Feeling stressed & anxious? Meet the mental health coach who’s familiar with the beauty sector

Mental health coach & speaker, Dave Heffernan, has created a Facebook group to support those in the beauty & wellness sectors who are feeling stressed and anxious in their professional or personal lives for just £9.99 a month. Here, he reveals more about his beauty industry affiliation and how he can help…

My understanding of the nail industry is a lot greater than many men my age. My wife, Emma, is a nail technician, and she launched her from-home business back in 2017. As I often work from home myself, I have seen hundreds of women venture in and out of my front door, delighted with their new set of nails, so I understand the personal and close connection customers have with their nail technicians.

When the lockdown was announced on 23 March, my wife reluctantly packed away her nail products, understanding at the time that it was a temporary measure to keep everyone safe. Nearly four months later she found herself, along with thousands of other nail technicians in the UK, desperately awaiting news on when she could reopen her business.

The guidelines released by the government had been confusing and left many business owners concerned about the expenses involved in purchasing additional personal protective equipment. Many also felt left behind by the government.

Getting personal

The dangers of Covid-19 are no mystery to my family. I’m in the ‘high risk’ category after having recently being diagnosed with a rare form of motor neurone disease, severe spinal canal stenosis, a paralysed diaphragm and 30% vital lung capacity. This is one of the many things that I’ve encountered in my life, which has led me to become a mental health coach. I’ve found that using my own experiences has put me in an ideal place to support people who find themselves at a difficult point in their lives.

I am now considered the UK’s number one provider of anxiety solutions, having helped thousands of people deal with and overcome mental health, stress and anxiety issues.

I am a true believer that no matter what experience a person goes through, there will always be a positive to take from it, as well as a learning curve. Instead of focusing on the negatives, we instead must control what we can and seek out the positive to get through the difficult times more quickly, and with a more balanced and calm approach.

I use this coping strategy in my own day-to-day life, as well as with many of the people that I coach. I always find that encouraging people to look for a positive within a negative situation allows them to see it from a different perspective and start to move through it.

When Emma had been out of work for a month or so, she began to really feel the effects of this on her everyday life. First and foremost were the money concerns. We had regular conversations about expenses that needed to be covered for ourselves and our two sons, and although we have managed, it has been a huge blow to the family income.

In addition to this, her business had really begun to take off just before Covid-19 hit, so this was an extra disappointment as it felt like she was now moving backwards in her career.

Emma was also generally feeling very low. She was used to welcoming people into our home multiple times a day and having fun conversations, catching up on each other’s lives and giggling away about anything and nothing.

Losing this, and with the added concern of not knowing when or how her business would be running again in the future, made daily life more of a struggle.

In early August, Emma was on a networking call with Millie Kendall, British Beauty Council CEO, and Sharmadean Reid, owner of Beautystack. There was a lot of discussion around the stress that nail technicians were feeling at the moment, owing to the lack of information around when they can start working again that they felt let down and forgotten by government. Emma mentioned what I do for a living and suggested that I may be able to assist.

In the weeks following these conversations, I was honoured to have the opportunity to begin helping many members of the beauty community deal with the stresses that this situation has caused them.

Focused on Facebook

Industry icon, Marian Newman, author of The Complete Nail Technician, invited me to one of her webinars where I had the privilege of speaking to hundreds of nail technicians that found themselves in much the same situation as my wife. The feedback I had after this was amazing, and it inspired me to start my own Facebook group with the aim of helping those in the beauty sector to manage the stress that has arisen from the effects of the virus and being out of work for so long.

In this group, I offer everyone a one-to-one telephone session when they first join which allows them to speak to me about any issues that they are dealing with relating to their work or anything in their lives that is causing stress. It is a safe and understanding space where people can be honest and open, and I can then begin to develop some personalised coping strategies to get them set up on the right footing.

The group also brings everyone together into a community of likeminded people who all find themselves in similar situations. Sometimes, even having the ability to connect with one another and relate to personal experiences can make a huge difference to your mental standpoint.

Talk to the coach

Separately to my Facebook group, I also offer personal coaching sessions that can be beneficial for those that are really struggling and need a more in-depth and structured support mechanism.

Mental health is something that is often not talked about openly; people are worried that it will make them seem weak or somehow less able to do their jobs. This is simply not the case.

Your mental health is just as important as your physical health – you should think of speaking to a mental health coach in the same way you would speaking to your dentist or a chiropractor!

Whether you’re looking for advice on where to take your career, need guidance and support in feeling more resilient in your day to day life, or simply want a forum where you can talk openly with others in the same situation as you, you’d be more than welcome to join my group and start your journey to feeling more positive.

One quote that I always love to use is: “After the darkest hour, there is glorious sunrise. After every recession there is growth.” Remember that this time will pass, and you will all be stronger having faced it.

www.daveheffernan.com

E: dave@daveheffernan.com

Dave Heffernan’s Facebook group has a monthly subscription cost of £9.99. Click here to join.