Guest blog written by the Social Media and Administrative Officer at NBP: Isabella Pennings Year 12 and final exams have always been stressful. However, reports in the past few years have shown that senior students are more stressed than ever before. If you’re about to enter year 12 I’m sure that you have heard the […]
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Cold-water treatment may be more beneficial than anti-depressants. Cold showers take advantage of our body’s tendency and ability to adapt to harsh conditions. As a result, our bodies become more resilient. Sometimes we feel fragile, but we are not. Many systems in our bodies are actual antifragile, meaning we can increase their capability to thrive as a result of stressors or shocks. Cold water does just this.
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About a month ago, my mum and I went to a local pet store. I was having a bad day, and she knew seeing animals would cheer me up. (Being a 15 year-old with Aspergers and anxiety isn’t always easy!). And although we didn’t intend to, we left with a beautiful, affectionate parrot named Ollie. This article explains why they make great support animals.
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Dealing with narcissistic people (self-serving people who lack empathy and have an inflated sense of their own importance) can be maddening. It can be tempting to argue with them and scream, “What’s wrong with you?” Don’t do this. There is a much more effective way to deal with them; something known as the Grey Rock method.
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Self-care is a very misunderstood concept, and as a consequence, often comes across as blasé. People assume you need lots of money (or lots of time, or both). But self-care doesn’t have to mean yoga classes, health spas, or massages. People who live week-to-week sometimes complain that self-care is only for the rich. I disagree.
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This blog post has been inspired by the lovely comedienne, Jordan Kadell. Six years ago, Jordan’s family suffered a devastating loss when her brother died in a terrible accident while overseas celebrating finishing high-school.
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Dark moments from our childhood – divorce, emotional neglect, a parent’s mental illness, witnessing violence or addiction, being abused – can stay with us as adults, even though we ‘feel fine’ most of the time. Research shows that adverse childhood experiences produce toxic levels of stress hormones that can affect the development of the neural networks in a child’s brain. In the past 20 years, researchers have shown that high scores on the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) survey are highly predictive of adult mental, social and physical health problems later in life. The effects of these ACEs may be invisible, but they can weigh upon us decades later.
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Our latest blog is a guest post from Alice, the 14 year-old daughter of NBP Director, Rachel Hannam. Alice just finished reading “The Sleep Book” by Dr Guy Meadows. It really helped her overcome her sleep anxiety and insomnia. This is her experience as a teenage sufferer. (She’d love some feedback in the comments 🙂
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For many people, lack of self-confidence comes form having a harsh inner critic. How do you manage a harsh inner critic? Or harsh critics around you? Working on your own life and mind is the key to accepting yourself as you are and letting go of those criticisms.
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When you are tense, your breathing is tight. Three Sighs is the most time-efficient meditation you will ever do. It’s very short – maybe 30 seconds long – but you can change your state of body and mind markedly in that time.
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What do you do about negative friends? First ask, “Does this relationship support your life or enrich it somehow, or does it detract from your life?” In other words, does the person drag you up or down? Getting clear on your answer can help. Also, you may need to be honest and tell your friend about the impact her self-focused, negative communication has on you. It might seem astounding, but it could be that she does not even realise how you are affected.
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Set yourself free by recognising this one tendency we all share and how it can go awry. Life is to be lived, not controlled. Like a surfer in the waves, we need to respond to life, not stress ourselves managing and controlling it all.
Read more...Sometimes I use this process with clients who are stuck to a sticky thought and want to get unstuck! We all have sticky thoughts. These are the intrusive or compulsive beliefs or mental stories we automatically tell ourselves when stressed. These thoughts can loop endlessly in our heads. The sticky thought is almost always a […]
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I think I am having panic attacks. My heart races and I feel dizzy, hot and sweaty. It is very scary. Sometimes I can hardly breathe and I feel like I might die. What causes it and how do I stop it? Many people in the middle of a panic attack really believe they are […]
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Is there a difference between suicide and euthanasia? Even though euthanasia and suicide are both about avoiding pain, there is one major difference. But is that difference enough to legalise euthanasia? We explore the risks.
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