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Breathe

Psychology Incorporating Meditation, Self-Care and Mindfulness

Read About Our Integrative Therapy Services

Move

Therapy Walks – One-to-One and Small Groups

Find Out About Our Eco Therapy Walks

Nourish

Feeding Bodies and Minds

Enquire About Our Special Events

Connect

Building Communities of Support

Let’s Get in Touch Today

@positivemoveswellbeing

Healthy relationships contribute to healthy minds

Healthy relationships contribute to healthy minds so it is important we take care of our connections to others. How we relate is more important than ever. We all want to feel validated, valued and connected but turbulent times can exacerbate our opinions and our coping styles. The divisions unfolding in society can also emerge at our dinner table, on our Zoom calls, and in our bedroom.

Think about the topics causing most tension in your relationships right now? It might be issues of personal boundaries and space, managing rejection and frustration, dealing with efforts to connect, responding to self-appointed experts and considering matters of social justice. Ruptures in our relationships are not lethal but the ability to repair is critical.

In therapy we practice making skilful repairs including the capacity to apologise, the ability to forgive, the ability to teach others what we need, and the ability to learn what others are trying to convey and take on board feedback without shutting down. We are challenged to repeatedly adjust, adapt and repair and it is heartening to know our efforts to patch things up is emotional gold that can leave us stronger than before.

There will be more on healthy relationships for a healthy mind and ways to support (and repair!) your connections with others in the August blog.

#adultattachment #togetherapart #relationshipsmatter #nervoussystemresilience #emotionregulation #emotionalintelligence #bringingpsychologytolife #therapyisforeveryone #integrativetherapy #mentalhealth #melbournepsychologist #resilienttogether #thebodykeepsthescore #habitsofhealth #growyourmind #outdoortherapy #accessibletherapy

Understanding our pattern of early attachment rela

Understanding our pattern of early attachment relationships does not determine our future and does not blame, shame, or limit us or the caregivers in our lives. Rather it provides a framework for understanding how we relate to the people closest to us. Our family tree builds our emotional memory – the clusters of past experiences which influence our behaviour. Families pass on, consciously or unconsciously, guilt, fears, taboos, and wisdom. We internalise a lot of “shoulds” about how independent and dependent we should be in a relationship without realising it. We respond intensely to certain scenarios and form patterns in our relationships often without knowing why.

We are who we are because of our relationships – whereas we once thought our early experience defined who we are, interpersonal neurobiology now shows our brains are constantly reshaped by new relationships. The brain can change over time based on new relationships and new understanding of our experiences. Creating an awareness of the blueprint we have laid down can empower us to reclaim any needs we disowned and to have agency in selecting and attaching to the right people and to move towards more secure relationships.

Nurturing healthy relationships for a healthy mind is a big part of my work and there will be more on this and how to care for connections with others in the August blog coming soon... (how on earth did we find ourselves hurtling headlong into August already!!).

#adultattachment #togetherapart #relationshipsmatter #nervoussystemresilience #emotionregulation #emotionalintelligence #bringingpsychologytolife #therapyisforeveryone #integrativetherapy #mentalhealth #melbournepsychologist #resilienttogether #thebodykeepsthescore #habitsofhealth #growyourmind #outdoortherapy #accessibletherapy

Let’s talk about the spectrum of experiences sur

Let’s talk about the spectrum of experiences surrounding wearing masks. The mask can simultaneously be uncomfortable and cause ‘dis-ease’ and also an act of compassion to alleviate disease. We can be grateful for the ability to breathe and also notice how the sensations of breathing have changed with a mask. We can acknowledge the very real fear and discomfort the mask can elicit and also recognise it as symbolising shared vulnerability and a reassuring sign of protection amongst others.

Our breath is central to regulating our nervous system and emotional responses. In my work I notice when we turn our attention to the breath it can offer reassurance for some and can be triggering for others. It can sometimes elicit more anxiety and prompt restricted, shallow, or stilted patterns of breathing for some. The sensation of air hunger, the need to take in more air but feeling stifled can be a frightening experience, afterall breathing is our most basic human need, a survival instinct. Our sense of being hungry for air can be magnified by a mask. If wearing a mask brings up sensations of discomfort you might try a mindful mask practice.

Engage your senses and notice the appearance of your mask, the colour, the design, and other visual features. Notice the feel of the mask, the touch of it against your skin, the places where it touches your face, the texture of the material and the sensations you experience as you move around with it on (the sound of it moving with you, the smells it transmits). Bring your attention to the breath at your nostrils while you are masked and perhaps notice a warm sensation of the exhale breath as it spreads inside your mask. Check if there are any other body sensations, emotions and thoughts coming up for you. What is the narrative your mind is creating?

