Hi, I'm Janette
Authentic Self-Transformation Coach who reconnects mums to the powerful woman within, so they and their children can have happier and more fulfilling lives.
I’m a mum of 8 children who is passionate about empowering, energising and equipping mums so that they can become more confident, happier, calmer, positive and resilient in themselves and their parenting.
I Was Drowning in the Storm
I wasn’t always the strong and resilient woman that I am now.
As a teenager, I experienced depression, anxiety and an eating disorder. It got to the point that I had counselling and a short stay on a psychiatric ward to help me with my demons. That teenager turned into a woman and parent, and although my mental health was a lot better, I often still felt overwhelmed by stress and still had days that I struggled on.
My mental health declined at the same time as my marriage declined. My alcoholic husband became more abusive and narcissitic, leaving me feeling worthless and suicidal. It took both police and social services intervention to stop the abuse and my marriage. Overnight, I became a single mum of five children and was 33 weeks pregnant. I knew that I had to carry on for the sake of the children, but I was left feeling a shadow of my former self.
The final straw came when, only a few months later, a friend accused me of trying to seriously harm my children. Social services were again involved, but this time I was the one being investigated.
Finding myself being accused of such awful things, I felt that I couldn’t share it with anyone – there’s always the ‘where there’s smoke, there’s fire’ thinking. I was embarrassed, ashamed and ultimately broken. It was a huge betrayal of friendship and I felt that I couldn’t trust anyone. I had never felt as alone as I did at that time.
I had lost my husband, my home, my job, one of my closest friends and myself.
I was quietly drowning in the storm.
I Had to Break the Cycle.
For the next couple of years, I stayed afloat for my children’s sakes. I moved home, started a new job, met new people, and started afresh, but underneath it all, I felt overwhelmed, unhappy and stressed.
Then, one day, something changed everything.
I found out that my teenage daughter was struggling with her mental health and was suicidal.
I felt like a complete failure.
I hadn’t spotted the warning signs. I told myself that as a teacher and ‘should’ have seen them. I spent nights awake worrying and stressing about how I could help her, and I felt alone in my thoughts of my daughter struggling with her mental health as I had done over the last few years. That thought paralysed me.
It was the first time I realised how much my mental and emotional well-being was impacting my children’s.
The last thing that I wanted was for my daughter to go through the same.
On the outside, I was staying strong and was managing work, home and the children, but on the inside I was a mess of worries, shame and helplessness.
I realised that I needed to help myself cope better if I was to help her.
She needed me to be strong to hold her up, so I had to make changes. I needed to reframe my mind to improve my life and my family’s.
Through coaches, personal self-development and training in a range of techniques, I began my transformation. I began to love myself, to be confident in my decision making, to manage worries and stresses that would usually keep me up all night, to cope with the ups and downs of life and feel a deeper inner peace. I felt happier and in control. Healing and caring for myself, meant that I was in a better place to help my daughter.
It wasn’t always easy. There were days when I felt overwhelmed by the pressures around me or I felt the black clouds on the edge of my mind. But, implementing the techniques that I had learnt enabled me to overcome these rather than sink downwards.
After years of putting on a mask, I felt free to manage my mental health, manage problems and worries as they came up, and feeling calm, confident and in control. I had gained a deep resilience and belief in myself that would carry me through the challenges of life.
Now my daughter is an adult, studying at University and in a stable relationship. She has blossomed into the young woman I hoped she would be.
Working on myself was the best thing that I could have done for my family and myself.
Now, I help other mums to be able to manage the stresses, frustration and worries of life, so that they can find their inner strength, enjoy life and see that positive ripple of change on their children and families too.