On deeper healing and feeling empowered: One woman’s journey through Bridges

Greta, Facilitator of the Bridges program.

Rae is a woman with disabilities that are invisible. She’s also a people-pleaser, and she’s healing from a relationship that was not healthy. In the workplace, all of that meant she found herself working extraordinarily hard, and wearing the mask of someone else, unable to show up as her authentic self.

“I reached that burnout place,” says Rae. She reached the place where she needed to make a change and ask for help. Fortunately, she knew where to turn. After connecting with WorkBC Vernon, Rae was asked if she’d like to apply to join Bridges Pre-Employment Life Skills Program—a program that supports women coming from challenging circumstances to build the skills and resilience to work toward sustainable employment.

Rae had participated in Bridges nearly a decade earlier, not long after making a move to give her two children a different life.

“I found I still needed more healing in my journey,” she says. “I was working on much deeper levels of healing. It brought out things about me that had been pushed down.”

In this very nurturing six-week program with the facilitator, Greta, and a handful of other women on their own journeys, Rae says she had the chance to practice “radical self-acceptance.”

There were the big things: “I realized I needed to get to the root of why I didn’t want people to see me. I perform really well for people, too well. Looking back, I thought, if I do a really good job, maybe they won’t notice (the disabilities).”

Projects created by participants of Bridges in the classroom at WorkBC Vernon.

Rae was then able to work on setting boundaries and understanding her worth.

“I’m healing those pieces of me so I can continue to be a good employee and have a good work-life balance,” she says.

There was a rediscovery of what’s important to her: authenticity, autonomy and graciousness.

There were the things that seem little but are big: “My time management is stronger. I have a sense of how and why I need to allow time for myself outside of work. And I’m working on setting goals that are realistic.”

She sees how her over-achieving tendency led to leadership roles that were drawing away too much energy: “I know that I can lead a team, but I don’t want to do that anymore because it throws things out of balance.”

Much of this progress, she says, was made possible because of the environment at Bridges—and the chance to be there alongside others.

“Greta held such a beautiful space for people to heal and grow and ask tough questions. There’s no judgement and you’re not alone. We all have something to learn from one another. It’s not about the outcome—it’s about the process.”

For Rae, her process right now has her exploring what’s next, and with clarity about what she needs in a work role.

“I’m super optimistic,” she says, adding she’s looking into micro-credentials for the fall. “I’ve realized I actually need to work in that kind of same kind of environment (as Bridges) because that makes me feel supported. It’s empowering.”

Are you curious about how a program like Bridges Pre-Employment Life Skills Program at WorkBC Vernon could help you on your career journey? Learn more and get in touch here.