Positive Moves Wellbeing | Private Psychologist Bayside Melbourne

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tel: 0437 350 188 | email: christeen@positivemoveswellbeing.com.au

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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

A host of factors have collided in recent weeks to

A host of factors have collided in recent weeks to inform this month’s blog topic – “Could Striving for Normal Be Making Us Sick?”. The sources of inspiration have been as diverse as the humans I work with:
* I’ve found myself consistently providing reassurance that “abnormal” patterns of behaviour can be “normal” adaptive responses when we are exposed to circumstances a human is not intended, or equipped, to tolerate.
* Hearing the phrase “there is poverty in uniformity” sing out to me as I listened to @pippagrange in conversation with @drchatterjee
* Ecologist @crowtherlab encouraging a global movement to restore nature’s biodiversity (“we need the whole ecology of humanity”)
* Seeing a local hedge receive a seasonal trim!!

I’m a big believer in the power of language and therapy sessions consistently remind me how our words leak and reveal clues to the narratives and perceptions we hold in mind. When we talk about ‘normal’ we risk trying to make ourselves conform to one way of being – one definition of success, one way that qualifies as enough, one way of nourishing ourselves, one way of being well – and it strips us of the richness of our human diversity.

Watching the garden hedge being trimmed I was reminded to tread lightly when we set about “tidying” unruly or wayward growth. Go too hard and our efforts to knock things into shape will curtail new growth in much the same way striving for “normal” can knock the spirit out of us. Without careful use our labels can lead to disconnect and prompt us to focus on unfavourable comparison and difference rather than what connects and unifies.

What labels do you identify with and how do they serve you?
Do your labels afford you security and status or do they constrain you?
Do the labels you use to describe your body and mind empower or restrict your capacity?
Does the concept of “normal” expand or diminish your world?

I look forward to sharing the blog and I’d love to hear a little about your relationship with the labels in your life.

#povertyinuniformity #fearless #strengthindiversity #permissiontofeel #nervoussystemresilience #emotionregulation #bringingpsychologytolife

Breathing is a precious resource right under our n

Breathing is a precious resource right under our nose. It stimulates our circulatory system delivering oxygen and nutrients to our cells and literally nourishes our entire system. Oxygen is also both a stimulant and a relaxant: it wakes us up and puts us at ease at the same time. How we breathe directly impacts how we feel.

Consider how crying, laughter, panic, and relaxation differentially impact the way you breath. Our breathing reflects our state of mind and we can also induce joy, anger, and sadness just by breathing in a particular way. When we are unaware of our breath, it is reflecting our state of mind and our state of mind is being influenced by unconscious breathing patterns, possibly leading us unintentionally to negative mind states.

It is helpful to regularly tuning into our breathing patterns and experiment with how changes can elicit shifts in our mind-body state. Numerous activities in our day (including checking emails and social media) can prompt us to breath hold, or shallow breath, interrupting out normal breathing rhythm. This can impact our stress and immune responses as it throws off the body’s balance of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitric oxide.

When we are aware of our breath, we gain the power to collaborate with it and purposefully induce a particular shift in our state of mind. It’s power as another tool in your mental health and wellbeing arsenal should not be underestimated.

#breathwork #nervoussystemresilience #emotionregulation #bringingpsychologytolife #integrativetherapy #mentalhealth #melbournepsychologist #habitsofhealth #growyourmind #outdoortherapy #telehealth #walkingtherapy

It’s funny how we can get stuck doing things the

It’s funny how we can get stuck doing things the same way even when it is no longer working for us. We can endlessly wait for the right time to make a change, not realising most transformations come in ‘tiny imperceptible steps’.

There are lots of ways to ‘do therapy’ and not all therapy is restricted to conversations behind closed doors in a clinic. Therapeutic experiences and processes unfolding in the real world can improve our lives immeasurably.

Bringing psychology to life through walking therapy and meeting in the natural environment is an opportunity to enhance the impact of our work together by engaging a variety of therapeutic processes:

* Absorbing natural light and fresh air
* Shifting our perspective - toggling our focus and attention between our internal and external world
* Gentle movement to stimulate kinaesthetic processing
* Interacting side by side with a focus on the direction we are headed and less load on our social engagement system to allow capacity to deal with what we are carrying

Thanks to a muscle tweak, movement has been a little uncomfortable this week but then change requires a bit of discomfort and agitation. A great deal of therapeutic work is focussed on staying with the discomfort and stepping into the unfamiliar as we work through change, transition and growth. It means continuing to move forward even when it is quite literally a pain in the butt!!

