I-myself

05/02/2026

Austin Appelbee is 13 years old.

He recently failed his swimming assessment because he couldn't swim 350 metres continuously.

Last week, he swam about 4 kilometres through choppy ocean waters - where sharks are known to frequent - to save his family's life.

When their inflatable paddleboards drifted out to sea off the WA coast, Austin's mum - with her heart in her mouth and as a last-hope desperate prayer - sent him back in a leaking kayak to get help. When that failed, he ditched the kayak and then the life jacket (it was slowing him down) and swam.

For four hours. Through waves and wind. Who knows what was in the water. In open ocean.

He told himself, "Not today. I have to keep going."

When his legs buckled on the sand, he ran another 2km to call emergency services. His family was rescued just as darkness fell.

Police called his efforts "superhuman." (His swimming instructor probably wishes they'd seen this side of him.)

This is a heroic story. I love it. But I'm sharing this because:

Austin didn't become a different kid in that moment. The same determination, grit, and love that got him through those waters was already there. The crisis just revealed it.

I'm constantly reminding parents - you don't know you're resilient until you have to be resilient. And being resilient doesn't usually feel resilient. It feels like "I can't" far more than it feels like "look at me being awesomely resilient".

We spend so much time worrying about whether our kids are ready for life's challenges. Whether they're tough enough. Capable enough. Whether we've done enough.

Austin's story reminds me that kids have reserves we can't always see in the everyday moments. And that when it really matters, they'll find what they need.

What an incredible young man.

31/01/2026

If you’re a parent and your child plays Roblox you should watch this! There is so much more to Roblox than meets the eye! https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQ9_TfdkohA/?igsh=MTl4MmMxZ3htNzI2bw==

14/01/2026

Improve your relationships - Get better at apologies !

28/12/2025

Feeling guilty for saying something you didn’t mean? Everyone makes mistakes, says Dr. Becky Kennedy. Here’s how to get good at repairing them — whether it's with your child, your spouse or your coworker. In the year shead make it your goal to get better at repair.

Everyone loses their temper from time to time — but the stakes are dizzyingly high when the focus of your fury is your own child. Clinical psychologist and renowned parenting whisperer Becky Kennedy is here to help. Not only does she have practical advice to help parents manage the guilt and shame...

16/12/2025

Tim Minchin, often celebrated for his wit and wisdom, reminds us that lasting impact is forged not by grand gestures, but by the quiet power of consistent effort, humble dedication, and incremental progress – a message that resonates deeply in my work fostering wellbeing in educational settings.

These 9 life lessons from comedian Tim Minchin will make you laugh -- and learnhttp://vializer.com/437p - Muniba Mazari - Live Every Moment (MOTIVATION)For m...

23/11/2025

Curiosity aroused…

Major Discovery: Shared Genes Behind Multiple Mental Health Disorders 🧬🧠

Scientists have uncovered hundreds of shared genetic variants linked to autism, ADHD, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, Tourette syndrome, OCD, and anorexia.

Researchers identified 683 genes that influence key stages of brain development, revealing why many of these conditions often appear together in individuals and families. These variants affect multiple brain-growth processes and interact through complex protein networks. 

This breakthrough challenges the idea that each disorder is entirely separate. Instead, it suggests many mental health conditions may be rooted in overlapping genetic pathways — raising the possibility that future treatments could target several disorders at once.

With nearly 1 billion people worldwide affected by mental health challenges, this research marks a major step toward more effective, genetically-informed therapies.

🔗 Source: Cell (2025) — “Eight Psychiatric Disorders Share the Same Genetic Causes, Study Says”

Lee, S., McAfee, J. C., Lee, J., Gomez, A., Ledford, A. T., Clarke, D. … Won, H. (2025). Massively parallel reporter assay investigates shared genetic variants of eight psychiatric disorders. Cell, 188(5), 1409–1424.e21.
PMID: 39848247

17/10/2025

https://www.facebook.com/stories/1640787135939086/UzpfSVNDOjE1OTA3NjI3NjU2MzE3ODE=/?view_single=1&source=shared_permalink&mibextid=wwXIfr

11/10/2025

09/10/2025

29/08/2025

Parental Love is expressed in so many ways… often it’s in the small details and actions we’re not even aware of, that they just do for you because ‘that’s what parents do.’

