Positive Moves Wellbeing | Private Psychologist Bayside Melbourne

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Breathe

Therapy to build resilience, mental & emotional health

Read About Our Individual Therapy

Move

Moving with you through change, challenge and growth

Find Out About Our Walking Therapy

Nourish

Training and resources for healthy minds

Explore our training and resources

Connect

Nurturing healthy minds through healthy relationships

Find out about our group events

@positivemoveswellbeing

Our body is our home and our brain creates meaning

Our body is our home and our brain creates meaning from sensory input we are exposed to in the present moment as it is filtered through the lens of our past experience. It constructs meaning and prescribes action based on what it believes our bodily sensations mean (Lisa Feldman Barrett – How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain). We now understand our emotions aren't universally pre-programmed in our brains and bodies but rather are psychological experiences that each of us constructs based on our unique personal history, physiology and environment. Our interpretation of these bodily sensations are worth examining as what our brain believes and the stories we are telling ourselves inform our emotions - our emotions are made BY us rather than happening TO us: * What meaning have I made of this emotion? * Was there a problem my emotion was getting me to solve, overcome, or avoid? * What function or goal is this emotion serving? In the past we may have learned to negate, dismiss or minimize our emotions and so do not trust our present experience of emotions and sensations when they arise. This can perpetuate in adulthood as a kind of emotional loneliness that accompanies avoidance, shutdown and shame. As Lindsay Gibson (Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents) comments “the loneliness of being unseen by others is as fundamentally painful as a physical injury”. As adults we might have to refurnish our home, resourcing ourselves with what we need to make sense of our bodily sensations and our lived experience. We might learn that pain is no longer a threat to our survival, and discomfort no longer needs to overwhelm us. We have agency in re-establishing safety in our body and building a secure base from which to operate in adult life. #mentalhealth #bringingpsychologytolife #howemotionsaremade #nervoussystemregulation #emotionalintelligence #melbournepsychologist #walkingtherapy #brainhealth

Autumn is here and the trees are letting go, makin

Autumn is here and the trees are letting go, making way for another season of growth. Our breath is a great guide in our own letting go. With every inhalation we expand and make room and with every exhalation we release and let go of what is no longer required by our body. Each breath can serve as a reminder to let go of thoughts or worries we might be carrying with us. The natural ebb and flow of the breath reminds us to release any gripping and tension. As you breathe, check in with your shoulders, your jaw, and that crease in the centre of your forehead and let go of any tension you find there. There might be something you need to let go of. Perhaps a habit, a quality, or a pattern of behaviour that no longer serves you. There is so much we can learn through our breath, without a single conscious thought the body knows what to do. Like our exhale we can let go of unwanted habits and tendencies - our preoccupation with what others think of us, our hesitancy towards meeting new people, our tendency to judge others character, or our historical patterns of response. Then our inhale creates the space required for new understanding and new choices in how we show up in the world. Be mindful of your breathing - it’s unique pattern has the power to move you in all sorts of ways. #melbournepsychologist #breathwork #telehealth #brainhealth #integrativetherapy #mentalhealth #mindbody #thebodykeepsthescore #habitsofhealth #growyourmind #therapy #nervoussystemregulation

When we are exposed to events that cause distress

When we are exposed to events that cause distress and overwhelm our coping capacity the emotional energy can get lodged in the body and as a consequence, we can become stuck. Stuck reliving memories and past experiences; stuck in repetitive patterns of thought and behaviour that might soothe in the short term but cause long term discomfort; stuck in a state of heightened alarm unable to relax; or stuck closed off in a depression that keeps our life small. Given this knowledge, it makes sense to incorporate movement in therapy so we might get unstuck and mobilise. Through incorporating gentle movements of our body, moving our limbs as we walk, scanning our eyes as we process, and shifting the breath around our body, we can mobilise stuck energy and ready ourselves to embrace the @positivemoveswellbeing we want to incorporate in life. #nervoussystemregulation #mentalhealth #walkingtherapy #polyvagaltheory #brainhealth #integrativetherapy #nervoussystemregulation #mentalhealth #bringingpsychologytolife #melbournepsychologist