#bringingpsychologytolife #outdoortherapy #walkingtherapy #windowoftolerance
#nervoussystemresilience #emotionregulation #telehealth #integrativetherapy #mentalhealth #melbournepsychologist #growyourmind

When we think of the word "meditation" what usuall

When we think of the word "meditation" what usually comes to mind is a person sitting in a quiet and contemplative state. However, meditation is so much more than that! Meditation includes both expressive and passive techniques.

Expressive meditations are active and incorporate physical movement (laughter, tears, stretching, shaking, bouncing, breathwork, humming and body movement), while passive meditations observe stillness and focus on the breath and mind. By incorporating expressive techniques in our day we release mental, physical, and emotional tensions from the body, and we avoid getting weighed down by the build-up of emotional energy. The focus is on releasing outward while more passive meditations draw our energy and attention inwards.

Through our expressive practices we shift negative thoughts, feelings, and emotions into more positive states, while passive meditations teach us how to observe or witness them. Both have their place and because we are all different and travelling different paths, we might each find one or other practice more appealing at different times.

The healing benefits of expressive practices for our nervous system include:
* An increase in ‘feel-good’ neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and the endorphins
* Enhanced mood and protection against depression
* Creation of new neurons in the hippocampus of the limbic system, a region that regulates motivation, emotion, learning, and memory
* Decreased anxiety
* Improved sleep and memory
* Greater capacity to focus

At Positive Moves Wellbeing expressive practices are brought to life incorporating walking and body movement in our therapy sessions where appropriate. And personally, I find jumping on the rebounder (mini-trampoline) to bounce and shift some energy in my sessions with @ubounce_fitness has provided an outlet for some of that energy stagnating after hours in front of the screen these past few months. When you add the energising music (sure to get you humming and singing) and social connections (belly laughs included!), this group offers a powerful prescription for emotional release and nervous system resilience.

#nervoussystemresilience #emotionregulation

These past few months have presented so many chang

These past few months have presented so many changes, challenges and transitions for us to navigate. In my work I see many who are being forced to get comfortable with the discomfort of changes and personally there have been multiple demands and opportunities to embrace the unfamiliar. Last week a podcast discussion with @cjcanters provided an opportunity to practice getting more comfortable with my own discomfort and talking aspects of emotional intelligence. Listen to our chat via link in bio.

When emotional discomfort arises, we tend to react to dispense with the feeling as quickly as possible. Sometimes this means distraction, numbing or avoiding what is important to us. But discomfort is a proxy for progress and building tolerance is a vital skill in emotion regulation. To cultivate resilience, we need to explore what is unfolding in our body, mind and nervous system and from that understanding we grow and develop.

With consistent practice we can befriend our strong emotions and the sensations that accompany them and harness their power for good!

#permissiontofeel #nervoussystemresilience #emotionregulation #emotionalintelligence #ruok #bringingpsychologytolife #therapyisforeveryone #integrativetherapy #mentalhealth #melbournepsychologist #resilienttogether #habitsofhealth #growyourmind #outdoortherapy #telehealth #walkingtherapy

Let go of comparison and judgement for the sake of

Let go of comparison and judgement for the sake of understanding and connection.

Some years ago I listened to @elizlesser TedTalk and her concern that we demonise “others” in our culture by giving voice to the most divisive among us. She identified this “otherising” as the kind of talk that can wound and fester into paranoia and then be used by those on the fringes to incite. It is the type of voice that encourages polarizing and side-taking and to overcome it we need to open up rather than close down.

In recent weeks I’ve been witness to some pretty divisive and polarizing interactions (and the impact these can have on participants and those caught in their wake). We are all guilty of becoming stuck in our way, tightly bound to our beliefs, and blinded by the lens of our own perception. It can lead us to accentuate separateness and difference rather than connectedness and inclusion. So how can we ensure our interactions with others close the gap rather than exacerbate divisions?

In her TedTalk, @elizlesser challenged each of us to share lunch with someone who’s views oppose our own. Rather than judge we could join in conversation. Actually take time to share in discussion together so we might better understand each other.

I wonder who you would invite and what questions might help you better understand and facilitate connection? When we better understand one another, we are more inclined to see the qualities we share. Where might you find common humanity?

* Would you share some of your experiences with me….
* What issues deeply concern you….
* What have you always wanted to ask/understand of someone from the ‘other side’….
* Don’t persuade, defend or interrupt;
* Be curious,
* Be conversational,
* Be real;
* and listen…

Imagine if we each commit to sitting with the discomfort and seeing what emerges. We might just be surprised.

#interpersonalrelationships #relationalhealth #adultattachment #togetherapart #relationshipsmatter #nervoussystemresilience #emotionregulation #emotionalintelligence #bringingpsychologytolife #integrativetherapy #mentalhealth #melbournepsychologist #resilienttogether #telehealth #walkingtherapy

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