Today we’d like to introduce you to Leanne Ross

Hi Leanne, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.

Being overly familiar with the feelings of burn out, stress and numbness, for the past decade of my career, I had filled my life with my obsession to work hard at everything that was required of me. Giving my life and soul to the workplace was just what I did.

With this in mind, I reflect on a situation in 2020 that, literally, almost killed me.

I had been working 3 jobs at the time and, having had a couple of days off, I decided to push through the fatigue and go out socialising, not getting to bed until late.
I did not feel myself the following day but decided to ‘power through’ and work an additional shift that I had previously agreed to work. By Monday I felt worse, my stomach was in agony and I couldn’t shift the feelings of nausea. So I left for work early to ensure I had plenty time to fuel myself with coffee before my 9 o’clock start. I worked late that night to take my mind off the pain.

By Tuesday I couldn’t get out of bed. I was vomiting, sleep deprived and weak. I emailed work indicating I would be in, within a couple of hours, albeit late. I then phoned and explained to my Manager that I was continuing to vomit but promised that, when it subsided, I would come in as soon as it stopped. He advised me to take the day off “you’re ill Leanne!”.
The rest of the day was a blur. I was weak, I struggled to walk, I couldn’t eat. I lay on my couch doubled up in pain, unable to move.

Hours later and with persistent fretting calls from my Mum, who resided several hours away, I agreed to call the National Health Out of Hours number. Which ultimately saved my life (thanks for the prompts Mum!)

After explaining my symptoms to the Operator I was shocked to hear that she wanted me in to the Accident and Emergency Department “now”. Upon entering the hospital I was seen almost instantly. The doctor quickly examined me and then walked me to the surgical ward. She briefly mentioned that this wasn’t something she would normally do but time was precious and she needed to ensure I reached the ward quickly. I still didn’t click the severity of the situation. I reiterated to her that I was probably fine as the pain had, suddenly, subsided.
Having arrived at the surgical ward I was, again immediately, seen. Despite all of the unfortunate patients, awaiting required surgery, I was bumped up to the top of the list. They indicated that they would monitor me throughout the night and may have to call the out of hours surgeon in, as I was very close to “it rupturing”. Despite me being hopeful that the feelings of sudden pain alleviation was a sign of me getting better, they indicated it was not; it was a sign of my condition worsening. After a sleepless night with constant monitoring I had surgery early the next morning.

Due to the length of time that I left myself suffering and not seeking medical help, I was required to remain in hospital for 4 days. Unable to eat and very weak. I was monitored closely and the aftercare involved me going home to live with my parents on a cocktail of different medication.

Why? Because I had been experiencing an appendicitis for 3 full days and my condition had worsened so much that they had feared it had ruptured. You can, of course, die from an untreated appendicitis due to the high risk of sepsis.

Why did I leave myself in that condition for 3 days? Because I was so used to feeling sleep deprived, disorientated, weak and suffering regular digestive problems due to my lifestyle choices. Stomach aches were normal because I was running on a diet of lukewarm coffees and very little else. ‘Powering through’ was my normality – and almost killed me.

I remember voicing that “things have to change” to my friends and family who visited me in the hospital. It frightened me at how disconnected to my body that I had become. I catastrophised on what could have happened had my Mum’s instincts not kicked in and her pleads for me to get help hadn’t reached me. My intuition seemed to have switched off and that scared me.

Seeing my sister’s worried face, when she arrived at the hospital, having travelled several hours on trains and buses to reach me, gave me the temporary reality check I needed. Things indeed needed to change.

This would be the last time I would allow myself to get burnt out I told my mum and dad one night. This would be the final time I would ever experience this type of scenario, which was an achievable goal – you only have one appendix after all.

I was told that my expected recovery time would be 4-6 weeks. I gave myself 3 weeks, before racing back to work. Global pandemic upon us all, I vowed that I would try and help as many people as possible, within my role as a Manager in the Social Care Sector. I did help as many people as possible. 80 hours per week was my norm, no days off were etched into my schedule.

My continued mindset to “push through” helped to detach from the felt physical and mental pressures.
“I am fine”.
“I’’ll just take more painkillers”.
“But not the strong ones – as I needed to drive for work.”

Several weeks later, I remember lying in my bed one night crying. I hadn’t kept my promise to myself. I hadn’t even lasted 4 weeks.
How had I reached this point again. I wasn’t healing from burn out, I was pursuing it! And if a near death experience wouldn’t trigger change then what would?

This question haunted me for months but, ultimately, helped me to find a deeper meaning to my near death experience.
For the next 4 years I began to explore what all needed to shift to avoid this happening again.
I began to reflect on 5 vital areas within my working life that I had initially ignored. The 5 areas that had led to my burn out, detachment from my body and the inability to instil change within my life.

So I started to refine these 5 areas and nurture them; Considering my Workplace dynamics and its influences. And how each area, within my life, was interlinked and required specific attention to detail, something I had not considered for years. How mindset work was everything. Why the necessity to manage stress effectively was vital and how setting goals were pointless if I didn’t have a plan on how to action them.

Having embedded these areas of consideration into my own life, I couldn’t believe the transformations that were beginning to happen. I wanted to make further changes, not just for myself, but for large workforces of people who were experiencing the same struggles as I had been.

I spoke to many people. People who had experienced burn out, people who were on the cusp of burn out and people who averted their eyes when I spoke of burn out – evidently too broken to speak about their own experiences – yet.

Things needed to change. This was a Universal challenge that was affecting so many people in different industries.

So I began to pencil out and brainstorm how I could start to support change for others. My scraps of paper turned into pages, the pages began to fill notebooks and the notebooks overspilled into reality. And so, 2 years later, Happylieuya Coaching and Mentoring Services was launched.

