Reflections – Page 3 – Erika Patterson Coaching

Awareness as the Path to Clarity

No matter how you responded—whether you dive into doing, distract yourself, or completely shut down—just know this:

There’s no wrong answer. There’s only awareness.
And awareness is the first step toward clarity.

This week is all about moving from chaos to clarity.
That doesn’t happen by force—it happens by noticing, by choosing something different one moment at a time.

You don’t have to change overnight.
You just have to choose again, when you’re ready.

💬 Feel free to share more in the comments—your insights might help someone else feel seen too.

🕊️
With love,
Erika

Finding Freedom from Overwhelm: Small Steps to Healing

There was a time when overwhelm wasn’t just a feeling—it was my everyday reality. I was surviving, not living… until a quiet voice within began to stir, whispering for something more. More rest. More truth. More me.
This is the story of how I found my way back to myself—and how you can, too.

There was a time in my life when overwhelm wasn’t just a feeling—it was the soundtrack of every single day.

I was carrying so much all at once:

Healing from deep trauma,
Managing the invisible emotional labor of caregiving,
Raising three daughters, one with special needs.
And quietly trying to rediscover a voice I’d long silenced in an abusive relationship

The weight felt relentless, like a storm that never quite passed.

Some mornings, I’d wake up with a tight knot in my chest, the kind that whispers, “Not today. Not again.” But the world kept spinning, and so did I—barely holding myself together.

I learned early on that being “nice” was safer. It was my armor and my cage all at once.

Pleasing others was easier than rocking the boat, easier than facing the uncomfortable truth that I was shrinking, fading, disappearing.

Every time I swallowed my truth, a little piece of me grew smaller, quieter.

And yet beneath that quiet, something stirred—a deep ache for something different.

For freedom. For authenticity. For joy that wasn’t just a fleeting visitor.

That yearning didn’t come with fireworks or fanfare.

It arrived as a whisper beneath the noise of exhaustion and self-doubt.

It was the courage to say no when my body begged for rest.

The strength to set a boundary, even if it felt shaky and new.

The boldness to finally claim my own needs, even when I feared disappointing others.

Reclaiming myself was not a straight path.

It took time, patience, and an immense amount of grace.

Sometimes it meant sitting with discomfort—leaning into the hard feelings instead of running away.

Sometimes it meant stepping backward to gather strength before moving forward again.

But through it all, I discovered a truth I wish someone had told me sooner. Overwhelm feels heavy and crushing. However, it holds a hidden gift within it.

The gift of clarity.

The opportunity to recognize what no longer serves us.

And the invitation to begin the tender work of letting go.

This space—where overwhelm meets opportunity—is where my coaching heart lives.

If I can rise from silence and from that crushing weight of overwhelm, then so can you. I moved into a place of clarity, agency, and hope.

You don’t have to have it all figured out.

You don’t have to be perfect or “fixed.”

You just need to take the next small step.

And know you’re not alone on this journey.

Reflection to Carry With You

When have you felt overwhelmed in a way that changed you?
What small step toward yourself feels possible today?
How your story, your voice, might be a source of strength for others?

Thank you for being here.

Thank you for your courage to keep showing up.

I see you. I hear you. And I’m walking with you.

— Erika

💬 Ready to take your next small step?

Whether you’re navigating burnout, seeking your voice again, or simply craving a moment to breathe—I’m here. Let’s explore what’s possible, together.

👉 Book a free discovery call
👉 Learn more about my 1:1 coaching
👉 Join my newsletter for gentle support + tools

You’re worthy of support. And you don’t have to do it alone.

She Wasn’t Handed a Damn Thing—But She’s Still Rising

Some women are handed a map.

She had to carve the path with her own two hands.

She wasn’t handed peace.
Or protection.
Or an easy out.

Life threw its punches—
and she took them.

She spit out the blood.
Swallowed the tears.
And kept going.

Her story?
It’s not tidy.
It’s not a highlight reel.
It’s full of heartbreak and hard choices,
shaky hands and sleepless nights,
moments where her spirit whispered, “I can’t,”
but her feet kept moving anyway.

