Very interesting. A friend who is also a life coach (not mine, I don't see her for coaching) sent me a message, essentially telling me I came across as unhappy and depressed and what I should do in order to feel better about myself. I couldn’t believe it. Is this what they teach you when you become a life coach, to “fix” people? What ever happened to compassion and understanding? I suppose anyone can take a course and label themselves a “life coach” without having to go through the real process of understanding themselves and human interactions. Even so-called “certified coaches.” Instant enlightenment. Just as fake as anyone else… This same person was kind of nonchalant in her reaction to my mother’s death, considering she went through a recent loss of her own and I was very supportive. And it’s sad, because I thought she was a good friend. But all she talks about now is how all the changes in her life brought her to her “calling” and new relationships. Yes, I’m truly happy for her and her new-found happiness. But I don’t need her bullshit judgment. If you’ve truly become an enlightened individual, you don’t do that.
Like I keep advising people, if you have friends or relatives who are emotionally abusive or exhibit behavior damaging to you, delete and block them from social media.
Tell people who ask about them that "we've grown apart," and never contact them again.
For milder cases, just stop contacting them and ignore their messages and calls. Only talk to them or pay attention to them if they are behaving in a positive manner. This quickly trains them to treat you with respect.
My life is kind of Topsy turvy of late. It's getting better, but there for a while I was a mess. One of my good friends is constantly on a path to betterment. We happened upon each other on accident at a kids trampoline park one day. Within a couple of minutes she looked me in the eye and said "so what are you doing everyday to bring order to your life?" At first, I was a little miffy about it. But, then I realized that's who she is. She was genuinely trying to be caring. That's how she talks to herself. Maybe it's the same with your friend?
That's incredibly presumptuous and rude!
@MissKathleen I don't understand the question?
@MissKathleen that makes sense, thank you for clarifying!
I have heard that here in the uk, you can train as a life coach in six weeks! makes my blood run funny!
I did three years at Uni. Social Psychology; and two years studying Transactional Analysis and then personally tried pretty much every therapy I came across including all weird and wonderfuls like hot tub rebirthing , eventually turning to Person Centred therapy Carl Rogers and Person Centred creative Expressive therapy (Natalie Rogers). and becoming joint head of P.C.ET.I. in England
I was a Lecturer in Counseling at a college that had our own suite with giant bean bags and was also set up with 8 video rooms so students could video themselves in pairs then swap over roles and rewind tape and watch again to get a feel of what was going on behind the words and movements and then bring it to a 'here and now' conclusion then another slightly larger group to play smaller parts of the video that were not so clear to either party and get more feedback ,
Even though I am now retired there is still so much to learn and mostly about humility and letting the client tell me what is happening for them so they can listen to themselves. I don't parrot back what the person has said to me which is what most alternative therapists think person centredness is about; but I watch gestures and facial expressions and hear voice tones to get a feel of what is being said along with and behind the actual words, and we talk about it as equals - the whole point of person centredness is to stay extremely close to the client in order to understand what is being said. We certainly don't give advice ever; and the Trainees often happily worked from 9-6 p.m in different groupings and addressing different subjects in very different ways - So i am very sorry for what you went through and i hope you find someone who is enlightened and well trained.
I wasn't even in therapy with her; it's a friend who I thought knew better. Yeah, I'm very leery of people who go into life coaching, there's really no set regulation.
I am sorry ma'am . She does not seem very nice on communicating .
I have a question : this is the second time in last month that I encounter in my whole life the term " life coach ". What the hell is this ? Can u translate this to degree / education to me ? Curious .
I googled it , to my understanding , no degree requirements and any big mouth w 8 months (!) training can tell U how to run your life .
Do we really need that . Or do we care what a life coach and his / hers 8 months of training has to offer ?
To me, it's a very hazy thing, being a life coach. Supposedly people can become "certified" but I don't know what that means. There doesn't seem to be any set regulations or guidelines. They're not therapists, it's more about helping you make decisions and getting your life in order. But to me that's walking a fine line, especially if they're dealing with emotional issues.
Is this how you feel after the majority of your sessions? What you describe sounds like she needs you more as a sounding board than you need her. Any chance you could reverse roles for a session to see if she notices? Might be one way of determining who most needs whom.
She's not my coach, she's a friend. I don't have sessions with her.
I edited the post to make it more clear.
@bleurowz Thanks for the clarification. Guess I got so far into the post, then forgot what was at the beginning and blurred the 2. Wasn't suggesting that you drop her as a friend.