Core of Wellbeing

This week we challenge you to create a sanctuary full of glimmers, a beautiful plant that calms the nervous system, an image or something you hold that takes you to the place or time you collected the item. ⁠
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Inspired by polyvagal theorist Deb Dana who calls these glimmers, its something we can associate with positive experiences. We can do small things to change our spaces and our spaces can uplift our mood. ⁠
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After moving to a new office without a view of nature, I realized I needed to change my environment to help avoid burnout. ⁠
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I’m curating a special space with collected shells, plants, my kintsugi bowl, and a powerful print symbolizing strength. ⁠
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What glimmers do you bring into your space? Share your ideas and let’s create our own little sanctuaries!

There are so many things that we tell ourselves, we compare to others, or we think society expects of us, which can lead us to anxiety, stress and depression.

Come with us as our Psychologist, leads you to breakdown these beliefs and thoughts to lead a life YOU want to live through our new online course.

Learn evidence based strategies to help you through inner work to improve your wellbeing.

Our new online course focuses on women’s wellbeing and mental health and helping women live their ideal life!

Hit the link in our bio or the link below to sign up and start your journey today!

https://coreofwellbeing.com.au/courses/courses-for-women/

“When values, thoughts, feelings, and actions are in alignment, a person becomes focused, and character is strengthened.”
- John C. Maxwell

Core Values are those things that you most care about in life, empowering and inspiring you to be your best at work or in your personal lives. When your behaviours in your life align with your core values, you are generally happier according to the research.

You can check in on your values, and ask questions like the following:

If this was your one life how would you live it?
Would you be more compassionate with self and others or would you be more passionate about life?
Would you live it kindlier?

One of the things that is most important to recognise is that your life is to be treasured and those around you are just as important as ‘people matter most’. Staying connected to your core values is an act of self-care and boosts your positivity and feelings of well-being.

This week, we challenge you to list your top 5 core values. With your list of both personal and work or professional values ask yourself how you might live those values each day or incorporate them into your life?

When it comes to setting better boundaries, it helps to start by figuring out exactly what kind of boundary you most need. Is it an external boundary (between you and someone else), an internal boundary (the work you do to support yourself), or both? And how do you figure this out?

When we set boundaries, we reassure our brain that we can and will advocate for ourselves helping us to feel safe enough. This enables our brains to be less reactive, and more integrated, resourced, and responsive to what’s happening within us and around us.

Our challenge this week is to try these 2 different types of boundaries that can help our brains to feel safe;

External boundaries help you communicate what’s acceptable and how you’ll respond if it’s not. For example, it’s okay to feel disappointed, but it’s not okay to speak disrespectfully. If that happens, I’ll take a 15-minute break to cool down.

Psychological boundaries remind us it’s normal to think and feel differently. Visualizing a boundary image can help you process accusations without becoming defensive. This helps your brain to stay integrated and less defensive as you navigate what is unfolding.

If you are a parent of children nearing on their tween or teen ages, this is an article we have come across that you need to read, it dives into the mind of a teenager and explains how the brain drives their decision making, emotions, and how their unique pressures can affect their minds.

Mental health disorders among young people have risen nearly 50 per cent in the past 15 years, so as parents, learning how their brains work differently to those of children and adults enables us to understand them better and provide us with the tools to support them better.

Hit the link to read this captivating article, in a engaging format.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-14/teenage-mental-health-neuroscience-adolescent-mind-emotion/104175854?utm_campaign=abc_news_web&utm_content=link&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_source=abc_news_web

The evidence is there;

Researchers in the field of positive psychology and self-compassion such as Kate Heffron and Kristin Neff have evidenced that self-compassion is highly connected to you having increased life satisfaction, high levels of emotional intelligence, optimism, curiosity and initiative as well as having less over-thinking, less perfectionism and a decreased fear of failure.

Our challenge this week is to take your journal and practise self compassion. You will find that negative thoughts can easily pop into our minds with ease and we want to counteract these with practising self compassion and inwards.

