I HAD EVERYTHING I COULD WANT,
BUT I WAS OVERWHELMED AND FRUSTRATED.
BUT I WAS OVERWHELMED AND FRUSTRATED.
Several years ago, I had everything I could want.
I had an amazing husband, 4 beautiful daughters, strong faith, and a supportive family. I had an education as a dietician, wonderful friends, and my husband’s job as a diplomat that let us travel the world with our children.
I knew I SHOULD be happy. I WANTED to find joy in my life–and there were certainly moments of that–but mostly I felt overwhelmed and irritated with myself and everyone around me.
I HAD LOTS OF EXCUSES WHY I WASN'T HAPPY.
I had lots of reasons why I was miserable.
- I had to move frequently and be the one to help everyone in the family find their footing and build a new life.
- A couple of my children struggled with anxiety and it was painful to watch them struggle abroad.
- My mother passed away while I was living overseas.
- Connecting with family and friends back home was challenging with the time zone.
- I had some postpartum depression after having my babies.
- I couldn’t work in my field because of visa issues and other restrictions.
- I did my best to tough it out and make things work. But, as time went on I became more exhausted, resentful, and eventually depressed.
I tried lots of things to feel better–and some helped but eventually I found myself back in a hole of discouragement.
LOTS OF EXPATS STRUGGLE ABROAD
0
%
higher rate of divorce than non-expats
0
x
higher rate of depression for expats
0
%
rate of broken assignments, due to unhappy spouses
0
x
higher rates of anxiety in expats
GET WEEKLY TIPS FOR EXPAT MOMS ABOUT HOW TO FEEL BETTER
Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
-Theodore Roosevelt
NOTHING EXTERNAL CHANGED.
BUT I CHANGED AND THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
Finally, I found an amazing life coach. Life coaching offered me some amazing new tools that completely changed everything for me. I began to learn how to feel my feelings instead of react, resist or avoid them. I began to recognize my limiting or distorted beliefs and the impact they were having on my life. As I did, I began to be able to re-write some of my “stories” I thought were just the way things were.
Everything changed. Although we still lived abroad, our children still struggled, I still lived far from family and didn’t have a job in my field, I began to see life differently.
NOW I CAN HONESTLY SAY I'M HAPPY MOST OF THE TIME.
Instead of feeling overwhelmed and discouraged, I felt motivated and confident. My anxiety about my children changed to peace–knowing that hard things are good for my kids, and I don’t have to “fix” them.
I stopped pinning my worth on how others saw me, which reduced my drama about people-pleasing. My faith in God was strong and my ability to feel his love and influence is so much more magnified.
Feeling better, I was able to finally be the mom I wanted to be.
Of course, there is still irritation, overwhelm, and discouragement….it’s part of the human experience. But I don’t live there most of the time.
WHAT'S YOUR STORY?
Just like me, all of us have "stories" that aren't serving us. What's YOUR story? Learn how to recognize and re-write YOUR story with this free video course.
IT'S POSSIBLE TO FEEL BETTER.
I’ve come to really love and enjoy expat life! I love living and mothering abroad. I wish that I had these tools for improving emotional health and navigating life abroad many years ago. I am excited to share the tools that helped me, with you.