How Not to be Boring
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When You're 'Too Functional' to Have Your Mental Illness Taken Seriously: By Karen Lowinger
https://themighty.com/2017/01/high-functioning-social-anxiety-mental-illness/
How Sesame Street Explains The Toughest Parts Of Life. Sesame Street bravely goes where other kids' media companies don't, and tackles issues like AIDS, autism, and incarceration.
https://www.fastcompany.com/3067558/innovation-agents/how-sesame-street-explains-the-toughest-parts-of-life
Breaking News World News Syria Russia ISIS Migrant Crisis Israel You mag Event Horoscopes Blogs Motoring Login DailyMail Monday, Jan 30th 2017 5PM 28°C 8PM 21°C 5-Day Forecast +99NEW ARTICLESTop Share 'He took away my money and my freedom': Financial abuse is just as destructive as physical abuse but often goes unnoticed. By Anna Moore
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-4136046/Financial-abuse-just-destructive-physical-abuse.html
Taking Tension Out of Attention. Thanks to computers, smartphones, television, and other technology, our senses are extremely busy. The more our bodies strain to pay attention, the more our minds space-out. Chris McKenna suggests ways to help us go from tense and strained to relaxed and focused; By Chris McKenna
http://www.mindful.org/taking-tension-out-of-attention/?utm_content=buffer61fb4&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
The Lion and the Bird: A Tender Illustrated Story About Loneliness, Loyalty, and the Gift of Friendship. An ode to life’s moments between the words: By Maria Popova
https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/05/07/the-lion-and-the-bird-marianne-dubuc/?utm_content=buffer76c30&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Trauma Therapy: Trauma Survivors have Symptoms Instead of Memories
http://blog.bayareamh.com/trauma-survivors-have-symptoms-instead-of-memories
Building Resilience in Children – 20 Practical, Powerful Strategies: by Karen - Hey Sigmund
http://www.heysigmund.com/building-resilience-children/
Top 10 Documentaries Every Art Lover Should Watch Must see flicks for art aficionados.By Henri Neuendorf
https://news.artnet.com/market/top-10-documentaries-every-art-lover-watch-320666
How Do You Know That You Love Somebody? Philosopher Martha Nussbaum’s Incompleteness Theorem of the Heart’s Truth, from Plato to Proust. “The alternations between love and its denial, suffering and denial of suffering … constitute the most essential and ubiquitous structural feature of the human heart.” By Maria Popova
https://www.brainpickings.org/2017/01/16/martha-nussbaum-loves-knowledge/?utm_source=Brain+Pickings&utm_campaign=e7c209fb2b-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_01_20&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_179ffa2629-e7c209fb2b-237333129&mc_cid=e7c209fb2b&mc_eid=c4f9684a0a
White Australians Celebrate, Aboriginal People Mourn By AMY McQUIRE and LIZZIE O’SHEA
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/25/opinion/white-australians-celebrate-aboriginal-people-mourn.html?_r=0
Art Therapy As An Intervention For Psychosis: By Batya Swift Yasgur
http://www.psychiatryadvisor.com/schizophrenia-and-psychoses/schizophrenia-spectrum-disorders-can-be-treated-with-art-therapy/article/630503/
Busting the myths about dissociative identity disorder : By Tanya Peisley. Myth: Dissociative Identitiy Disorder (DID) alters are obvious and extreme : In movies and TV shows, switches between alternate identities tend to be wildly exaggerated for dramatic effect. In reality, for the vast majority of people with DID, switching between alters can’t be identified by a casual observer at all.
https://www.sane.org/media-centre/the-sane-blog/1938-busting-the-myths-about-dissociative-identity-disorder
Please help me train a Therapy Dog to work with me in my counselling and art therapy practice. I have witnessed these beautiful beings in action at Very Special Kids children's palliative care hospice. The children's faces light up and still fingers become animated as they stroke the soft fur of these gentle working dogs. A suitable rescue dog and I will be working together in the community at no extra cost to participants, in the field of better mental health. If you could help out with the cost of Therapy Dog Training your kindness will directly benefit those in need.