Happylieuya supports Businesses and Organisations to preserve, sustain and uplift the workforce through my 5 Pillar Approach;

Work Place Culture
Holistic Modelling
Mindset Shifting
Stress Management and Emotional Regulation
Setting the Stage to Success through effective goal setting and achieving.

My vision has become my reality! And best yet – I did end up keeping my promise.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?

One main area within my framework is mindset and how our beliefs, that we have about ourselves and circumstances, can hold us back and cause us limitations.

When I decided to make changes to my life, it was initially a struggle. I had to unpick and challenge many patterns of behaviour that I had developed since a young age. I had to consider my values and ethos by exploring why I felt I needed to give everyone else so much support but never to myself. I had to explore why I didn’t feel deserving of anything other than ‘burn out’ and how I had worn it almost as if it were a badge of honour, almost reveling in the despair that I was putting myself through. I also had to acknowledge that many workplaces had supported my high work ethics, rarely putting in deterrents in me working myself into the ground – these were areas I thrived in most as my toxic behaviours were able to flourish. These revelations hit me hard and were challenging to navigate.

My greatest fear was figuring out how could I change a behaviour that had led to me excelling so quickly in my career? Success had been hard to achieve and now felt impossible to hold onto. But I was miserable and, with despair, decided that I had to make a choice; happiness or success.

So, my late nights crouched over my laptop were replaced by self care. My to do lists were now broken into priorities per day rather than per hour. And I began to say no to picking up the workload of others; at least a bit more frequently than I had previously.

Unexpectedly, when I began to make these small changes in my life, I realised that, not only my success remained within the workplace but I actually began to be more creative and forward thinking. It was as if the lit match that I was using to observe my workload suddenly was replaced by a 10000 watt bulb! I could see solutions that I hadn’t seen previously, my time management skills developed to such an extent, I actually found myself with having achieved more tasks but still having more time to spare. My schedule became more fluid and I was able to focus on my business further and develop it in ways that I never thought possible. These small changes were actually increasing my productivity levels. The change was empowering.

My physical and mental health started to improve, I began to see my friends and family more, my appearance changed as I had more time to pay attention to it. Every aspect of my life became better in its own individual way. My worklife balance felt a lot more sustainable and my notion of what success was began to change.

Success looks best when you are happy and fulfilled, not broken and burnt out.
I began to thrive on my new interpretation of what success actually was.
Changing my interpretation and understanding of what success is, literally, saved my life.

As you know, we’re big fans of Happylieuya Coaching & Mentoring. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?

My Business has 2 branches;

The first branch supports Organisations and Businesses who wish to preserve, sustain and uplift their workforce through wellbeing strategies. I do this through Consultations, Workshops, Intricate Gap Analysis Assessments, Strategy Building and Personalised Employee Assistance Programmes – delivered in a way that supports resilience and choice among the workforce.

The second branch supports individuals who have experienced adversity and are looking for support with healing and recovery.

I am fortunate to have a wealth of professional knowledge and certifications that supports my knowledge and understanding in supporting others;

Certified Life Coach
Certified Trauma Trainer
Certified L1 Counselling
Registered Social Worker
SCQF5 Mental Wellbeing
and Health
MWAH Ambassador
Certificate in Work Life Balance
Trained in Workplace Representation
Previous Service Manager of a Social Care Workforce.
Trained in Hate Crime Third Party Reporting
Previous Further Education Board Member
Trained in ASIST
Certified Law of Attraction Practitioner.

What perhaps sets me apart from other Businesses is that I have lived experience that helps me to inform my practice. I feel that this helps me to deepen my understanding, empathy and drive to support others who have experienced similar experiences to myself.

I am proud of my business because it offers flexible and personalised support that encourages empowerment and expansion. I like to ensure that my support is accessible to all people so have a membership that starts at £50 per month. This includes weekly group coaching calls, training on my 5 pillar approach and access to worksheets and bonus material. We set intentions, celebrate goals and have ‘curiosity drop ins’ which support personal growth and development.

For my business model I provide a number of different services that are personalised and catered to each Organisation and Businesses’ needs. This is important because, having read research that indicates that only 5% of employees reach out to their Employer’s assigned Wellbeing Supports System and, of which, only 2.1% of the workforce are actually provided with supports, helps to acknowledge the gap in effective Workplace Wellbeing Supports that are currently in place.

I am really proud of my Business Model’s Framework as it offers unique selling points where it removes the under utilised stagnant wellbeing services and replaces it with training to develop and empower staff resilience, mindsets and the ability to manage stress. It sets the stage to success by effectively implementing and achieving goals that are based on the 8 dimensions of the holisitic wheel. It helps to broaden Organisation and Business’ abilities to grow, implement powerful changes and save money on staffing absences. It supports new and current leaders to upskill themselves with efficient and unique strategic tools and empowers people to become more trauma informed within the workplace.

I am confident that my Business Model truly will make a difference to each and every workforce when implemented.
And, best yet, all of my services are available online so it is open to the global market!

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?

I feel transparency, openness and self reflection is key. I also feel perseverance is very important; Being a Business Owner can be challenging at times but keeping my experiences at the heart of everything I do helps me to continue propelling Happylieuya and my vision forward.

My near death experience saved my life.

Pricing:

• Monthly Membership – £25
• Personalised Workshops – £150-£250
• Consultations – Price on request
• Strategic Implementation – Price on request
• Employee Assistance Programmes – Price on request

Contact Info:

• Website: https://happylieuyalifecoaching.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happylieuya?igsh=MTN6czFidXlham5jaA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085000058398
• Other: https://tidycal.com/happylieuyanetworking