right to be loved.

You write beautifully and I don’t mean that to stroke your ego, it’s just that through your words you are able to describe the emotional trauma that harmed you as a child & the challenges you continue to experience so you can enjoy feeling worthy, even now at 47.

I am 54 years old. I live with a chronic illness closely related to CFS. I have autoimmune disease and chronic fatigue is a symptom. In fact I’m sure most of my symptoms are experienced by CFS sufferers. For example – depression, muscle pain, cognitive issues (brain fog) as well as others.

I am asking you if you would please consider responding to my message as I truly empathise with many of your experiences. Currently I have no one to share my thoughts with. I’m told to ‘build a bridge & get over it,” That’s fine however what do you do when your subconscious keeps bringing past hurts to the surface in your dreams and causing awful physical symptom. such as you have described.

I’m not all doom & gloom, I have a sense of humour although some people describe it as being dry, even a bit sarcastic. I used to be pretty apparently but steroids have destroyed any resemblance of the girl who lived and breathed all things to do with horses. Lol

Back to you………..

Michelle

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