https://www.gofundme.com/therapy-rescue-dog-training
I didn’t believe I had an eating disorder. But the threat of forced feeding saved my life : By Carrie Arnold
https://www.statnews.com/2017/01/18/anorexia-forced-treatment/
Kindness is the answer. We need Kindness. Huge Kindness: By Gretchen Schmelzer
http://gretchenschmelzer.com/blog-1/2015/9/7/kindness-is-the-answer-we-need-kindness-huge-kindness
Call the Aztec Midwife: Childbirth in the 16th Century : By Isabel Bueno
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/magazine/2017/01-02/aztec-midwife-practical-pregnancy-care/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=link_fb20170120history-aztecmidwife&utm_campaign=Content&sf51871252=1
Mindfulness Changes How We Process Sadness What brain science reveals about the different ways we experience emotions. By Zindel Segal
http://www.mindful.org/mindfulness-changes-how-we-process-sadness/?utm_content=bufferb348e&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
It's time to take pets seriously as mental illness support, say scientists - Puppy therapy is real. By Fiona MacDonald .
http://www.sciencealert.com/study-says-it-s-time-to-take-pets-seriously-as-mental-illness-support#.WH_wjwVEtcc.facebook This week we have sadly had to say goodbye to two fury family members. Shady Puss (Shadow) my sisters cat who has been unwell for some time and finally needed an assisted death and Gracie the bouncy 5 year old dog who belonged to Jessie, my sons girlfriend who died from the affects of Parvovirus from an infected tic, very rare in Victoria. They will both be missed enormously as are my beautiful Bob and Daisy dogs. Pets are valuable and loved members of the family.
Could Participating In The Arts Lower Your Stress? By Ashlie Stevens
https://wfpl.org/participating-arts-lower-stress/
Support group helps hoarders, one item at a time. Most people have a certain amount of clutter in their homes, but when their possessions start to take over, what can be done about it? By Emma Wynne
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-16/overcoming-hoarding-support-group-perth/8185380
Common questions about the NDIS: By Jeremy Little
https://www.sane.org/media-centre/the-sane-blog/1873-common-questions-about-the-ndis
The Amazing, Tumultuous, Wild, Wonderful, Teenage Brain “What’s going on in that head of yours?” How many adults have asked an adolescent some form of that question? In his book, Brainstorm, a New York Times bestseller, Dr. Dan Siegel decided to go a step further and actually answer that question. The results are surprising—and very exciting. By Daniel Siegel
http://www.mindful.org/amazing-tumultuous-wild-wonderful-teenage-brain/?utm_content=buffer2bd70&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Why self-care plan is crucial to trauma therapy: By Odelya Gertel Kraybill
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7MY_cdUL1E
11 Reasons Your Phony ‘Concern’ for Fat People’s Health Has Got to Stop. By Melissa A. Fabello and Linda Bacon
http://everydayfeminism.com/2016/01/concern-trolling-is-bullshit/
How to Interview Your Therapist Like any relationship, sometimes it takes a while to find “the one." By Megha Pulianda,
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-in-between/201701/how-interview-your-therapist?utm_source=FacebookPost&utm_medium=FBPost&utm_campaign=FBPost
To Assume can do more than, "Make an Ass out of U and Me". Assumptions may cause harm or even destroy relationships. By Mairead Ashcroft 12/1/17
How many of us may have read a personal, negative message into the event of someone not showing up to an occasion in which they were invited, like our birthday celebration? How many of us has taken another persons silence as a sign of their dislike or disappointment in us in some way. Who might have interpreted the words, "I can't talk to you!", as a complete shut down and rejection and then gone on to react and perpetuated these feelings within the relationship with a similar response, only to find that conflict has developed and neither party actually knows what is fueling this difficult energy? I could hazard a guess (a dangerous game) and say that at some time or other and say that at one time or another, most of us has fallen into the trap of making assumptions about what is going on for another person in these and other similar circumstances. Then, out of feelings of hurt, perceived self-defense, fear or confusion, we might react in a ways that are unhelpful and
The Key to Overcoming Insecurity - New research on how to fight the feeling, and maybe even beat it. By Susan Krauss Whitbourne Ph.D.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201612/the-key-overcoming-insecurity?utm_source=FacebookPost&utm_medium=FBPost&utm_campaign=FBPost
