Blog Category: Wellbeing
The Christian’s Mental Health Self-Care Kit
For those living with a mental health condition, self – care is particularly essential to help keep ourselves in the best of health, and hopefully to make our condition more manageable. What this looks like for each individual can differ from person to person based on varying factors such as genetics, mental health, location, and…
Where To Find Emergency Counselling in Australia
Australians have free and confidential counselling services available over the phone, online as a chat and by email for those struggling with mental health issues, suicidal thoughts, personal problems, relationships or family problems. The types of calls received can range from urgent crisis calls to the less urgent matters. However all calls matter. Counselling services…
Are You Ok Dragging Those Burdens Around?
The tendency to hide our vulnerabilities when we’ve been emotionally wounded is instinctive for most of us. As an emotional teen, I thought crying was a sign of weakness. There was a time when a stranger spotted me crying. She asked, “Are you ok?” What a shock!
Counselling – A Healing Journey of Connection
Seeking counselling help doesn’t mean we no longer believe in Christ and the healing power of God. Many Christians interpret seeking help from external sources as “not having enough faith.” However, equipping ourselves and the church with knowledge is an act of grace for the relief of those needing emotional support. Knowledge can save lives. Hosea…
Menopause Can Affect A Woman’s Mental Health
Menopause brings about physical and hormonal changes to a woman’s body that can affect her mental health. Menopausal women often experience hot flushes, night sweats, insomnia, memory loss, mood swings, bloating, depression and irrational thinking. These changes can also affect relationships. Menopause Menopause marks the end of a woman’s child baring years and the end…
Self Assessment for Depression
In Australia, one of the most attractive countries in the world to live in, it was reported as far back as 1988 that some 18% of the population had mental troubles. The majority were suffering from anxiety and depression. It’s estimated that 1 in 4 woman and 1 in 6 men are suffering from depressive…
How I Defeated My Post-Natal Depression
When Hayley Solich suffered a bout of Post-Natal Depression (PND) after giving birth to her youngest child, she was a married 37 year old Christian woman with 4 children under the age of five. As a mother Hayley put all her efforts into an extremely busy life, taking care of her new business and the…
Despair, Depression & Brokenness Made Me Doubt My Faith
As a Christian, Melinda Vanry has lived with depression, bipolar disorder and social anxiety. It was through those trials that she began to doubt God, and through those very same trials she also uncovered a foundational truth that has strengthened her faith for years to come. “God can be glorified in and through a believer’s…
The Five Stages of Grief – A Journey
“Grief is the response to the loss of any significant object or person in our lives. The process of grief follows such losses as death, divorce, other broken relationships, financial loss, lost job, amputation, loss of health, ageing, and abandonment of significant life goals or dreams. It also includes the many subtle losses that affect…
Helping Families Break Free From Addiction & Co-dependency
Addiction and co-dependency in families are all too common. The Co-dependent becomes the enabler in the relationship in support of the addict.
Is Your Emotional Support Person A Narcissist?
We all want someone trustworthy to confide in. However, narcissists are not the kind of people we want to open up to. Here's how to tell if your emotional support person has NPD.
When To Stop Talking To The Dog & Get Counselling
Taking care of pets can be therapeutic, but in no way should that replace the need to open up to someone about our problems. As a child I felt a great sense of relief after talking to my dog about my woes. He was a great listener. He didn’t answer back, he didn’t judge me,…
The Benefits & Joys Of Spending Time Outdoors
There’s something unique about being outdoors absorbing the sunshine and seeing the beauty of nature that brings our focus back to the more important things in life. While spending too much time indoors can have the opposite effect. Why is spending time outdoors so uplifting? In a blog by Michael Hyatt titled, “Why Going Outdoors…
aifc’s 2018 Self Care Retreat
aifc invites you to invest in the physical, vocational, relational and spiritual aspects of selfcare. Read for more details and view the price of admission.
The Positive Effects of Kindness On Our Mental Health
Making others feel good with kindness can be really rewarding by making us feel great about our actions as Christians for doing the right thing. Practicing kindness also has a profound effect our own mental & physiological health, helping us to become happier and compassionate towards others. Being kind to others has been known to…
Simple Ways To Energise Our Minds & Bodies For Work
Looking after ourselves when our brain cogs are trying to regain momentum after returning to work from a holiday break is essential for enegising our minds and bodies.
Unplugging to Recharge our Batteries in Quiet Stillness
Recently I came across an article on Psychology Today describing how our technologically advanced young people are experiencing ‘Nomophobia,’ a word to describe the fear they are experiencing of going without their mobile phones. Our kids today don’t know what life is like without one. The workforce is so technologically advanced that we are being…
7 Ways To Free Yourself From Addiction
Addictions are tough to beat, but regardless of our feelings, they can be conquered. If you’ve ever tried changing one single habit like smoking, drinking, overeating or generally bad behaviours, to name a few, you’ll know that it’s not easy. One major key to successfully changing a habit is to keep trying regardless of how…
Photography Keeps Me Focused Outside Of Myself
A hobby such as photography, as Melinda Vanry has found, has helpd to keep the focus outside of herself with huge benefits to her mental health.
How Mental Illness Impairs A Person’s Thinking & Judgement
Mental illness can impair a person’s thinking, affecting their own judgement, even to the point of ignoring the help of others.
What is Seasonal Affective Disorder? (SAD)
Seasonal Affective Disorder also known as SAD, a form of recurrent major depression affecting some people during seasonal changes.
Healthy Minds Are Just As Important As Healthy Bodies
Have you ever wondered why school kids get so much homework? Teachers are onto the fact that repetition and revision is necessary to remember what we are trying to learn. The body and the mind need regular workouts. Memory improves with repetition every day just like our fitness levels do when we exercise our bodies.…
Parents Be Vigilant About Protecting Children From Online Predators
Recently the ABC reported that a 16 year old Sydney girl was lured to the United States by a convicted 39 year old predator who allegedly groomed the girl on Snapchat. An international police operation rescued the girl from the basement of the accused man’s home. Unfortunately these are the times we live in and…
Churches Addressing Mental Health Issues Offer Grace & Hope
Churches can become trained to recognise mental illness and be better equipped to extend God’s grace and hope to those who are mentally unwell.
