In an insightful interview with MysticMag, Annah Elizabeth shares her journey into grief recovery and spiritual coaching, which began with the personal tragedy of losing her firstborn.
Her experience of enduring multiple losses, including miscarriages and personal betrayal, led her to seek answers to profound questions about resilience and healing. Through years of exploration, Annah developed The Five Facets® Philosophy on Healing, a program that has transformed lives by helping people navigate grief and reclaim their emotional well-being.
Her unique approach blends emotional, spiritual, and holistic methods to guide individuals toward healing and empowerment.
What inspired you to specialize in grief recovery and spiritual coaching?
I’ve always been a helper. Even as a little girl I was moved and inspired by others’ struggles and their plight to create success for themselves.
This work I do, which centers around healing conflict and grief, began hours after the death of my firstborn, following unexpected delivery complications. I remember having one distinct thought, hours after I learned he had died. I didn’t want to spend a lifetime mourning my son. I didn’t know what that meant, what it looked like on the other side, or how the *bleep* I was going to get there, but I knew what I didn’t want, and I went from there.
Over the next seven years, I’d go on to experience two, complicated but successful pregnancies; two, second-trimester miscarriages; a six-week psychiatric stay for severe depression; and one final pregnancy. Six weeks before that child was born, I discovered that my husband and my best friend were having an affair.
During that seven-year string of losses, one question drove me forward: How is it that some people go on to live happy, fulfilled lives following tragedy, mishap, or mayhem, while others succumb to drugs, despair, a life of void, or suicide? That question spawned thousands more questions, for which I relentlessly pursued answers.
Some of the most significant discoveries I made were: 1) No one is exempt from suffering, but everyone is entitled to healing. 2) There are five language and lifestyle behaviors that hold us in a conflict and grief pattern. 3) We are each born with five universal gifts, Facets that exist in a unique hierarchy. Learning how our Facets structure influences and impacts our day-to-day life and learning to put them to work for you in positive ways is instrumental in healing conflict and grief.
I compiled all the answers I found into the groundbreaking coaching program, The Five Facets® Philosophy on Healing, which has been changing lives for nearly two decades.
How do you help clients navigate the emotional journey of grief and healing?
This process varies from person to person. For those open to energy medicine, my go-to is Integrated Energy Therapy®. IET works to remove nine trauma energies—such as guilt shame, fear, stress powerlessness, heartbreak, and betrayal—stored in cellular memory. What I love most about this modality is that, after releasing what I call the “Ick” energy, we invite the body to receive the energy’s positive counterpart, or what I call the “yum” energy!
I’ve worked with many clients who intellectualize their emotions and, thus, have a hard time naming the emotions they are experiencing. With these individuals, we work on being able to identify and connect to emotions.
Sometimes I help clients learn the art of mind-heart coherence.
Always, my goal is to let people know that their grief response is okay—even if they don’t feel okay—and that others have experienced similar emotional journeys. This way, they feel much less alone, isolated, or as if something is wrong with them.
Can you explain the role of spirituality in your approach to grief recovery?
For those who are open to spiritual and holistic concepts, I weave in various modalities and tools that they are open to. Some of these include looking into the life lessons the soul came here to learn through experience; energy awareness and coaching; Human Design past life discussion, and other tools that may be beneficial. These clients have experienced additional depth of introspection into how their Facets Hierarchy impacts and influences their daily life, as well as how they navigate the grief and healing processes.
What do you find most transformative about your Beyond Grief workshops?
Our Beyond Bereavement workshops are designed to help participants gain insight into their God-given gifts and into their natural processes and tendencies in navigating struggle and success. Armed with this insight, they are inspired to learn how to put their personal resources to work for them in positive and empowering ways by creating an action plan to help them achieve their intended goals.
How do you tailor your coaching to meet the unique needs of each client?
During your complimentary breakthrough session, I learn what concepts you are open to—academic, holistic and energy, spiritual and soul based, and then we craft a plan for the work we will do together. Two pivotal revelations I learned early on in my healing journey and work are, 1) “No one is exempt from suffering, but everyone is entitled to healing.” 2) Regardless of your beliefs, interests, lifestyle, education, social standing, [insert your whatever], you have the ability to heal, and working with someone who will meet you where you are at is vital to your progress.
What advice do you have for those just beginning their grief recovery journey?
The first truth I always offer is that you will not always feel the way you do right now. I promise. Your grief does not have to be “forever.” Healing is not a destination, rather it happens in micro-moments: A smile when you’re feeling sad; a feeling of calm amid the chaos; a moment of clarity amidst your confusion. Each of those is healing. And, when you’re feeling as if your grief is never-ending, hold on to hope and know that healing is not only possible, it’s possible for you.
Find out more at: www.thefivefacetsofhealing.com