The Essential Resource We’re All Wasting What we attend to creates our lives—attention is the most essential human resource, fundamental to our lives, to our relationships, and our quality of work. By Jeremy Hunter
http://www.mindful.org/essential-resource-wasting/?utm_content=buffer965d2&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
32 Easy Exercises to Boost Your Creativity Everyday: You don't need to be a talented artist to pick up a creative habit. By Ayse Birsel
http://www.inc.com/ayse-birsel/32-easy-exercises-to-boost-your-creativity-everyday.html?sr_share=twitter
Cultivating Mindfulness for Healing: Start Very Slowly: By Gretchen Schmelzer
http://gretchenschmelzer.com/blog-1/2014/11/7/cultivating-mindfulness-for-healing-start-very-slowly
The new year is upon us and many of us have made plans for changes that we believe will make us happy, like dropping a couple of kilograms or exercising more, but unless we truly examine the root of our suffering we may never find contentment. This is where counselling can help. You don't need to have a mental health diagnosis or doctors referral to take advantage of the benefits that the therapeutic relationship between a counsellor and client can provide. If you feel that your life or relationships are out of balance in some way or you are experiencing anxiety, depression or compulsions about certain life aspects, you may wish to consult with a therapist. A counsellor is trained with tools that may help you to discover new perspectives and paths to create more useful thought and behaviour patterns, enhancing your lived experience. If you are in Melbourne you can contact me through my website:
http://www.artoflifewithmairead.com/
Amateur is not a dirty word : A lot of creative freedom can be found in doing something for pleasure, without letting it define you. By Madaline Dore
http://www.artshub.com.au/education/news-article/features/professional-development/madeleine-dore/amateur-is-not-a-dirty-word-252909
The Chronic Illness Model: 11 Characteristics of Trauma and Early Life Events that Affect Risk for Chronic Illness: By Veronique Mead
http://chronicillnessblog.com/chronic-illness-model-11-characteristics-trauma-early-life-events-affect-risk-chronic-illness/
New Research Shows Depression Linked with Inflammation Plus 5 Ways You Can Fight Inflammation : Marlynn Wei
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/urban-survival/201701/new-research-shows-depression-linked-inflammation
I Started Therapy So I Could Take Better Care Of Myself I’d known for a while that I needed to see a therapist. It wasn’t until I felt like I could do without help that I finally sought it : Matt Ortile
https://www.buzzfeed.com/mattortile/changing-the-water?utm_term=.llndWj0O11#.naPmN98Pbb
Busting the myths about Bipolar disorder : By Vijay Singh
https://www.sane.org/media-centre/the-sane-blog/1734-busting-the-myths-about-bipolar-disorder
The 6-Step Guide to Raising Anti-Racist White Kids as a White Parent Because fighting white supremacy begins at home: By Kathi Valeii _ This post is focused on racisim in the United States but the topics mentions can just as easily be adapted to suit any societies where racism or supremacy exists.
https://resistmedia.org/2016/12/31/6-step-guide-raising-antiracist-white-kids/
9 Ways to Promote Gratitude in Your Life: By Therese Borchard
http://www.everydayhealth.com/columns/therese-borchard-sanity-break/ways-promote-gratitude-your-life/
Vilifying husbands in advertising no longer OK: By Lindsay Bennett
http://www.adnews.com.au/news/vilifying-husbands-in-advertising-no-longer-ok
I have been off the grid for the past 10 days and have loved every second . Mairead Ashcroft 5/1/17
If you are a regular visitor to my blog you may have noticed that I haven't been around over the holiday season. That is because I was lucky enough to spend 10 days at the top end of Australia in the Northern Territory with no computer access. The photos shown on either side here are at Kakadu National Park, Yellow River. Kakadu is 20,000 square kilometres of natural habitat owned by the Indigenous Australians who are the oldest living culture on Mother Earth. Kakadu is also the home to about 10,000 crocodiles, three species of sharks, stingrays and numerous fish. The largest concentration of bird species, about 280, live and breed in this one area and there is an enormous amount of bush tucker and medicines available in the 2,000 different plants that are in abundance at the moment during the wet season. The wet lands and