“Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.” – Victor Borge Why Choose Laughter? In our brave new world, it has become harder than ever to foster creativity, connection, and well-being among our work colleagues. However, research has shown that laughter is an untapped force that leaders can use to build genuine human connection and […]
Why is Mental and Physical Health Important? In May we have covered the importance of a person’s mental health on their physical health. We know both mental and physical health impact each other significantly. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare states that people with mental illnesses are more likely to develop physical illnesses. Bad […]
Mental health can significantly affect physical health and performance in sports and athletes. Stress can interfere with performance through increased muscle tension, and reduce wellness. This increases the risk of injury because of attention and coordination changes, and an impact on self-confidence. Through these indicators, we can see how mental health can impact physical health […]
International Women’s Day is dedicated to celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women (International Women’s Day 2022a). It is also a day to encourage change and development for women all over the world. The theme for 2022 is “#BreakTheBias” which aims to leave gender bias in the past. Instead, celebrating difference in […]
You may have heard the saying (or have said), “I am losing my patience!!”. What does this saying around losing our patience actually mean? If patience is described as “waiting calmly for what I want”, losing patience means we are no longer calm, and no longer waiting. We have given into our impulses (our thoughts […]
1. Get in your Body…Slowly Take five slow breaths. Focus on breathing from your belly and count each breath in and out. Try to slow it down…. Get up and do your favourite stretches Walk or stand barefoot on grass or sand or lie down in a forest or on a beach Place your feet […]
The practice of staying grounded is key to maintaining stability and calmness in the face of the chaos and uncertainty. In my view, this quote from Viktor Frankl in Man’s Search for Meaning captures the benefit of being grounded perfectly: “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms […]
What is actually going on for me? During our day-to-day reality, we may often experience strong emotions. These emotions may cause anxiety, restlessness, burnout, and other negative feelings. Grounding yourself in the present moment is a simple, evidence-based technique that can quickly soothe unpleasant emotions and provide psychological benefits. Focusing on Our Reality Focusing […]
Women’s Equality Day Special What is Women’s Equality Day? Women’s Equality Day is an American celebration of allowing women to vote. Just because it’s American doesn’t mean we can not take this time to reflect on what Australian women have achieved. Women’s Equality Day is a day of reflection. A day of appreciating the sacrifices […]
Identifying Identity What is Identity? Identity can be viewed as the unique puzzle pieces that when put together, make you, you. Identity includes your memories, experiences, values, beliefs, relationships, strengths, weaknesses and many more. Your identity is something you can’t control. However, you can help it develop over time as you learn, grow and experience […]
Returning to Socialising After Lockdown Over the last year and half our country, and the broader global community have become used to living in a state of lockdown isolation. The limits of our conversations over this time have been reduced to nodding along in Zoom meetings. Previously, we enjoyed chatting with housemates before dissolving to […]
What is Flow? To be in a state of flow is to be utterly absorbed in an activity, with time seeming to pass in the blink of an eye. It is a mental state in which one’s whole being is completely immersed, typically in an activity which one enjoys and is skilled at. While flow […]
What is Flow? Have you ever been so absorbed by an activity that you lost all sense of time? Were you ever so focused on your task at hand that all your worries drifted away? If so, you may have been in a mental state psychologists refer to as, ‘flow’. According to psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, […]
Imposter Syndrome What Imposter Syndrome Can Look Like The concept of Imposter Syndrome is the idea of someone not being able to internalise their success. They believe their success or accomplishments are dependent upon external factors. Such as luck, fluke or even the stress they applied to their preparation. There are five patterns that have […]
What is Women’s Equality Day? Women’s Equality Day is an American celebration of allowing women to vote. Just because it’s American doesn’t mean we can not take this time to reflect on what Australian women have achieved. Women’s Equality Day is a day of reflection. A day of appreciating the sacrifices of the women in […]
What is an Identity Crisis and How Can it Occur? An identity crisis is a developmental life event where a person questions themselves, their purpose and their place in the world around them. This is a time of deep analysis, reflection and exploration of various ways a person sees themselves. An identity crisis is not […]
