About me
Kia ora! I'm Angela - daughter, sister, aunty, friend and certified coach living in Auckland, New Zealand.
I enjoy poetry, music, sports, stand-up comedy, and spending time with friends and family.
I lead a simple but superb life, filled with purpose and wonderful people. For this, I'm very grateful.
Things haven't always been so good. For this, I'm also grateful.
Without a many-times-broken-and-mended heart, I wouldn't be who I am today.
My own experiences of conquering loneliness and anxiety help inform my practice, alongside studies in psychology, wellbeing, leadership, and a range of coaching modalities.
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My story:
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In early 2018, I had it all - I was doing award-winning, meaningful work, living close to my loving family, finishing half-marathons every other weekend and dating a wonderful man. I was thriving. Somehow, even with all these blessings in place, I realized that I felt lonely.
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I'm a bit of a psychology geek, and I remembered reading a 2015 meta-analytic review by Julianne Holt-Lunstad and her colleagues, which outlined the dangers of social isolation and loneliness. I knew I didn't want to feel this way, and I knew it was bad for me.
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So, what's a lonely geek to do? A rather crude solution came to mind almost instantly: "I'm going to science the £*¢k out of this."
I started studying. I immersed myself in learning about loneliness - reading books and studies, attending webinars, and taking courses. I connected with experts in the field and everyday people, too, so I could hear a diverse range of perspectives and experiences.
It's been a wild intellectual and emotional journey, one that continues to this day.
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I realized two very important things during my learning journey. The first is that if I could experience loneliness, with everything going so well, then anyone could - and if anyone could, then that was something I wanted to help with.
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The second is that loneliness can be powerful. It shows us where we can create positive change - build pro-social habits, savor solitude in healthy ways, or embrace and enhance the communities around us. Loneliness is an indicator of our incredible social capacity.
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My practice is grounded in lived experience, informed by science, and focused on you.
I work with each client to examine their unique goals and circumstances, then creating a bespoke, strengths-based strategy to optimize their social wellbeing.
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