Rewiring the Anxious Brain

Life experiences continually influence how our brains develop. This is called neuroplasticity. Therapy teaches anxiety management skills to retrain the brain to respond more effectively when a person is anxious. This reshapes the brain to have more automatic and helpful anxiety responses. When practised regularly, using anxiety management strategies can reduce anxiety overtime. More information about anxiety can be found here.

Living After Traumatic Events

Traumatic situations where a person feels unsafe or extremely distressed can trigger a number of mental health symptoms. Posttraumatic stress disorder occurs when people continue to be significantly impacted by a trauma and they experience ongoing anxiety. More information is available here.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness strategies have been shown to be very effective in managing anxious and depressive symptoms. Smiling Mind has a free mindfulness app with a number of recordings to assist with sleep, anxiety, depression, and general wellbeing.

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy

EMDR is an evidence-based treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder and other psychological conditions. It involves activating different parts of the brain at the same time to reprocess old traumas or hurts.

The Effects of Trauma on Children’s Developing Brains

Exposure to traumas including child abuse, family violence, bullying, and other traumatic experiences in childhood can have lifelong impacts on children’s developing brains. Find out more about family violence here.

The Power of Vulnerability:
Brené Brown

Professor Brené Brown is a social researcher who explores the impact that embracing vulnerability can have on personal growth, wellbeing, and relationships. She also has a Netflix documentary on vulnerability in relationships called The Call to Courage.

Pre and Postnatal Mental Health

Entering parenthood poses a number of challenges and pressures for new parents. Postnatal depression is very common with 1 in 7 women and 1 in 10 men experiencing mental health problems during pregnancy of following childbirth. More information about perinatal mental health can be here.

Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD)

Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder affects 2 - 8% of women is characterised by heightened mental health symptoms in the week before menstruation. More information can be found here.

The Mental Load

The mental load is the invisible labour that is typically performed by women. It involves the organising and managing of the household and family. Unequal distributions of the mental load amongst co-parents is strongly linked to postnatal mental health issues and relationship/parenting dissatisfaction. Resources are below:

You Should Have Asked (Cartoon)

Time to Name and Shame the Mental Load (ABC podcast, Part I)

Solving the Mental Load (ABC podcast, Part II)

A Couples’ Perspective on Sharing the Household Load (The Resilience Project podcast)

Another related topic connected to the mental load is ‘maternal gatekeeping’:

Maternal Gatekeeping (article)

Maternal Gatekeeping and Perfectionism (article)

How to Divide the Household Chores (article)