Do you ever feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders?

For one entrepreneur, that weight came in the form of guilt and frustration, emotions that were impacting both her business and her family life. Today, I’m sharing the story of a client I’ll call Lauren (name and details changed for privacy) and her transformative Brainspotting journey.

The Struggle: Guilt and Business Stress

Lauren, a mid-career entrepreneur, felt stuck. Her business wasn’t growing the way she’d hoped, and the financial strain was weighing heavily on her family. She felt immense guilt knowing her husband had taken on a second job to make ends meet. Despite her best efforts to market and grow her business, Lauren couldn’t shake feelings of inadequacy and frustration, which only deepened her stress and sapped her motivation.

Here’s how her struggle showed up:

• Guilt over financial strain: Lauren felt responsible for her husband’s added workload, internalizing it as a personal failure.

• Desire for control: She was trying to manage every aspect of her business, leaving her feeling overwhelmed and exhausted.

• Physical tension: These emotions manifested as heaviness in her stomach and tightness in her throat, making the stress feel inescapable.

The Approach: Brainspotting and Emotional Release

In our Brainspotting session, we worked together to address the emotional blocks Lauren was carrying. Here’s how the process unfolded:

1. Identifying the Physical Sensations: Lauren described feeling a heavy knot in her stomach when thinking about her business and her husband’s workload. As we focused on this sensation, it gradually shifted to her throat, where she felt a choking tightness.

2. Exploring Guilt and Control: Through guided Brainspotting, Lauren began to process the deep guilt she felt. She recognized that her desire to control every outcome in her business was tied to a fear of failure and a need to "fix" the financial situation single-handedly.

3. Releasing Emotional Tension: Staying present with the sensations in her body, Lauren allowed herself to fully feel and release the emotions tied to her guilt and frustration. By the end of the session, the tightness in her throat had eased, and she reported feeling lighter.

4. Embracing Acceptance: Lauren had a breakthrough realization: while she couldn’t control everything, she could find peace in accepting her current circumstances. This shift allowed her to feel less burdened by guilt and more open to moving forward with clarity.

The Results: Lighter and More Hopeful

By the end of the session, Lauren had moved from a place of frustration and guilt to one of acceptance and hope. She committed to a few key practices to sustain her progress:

• Self-reflection: Spending time each day reflecting on guilt and control, and replacing these feelings with acceptance.

• Mindful reminders: Placing a small sign on her desk with the words, “If I fall down, I can get back up again,” to reinforce her resilience.

• Acknowledging support: Expressing gratitude to the supportive people in her life, including her husband, who appeared in her visualization exercise.

Two weeks later, Lauren shared how these shifts had impacted her:

• Renewed focus on her business: With less emotional weight, she felt more motivated and clear-headed about her next steps.

• Improved mindset: The guilt that had been consuming her no longer felt like a constant presence, allowing her to approach challenges with greater resilience.

• Physical relief: The tightness in her throat and heaviness in her stomach had not returned, a sign of the emotional release she had experienced.

Why This Matters

Lauren’s story highlights how powerful emotions like guilt and frustration can manifest as physical and mental barriers, keeping us from achieving our goals. By addressing these emotions directly through Brainspotting, she was able to release the weight she had been carrying and find a path forward.

Ready to Break Free from What’s Holding You Back?

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by guilt, stress, or frustration in your business or personal life, Brainspotting can help you uncover and release the emotions at the root of your challenges. Let’s work together to lighten your load and rediscover your momentum.

Click here to schedule a consultation and take the first step toward clarity and growth.