Lugarno’s Allyson Boneham has made the leap from a stressed-out career woman to stress-free soccer mum and now she wants to help others do the same.
After she was sacked from her job in a marketing agency for a major multinational company, Allyson decided to change the course of her life.
Her job had been very demanding and she hardly saw her sons Mitchell, 11, and James, 8.
“Every single day was a test on my nervous and emotional ability,” Allyson said.
“I would often find myself working late, never having any time to spend with my family, sitting at home sending late night emails just to get on top of the workload, so I could spend quality time with my kids and read them a bedtime story.
“But the workload never slowed down and the pressure kept building.
“Then I was fired. At first it felt like a kick in the guts,” she said.
“I faced a decision. I could find another stressful and overwhelming job for a multinational or I could try and make a difference.”
She decided to make a difference.
Her quest to find a world-life balance has led her to launching her own business, It’s Personal Counselling, which teaches people how to de-stress.
Fortunately, she already had qualifications as a counseller so she knew techniques in how to deal with stress and give people a clearer outlook on life.
She had used some of the techniques in dealing with her demanding job.
“I tried many different methods of relaxation with meditation and breathing techniques, exercising, reading books and just turning off my smart phone.’’
These had helped her cope with her demanding job. But when she was fired she felt she didn’t want to get another a job where she needed to use these techniques to help herself but decided to use them to help others.
‘’All over Sydney there are hundreds of men and women in pursuit of a successful career, only to find themselves struggling to meet the growing demands forced on them by their employer, expecting them to work long hours and late nights to the detriment of their mental and physical health.
“We have to manage stress in every area of our lives. My program is how to talk about where stress comes from.
“These days so many find themselves caught in stressful situations such as jobs where they can’t escape.’’
Allyson holds her workshops at the Karuna Wellness Centre, 1020 Forest Road, Lugarno.
Her website is, www.itspersonalcounselling.com.au.