The Triple Network Model: Understanding Intrusive Thoughts and How EMDR Can Help Intrusive thoughts can feel sudden, repetitive, and difficult to control. They may arrive as unwanted images, worries, memories, or impulses that feel distressing even when a person knows they are not choosing them. For many clients, understanding what is happening in the brain […]
Finding Calm in the Storm: Using the Soft Gaze and Safe Place Visualisation to Restore Emotional Balance Life can sometimes feel overwhelming. Whether you’re navigating the demands of parenting, recovering from a difficult life experience, managing anxiety, or simply carrying the weight of everyday responsibilities, there are moments when your nervous system can become overloaded. […]
When everyone leans on you, but no one sees how much you’re carrying There are some struggles people talk about openly, and others they carry so quietly that even the people closest to them don’t fully see it. One of the most common and most overlooked reasons people come to therapy is because they are […]
There are a lot of people walking around looking completely “fine” on the outside while feeling like their brain is running a marathon on the inside. They’re answering emails, taking care of kids, showing up to work, keeping up with responsibilities, and at the same time, their mind is constantly spinning: What if I said […]
You may be home. You may be retired, released from service, or years removed from the experience that changed you. But sometimes your body doesn’t get the message that the danger is over. For some Veterans, PTSD looks like constantly scanning the room, needing to know where the exits are, becoming irritated more quickly, struggling […]
Viruses don’t only affect the immune system, they also interact with the brain and nervous system. Research points to several overlapping mechanisms: • Neuroinflammation: The immune response to infection releases inflammatory signals that can temporarily alter brain circuits involved in mood, motivation, and emotional regulation (Dantzer et al., 2008; Miller et al., 2009). • Stress-system […]
Your nervous system is constantly scanning your environment for cues of safety or threat, and sound is one of the fastest ways it does that. This means the background noises in your home can quietly influence stress levels, mood, and sleep, even when you’re not consciously aware of them. White noise vs. low-frequency noise Not […]
Quality sleep is essential for physical and mental health. As a psychologist, I frequently discuss sleep problems with my clients. On the surface, many of the habits I mention below will seem like they could be helpful. However, they are disruptive to processes such as circadian rhythm and sleep drive, which are essential for quality […]
Burnout is a form of emotional exhaustion that can occur in response to persistent and unrelenting stress. Since COVID-19 lockdowns, many people struggled to establish boundaries between work and home, and, in some cases, to juggle the twin demands of work, home school and childcare with no supports in place – the perfect combination of […]
We often think of sleep and anxiety as separate struggles — one physical, the other emotional. But in reality, insomnia and anxiety are deeply intertwined, creating a cycle that can be difficult to break. Whether you’re lying awake at night worrying about tomorrow, or waking up feeling emotionally raw and restless, understanding how sleep impacts […]
