Massive career shifts aren’t just about a new title or paycheck—they shake the very core of who we think we are. When a client is overwhelmed, I don’t throw bandaid solutions at them. I strip it down to the raw truth: What’s the fear? Is it failure? Judgment? Losing themselves? We untangle the mental knots, piece by piece. I help them stop outsourcing their confidence to external validation and anchor into their own power. Because when they trust who they are beyond the job title, the overwhelm fades, and clarity takes its place.

Listen and Validate – Acknowledge their feelings of overwhelm. Let them know it's normal to feel uncertain during big changes. Clarify Their Vision – Help them define what they want from this career change. Encourage them to explore their motivations and long-term goals to create a clearer path forward. Break It Down – Divide the career change into smaller, manageable steps. Identify key milestones and action items that feel more achievable.

Overwhelm is the point beyond the Stress response & the Freeze response, where the body has a dorsal vagal response of Shutdown. It is a sign of Trauma, resulting from *Too much, too fast, or *Too little for too long. (Dr Aimie Apigian) To address Overwhelm, the client needs to have a felt sense of Safety, before they are open to Support. Learning & using appropriate simple somatic tools gives the client a sense of protection, self-nurturing & empowerment. Only then is Expansion possible, a state where the client is ready to be fully present and confident.

Supporting a client through a major career change requires a balance of encouragement, practical guidance, and mindset shifts. Help them reconnect with the reasons behind this change. Purpose fuels resilience. Shift their perspective from “What if I fail?” to “What will I learn?” Turn big, daunting tasks into small, manageable steps. Progress happens one step at a time. Overthinking fuels fear. Encourage them to take small, consistent actions that build momentum.

Navigating a major career change can be challenging mentally and emotionally. Apart from many practical things to do and settle in the transition phase, the client can have doubts and insecurities about all that is waiting ahead. This is normal. The coach's job is to help the client reconnect to the peace and calm and FEELING GOOD. By asking powerful questions the coach can help the client get clear about what the client can do to make the transition process easier. WHAT exactly can help the client move through the day with more ease? WHO can help in the process? HOW can the client practice self- care in this time? The client knows definitely the answer! It's all about deciding how you want the journey to be. It does not have to be hard!