Sometimes we carry childhood wounds about our parents.
They yelled. They didn’t always give enough attention. They swatted us on the back of the head. Didn’t buy the toy we wanted. Fought in front of us. Maybe they didn’t say “I love you” as often as we needed — and yes, a therapist can tell you: you weren’t loved enough.

But how could a therapist know the details? The little things we might not even remember?

I think back to when I came home on break from college with my 8-month-old daughter. She was a restless sleeper, waking and crying at night. I’d already gotten used to it. Rock her, soothe her, repeat.

That very first night, my dad quietly showed me a “life hack,” as people say now. He brought in a rug and a pillow, laid them next to the baby’s crib, and said:
“We’ll take turns sleeping right here on the floor. It’s easier. You don’t have to jump out of bed all night. Or maybe I’ll just do it myself. It’s good for my back anyway.”

Then he casually added: “I actually slept this way for a year when you were little. Your mom was in med school full-time, I was working at the psychiatric hospital and pulling shifts on the ambulance. And every night I slept on the floor by your crib. Easier to get up fast when you cried. Safer that way.”

I never knew. He never said. Nobody told me. He didn’t swear his love, didn’t make speeches, didn’t declare: I never slept! I sacrificed everything for you!

He just… slept on the floor. And was ready to do it again for his granddaughter. Because in his mind, how else could it be? That was love.

Not every parent said out loud, “I love you.” Back then, it wasn’t the norm. Instead, they showed it in details: saving the best piece of food for us, spending their last dollars on a pair of nice shoes, running out in the middle of the night for medicine, sitting up through sickness, sleeping on a rug by the crib.

So yes, if a therapist can help us heal, that’s good. But if not, maybe we need to remember the little things before we conclude we “weren’t loved.”

Because love often is the details — the kind we don’t always notice, or even remember.

— Anna Kiryanova

17/07/2025

You won’t always recognise a cry for love when it comes wrapped in defiance, anger, or attitude.
But that’s often when it’s needed most.

Some kids don’t know how to ask for comfort.
So they push.
They test.
They unravel right in front of you — not to make your life harder,
but because they don’t yet have the words to say:
“I’m scared. I’m overwhelmed. I need you.”

Their behaviour isn’t defiance.
It’s a signal.
A flare.
A silent question:
Will you still choose me — even like this?

And if we can hold steady in those moments —
not because it’s easy, but because it matters —
we show them what love really is:

Not conditional.
Not earned.
Not withdrawn when things get hard.

But constant.
Rooted.
Real.

That’s what makes your presence so powerful.

Not because you fix it all —
but because you stay when it’s hardest to stay.

That’s when love speaks loudest.
Not through the ease — but through the storm. ❤️

Quote Credit: Dr. Russell A. Barkley ❣️

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14/07/2025

Do you know how to REST?
Not doing anything ... JUST REST?

It’s school holidays and I’m making every effort not to be busy and instead to intentionally rest!
Trying not to fall into the trap of believing that doing nothing… means doing nothing for myself.

•••

We’ve been conditioned to believe that not being productive is somehow a failure.

That if it doesn’t have a visible outcome, it doesn’t count.

That rest is wasted time.

We’ve become so used to being busy —

to checking off boxes,

to tracking our progress,

to measuring worth in output —

that we’ve forgotten something essential:

Rest is productive.

It’s the moment your body heals.

Your mind exhales.

Your soul whispers.

Reading a magazine.

Taking a long shower.

Sitting in the garden with a warm cup of coffee.

None of it is a waste.

Because time spent resting… is time well spent.

We’re not machines.

We’re not meant to hustle 24/7.

We are human beings.

And sometimes, we just need to be.

— Becky Hemsley

Echoes of Insight