Continue to breath – inhale through the nose as if you are gently smelling a scent you love, exhale through the mouth as if you are blowing out candles. Lengthen the duration of the exhale to more than two times longer than the inhale. Repeat this a few times and then return to breathing without trying to change the breath, simply notice without judgement.

Emotions weave a tangled web – feelings can be j

Emotions weave a tangled web – feelings can be joyful, messy, confusing, compulsive, inconvenient and layered. Too often we deny or suppress them, concealing urgent messages deep inside. If we routinely suck it up, squash it down, or deflect, we gradually numb and lose the ability to identify what we are feeling. When we can’t recognise, understand or put into words what we feel, it’s impossible for us to do anything meaningful about it.

Our emotional health is inextricably linked to other parts of life’s web – connected to our family experiences, our experience of relationships, to our sense of safety and belonging. As Brene Brown so eloquently states “so much emotion is biography”. We attach layers of story to our feelings through time and repeated exposure. Our accumulated experiences can lead to metaemotions – feelings about our feelings. We can feel embarrassed about our anxiety; ashamed about our fear; guilty about our anger, and so on. The emotional web can get really tangled. Our fear of suffering can bring more pain than the suffering itself.

This is the focus of my work, bringing psychology to life and untangling webs. During a gentle therapeutic walk or visit we take steps to identify the emotions, to understand the root cause of established patterns, to recognise the influence of feelings on all aspects of our lives. We work together to enable emotions to be expressed in a healthy and productive way.

It takes consistent, conscious effort but it is undoubtedly worthwhile as the costs associated with failing to address our emotions are enormous. And, as Robert Bruce, King of Scotland, was reminded as he watched the spider weave its web in the cave “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try and try again”.

#emotionsmatter #nervoussystemresilience #emotionregulation #emotionalintelligence #bringingpsychologytolife #therapyisforeveryone #integrativetherapy #mentalhealth #melbournepsychologist #resilienttogether #thebodykeepsthescore #habitsofhealth #growyourmind #outdoortherapy #accessibletherapy #mentalhealth

When we can’t physically gather how can we still

When we can’t physically gather how can we still feel together? Often the cause of isolation is less to do with our external world and more to do with what is happening within. We may be carrying fears, insecurities, self judgements and assumptions which create a sense of disconnection from those around us.

We remain connected in so many ways and are bound by our common human needs – food, water, rest, a place to shelter and a sense of security. We share a need to belong and to be loved. These are the elements we can seek for ourselves and others at present. It is helpful to check our words and actions align with building connection and fulfilling these needs rather than focus on division and separation.

Sometimes the only way forward is to retreat. By returning to basics and re-establishing a sense of safety within ourselves we can help regulate our natural emotional response to events in the wider world. This is a vital foundation for all that follows. It is helpful to remember we are all part of the wider web of life and even in lockdown we are not isolated or separate from our environment. Our bodies, like nature, have a self-righting capacity that seeks to maintain equilibrium and balance. Our nervous system might just need a little extra help right now.

#togetherapart #nervoussystemresilience #emotionregulation #emotionalintelligence #workinprogress #bringingpsychologytolife #therapyisforeveryone #integrativetherapy #mentalhealth #melbournepsychologist #resilienttogether #thebodykeepsthescore #habitsofhealth #growyourmind #outdoortherapy #accessibletherapy #mentalhealth #brainhealth #breathwork #networkofwellbeing #healforlife
#mindfulness #trauma #growthmindset

When you feel jerked around by internal turmoil, e

When you feel jerked around by internal turmoil, external distractions, and by chaos and noise in the world, focus on building resilience in your nervous system and enhancing your capacity for self-regulation. To live well, we need our body and mind to withstand hardships and difficulties.

At the end of a week that revealed its share of hardships and difficulties (along with bright spots and birthdays) I have seen again and again just how important and empowering this work is for individuals and the communities we are part of.

Read more in the June blog via link in bio or at
https://www.positivemoveswellbeing.com.au/self-regulation/

Alternatively connect in person, on a wellbeing walk, by telephone, or via telehealth.

#workinprogress #selfregulation #nervoussystemregulation #bringingpsychologytolife #therapyisforeveryone #integrativetherapy #mentalhealth #melbournepsychologist #resilienttogether #thebodykeepsthescore #habitsofhealth #growyourmind #outdoortherapy #accessibletherapy #mentalhealth #brainhealth #breathwork #meditation #mindbody #networkofwellbeing #healforlife

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