This—
this is what resilience really looks like.

It’s not polished.
It’s not Instagram-worthy.
It’s not wrapped in daily affirmations or curated vision boards.

It’s raw.
It’s real.
It’s getting up again—when no one even knows how hard it was to open your eyes that morning.

If this is you… welcome.

You’re not broken.
You’re not behind.
You are not too much, and you are certainly not not enough.

You are a woman who’s been surviving in a world that hasn’t made it easy.
But you’re here now.

Not just to survive—
but to rise.

Not because you’re done being tired,
but because some part of you—
maybe a tiny, trembling part—
still hopes there’s more than just this.

And there is.

There’s a version of you…

Who knows how to breathe again.
Who trusts her own voice.
Who says no without guilt and yes without fear.
Who sees overwhelm not as her identity,
but as a signal—
a whisper that something needs to shift,
and that she is allowed to shift with it.

This isn’t about pretending life isn’t hard.
It’s about meeting that hard with gentleness
and finally asking:

“What if I don’t have to do this alone anymore?”

You don’t. Not now. Not here.

This is your invitation:
To lay down the weight.
To catch your breath.
To remember who the hell you are underneath the exhaustion.

You are not too late.
You are not too far gone.
You are not broken beyond repair.

You are a phoenix.

And this?
This isn’t your ending.

This is your rise.

The Space Between Breaking Down & Breaking Open

What breast cancer, heartbreak, and healing taught me about surrender, strength, and starting again.

Dear reader,

This isn’t just a story about illness—it’s about what happens when life asks us to stop. About what we discover in the silence, the surrender, and the slow return to ourselves. If you’ve ever carried too much for too long, or quietly unraveled beneath the surface, I hope you find something here that reminds you: you’re not alone.

In 2016, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

I still remember the silence in the room after the words were said. It was like time fractured—part of me frozen in place, the other part sprinting ahead to everything I might lose. My health, my work, my future.

At the time, I was running my own successful business—coaching, creating, supporting others through their own transformation. I loved it. It felt aligned with who I was and how I moved through the world. But when the diagnosis came, I couldn’t show up in the same way anymore. My energy had to turn inward, toward healing. Toward survival.

There were surgeries. Reconstruction. Five years of treatment. My calendar changed, my relationships shifted, and the identity I had built around doing began to crumble. I had no choice but to surrender—not to the illness itself, but to the truth that I needed to be still, to receive care, to rest.

At the same time, I was also getting out of a toxic relationship with an alcoholic. Navigating recovery as a single woman, while facing cancer treatment, was an immense challenge—one that demanded strength I didn’t know I had. That journey through emotional upheaval and healing deepened my understanding of resilience and self-compassion.

I made the difficult decision to close my business and focus on what my body—and spirit—desperately needed: care, stillness, space. Eventually, I returned to work in healthcare—this time not just as a professional, but as someone deeply changed by what it means to heal. That return led me to my current role supporting teams in building systems of care that are both effective and human-centered.

Then in 2019, I earned my certification as a Life and Wellness Coach with ICF Accreditation. That part of me—the mentor, the guide, the witness—had never truly disappeared. The passion I had once set down began to stir again—quiet at first, then louder. I started to dream about creating something unique and grounded, something that truly spoke to the experiences of women navigating burnout, responsibility, and self-erasure.

And recently, through conversations with women—about overwhelm, emotional labor, identity, and the constant pressure to hold it all together—I realized that what I’d been sitting on wasn’t just knowledge. It was a well of lived experience, insight, and heart—and it was time to share it.

Overwhelm to Opportunity was born.

Not as a slogan. Not as a coaching “niche.” But as a deeply personal invitation—a pathway back to self.

Because breast cancer didn’t just challenge me physically. It stripped everything down to the essentials. It revealed how many of us are operating from depletion. How often we override our needs. How easy it is to lose ourselves in responsibility, care work, and the myth of having it all together.