Each day for the next 7 days we want you to write one simple statement or question into your journal:

A simple statement of self compassion that relates to something you are experiencing in the NOW - eg; 'It's okay to make mistakes, everyone makes mistakes', or 'I deserve to be happy' or 'I deserve to feel calm and balanced'.

OR

Write how you would respond to your own question like you were responding to a friend - eg: 'How would I comfort a friend or what words would I say to them if they asked me this question or opened up to me about this' - diving into how you would help someone else can provide your own self with soothing or supportive reflection.

Hit the busy school term flourishing - what questions do you have or hurdles you might be facing preventing from you or your children from flourishing?

Drop them in the comments below for Jo to answer!

Part of this weeks mini challenge was finding a journal and scheduling in time daily to do two things - Commence daily doing a small amount of drawing, colouring, or poetry to foster mindfulness AND writing a small piece as if you were living you ideal life.⁠
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The purpose of writing as if you were living your ideal life actually helps you identify your core purpose and reflect on your current life. It's actually neuroscience as you are activating your pre-frontal cortex, also known as your wise brain.⁠
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Today to help you with this exercise we want you to write about how you would FEEL being the ideal YOU - ⁠
How are you feeling mentally? Are you focussed, peaceful, have clarity, or feel joyful, what other things are you feeling mentally?⁠
What are you feeling physically? calmness, energised?⁠
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Visualising how you want to be feeling allows you to clearly understand what your purpose is. ⁠
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Having some guidance to journal writing with research backed techniques assists with the process.. and helps prevent staring at a blank page!

We're checking in midway through the WA school holidays - How are you going? The juggle between work and school holidays can be stressful, and sometimes so can being at home full-time with tired, overwhelmed, or bored children... So we've made some tips for you to re-set with, or be better prepared for Summer holidays:

Planning - Prior planning promotes positive holidays! If things have become chaotic, take a moment when the kids go to bed to look at your upcoming week and reflect on the last.. what isn't working and what is. We love scheduling in time in blocks - dedicated time for work and dedicated time for distraction free family time, if you are juggling work and caring, this just ensures you're feeling as though you have a hold over things.

When planning, have a deeper look into what your children are needing; if they have had a lot of screen time, maybe it's time for simple nature walk,or day of connection with you, or if they've had a few big active days, maybe it's a rest day with a few small activities planned. Also, what your needs are - do you need some down time scheduled in?⁠

Work Commitments - Try to avoid starting any large projects and delay meetings over this time. You've most probably got enough on your mental load, so 'just getting on with the day to day' work load should be enough. Your children or partner may need additional support over this time, so you may find you need to harness your capacity for them.

Have you got any further tips for parenting over school holidays, we'd love to hear them!

Over the next 6 weeks we will be breaking down the science of wellbeing into small actionable steps to cause a ripple effect to your larger wellbeing goal. The collective power of small things will create a larger effect, so let's begin:

DAY 1

Our first actionable step is to buy or find a journal that speaks to you, that sparks joy, or is beautiful... or maybe just one that you have handy.

This will become our working journal to help us take us out of our mind and reflect with. Journalling through the 6-week challenge will enable you to tap into and nurture the creative and compassionate sides of your brain, which we hope that you will steer ou gently into your life purpose.

For the next 6 weeks we want you to set aside 10 minutes in your daily calendar to journal these things:

📝 1) We want to stimulate neural pathways of positivity, this is a powerful tool for reducing anxiety. So firstly we want you to do a small amount of drawing, colouring, writing poetry, or anything else creative in your journal daily.

Neurographic art creates a mindful, meditative, yet aware state. Our creativity is generally suppressed by society and all the systems that are aimed to create factory and office workers. This suppression was reinforced by a test that was created in 1968 NASA to detect creative geniuses for recruitment purposes. They found only 2% of the adults they tested fit the criteria. They then went on to test 4 and 5-year-olds and 98% of them met the criteria for being creative geniuses.

