Empowered Mama

08/01/2024

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Empowered Mama Emma Mcwilliam

22/12/2023

When I was young, my mum left me at the check out to grab something she’d forgotten.

I knew the drill.

Put things on the conveyor belt, do not succumb to the panic as a socially awkward pre-pre-teen of the items on the belt dwindling and having no capacity to pay in her absence.

When I moved the laundry detergent from the trolley, the lid must have been broken. The entire bottle was slippery and it fell from my grasp, soaking my jeans on the way down, before splashing up from the floor all over everything in the vicinity.

The heavy, desperate suffocation that rose in my throat was the same as the time our car broke down in the dark and we hitchhiked. It was the same as the time my life changed forever.

The brain doesn’t discriminate.

Like all moments, they passed.

When I stood at that checkout, my throat was so full of everything that no words could come out. Instead, they spilled from my eyes, hot tears threatening.

“That’s okay, sweetheart. It wasn’t your fault. We’ll get it all cleaned up.”

The cashier smiled with her mouth, but especially her eyes, and rang her little bell for help.

My throat opened up a little. And I will always remember her.

Don’t worry darling. It won’t always feel this big.

18/12/2023

Dignity is important to both adults and students. We can create accountability with it, if we respond instead of react.

Shame does not have to be the driving factor in accountability.

Edutopia

18/12/2023

16/12/2023

Via Self-Sufficient Kids ❤️

16/12/2023

Why can’t we stop engaging in behaviors that we know are not good for us? Such as mindlessly scrolling on social media for longer than we want to, procrastinating on important tasks, repeatedly making unhealthy food choices, or choosing not to get up to exercise for 30 minutes?

Neuropsychologists consider this a self-regulation failure. Often, we are not aware of what we think and what we do before we act. Most of the time we live in autopilot – engaging in behaviors with little forethought. This can be due to various reasons, for example, the behavior was repeated enough times that it has turned into an automated habit or because you may be seeking instant gratification to feel better (i.e. less bored, distracted etc.).

One way to manage this is by an exercise that I call ‘Noticing the Urge.’ Many variations of this have been implemented in psychotherapeutic interventions. This is how it goes – when you have the urge to engage in a behavior that you know is not serving you, notice your thought. For example, you may have the thought “I really want to sit here and watch tv instead of exercising.”

Next, add the phrase “I am noticing I am having the urge!”. This small shift allows you to create a little bit of space between you and your thoughts. And it is in this space that you can choose to pause, think, and respond in a way that aligns with your goals.

This works because it allows us to accept the thought as it is but also recognize that we do not have to act on every thought we have. There is so much power in that. In fact, this practice can also help build self-confidence because you began to trust yourself more.

I hope you found this helpful. Take care of your mind and body. Love, Nawal

Reference: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3062191/

16/12/2023

16/12/2023

08/12/2023

Repost from Childhood Essentials & Wendy Stubbert 💕

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