Eclipse therapy

15/05/2024

I love these fantastic athletes setting boundaries, sticking up for themselves, valuing their mental and physical health. What superb role models 🔥

Simone Biles, who stepped out of competition, the German gymnastics team who chose to compete in tights rather than leotards, the Norwegian handball players who refused to play in ass-baring bikinis (Pink offered to pay their fines), tennis champ Naomi Osaka's refusal to do a press conference immediately after a match and testimony about what a toll those conferences take: these young women are modeling for girls and young women and everyone else how to set boundaries, stand up for yourself, not let others dictate what is right and reasonable, and claim their right to dignity and self-determination and well-being. Wornen who said no. Women who valued themselves and trusted their judgment.

For me, who largely ignores sports, these are their finest moves and plays. "I have to put my pride aside, Biles said afterward. 'I have to do what's right for me and focus on my mental health and not jeopardize my health and my well-being. So that's why I decided to kind of take a step back. At the end of the day, we're human, too, so we have to protect our mind and our body rather than just go out there and do what the world wants us to do." I'm proud of her. She made her exit with grace and self-awareness. (But I still wish climate change was getting more coverage than sports this summer. Exiting the age of fossil fuel is the most urgent thing ever, and people are drowning and forests are burning.) 💪👑🇺🇸

12/04/2024

This is a really good explanation of the autistic “spectrum” and how it is not linear at all!

Describing autism as a spectrum sometimes leads people to conceptualize it as though it is a single axis with “more autistic” and “less autistic” at the two polar ends of it, and each autistic person placed along this axis somewhere.

I’m going to go more in depth about autism classification later this month, but what I’m going to take a small essay to say, this comic says more concisely and much more cutely! https://the-art-of-autism.com/understanding-the-spectrum-a-comic-strip-explanation/?fbclid=IwAR1MjkzEfMAiPjChdchqYDLDOdxDAKE-o6-5-yAivgXtrOs8rofsPMwqL9c (with handout versions in English, Spanish, French, German, Indonesian, and Greek!)

The attached image by also does a good job of showing it all in one image, though the comic strip linked above goes a little more in depth since it’s not all compressed into one image.

Basically: conceiving of the autism spectrum of one line from “less” to “more” autistic is not helpful. Rather, it may help to think of it as a circle with different categories. These categories might include things like: socializing/social differences, special interests, language differences, sensory processing style, emotional regulation, executive functioning skills, and other facets and co-occurring conditions as well. One Autistic person might have high needs in one area, but low needs in another area — or high skills in one area, but low skills in another area.

(I'm going to talk more about the Asperger's label later this month as well, or -- as with many of my posts this month -- you can read last year's if you don't want to wait.)

[Image description:
Dark blue background with white text over it that reads,

Autism Spectrum
The Autism spectrum is NOT linear.
(There is a rainbow-colored straight line segmented into different colors: Red, orange, light orange, yellow, green, teal, blue, pink. At left, it’s labeled “less autistic” and at right, it’s labeled “very autistic”.)

The Autism spectrum looks more like:
(There are two wheels, each rainbow-colored with the same colors as above, and with four notches on each wedge of the wheel. The wheel on the left is completely filled in with color. The wheel on the right shows each of the wedges as more or less filled in — for example, the orange wedge is only filled up to the first notch, but the teal and red wedges are filled entirely with color, and the rest are somewhere in-between. The colors are labeled out to the side with a key: Social differences, interests, repetitions, sensory sensitivities, emotional regulation, perception, executive functioning, and other.)
(The overall effect is to show that two different Autistic people on the “autism spectrum” could have very high skills or struggles in one area, but very low skills or struggles in a different area.)

Terms like “high functioning”, “low functioning”, and “Asperger” are harmful and outdated.
Autism Sketches
End description.]

03/01/2024

New year, new you?

I like this quote from the National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society . How absolutely true !

"Every year you make a resolution to change yourself. This year, make a resolution to be yourself."

There can be lots of pressure around this time of year. If you are feeling overwhelmed and would like to reach out and talk to a qualified professional about what is on your mind, search our Accredited Register and find a qualified counsellor in your area today.

https://buff.ly/3Gl4n3g

13/09/2023

Back to school for me too 😁 always wanting to learn something new!

06/09/2023

Back to school anxiety/excitement in our house today!

How are you feeling?

17/08/2023

Exam time is such a stressful ordeal for many young people; and the results do not define you ✍🏾 🎉

11/05/2023

Whilst not being very active on the old social media I have been a busy little bee behind the scenes!
Having recently attended a few very interesting CPD and online training courses plus an updated website feel free to take a look 🙂 xx

We often wait until things are in crisis before reaching out. Perhaps you are reading this and want to make contact, but feel afraid to talk because you don't know me, or the things you want to talk about are very painful or difficult.

11/05/2023

17/04/2023

I really like this to show what is often happening under the surface. For ourselves, for friends, family, colleagues, strangers in the street. What you see is rarely the whole picture. There are often struggles beneath the surface. Be kind. You are doing the best you can. So is every body else ❤️

Remember, taking care of your mind is just as important as taking care of your body. Make self-care a priority. You are not alone.

💚

11/05/2022

26/06/2020

Therapist friends... some interesting sounding free CPD here... I’m doing some work for frontline19 and this is definitely going to be useful for that!

FREE & ONLINE 29 June to 5th July 2020 LEARN HOW TO HANDLE EMOTIONAL STRESS OR TRAUMA They are the number ONE most underexposed risk factor for ALL chronic illness. High exposure leads to a dramatic increased risk of developing 7 of the top 10 causes of death. The conference is FREE & ONLINE Trauma....

29/05/2020