Month: August 2022

What you need to know about acceptance

What you need to know about acceptance

Gah!

Acceptance is one of those words!  You know the ones.  The sort of word that you kind of shy away from because it conjures up so much ‘ick’ that you feel compelled to run away from it really quickly.  Actually, it’s probably more accurate to say that acceptance is a concept.  And honestly as a concept it’s something that I’ve spent an awful lot of time getting to grips with both personally and professionally.  A couple of years ago now, acceptance was my word for the year, and I spent 12 whole months trying to make friends with the idea of it.  And this week I have spent quite a lot of my time in session talking to clients about acceptance so I figured it was something that needed writing about.

Read More

Mental health myths

Mental health myths

One of the biggest reasons I do the work that I do, and in the way that I do it, is because I feel so strongly about the taboos and myths that surround mental health.  I’m highly motivated to restore some of the balance and inequity around the way that mental health is explored, managed, and treated as compared to physical health.  Ultimately, I believe that we are, by our human nature, WHOLE and our health should be considered through that lens too!

Read More

Connectedness

Connectedness

Without going full-nerd and explaining in lengthy detail the research I’m doing at the moment at Deakin University into some of the mechanisms that might explain the relationship between physical activity and depression, I was struck by one of the possible mediators – the social context of physical activity – and it gave me a little bit of inspiration for this week’s blog.  Another way of looking at it, is that the connectedness that comes from doing physical activity with other people may play a very important part in improving depressive symptoms in people engaging in exercise (as opposed to just the benefit of doing the exercise itself).  Which makes me think about how important being connected to others is for us humans.

Read More

Pesky negative beliefs

Pesky negative beliefs

This is the third blog in a little series looking at the three ‘compass points’ that we work from when we’re exploring and then processing trauma.  As a quick recap, we’re talking about thoughts (this is more about the meaning or beliefs we have about ourselves, other people or the world around us as a result of certain events or experiences), physical sensations and feelings (or emotions).  This week I’m looking at the way that our busy brains work to create all the complex thoughts that can trip us up when they become entrenched negative core beliefs.

Read More