ReturntoSelf – Erika Patterson Coaching

Embracing the Healing Spiral: You Are Not Behind

Hi love,

I want to talk to you about something that comes up often in our sessions—especially this time of year.

It’s that moment when you say, “I thought I was past this.” “I should be further along.” “I feel like I’m back where I started.”

And I hear you. I’ve felt that too.

But here’s what I want you to know: You are not back at the beginning. You are spiraling deeper. And the spiral is sacred.

🌿 You’re Not Behind—You’re Becoming

We’ve been taught to measure healing in straight lines. Forward motion. Clear milestones. No turning back.

But healing doesn’t work like that. It spirals. It circles. It returns.

And every time you revisit something— an old wound, a forgotten truth, a tender part of yourself— you’re not regressing. You’re remembering.

You’re meeting that part of you with new eyes. With more softness. With more capacity to stay.

🦋 Softness Is Strength

I know it’s tempting to push through. To override the discomfort. To keep going.

But what if softness is the way forward?

What if the spiral is not a detour— but the path itself?

This season, I want to invite you to trust the spiral. To honor the return. To let yourself move slowly, and still know you’re growing.

🔄 Let’s Sit With This Together

If you’re feeling tender right now, if something old is resurfacing— you’re not alone.

Here are a few questions we can hold together:

What truth is asking to be heard again?
What part of me feels familiar—but deeper now?
What would it feel like to honor the spiral, not resist it?

Let these questions be companions. Let them guide you inward. Let them remind you: You are allowed to return. You are allowed to move slowly. You are allowed to grow in circles.

🕊️ You Are Brave

Some of the most powerful healing I’ve witnessed has come from women who stopped trying to move forward— and started listening inward.

This November, may you spiral with grace. May you return with tenderness. May you trust that your path, however winding, is holy.

You are not behind. You are in process. And the spiral is sacred.

With love,

Erika

🕊️ The Return: A November Reflection

There’s a moment in every healing journey when the path stops moving forward. Not because you’ve failed. Not because you’re stuck. But because something inside you is asking to be remembered.

This is the season for returning.

Not to old habits or outdated roles— but to the parts of you that got left behind. The quiet truths. The soft instincts. The version of you that didn’t need to perform to belong.

In my coaching practice, I see this moment often. Women arrive feeling behind. Disconnected. Ashamed of their slowness. They’ve been taught that growth means momentum. That healing should be linear. That softness is something to earn.

But healing doesn’t always blaze ahead. Sometimes it spirals. Sometimes it pauses. Sometimes it turns back for the part of you that was never given space to speak.

This week, I’m honoring the spiral. I’m choosing to return. To the body. To the breath. To the truths I’ve overridden in the name of productivity.

And I want to offer you this:

🕊️ You are allowed to return to yourself. Not once. Not perfectly. But again and again.

You are allowed to move slowly. To feel deeply. To grow inward.

If you’re craving a space where softness is honored, where your truth is welcomed without urgency— know that you’re not alone. This space is here for you. This season can hold you.

With tenderness,

Erika

🦋 The Unraveling and the Reveal

It doesn’t always start with a dramatic moment. Sometimes, it begins with a quiet no. A conversation you no longer pretend to enjoy. A role you stop performing in your family. A version of yourself you no longer feel obligated to protect.

This is the unraveling.

It’s not chaos. It’s clarity. It’s the slow shedding of identities that no longer fit. The peeling back of stories you told to stay safe. The realization that the life you built around who you were… doesn’t quite hold who you’re becoming.

And that’s not failure. That’s growth.

🌱 The Reveal

When the unraveling begins, something else happens too: You start to remember yourself.

Not the curated version. Not the one who kept the peace, held the weight, or smiled through the ache. But the one who had dreams before the expectations. The one who felt deeply, even when it was inconvenient. The one who wanted more than just to be liked—she wanted to be known.

This is the reveal. It’s tender. It’s terrifying. It’s true.

💬 What Coaching Offers Here

In this moment—between unraveling and revealing—is where coaching becomes sacred.

Not to fix you. Not to push you into a new chapter. But to hold space for the version of you that’s emerging. To ask the questions that help you hear your own voice again. To remind you that you don’t have to perform to belong.

You just have to show up as you.

If you’re in the middle of the unraveling, I want you to know: You’re not alone. You’re not broken. You’re becoming.

And that’s the most powerful thing you can do.

🦋

✨ Ready to explore what’s next?

If this resonates, I’d love to meet you in a Discovery Call. We’ll talk about where you are, what’s shifting, and how coaching can support your next chapter.

👉 Book your Discovery Call here

When the Role No Longer Fits

What happens when the identity you’ve built starts to feel too small?

There comes a moment—quiet, unsettling, sacred—when the role you’ve been performing no longer feels like home.

Maybe it’s the achiever who’s exhausted from chasing gold stars. The caretaker who’s forgotten how to care for herself. The strong one who’s tired of holding it all together. The good girl who’s ready to stop being so good.

These roles once served a purpose. They helped you belong, succeed, survive. But now, they feel tight. Constricting. Like clothes you’ve outgrown but keep wearing because they’re familiar.

And here’s the truth: You are allowed to outgrow the version of you that others still expect.

Letting go of a role doesn’t mean you’ve failed it. It means you’re evolving. It means you’re listening to the quiet voice inside that says, “There’s more to me than this.”

But shedding a role is tender work. It asks you to sit in the in-between—between who you’ve been and who you’re becoming. It asks you to grieve, to question, to reclaim.

That’s why I created The Mask We Wear Guide—a gentle reflection tool to help you explore the roles you’ve been carrying and begin the journey back to your authentic self.

Inside, you’ll find:

Journal prompts to support your inner inquiry
A role inventory worksheet to name what no longer fits
A closing affirmation to anchor your truth

This guide isn’t about fixing you. It’s about freeing you.

Because beneath every role is a woman who deserves to be seen—not for how well she performs, but for who she truly is.

🦋Download The Mask We Wear Guide

Erika Patterson Coaching

hello@erikapattersoncoaching.com