WholeHearted You Counselling Busselton

Do You Want To Do Xmas Differently This Year?

Christmas can be such a hard time for a lot of people who don’t quite fit into the “happy family” model. They may have somewhere to be on Christmas Day that causes them a lot of stress. So many people I speak to feel bound by the unspoken contract that says you must follow this long-held tradition and spend Xmas with your family. To risk doing otherwise is unheard of.

It is, I think, quite ironic and very sad that in these times of being able to be connected to the entire world through our electronic devices many of us struggle Continue reading Do You Want To Do Xmas Differently This Year?

The Aftermath of Suicide – Comedian Aisling Bea’s beautifully written but heart-breaking take on her father’s death when she was three.

This beautifully written article by Aisling Bea (30) on her father’s suicide – when she was three – was published in The Guardian (UK) at the beginning of this month. She articulates superbly how the anguish of his absence was a constant throughout her childhood and beyond. How his suicide shaped her view of herself and her place in world and how she is now starting to come to terms with it. It is heartbreaking, thought provoking and healing all at the same time.

Aisling Bea: My Father’s Death

Aisling Bea’s Twitter post linking to this story and comments from others

If after reading this article you feel you need to reach out and talk about what is going on for you please do so. There are so many fantastic people (friends, healthcare workers and organisations) around to help you get through this day, this moment, this time. Take advantage of that.

In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14. or Beyond Blue  on 1300 22 4636. International suicide helplines can be found at befrienders.org

 

Wellness Expo – Busselton

It’s hard to believe that it is now 12 months since I attended the first Wellness Expo here in Busselton. What a life-changing day that was! I became so caught up in the energy of collaboration and connection that I sensed in this beautiful region that here I am with my own Expo stall and 10 months of living in Busselton under my belt and loving it!

I am passionate about helping people find out who they really are when they are feeling stuck or trapped by life and it seems to be all uphill. My own journey has helped me see that anything is possible, we just need others to help guide us through when we get bogged down in the everyday. We are not here to do this journey on our own, we are hardwired for community and we thrive when we feel encompassed by one.

Come and say hello to me and have a chat about things if you’ve wondered whether counselling would be right for you. WholeHearted You Counselling will be in stall 22 at the end of Queen St near Marine Tce.

There will be 35 practitioner stalls and a host of inspirational speakers in the Weld Theatre. Make a day of it and spend a few hours learning about what wonderful healthcare is available here in this fabulous region.

The Grass Is Always Greener

The grass is always greener or so it seems. But is it? Too often we are blind to the things that we already have or we have become complacent about having these things. It’s easy to mix our needs up with our wants. Too many wants can leave us feeling empty and like we don’t have enough and there is no end to that kind of longing. It’s a one way street.

Become conscious of what you do have already and look underneath your wants to find the feelings that hide out there. They’ll lead you to your very own green fields.

 

Authentically You

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we were taught by the world around us that it was OK to be who we were born to be? Right from the start. Authentically you, flawed you, funny you, shy you, loud you, brilliant you, sporty you, bookish you, gawky you, handsome you, extraordinary you, you, you, you…

ALCOHOL – Still – by far and away – our number one drug and number one drug cost to our families and the community.

ALCOHOL – Still – by far and away – our number one drug and number one drug cost to our families and the community. Our biggest drug related “inconvenient” truth because it is often too close to home and way too profitable to the government and the big end of town. Makes me see red!!!

“If you’re counting tombstones, it’s alcohol. If you’re counting young lives, it’s ice,” Dr Wodak president of the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation

“Australia has a cultural problem with alcohol, and tens of thousands of Australians drink unsafely everyday.”… “We see so much carnage from ice use and yet it pales into insignificance with the problems caused by legal drugs like alcohol by a much larger group of Australians everyday,” AMA President Michael Gannon

Ice addiction ‘pales into insignificance’ compared to harms linked to alcohol abuse

Feelings: Handle them before they handle you!

Excellent talk…Mandy Saligari is so on the money! Hands up those who love the idea of being able to say what it is we are feeling without thinking that the end of the world is coming!!! Not the BS that we dish out to keep everyone happy. It’s never never too late.

The Agony Of Watching Alcohol Addiction Decimate A Loved One:

Most of us know someone who drinks too much. Our society romanticises and celebrates those who can drink others under the table. We don’t like the street drunk or those caught in a never-ending cycle of social welfare but we do have a blind spot for what is called the functioning alcoholic. Our movies and popular culture, it seems, almost worship them and their antics, and our big businesses and governments profit from the proceeds of their excesses.

But who is there at 3 o’clock in the morning witnessing shouted nonsensical slurred instructions down a phone line.
– “Come and get me!!!”
– “Where are you?”
– “I am sitting on a park bench.”
– “Where?”
– “I don’t know!”
– “Can you get a taxi?”
– “No. I can’t see one.”
– “How can I come and get you if you don’t know where you are?”
– “I’m sitting on a bench. I lost my bag and coat.”
– “What bench? What can you see around you? Describe it to me.”
– “Are you coming to get me or what???”
– “You’ve got to help me here… is there a street nearby?”
– “F**k you then!!!”

Clunk, she drops the phone, ending the call. Only to ring four more times between 3 a.m. and 5.30 a.m. for further circular exchanges and you’ve got to be able to function at work that day by 8 a.m. and you have already spent most of the night worrying. Continue reading The Agony Of Watching Alcohol Addiction Decimate A Loved One:

“To This Day” A Very Powerful Poem About Bullying & Depression

“To This Day” – This wonderful poignant, emotional and at times humorous poem by the beautiful Canadian poet Shane Koyczan addresses the crushing, and often life-long,  effect of bullying on a young tender heart. Here he gives us a brief overview of the beginnings of his own journey when he was invited to present “To This Day” at a TED Conference, and then sit tight for an emotional roller-coaster as he delivers this haunting piece.

Sadly, bullying is something that most of us have experienced and not all of it took place at school or in our communities, many of us have lived through the experience at home. Bullying is something that needs to be continually pulled out into the light and all aspects of it highlighted and examined then extinguished with courage and a no-level-of-tolerance attitude from us all.

Genevieve Morrissey