Positive Young Minds - Psychology for children, teenagers and parents.
  • What does a child psychologist do?
  • What Can I do to Help my Child?
  • Helping you move from overwhelm to calm
  • Services
    • Counselling
    • Happiness Habits
    • Improve your wellbeing
    • Cancellation policy
  • All things parenting
  • How to talk to teens
  • What is Mindfulness?
    • For Children
    • For Teens
    • For Parents
    • Some science behind mindfulness
  • FAQ
  • Keep connected
  • Kim Dunn
  • Connection Resources

My blog - All things parenting

HOW TO STOP FEELING LONELY

15/11/2018

 
Do you feel part of a group of friends?

If you answer no, you are not alone..
Nearly 30% of Australians over 18 years of age reported that they rarely or never felt part of a group of friends.  

Australian Loneliness Report
Loneliness is not just caused by not having enough friends.  
 
Hence the saying that you can feel lonely in a crowd.

Feelings of loneliness are to a large extent caused by our perception of our social connectedness.  It is related to how connected we feel.  
​

The good news is by working on your thinking about social situations you can change how lonely you feel.
Picture
Photo by Fabrizio Verrecchia on Unsplash
It's one thing to know that changing our thinking can help reduce our feelings of loneliness. 

But how do you change your thinking?

Read More

Three ways to reduce annoyance, without changing your thoughts.

15/6/2017

 
I admit it, I get annoyed, irritated, even angry easily.  Some days it could be missing a change of lights and getting stuck in the traffic, not knowing what I'm going to have for tea, my children asking me the same question 20 different times in an hour, or something totally out of my control like the state of world politics.  Somedays I just wake up irritated due to other stresses.

My brain battles with the fact that the world is not how I would like it to be and is full of "whys and shoulds''.  

Now anger can be a great motivating force for change, however, when directed at things you can't change or don't have the time, energy or inclination to change, it is like banging your head against a brick wall.  

It's hard being angry and annoyed, it takes energy and it hurts the people around me when I am short with my patience or have no space in my world perspective of indignation to listen and be with them. ​

Picture
Calming the beast
I have been working on some different strategies and I thought if I share them other people may find them useful.  
1.     Awareness - recognition that I am feeling annoyed.  Labelling this emotion.
2.   Making sure I am eating, drinking and walking regularly.  So important to try and maintain a balanced physiology.


And number three is something I have been trying recently and am really impressed with the difference it is making.

3.     Rating my annoyance - how important is it that I react to that perceived injustice/annoyance.  I use a scale of 10 and give myself permission to react angrily when the number is an 8 or above.
Interesting when I apply a rating most times it has only been about 2/3 out of 10.

If you think these strategies may help you give them a go and comment below whether they worked or not.  If you know someone who may be interested, either tag them or share this post.

​

Optimism is a choice

7/2/2017

 
​Do you remember being at the shops and seeing someone you know?  Being a friendly sort you give them a wave or a smile.  But they don’t wave back.  I know, it’s pretty rude isn’t it.  And you might feel a bit of a dill and wonder if other people are looking at you.  Or perhaps you wonder if they are ignoring you on purpose, and that makes you feel a bit anxious.  So perhaps you take on some of this uncertainty and carry it around with you for the rest of the day, or until you see them again.
 
Does your child spill milk on the floor when they are preparing their breakfast, and you think, or say, “bugger, another mess to clean up”?  Especially when you have a busy day ahead.
 
Does this sound like you?  Do you tend to automatically focus on the negative of a situation?  Or do you think, “maybe they didn’t see me”; “isn’t it great he’s becoming independent”.
 
Having a negative response bias is a type of distorted or helpful thinking style.  We all may do this from time to time, but more so when we are under prolonged stress or feeling depressed.  We may see our weaknesses and forget our strengths.  When someone gives us feedback we focus on the negative and reject the positive. 
 
Noticing the positive is a choice, and it is also a skill we can develop.  Maybe the next time you notice a negative thought, look for an alternative explanation, see a different perspective, choose to focus on the positive, and allow the negative thought to take a backwards role.   
Picture
photo by http://www.buddhadoodles.com
HOME

Calming the irritated little child inside

2/2/2017

 
Picture
If you are a regular reader of my posts you'll notice I mention noticing a lot.  To some people this sounds too simple to be of much help.  It is simple, but that is no reason to dismiss it as not being effective.  Noticing things tends to be the first strategy I teach my clients and it is a practice I use everyday in my own life.

Today was the first day all three children were going to school.  I tend to lay in bed in the morning and listen to them move around each other.  This is not being lazy, this is helping them cultivate their own independence.  Yes, it is.  Also, just like their mother, at least one of them prefers to move around in their own little bubble not interacting with the world until they wake up properly, so sometimes adding more people into the morning mix is not helpful.

However, as I lay in bed I can hear what is happening. Two children needed to be taken to school.   There were two adults available to do the driving this morning and one child was saying they wanted their dad to take them.  At this point I realised it would require another adult, me, to hop up so that arrangements could be made.  As I put one foot on the floor I felt something shift inside me so I took a moment in between placing the other foot on the floor to check in on myself.  When I did I noticed a spot of irritation starting to grow inside me, it was green and spikey.  It was small, but threatened to get bigger.  This feeling was also accompanied by a negative voice.  It sounded a little like a whiney child - "here we go again, the demands are starting'.  Now this was totally irrational and out of proportion to the situation. Here is the exciting bit....

As I placed my attention on to this spot I felt it stop growing and shrink back to nothing.  My irritation disappeared.  This all happened in the time it took to place my other foot on the floor. And I left my room calm

I don't know what you think about this - but noticing, simple yes, effective yes, yes, yes.


    Like to receive the latest blog direct to your email?  Simply fill in your contact information 

Subscribe to Newsletter
    View my profile on LinkedIn

    Categories

    All
    Christmas
    Creating New Habits
    Family Dynamics
    Happiness
    Kindness
    Mindfulness
    Noticing Emotions
    Parenting
    School
    School Holidays
    Self Care
    Sleep
    Strengths

    Disclaimer

    * My aim is for these posts is meant to useful, interesting and/or inspiring. They are not designed to be used for therapy..  

    Archives

    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    June 2014

    RSS Feed

    Author

    Kim Dunn is a Child Psychologist and Founder of Positive Young Minds.  

    She is also a mother of 3 and knows what it feels like to be sleep deprived, confused, full of self doubt one moment and in wonder of children the next.

Location

We see face to face clients in Narre Warren.  For your convenience after hours, onsite school, and web based appointments are available.​


Phone no: 0408533515
To refer please fax to: 0390864164


Increasing connection, confidence and calm, with strategies that pass the 'mum' test."
​
Kim Dunn, Founder and Principal Psychologist at Positive Young Minds.
  • What does a child psychologist do?
  • What Can I do to Help my Child?
  • Helping you move from overwhelm to calm
  • Services
    • Counselling
    • