From grief and loneliness to inner peace and connection

Kevin, an ex-banker, has been lonely since his wife died eight years ago from cancer. Several of his friends died, too. He wants a stable relationship, yet struggles to do so.

He notices he distances himself from people, including family.  Despite his desire for love, he withdraws in intimate relationships because of his fear of losing another person he loves. 

He says his mind and thoughts are all over the place, and he doesn’t know how to move forward. He broke up with a partner with whom he feels a strong connection. After that, he lost himself in the dating game to meet his need for intimacy.

The encounters are transactional. He shuts out his feelings. His other human interactions are boxed off, too, in functional criteria. It leaves him feeling lonely as his desire for love and connection is unmet.

As a man and former executive in finance, his rational intellect has been trained for stoic and calm performance. His prestigious education did not teach emotional connection. Instead, he was taught to overrule the longing of his heart.

As the eldest in his family, he carried the burden of responsibility to excel. He had no emotional support. He does not feel understood by his family and left his country to prove his worth. Which he did.

He achieved status, wealth and the time to spend it. Yet he is lonely and unhappy. He feels he has to keep moving like a shark to satisfy his unease and restlessness. His travels to exotic and historical locations feel like a temporary fix.

We worked together for six months to help him process grief and other repressed emotions.  He had never learned to express anger and hurt.

In this new process, he learns the importance of expressing his emotions, needs and setting boundaries. 

He has learns to be more open about his feelings. This improves his interaction with his daughter. His state of mind becomes more stable. Instead of soaking up people’s stress as an empath, he is now able to take a step back in the observer role. 

He no longer feels lonely when he is alone. He feels more compassionate and has reunited with his former partner. They both took time out to change their internal landscape and are committed to making their relationship work. 

Kevin feels more at peace and is willing to let it be if it does not work out. He has more clarity now and even started to create a future roadmap for himself.

*Client’s name and image are altered for privacy reasons