It was 20 years ago that I started my own journey of Financial Recovery.

At the time, I was completing graduate school and considered myself a pretty smart cookie. I was already fascinated with money and the almost mystical power it had. I was studying the psychology of money, and I loved digging into the metaphysics and spirituality of money, as well as learning about the connection between brain science and personal finance.

One thing that bothered me the most about this period of my life as a grad student was that I didn’t have enough money, and I didn’t have a handle on what I did have…  This stressed me out at a fundamental level. How was this possible–   I even have a bachelors in economics!

Then one day at a conference on “The Soul of Money” I hear Karen McCall, founder of the Financial Recovery Institute, talk about money in a way that was new from what I was learning. She talked about how we have to address our issues of shame and deprivation if we wanted to have a healthy relationship with money. She said that often our most persistent money problems have nothing to do with how smart we are or how hard we work. Rather, destructive money behaviors come from something much deeper—deprivation.

She further explained that deprivation meant living in a state of emptiness and longing. I knew that day that I wanted to work with Karen—I wanted to work with her as a coach and I wanted to do what she was doing.

This was profound work for me.

As Karen and I explored my own relationship with money, I saw that sometimes I was frustrated at not being able to buy what I wanted. Yet at other times, I felt guilty for indulging in things I couldn’t afford. I bounced from getting too much to not having enough, in more than one area of my life. I remember Karen saying, “You can never get enough of what you don’t need.”  So true.

Fast forward- it’s been more than 20 years that I’ve been working with people on how to transform their own relationship with money- both practically and emotionally. It is deeply rewarding work, both for me and for my clients who use this process to design a life of their own making- a life of conscious choice.

Powerful work.

If you are not ready to work with me, here is a great opportunity to work on healing deprivation issues in a very cost effective way: Karen McCall has a monthly membership group devoted to healing these issues and creating a more meaningful life. I am proud to be one of her guests whom she interviews on this powerful topic.

I think you will love this membership group.

Mikelann is a money coach with over 20 years’ experience, helping women escape the money fog, feel more in control of their finances and love their financial life. If you are ready to leave money stress behind and design a life you love, please see www.seattlemoneycoach.com and read about this life changing work.  Once there, grab her free eBook on how to stop worrying about money.