What is Gaslighting? Gaslighting is a form of emotional abuse whereby an individual will manipulate the targeted person into believing they’re wrong, even when they’re right, causing them to doubt their perception of reality. The target may be convinced that their memories are wrong or that their feelings are overreactions, leading them to rely on […]
The world is an unpredictable place, it always has been. However, the recent experience of the COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly heightened this experience for us humans. So how do we stay positive? This might sound counter intuitive, but one strategy is to let yourself go with your thoughts (to a point), with the aim of […]
Ups & Downs of Living in a Pandemic COVID-19 has forced us to acquire new knowledge and skills to assist with generating a new way of thinking that accommodates our current, ever-changing times. We never know when or how our everyday life is going to be changed. What may have made sense last year, may […]
There are three important questions to ask yourself in any relationship who am I? where am I going? and, who is coming with me? Who am I? Is a big question, and one that is both not stagnant, and answered by a series of other questions such as “what do I like/dislike?” Where am I […]
Control your thoughts, clear your mind. “Mind control”– it’s the stuff from science fiction movies typically with sinister overtones. In its purest form though, it’s simply about training your brain to serve you better. Previous blogs have covered ‘exercising your mind’ and ‘your thoughts aren’t necessarily facts’. In this post, we’ll focus on controlling your […]
Ever faced a challenge so big it fills you with terror? Where the sheer size of the what you have to deal with makes you feel completely overwhelmed? What Happens? For a start, you might feel bit of a “brain freeze”. The brain’s pre-frontal cortex (where logic, problem solving, analysis, prioritisation take place) goes off line, and our amygdala fires up the fight, flight, freeze response. The perception of […]
So often, in everyday life, we are faced with important decisions concerning new challenges. These could include applying for a new course at university or deciding on taking a new job. These kinds of challenges are a vital component of our ability to grow and develop as an individual. The more we test ourselves, including […]
Challenges Stimulates Growth and Progress As young humans, we are faced with daily challenges. From learning to roll, to crawl, and then to walk, none of which are easy feats. All have obvious (i.e. new physical capabilities), and not so obvious consequences (i.e. wiring of neuron pathways) that ultimately stimulate growth and progress. Have you […]
A health crisis. A marriage breakdown. A death of a close friend. A workplace crisis. A global pandemic. Life is no doubt full of life challenges. Challenges that are unexpected and hard to overcome. Challenges are what makes life interesting and overcoming them makes life meaningful. It’s inevitable that you will experience adversity and challenges […]
Not succumbing to an opportunity to address and improve As humans, we often find ourselves overthinking and reliving certain situations. This could be a situation that transpired at work, or something that occurred several years ago that still may cross our minds. During this time of reflection and contemplation, emotions may resurface that cause a […]
Comparative to many of our monthly topics, radical open mindedness is relatively unknown, however, being able to harness it as a skill you bring to your personal and professional life provides tremendous benefit. Open mindedness, particularly radical open mindedness is about being open to alternative perspectives and willingness to accept that you might be wrong. […]
This is a timely blog post with Xmas and New Year resolutions just around the corner! We all understand, hopefully, that life is a journey and if we are to be as successful as we are capable of becoming in any meaningful pursuit/s in our life then we need to have the resilience, perseverance and […]
When faced with some threat in our environment, our autonomic nervous system, one of the major neural pathways in the brain, becomes activated. Activation of this neural circuity triggers our ‘flight or fight’ response. This response is our natural response to danger. Think of a time when you were confronted with a terrifying situation. What […]
Hi, this is Oliver, your (stress) instructor….. Doooooooowwwwwwwwwn up, doooooowwwwwnnn up, come on more energy! In many areas of our lives we put ourselves under pressure and view this as a positive thing. We see the purpose of this exercise and what pursuing through that stress will ultimately reward us with. However, when this pressure […]
What is Mental Fitness? Have you ever thought about how mentally fit you are? You’ve probably heard of the buzz term “mental toughness”, but have you heard of “mental fitness?” Mental fitness is the ability to live life in a satisfying and sustainable way that enables you to cope with day-to-day challenges. It’s not just […]
