EP 18 Complex PTSD and Business with Chantal Vanderhaeghen

After being hit by a car and suffering whiplash, Chantal was tossed into a ten year tumble where she lost her spark, her business acumen and her intuition. She was belittled by relatives for the disproportionate reaction she had to what appeared to be a minor accident. The reality was that the accident was the straw that broke the camel's back as Chantal had severe un processed childhood trauma. In this episode, we discuss the impact this had as she moved from running a successful and fulfilling practice as a masseuse and reiki practitioner and stepped up to create a line of skin care. What promised to be an exhilarating experience turned into Chantal being targeted by people who were out to profit from her vulnerability by pushing her to invest more. When she didn't get the results that she wanted, despite being featured on the cover of a magazine, she was made to feel that she hadn't tried hard enough. She now shares the story of how in the online space, there is too much noise with self appointed gurus who compound the issues for entrepreneurs who are suffering from trauma or grief. She is advocating for a different way to do business for these entrepreneurs especially as they usually lose their connection to self and dive into self doubt and confusion. For many years, Chantal suffered from brain fog and found that none of the coaches and mentors understood what was happening to her, and didn't even care. But instead of taking stock and slowing down, Chantal pushed through it and got deeper and deeper into trouble. Her intuition would have helped her to know that this was the wrong thing to do but it seemed nowhere to be found. Not unlike people who suffer from burnout and who think if I do one more thing, everything is going to be ok. And who are sadly encouraged by a part of an industry that focuses on its bottom line rather than in the success of their clients. The issue with complex PTSD is that because it's largely unrecognised, people who suffer from it are more likely to think that there is something wrong with them. That somehow they are at fault. They struggle with sleep, with panic attacks or very high levels of anxiety and with memory loss. It can easily be confused with mental health issues or dementia. To get back to Chantal, this made her more prone to the fear of missing out - the whole scarcity game that some marketers play to get you to sign up for something that might not even be right for you. This conversation is important and I want to command Chantal for having the courage to talk about the dark side of entrepreneurship. If you would like to work with Chantal to get support for your grief, loss or trauma as an entrepreneur and perhaps step away from this downward spiral of self blame for the failures you face, you can find her on Facebook on her page, Soothing Conversations with Chantal and her website www.griefcounsellor.com.au if you are in Perth, Chantal is also available for public speaking.