So we want to break down the suppression and start to bring back creativity in our lives.

📝2) Write a small piece as if you were living your ideal life and are journaling about it. Use the present tense and write about all the wonderful things that are happening and the ramifications of every event.

When I began doing this, I found myself encountering resistance—resistance I hadn’t even known was there. I had mental knee-jerk reactions like, “That can’t happen!” or “And then something bad will happen.” As you reread your Journal, make a mental note of any negative blurbs that pop into your mind. This is the clutter you can clear away. I worked through my negative clutter by focusing on a single thought at a time—for example, “That can’t happen.” Then I allow myself to think of 50 reasons why the things I want actually CAN happen. I knew my resistance was softening when I could read my Journal without any inner conflict or resistance.

Our thinking part of the brain can make up stories and scare us and we may block the wonderful things that might happen in the future. Focussing on the positive that could happen can bring peace and hope and calm the cortisol and stress chemicals in our brain and body. Be curious as this is a doorway out of anxiety and fear.

STARTING THIS WEEK⁠
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Come join us as we initiate the the positive ripple effect in your life. ⁠
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Our FREE mini challenge starts Tuesday and for the next 6 weeks we will bringing you simple changes + learnings to implement that will start the ripple effect towards:⁠
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Less stress⁠
Healthier relationships⁠
Better performance ⁠
A more authentic YOU!⁠
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Follow our socials to start!⁠
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School holidays can be a busy and challenging time. Try these 3 activities to embrace positivity and connection with your family throughout the next two weeks.

Gratitude Jar

Start the holiday on a positive note by creating a gratitude jar. Each family member can write down something they are grateful for each day and place it in the jar. Take turns reading the notes aloud during dinner to foster gratitude and connection.

Spend time in nature

Take a mindful nature walk as a family. Encourage everyone to notice the beauty around them, listen to the sounds of nature, and feel the textures of leaves or flowers. Discuss the calming effects of nature and how it can enhance well-being. Or plant a garden bed

Acts of Self-Care

Focus on self-care activities for the day. Encourage each family member to engage in activities that bring them joy and relaxation, such as reading, taking a bubble bath, or practicing mindfulness. Discuss the importance of self-care and its positive impact on overall well-being.

Let's revisit what the real focus is of R U OK Day?

R U OK Day? Is here - so what is the significance of the day? R U OK Day? has been created to keep people connected and help motivate people to have conversations with those that might be struggling in life. The day also brings awareness and su***de prevention and helps destigmatize the conversation around su***de.

We can all help prevent su***de by encouraging people to invest more time into their personal relationships and building the capacity of informal support networks – friends, family and colleagues - to be alert to those around them, have a conversation if they identify signs of distress or difficulty and connect someone to appropriate support, long before they're in crisis.

So it is a reminder that NOW is a perfect time to check in with those around you.

Reach out, start a conversation, and show you care.

Sometimes, a simple “Are you okay?” can make all the difference.

Asking 'Are you okay' shouldn't be reserved for just one day, maybe use this day to mark in your calendar at times to check in with people in your life a random times throughout the year and spend some time listening and just having a chat.

Are you going to seize the opportunity for yourself or another? Today could be the day you implement a small step to help your own wellbeing, or it could be the day to plan for a conversation to help another, or just to educate yourself.

World Su***de Prevention Day is a powerful opportunity to raise awareness and promote mental wellbeing. Here are some strategies and tools to help people cultivate positive psychology and support others:

1. Educate Yourself and Others:

- **Learn the facts**: Recognize warning signs and know available resources.
- **Challenge stigma**: Address mental health stigma and promote open dialogue.

2. Practice Self-Care and Promote Positive Psychology:

- **Mindfulness**: Try meditation, deep breathing, or yoga to lower stress and boost self-awareness.
- **Meaning and purpose**: Explore your values and passions to find life’s meaning.