What I offer now is rooted in that clarity.
It’s for the woman who’s tired of fixing and striving and holding it all.
It’s for the woman who’s ready to soften, realign, and come home to herself.

I know what it feels like to fall apart quietly.
To be strong for everyone else.
To wonder what happens if you finally stop pushing.

And I know what it takes to rebuild—slowly, intentionally, from the inside out.

If you’re in a season of holding it all—or slowly finding your way back to yourself—know that you’re not alone. Overwhelm to Opportunity was born from this very edge: the space between breaking down and breaking open.

This is an invitation—for you to honor your story, to hold space for your healing, and to know that transformation often begins when we stop trying to hold it all together.

🌿 I’d love to hear from you.
If this resonates, feel free to hit reply or leave a comment. And if there’s someone in your life who might need this message, I’d be honored if you shared it with them.

Until next time,
Erika

Recognizing Overwhelm – The First Step to Change

We’ve all done it. Smiled when we were breaking. Said “I’m fine” with a throat full of tears. Juggled work, kids, caregiving, deadlines, expectations, bills — all while quietly managing the deep, hollow ache of loneliness. And somehow, we still show up. We hold the center. We do what needs to be done.

It becomes second nature. Expected, even.

And the more we hold it all together, the more invisible our overwhelm becomes. We disappear into our roles, our responsibilities, our shoulds.

But here’s the quiet truth no one tells you:
Holding it all together doesn’t make you strong.
It makes you vanish.

For decades, I wrote my thoughts, feelings, and stories—sometimes quietly, sometimes fiercely—but I didn’t always share them.
Now, I’ve stepped into the light.
I’ve moved beyond performing stability while quietly crumbling inside.
I’ve faced and honored my grief instead of tucking it away.
I’ve reclaimed my place—no longer living in the margins, but fully present in my own life.

And I realized — I wasn’t the only one.

So many women — especially those who’ve had to lead, protect, survive — become masters of emotional containment. We tidy our breakdowns into neat compartments. We swallow our needs. We shape-shift to fit what the world demands of us. And then we lie awake at night, wondering why we feel so far away from ourselves.

This isn’t strength.
This isn’t resilience.
This isn’t living.

Here’s what I believe now:
There is radical power in letting it fall apart.
In being seen in your softness.
In asking for help without shame.
In saying “I can’t carry this alone.”
In choosing rest over performance. Truth over image.
Wholeness over hustle.

The “Overwhelm Reset” isn’t about productivity hacks or color-coded calendars.
It’s about permission.

Permission to stop pretending.
Permission to step out of the roles that are costing you your peace.
Permission to unhook from perfection.
Permission to be human again.

This is your invitation.

To unlearn the myth.
To come home to yourself.
To stop performing wholeness and begin living in your truth — messy, real, unfiltered.
To let go of the version of you that always keeps it together — and make space for the version who breathes deeply, who tells the truth, who asks for what she needs, who receives.

If you’re feeling ready to take a next step toward reclaiming your energy and peace, I offer several coaching paths designed to support you at every stage—from gentle resets to deep transformation. Whether you’re looking for short-term relief or a longer journey home to yourself, there’s a place here for you.

Let’s begin there.
Together.

Erika

The Beginning Isn’t Really the Beginning

This isn’t really the beginning. It’s a continuation of a journey that’s been unfolding quietly for years. In this first post of the Opportunity Journal, I share the deeper story behind this space—where it comes from, what it holds, and why opportunity often begins in the softest, most uncertain places. If you’re feeling the quiet tug of something new, you’re not alone. Let’s begin again, together.

By Erika Patterson

There’s something sacred about beginning again. A clean page, a fresh space, a deep breath in. But here’s what I’ve learned—this isn’t really the beginning.

This journal, this website, this offering… they’re new in form, yes. But the heart behind them has been beating for a long time. Quietly. Consistently. Purposefully. I’ve been holding space, asking hard questions, learning how to soften in the middle of the storm—for myself, and for others—for years.

And that part matters: for myself. Because there were seasons I didn’t know how. Seasons when I confused strength with silence, when I carried more than I should have, when I wore “fine” like armor. There were moments I felt fractured beneath the surface—functioning, yes, but far from whole.

