Genese Smith (she/her)

Genese joined Momma on March 31, 2025 for a live Q&A via Twitch and YouTube to talk about Depression & Recovery

About Genese

Genese Smith has been a registered nurse for 28years now and decided to be certified as a transformational life coach in 2021 having experienced transformation herself from depression through spiritual support, coaching and counselling. She started transitioning as a life coach and reduced her fulltime nursing hours to part-time hours to focus on her passion to help other women over 40 years going through depression. This passion developed strongly after observing the rise in number of women in this age group experiencing depression that had loss all hope and was feeling there is no way out. As she felt that pull to take on this passion as a fulltime business, she faced multiple challenges with health, finances and resources required for the success of the business and was forced to take a break for a while.

Although not actively practicing as a transformational life coach and no social media promotions, Genese has been seeking many opportunities in her own personal life to tell her story and encourage women going through different challenges in life and are feeling hopeless, to speak life and hope in them. Genese is presently working on a course that will include tools that women can use to help them as they face various challenges.

Genese has now developed an appreciation for nursing and have come to realize that nursing is really a ministry for her and has now been looking for ways to incorporate her nursing knowledge and experience along with her Christian values to encourage others through their different challenges as they go through their journey through life. 

Genese continues to look for opportunities to share her story of her journey through understanding her own mental health and continuing as a nurse after being diagnosed with stroke and clinical depression. She wants to share her journey through depression as a Nurse, the shame and guilt felt and the intentional shift towards accepting coaching, lifestyle changes, and spiritual growth. She hopes to encourage other women by sharing about being transformed from within, and how she has found a calmer presence, and rediscovered the joy of laughter, become a better listener (providing a non-judgemental space for those she is listening to) and now she wants to be that person that she was looking for when she was going through her many challenges (A person of understanding, caring, loving and non-judgemental).

Socials / Links for Guest Connection

• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/genese.smith.35

• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/smithgenese

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/genese-smith-09069326

• Alignable - https://www.alignable.com/calgary-ab/innovative-connecting-inc

References / Things Mentioned During the Stream

• Movie Recommendations: 

  • Facing the Giants 

  • War Room 

  • Pretty Woman

• Psalm 37, specifically verse 5

• Book Recommendation: Worthy: How to Believe You Are Enough and Transform Your Life by Jamie Kern Lima 

Episode Summary

If you’ve ever felt pressure to hold it all together while falling apart on the inside, this episode is for you.

Key Takeaways

• Recovery is a personal journey that requires patience.

• Spiritual support can provide comfort during difficult times.

• Empathy is crucial in understanding patients' experiences.

• Misconceptions about depression can hinder support.

• Women over 40 face unique challenges related to mental health.

• Professional help is essential for effective recovery.

• Self-care strategies like gratitude journaling can aid healing.

• Listening is more important than offering solutions.

• It's okay to feel sad and give yourself grace.

• Healing is a non-linear process with ups and downs.

In this episode of Even Tacos Fall Apart, MommaFoxFire sits down with Genese Smith, a registered nurse of 28 years who is now also a certified transformational life coach. 

Genese shares her powerful, personal journey through clinical depression and the slow, sometimes messy path of recovery... all while juggling her roles as a nurse, coach, wife and woman over 40 trying to take care of everyone around her.

Genese didn’t start out wanting to be a nurse. She had dreams of becoming a doctor, fueled by her love for biology, but chemistry and physics weren’t her strong suits. Nursing became her “plan B” that turned into a lifelong calling. Still, she tried to leave nursing several times due to the heavy demands and burnout. But it kept calling her back, and now she embraces it as part of her ministry - a way to serve and connect with others through care.

Her transition into coaching came after hitting a wall while running her own business. Working herself to the bone and constantly crying, she finally opened up to her doctor who helped her recognize the signs of depression. Like many people, Genese had a hard time accepting the diagnosis. She was a nurse. She was supposed to know better. But through therapy, modified work schedules and eventually joining her husband on a holistic wellness journey, she began healing mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

One of the most shocking moments in her story was the stroke she experienced while driving to work. She recounts the surreal experience of talking on the phone, being unable to locate the hazard lights and being picked up by an ambulance and taken to the same hospital she worked in. That health crisis only deepened her compassion and gave her even more empathy for patients, especially those recovering from strokes and battling depression.

Genese talked about the importance of balancing rest, something she admits is still a work in progress. She opened up about the guilt she feels when resting and the societal pressure to keep going - a feeling many listeners will instantly recognize. Her recovery has been shaped by tools like prayer, gratitude journaling, dietary changes, professional help, and the practice of listening to her thoughts with more awareness.

She also touched on common misconceptions about depression - like the belief that someone who is smiling or upbeat couldn’t possibly be depressed, or that people should just “snap out of it.” Genese's message was clear: depression doesn’t have a look, and recovery takes real work, time and support.

This conversation is honest, relatable and full of warmth. Genese brings the kind of wisdom that only comes from lived experience. If you’ve ever felt the pressure to keep it all together, questioned whether your exhaustion is “normal,” or struggled to put yourself first, this episode is one you’ll feel deeply. It’s a reminder that healing is possible, rest is necessary and you’re not alone in the fight.