Addiction is a continuum. It might suit many of u

Addiction is a continuum. It might suit many of us to believe it is a genetic predisposition or a moral failing restricted to the realms of those who use alcohol and other drugs to excess. In reality, it is more accurately seen as a case of our human need for bonding and connection gone askew (thanks to the work of @dr.gabormate @johann.hari and Professor Peter Cohen). We are all prone to seek self-soothing in the face of fear and discomfort and when we find ourselves experiencing disconnection from those around us, we will find a behaviour to bond with (whether it is eating, gaming, shopping, pornography, gambling, exercise). Of course, addictions differ in degree of severity, the extent to which they impact our ability to show up in the world, and in the level of moral judgement applied to the already heavy weight of bearing the addiction itself. Ironically society is more comfortable with the use of alcohol and tobacco despite them being implicated in many more deaths. Indeed, @michaelcmoss in Hooked suggests no addictive drug can fire up the reward circuitry in the brain quite as rapidly as our favourite foods and yet there are no restrictions and penalties applied to protect the unsuspecting public from the impact of processed food on brain circuitry. Addictive tendencies arise in the circuitry of the brain that govern our most basic life-sustaining functions – motivation, physical and emotional pain relief, the regulation of stress, and the capacity to feel and receive love. Rather than question why the addict continues to use, we might more helpfully bring nonjudgmental curiosity and explore the origins of the pain they are struggling to escape. #lostconnections #addiction #compassionateinquiry #interpersonalneurobiology #nervoussystemregulation #mentalhealth #bringingpsychologytolife #melbournepsychologist #walkingtherapy #brainhealth

Our tendency to ignore, suppress, push aside, or g

Our tendency to ignore, suppress, push aside, or go into battle with our emotions can prolong their lifespan and keep them stuck in our body and mind longer than is useful. Our emotions are intended to convey a signal and once the message is received and acknowledged they can go on their way without causing undue harm. When our emotions pass through unobstructed, we are able to return our nervous system to a safe state so we might effectively engage with life. If we don’t believe we can tolerate the darkness of the tunnel we might never step forward to move through; if we lack capacity to keep the emotional energy moving we might find ourselves stuck in the middle increasingly exhausted by an ongoing battle to get rid of the feeling. The only way out is through, and sometimes we all need some support to keep moving in the right direction. Love this quote from @enagoski which says it perfectly. #nervoussystemregulation #mentalhealth #emotionalhealth #bringingpsychologytolife #melbournepsychologist #permissiontofeel #burnout #emotionalexhaustion #walkingtherapy #brainhealth

Psychotherapist @whitepeak_ruth captured it beauti

Psychotherapist @whitepeak_ruth captured it beautifully when she said “To be grounded is to put our feet on solid ground and put down roots or anchors within ourselves”. We have an inherent human capacity to restore and repair but it requires us to take a little time to slow down and connect with our self. When we do so, we become aware of our internal surveillance system – the safety settings of our autonomic nervous system that detect stress, threat and danger. This system is foundational to how we feel, act and think. When we invest time and energy tending to our inner physiology, we are able to create the necessary conditions for safety and connection. When we go for a walk, the heart pumps faster, circulating more blood and oxygen not just to the muscles but to all the organs—including the brain. The movement promotes new connections between brain cells, increases the volume of the hippocampus (a brain region crucial for memory), and elevates levels of molecules that stimulate the growth of new neurons and transmit messages between them. The way we move our bodies changes the nature of our thoughts, and vice versa. When we walk we create a feedback loop between the rhythm of our bodies and our mental state. The pace of our feet naturally vacillates with our moods and the cadence of our inner speech; this offers a window for us to shift the pace of our thoughts by deliberately walking more briskly or by slowing down. Visiting Victoria’s Alpine region brought an opportunity to slow down and feel the benefits on mood, blood pressure, psychological and physical wellbeing. Moving along the Brabralung Trail it was clear the indigenous custodians of the land we walked on had the same belief long before psychologists conducted the research to prove what they already knew. #highcountryvictoria #walkingtherapy #polyvagaltheory #safetyandconnection #brainhealth #integrativetherapy #mindbody #nervoussystemregulation #mentalhealth #bringingpsychologytolife #melbournepsychologist #nature

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