Healthy Families, Healthy Homes Mental health is an integral part of overall wellbeing for children. Like adults, the mental health of children is not static; it is a continuum where one can be in a state of optimal mental health, poor mental health or somewhere in between. At such pivotal and influential ages, there are […]
When asked, “What do you really do to take care of yourself?”; many of us struggle to answer this. Instead we are guilty of persisting through a day of work, completing errand after errand, attending to others over ourselves until it gets to the end of the day, leaving ourselves feeling exhausted, drained and depleted. […]
As you may have heard many times, this year has proven to be one of the most significant years in our lives. We have gone from Bushfires, to Drought, to Floods and now the almighty Coronavirus. At the beginning of the year, we all focused on how we could achieve our new year resolutions and […]
Something in your gut has told you that your friend, family member, colleague or acquaintance, may not be doing so well – it could be a change in something they are doing, saying, or something that you’re aware of is going on in their life. You could ignore your gut and brush it off, or […]
It is important to prioritise resilience due to its research-based evidence of physical and emotional benefits, wellbeing and performance outcomes. And we know that one of the best things about resilience is that it is not a set genetic trait – it is something that we can continually develop in life. Research shows that the […]
More than a buzz word, resilience is a key driver of our health and well-being. It’s not just my opinion due to my observations as a Psychologist over many years but backed up by research out of Harvard Medical School and many other centres that provide evidence base research in this area. The ability to […]
Change is an unavoidable part of life and sometimes this means dealing with difficult challenges, setbacks or extreme hardship. At the moment, many people are facing unwanted changes to their lives and livelihoods. Losing jobs, losing career opportunities and unplanned financial burdens are unfortunately commonplace. These changes can lead to a range of strong negative […]
A major buzz word that circulates many domains is resilience. It is one of the most popular topics for positive psychology and for good reason. Resilience, in a nutshell, is an individual’s ability to bounce back and adapt from setbacks and challenges they have faced in their life. The way we react to the mistakes […]
Positive relationships are integral to our mental health, physical health, and emotional wellbeing. A positive relationship is between any two people who share love, support, and encouragement both practically and emotionally. However, negative relationships can be more detrimental to our well being than solidarity. So how can we nip them in the bud when we […]
What is a stress silo? A stress silo is what many us put ourselves in when we are faced with those common life challenges. These can include deadlines at work, change, setbacks, or multi-tasking, just to name a few examples. It is when we disconnect from those around us, cut off our connections and go […]
Relationships, whether they are personal or work-related, are significant aspects of our lives. They can have both positive and harmful effects on our mental wellbeing and satisfaction with life. From the day we are born, we develop and form relationships with others. This is because we have an inherent desire to be social and form […]
Throughout our lives, there are moments where we may have felt we accurately predicted something would to happen to us. Whether that be you thought “I feel really confident going into this interview today” and you go in, nail it and get the job, or you thought “this workout is going to be painful” and […]
Why is making a comeback important? Making a comeback is an especially important area in light of all things COVID-19 and the recent events of 2020. Many carefully formulated plans or goals may not have come to fruition. This blog provides some practical tips on what making a comeback is all about when the chips […]
Icing the Game Earlier this month you would have read a great blog written by our team mate Kate Nelson on ‘how to avoid choking’. This blog is similar that we are talking about ‘how to ice the game,’ which follows on from the previous blog. However, this topic is slightly different as it looks […]
What is choking? Star basketballers missing a penalty shot in overtime. Well-rehearsed interviewees forget their words during job interviews. Performers sing off pitch or jumble their words on stage. People embarrass themselves on first dates, after practicing introducing themselves in the mirror over and over. Students forget their in-exam essay they have re-written a million […]
Why do we need to set boundaries? We all have our limits. Whether that be at home, at work or with friends, we all have that line which we draw in the sand and say, “yes, that is enough for me”. When our limits have been pushed, we can often feel frustrated and disregarded. An […]
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”― Lao Tzu We have probably all been given the advice to take it ‘One step at a time’. The great UCLA basketball coach John Wooden often questioned his players ‘If you don’t do it properly the first time, when will you have time to do […]