3. Build Supportive Relationships:

- **Active listening**: Listen attentively and empathetically without judgment.
- **Offer support**: Be present for friends and family in need.
- **Seek professional help**: Encourage seeking professional assistance for mental health challenges.

4. Utilize Resources and Tools:

- **Crisis hotlines**: Lifeline Australia 13 11 14, Mental Health Response Line 1300 555 788
- **Online resources**: Use mental health and su***de prevention websites and online communities.
- **Support groups**: Encourage joining support groups for mental health challenges.

5. Promote Hope and Resilience:

- **Focus on strengths**: Highlight their strengths and past achievements.
- **Encourage hope**: Emphasize that improvement is possible and there is always hope.

Remember:

Every life is valuable.
There is help available.
You are not alone.

By promoting positive psychology and utilising these strategies and tools, we can create a more supportive and compassionate world where everyone feels valued and empowered to seek help when needed.

Tomorrow is World Su***de Prevention Day, and the best way our next generation will learn to mental wellbeing is by us teaching them. Set your children, teens, or young adults up for success and teach them small steps to healthier mental health.
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Today why not plan a day for kids and teens to unplug, have a day off their devices and truly connect with each other. ⁠It may be challenging, or it may seem simple, but incorporating this into their routine will help them continue to flourish.
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Spending quality time together can help reduce stress and anxiety.

Spring has arrived, making it the perfect time for a quick 15-minute stroll. Embrace the beauty of nature and breath in the fresh spring air. ⁠These small changes or additions to your routine helps prevent burnout and stress.⁠
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Here's your reminder to step outside and relish the new season! 🌸🚶‍♂️🍃

Setting boundaries will help to overcome burnout.

Addressing the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of burnout are important strategies to help overcome it. Focusing on self-care and setting boundaries are a great way to start. This could be as simple as blocking off an hour in your day to do something you enjoy; read a book, go for a walk, cook a good meal.

Take some time to yourself today!

From searching the literature it’s clear that we have had to fight harder in a patriarchal society, become more self critical with the social comparison epidemic of social media, and be encouraged (by mostly well-meaning parents and teachers) to be a ‘good girl’; not too loud, too messy, too angry, too demanding, too much.

Taking this advice to heart, many of us have grown up abandoning and exhausting ourselves into emotional, physical, social, spiritual, and financial turmoil as we try to:

▪️Be perfect: Fearing criticism, we strive to achieve physical, emotional, and social perfection, whilst masking.
◾️Please everyone: Fearing rejection, we conform to society’s expectations and sacrifice our wellbeing to care for others.
◾️Protect others: Fearing abandonment, we silence our true feelings and try to save others from life’s challenges and heartaches.

In the short term, these behaviours often win us the appreciation, recognition, and love of others, but in the long-term many women reported this societal expectation as leading to exhaustion, loss of self-identity, and resentment. If left unchecked, it contributed to burnout, eating disorders, sexual abuse, domestic violence, poverty, addiction, self-harm, and su***de.

In our community, we have found that we can shift our ‘good girl or nice girl’ beliefs and give women the knowledge; they are better supported to recognise when these beliefs don’t serve them positively and can prevent negative impacts on their health, mind and body.

Unhealthy coping mechanisms or stress management strategies could be hurting you more, and lead you to burnout. Mechanisms like excessive consumption to sugar, or other substances, turning to screens, or other unhealthy strategies can lead you slowly to burnout, so we must identify if these are in play and find other mechanisms to implement.

We believe being part of a community plays a bigger role in helping individuals flourish and that’s why wherever we can support our community and its groups.

We have proudly supported the with helping their coaches stay organised whilst on the run training their teams with new coaching bags.

Supporting your community can come in many formats other than financial, this could be providing a helping hand to a group or individual, giving your time, or just being a positive member of your community (you would be surprised how far a positive attitude and words can have on your community)