Every time I have a session with my therapist and we work through my latest grievance, mishap, or conundrum, the topic of conversation usually ends up on self-compassion. At first, I found it difficult to understand why my therapist would continue to come back to the question “Do you think you have been practicing self-compassion in this situation?” and why this was so important. When I started putting self-compassion into practice, I got my answers. I noticed that I could sit with my suffering and feel more connected to others in moments of struggle. Self-compassion means to extend gener ..read more

ADHD is a popular topic at the moment. Awareness over the condition has been building over the past couple of decades, but it seems to have exploded in the last two or so years in particular. It’s common for people to see a TikTok video on what it’s like to live with ADHD and resonate with this, or maybe have one of their loved ones diagnosed and reflect on themselves. Wanting to understand further, many people wonder; what does an ADHD psychologist in Melbourne do? How can psychology help me to live a balanced, enjoyable life? So what is ADHD? Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD ..read more

Over dinner with one of my longest-standing friends, we reminisced about a time we were both at her house during our early high school years. We both distinctly remember exploring her father and stepmother’s large new home and the drama that occurred when we discovered something we weren’t supposed to find. What we came across was a box under the main king-size bed, full of things we’d never seen before. My friend intuitively slammed closed the box in disbelief only to reopen it again slowly, cringing, as these she knew were tools and toys for sexual play. My friend and I laughed for a long ti ..read more

What is ‘day-off-anxiety’ or ‘stress-laxing’? It is not uncommon for people to experience ‘day off anxiety’ or ‘stress-laxing’, which refers to the anxiety experienced when you take time off from work, study or responsibilities to relax. This often results in feelings of exhaustion, burnout and lack of enjoyment on our days off, weekends or holidays. Why do we feel stressed on our days off? In Australia, the predominant cultural belief is that productivity and busyness equals success. Consequently, taking time off from work or other responsibilities can trigger feelings of guilt, worry about h ..read more

Grief is a complex, confusing process that all of us will experience in some way, shape, or form in our lives. Grief can follow many types of loss – the key factor is that the thing that has been lost was very important to the person. This can include loss of a job, moving house, loss of identity, and the death of a pet or loved one, amongst many others. Grief can manifest emotionally (periods of sadness, regret, bittersweet nostalgia etc.), behaviourally (withdrawing from others etc.) and physically (loss of appetite, fatigue, changes to sleep etc.). Many of these symptoms fluctuate, and peop ..read more

I attended a dinner party last week and was sitting next to someone who spends a lot of time in the world of finance. As a person who has tried and failed – several times – to read the Barefoot Investor and struggles not to spend the totality of my pay-check each fortnight, I recoiled when I heard this is who my companion was going to be for the duration of the evening. After a few drinks and making a great effort to actively listen to them speak about their role in the industry, I asked point blank: “How can I make all the money, surely you must know?” To which he turned to me and s ..read more

When you think of your family, this may convey feelings of warmth, support, and comfort. Alternatively, it may incite feelings of frustration, hurt or numbness. You may value and appreciate the connection you share with your family, or you might have complex or challenging relationships with your family. Disagreements and conflict between family members are common and to be expected, although some conflict between family members can be deep-rooted and impact your physical and mental well-being. If this is the case for you, you are not alone. Below are some suggestions of how you can navigate c ..read more

The terms Lonely and Loneliness are large and loaded in today’s world. Both the lonely and the non-lonely struggle to relate to the phenomena because it is uncomfortable and sometimes awkward to consider how otherwise healthy and ‘functional’ adults can feel lonely in today’s world. But the reality is that despite living in an otherwise hyper-connected and ‘switched on’ society, feelings of loneliness are at an all time high, with over one third of Australian adults saying in 2022 they felt lonely at least sometimes during the week. Rates for young people in particular experiencing loneliness ..read more

It is the end of a busy week, and I am having difficulty getting up to my alarm on a Saturday morning. I am due to be picked up in approximately ten minutes by my mother and we plan to drive to the city’s largest market. We are meeting my mother’s best friend and her daughter who I consider family. We have a strict list and schedule for the day ahead. The number one priority, my mother tells me, is to locate The Tomato Man. Once we have achieved this, we can get coffee, pastries, and the other ingredients required to make kasundi (a dish similar to a relish). It was tradition for us to get tog ..read more

If you’ve heard of it at all, you probably have some misconceptions about EMDR (short for “Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing” therapy). It has a bit of a reputation, probably due to the complex and somewhat unusual nature of the therapy itself. The most popular misconception is that it is a kind of hypnosis that erases unwanted, distressing, or traumatic emotions and memories, and it’s only used for trauma or PTSD. But this isn’t really the case (and there’s good reasons we don’t want to completely erase ‘negative’ emotions such as sadness and anger). In short, EMDR can help you ov ..read more