I didn’t create this space from a pedestal. I created it from a place of lived experience. And you’re here now, which means, maybe, you’ve walked through some of those tender places too.

A Life That Has Held So Much

I have spent years being the one others lean on. The reliable one. The strong one. But even strong women can feel tired. And I’ve known that tiredness—not just the physical kind, but the soul-deep weariness that comes from holding everything for everyone and wondering, quietly, “Who’s holding me?”

There were moments—some recent, some long buried—where I felt invisible to myself. Like I was moving through life in service to everyone else’s needs while mine sat untouched at the back of the line. And yet, those very moments shaped me. They taught me how to listen inward. How to slow down. How to come home to myself.

This journal was born not from having all the answers, but from learning how to ask better questions. It’s a place where I can offer what I’ve learned from the messy, sacred, deeply human process of navigating grief, burnout, and quiet reinvention.

Why the Opportunity Journal

When I was in one of my most uncertain chapters—grappling with identity, relationship dynamics, career transitions—I didn’t need a checklist. I needed a lifeline. I needed someone to gently remind me that what I was feeling wasn’t failure; it was a threshold. A moment rich with possibility.

That’s what opportunity has come to mean for me.
Not just a new job or a new direction—
but a new relationship with myself.
A softer way of being.
A more honest way of living.

This journal exists to honor those in-between moments. To say, yes, this too is worthy of reflection. Yes, you’re allowed to pause here.

A Soft Invitation

So I invite you to take a breath.
To ask yourself: What am I being invited to see differently? To release? To welcome?
You don’t need to name it right away. Just notice the whisper.

Opportunity often doesn’t announce itself with a trumpet. It often begins as a flicker—an internal tug, a quiet ache, a question you can’t unask.

And it’s okay if you don’t yet have answers. We’re not rushing toward clarity here. We’re making space for it to rise naturally.

From Overwhelm to Clarity: Starting 2026 with Calm and Intention

Begin 2026 with clarity and calm. Discover simple reflection practices to release overwhelm and set gentle intentions for the year ahead. Learn how small shifts create lasting change and explore the Reinvention Pathway for deeper transformation.

You know that feeling when the calendar flips to January and suddenly everyone is talking about resolutions, goals, and “new year, new you”?

If you’re anything like me, that energy can feel heavy instead of inspiring. Maybe you’re already carrying too much from 2025—unfinished tasks, emotional loads that weren’t yours to begin with, or the quiet ache of saying yes when you wanted to say no.

Here’s the truth: you’re not broken. You’ve just been carrying too much. And this year, we’re going to set some of it down together.

Let’s Start With Release

Before you add anything new, pause. Ask yourself:

What do I want to leave behind in 2025?
Where did I abandon my own needs for the sake of others?
What would it feel like to begin this year with clarity instead of clutter?

Grab a notebook, light a candle if that feels good, and let yourself write. No editing, no judgment. Just honesty.

A Simple Reset

Whenever overwhelm rises, try this:

First breath: notice where tension lives in your body.
Second breath: imagine setting down one emotional load that isn’t yours.
Third breath: invite in clarity and calm.

It’s simple, but it works. And it’s a way of reminding your nervous system: I’m safe, I’m steady, I’m here.

Gentle Intentions

Forget the giant resolutions. Choose three gentle intentions for January. Something like:

“I will honor my energy before saying yes.”
“I will pause before reacting.”
“I will celebrate one small win each day.”

Small shifts create big change. And they remind you that transformation doesn’t require force—it requires presence.

From Overwhelm to Opportunity

This reflection is more than a ritual; it’s the first step of a deeper journey. My 16-week program, Overwhelm to Opportunity: The Reinvention Pathway, is designed to guide women through nervous system reset, boundary reclamation, identity reinvention, and lasting resilience.

If you’re ready to move beyond overwhelm and step into clarity, I’d love to walk that path with you.

👉 Book Your Discovery Call

Category: Reflections