Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea Niestas.
Hi Andrea, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the age of 29 in San Diego, CA. After various internships and jobs – in schools, outpatient clinics, residential treatment facilities – I began working at an inpatient behavioral health hospital. I worked in the Intake department, which was responsible for patient assessments and admissions. I was eventually promoted to Director of the department and held that position for 15 years. I worked at the hospital for almost 20 years. It was an amazing experience to be able to help patients and their families during some of the most difficult and stressful times of their lives. We admitted individuals who were suicidal, psychotic, manic, often in need of life-saving acute psychiatric treatment. I left that job only because I moved out of town, to be closer to family in Bakersfield, CA.
At that time I started teaching at a community college, mostly General Psychology and Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences courses. After a year of full-time classes, I transitioned to part-time teaching and decided to begin my own life coaching business. After just a few months of creating programs and networking, I became ill. I eventually was hospitalized for 101 days, almost died three times and was in recovery for almost two years. I have had a profound spiritual journey since my survival. I felt I was spared only by God’s grace and that I was alive to help and inspire others. I then focused my life coaching and speaker services on helping others find meaning and value in their lives, be more fulfilled and find inspiration in how my mindset shift literally saved my life.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
During my hospitalization, I had emergency surgery and was in a two-week coma. When I awoke, I was on a ventilator, had a trach, was unable to talk, was unable to walk, had a wound vac, feeding tube, ostomy bag, several other tubes, and was having hallucinations. I eventually lost all my hair. At this point, I was so sedated, medicated and confused that I was not fully awake and aware yet, and I did not really comprehend my current physical state. However, after about a week post-coma, I began to truly understand my issues and began to feel depressed, dejected and hopeless. It was a constant, dark game of one step forward and three steps back! I was also 4 1/2 hours away from home, so I did not always have family there with me, and I began to feel so alone. Not only was I unable to communicate verbally, I also was not really able to use other forms of communication – such as my hands being too shaky to even point to letters on a board.
I got to the point of asking myself (and God) why I had survived emergency removal of 90% of my colon, two occurrences of respiratory failure and a pulmonary embolism, for THIS – bed bound, unable to communicate, and living on a machine. After about a week of feeling overwhelmed with helplessness and fear, I realized that my own mind was what was keeping me from getting off the ventilator. I was so afraid of not getting off the ventilator, that I would feel as if I couldn’t breathe when they tried to lower the airflow it provided to me. That lead me to feel panic, so they would have to stop the trial. I knew from my own experience with psychology and behavioral health that if I could change my emotional experience and reactions, that it would positively affect my physical recovery. I knew there was decades of research that showed the relationship between mind and body. So in that moment, I made a conscious decision to change my mindset, to improve my emotional state and in turn, help with my physical healing.
The first step in working toward this new mindset was to practice gratitude in everything I did! I decided I needed to stop feeling sorry for myself, and instead of asking “Why did I survive for this?!” I told myself “I am so happy to be alive!” Instead of feeling defeated that I was still in the hospital, I felt relieved that I was actually in a hospital where doctors were able to help me get better! I stopped feeling scared that I would never get better and instead embraced the encouragement and confidence of the hospital staff who were treating me every day and seeing my progress.
Even after returning home, I have had another four surgeries and almost two years of recovery. During this time, I peripherally worked on my business – developing programs, pursuing ongoing trainings, networking, collaborating, and volunteering, I was able to focus on how I could redesign my services to support others with empowerment, life fulfillment and mindset shifts.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I am a life coach and speaker, passionate about supporting others in their wellness journey – those who are ready to move beyond simply existing and toward fully living. I work both one-on-one and at the community level, offering workshops that encourage shared growth and collective change. Also with my leadership experience, I am able to help organizations build confident, thriving teams, with professional development workshops.
I offer a unique combination of clinical knowledge, leadership and mentoring experience, and a personal journey of survival, resilience and transformation. I am passionate about bringing individuals together and helping facilitate powerful shared experiences. Whether it is gaining awareness of mental health, sharing ways to integrate kindness into daily life, or building collaborative teams, I receive the most fulfillment in helping groups of individuals discover purpose, inspiration, and the motivation to create meaningful change.
I am most proud of all the times individuals have come up to me after a workshop or class, and thank me for providing the opportunity to learn something new or see something from a different perspective. I aim to not only share material and give information, but to allow individuals to have a meaningful experience that opens them up to growth and possibilities.
My ultimate goal is to realize my purpose of helping others living a more fulfilling life, by empowering them with the motivation needed to move toward growth and action. I do this by fostering kindness, courage and hope.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I am still learning how to be the “new me.” I used to be stoic, emotionally reserved, self-sufficient and in-control. This completely changed after I became ill and I began focusing even more on gratitude, grace and giving, during my recovery. I do feel like a different person than I was two years ago. But it has not been easy. Although it has felt like a natural progression, it is still difficult at times. I’ve had a period of grieving and sadness about moving on from the “old me.” I know it is necessary, in order for me to fulfill my purpose of helping and inspiring others, however, it has had an emotional cost at times.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lifecoachingbyandrea.com
- Instagram: lifecoachingbyandrea
- Facebook: lifecoachingbyandrea
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreaniestasphd/
- Youtube: @lifecoachingbyandrea