“Honesty is the best policy” A cliché Benjamin Franklin quote we have all heard more than once throughout our lifetime. However, Franklin also said “Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment”. The ‘wrong thing’ referred […]
When the going gets tough, the tough (resilient) get going – Joseph Kennedy While this is a nice sentiment expressed by Jo Kennedy, father of the US president John, it really only states the beginning of a leader’s journey. That is, when things go pear shaped, as they have with gone with COVID-19 for example. […]
‘Leader’ and ‘Manager’ are two of the most common terms used in business and beyond. Often the terms are used interchangeably. Sometimes there may be a positive connotation towards being a ‘leader’ and more negative connotations towards being a ‘manager’. When put head to head, there are distinctive differences. But is being a leader better […]
When you are a part of a team, the word ‘Leadership’ gets thrown around a lot. It signifies the act of taking charge and guiding the team in the best direction. Along with this, we also always hear about the qualities of a good leader. These include: Effective communication skills Enthusiasm Empowering Organised And the […]
It wouldn’t be a ground-breaking, earth shattering statement to say that COVID-19 is likely to impact many people’s mental health. It is impossible to the think that the change and uncertainty forced upon us wouldn’t cause a heightened level of mental and emotional strain in the community. But to date, what has been the impact […]
Featuring a chat with NRL Player Corey Waddell My name’s Kate – intern at Veretis by day, hobby trail-runner by evening. 3-months ago I decided to sign up for one of the biggest trail-running events in Australia –the Ultra Trail Australia half marathon. Every day I’d go out to train, I would think of the […]
Avoiding Making the Same Mistakes Humans are creatures of habit. Some of these habits are better than others and forming these good habits can be a tool for achieving success in life. However, negative habits formed can also make it difficult for us to make change. This is clearly seen in relationships, where people form […]
Stepping back to understand our motivations & purpose The need for purpose and meaning behind our actions is one of the defining characteristics of human beings. We are in a healthier state of psychological well-being when we are pursuing tasks that are meaningful to us. We can also suffer quite serious psychological difficulties when we […]
What is Comparison? We have all heard of Teddy Roosevelt’s famous saying, “Comparison is the thief of joy”. In other words – when we compare ourselves to others, it can be detrimental to our mental health and cripple our happiness. Recent research has found that around 10% of our thinking daily revolves around comparing ourselves […]
Being Happy to do Things Vs Doing Things to be Happy ‘The Chicken and the Egg: Story of our mental health’ If I asked how you look after yourself when you feel the first signs of being run down, or a cold coming on, I would be pretty confident you could provide me a checklist […]
Why Non – Verbal Communication? Communication underpins the bulk of human interactions. In fact, it is a crucial, if not the most crucial element for humans being able to exist and bond together as social beings in families, communities and cultures. This in turn shapes the norms and acceptable behaviours for how we interact within […]
Communication is a key factor in a working team and our relationships with others. It is defined as when information has been transferred between people, through talking, writing or another medium. One of the major areas that communication affects is romantic relationships. A large amount of relationships end due to lack of, or incompatible communication […]
Have you had the usual start to 2020 – resolutions made and goals set? And as the end of January fast approaches, how are you travelling? If there hasn’t been much progress, resist the temptation to ditch it all, and perhaps opt for the ‘refresh’ button instead. What does this involve? Be clear on the […]
Did you start the year with a new goal? Did you buy new runners? Did you set a time limit on a new project you wanted to complete, or a deadline to get a new job? But now, the weeks are passing into months and you haven’t really put anything in place. But stumbling at […]
A new year has begun, and we all want the best 2020 vision for the year ahead. As we start to get back into our regular routine whether that be at work, studying or training, you are probably thinking about the goals you have set for yourself and how you are going to maintain it. […]
Welcome back from the Veretis team! We hope everyone had a great holiday season and are settling back into work well. To kick the year off, our January Psych Up! topic is ‘Keeping the Momentum Going’. Following on from our December topic of goal setting and New Year resolutions, we will be exploring how to […]
A lot of people engage performance psychology services looking for ‘keys’ to steely motivation. This is the type of drive and discipline that sees us leap out of bed at 4:30 in the morning rain, hail or shine, then charge off on a 15km run and be the first into the office and last to […]
