Finding a therapist is no easy feat. It’s a bit like matchmaking and you may have to try out a few before you find the right fit and get the support you need. We hope this post makes this process a little easier for you. We truly believe it is worth it.   How to find a therapist:   Through your GP (they can help you access low cost/funded services and/or can support you to access the WINZ Disability Allowance to pay for some counselling sessions. GPs are a great first point of contact to identify the help you need when you are having difficulty maintaining mental health ..read more

There are many different ways we can support someone who is struggling. Here are some ways we can support those in our lives that may be going through a hard time.   Support can be   Emotional: talking through problems giving time to listen acknowledging and validating their struggles OR Practical: Cooking a meal Picking up the kids Doing the laundry/dishes Scheduling/driving them to appointments Doing their grocery shopping   It can look like   1. Taking an interest in what’s happening in their life (getting curious about what’s going on for them) 2. Reaching out and a ..read more

The Self-Improvement Spiral  There’s immense value in introspection and working on ourselves. Sometimes we have to do this work if we want to maintain certain parts of our life. Mental illness and mental health struggles are real and they require work and sometimes professional help to heal, and all of us have things we could work on to make us better partners, family members, friends and co-workers. Therefore, working on ourselves is necessary and important. It’s how we grow and evolve. But what happens when it goes too far? What happens if we get so caught up working on ourselves ..read more

What is Mental Fitness?   Mental fitness is a proactive new and evolving term. While mental health is an umbrella term that encapsulates everything from your daily mood to severe mental distress, mental fitness is the purposeful practice of taking care of your mental health. This involves cultivating an awareness around how we think, behave, and feel. In turn, this provides us with an increased ability to respond to life in all its richness. It helps us understand that just as we can improve our physical health by moving our bodies, we improve our mental health by ..read more

TIP TWENTY – CREATING A DIVERSIFIED WELLBEING PLAN ☀️   Treating mental health challenges isn’t all medication and therapy, it is important to remember there are many other things that can help to accelerate this healing journey and keep us mentally fit. Putting all of our eggs into one basket and solely relying on one thing to ‘heal’ us or keep us well will often lead to disappointment. So if we are looking to get well and/or prevent ourselves from getting unwell, it might pay to diversify our wellbeing plan. Having a toolkit will always be more effective in the long run because differen ..read more

TIP NINETEEN – THE COPING SKILLS TOOLBOX ☀️   Sometimes our day just sucks.  ⁣If we are already feeling low and vulnerable, days like this can make it really easy to slip up and return to our unhealthy coping mechanisms.  ⁣Mental health means planning for and coping with stressors. This is where the coping skills toolbox comes in handy. It is a box full of emotional regulation tools that you can turn to quickly to help you manage your strong emotion.   ⁣To build your own coping skills toolbox:   Grab a decent sized box — a shoe box, a tupperware container, a storage b ..read more

TIP EIGHTEEN – A QUICK SOLUTION-FOCUSED SELF CHECK-IN  ☀️   On a scale between 1 and 10, (where 1-2 = help…I need some support and 9-10 = I’m doing amazing), how are you doing?   If you are between 1 and 5: What would move you up a number or two? What has helped you to cope and get through these tougher times in the past? When things are going better, what might you notice is different?   If you are between 6 and 10: What is helping you to be here? What can you do more of to stay here or move up a number or two? What does being at this number tell you that you need?   ..read more

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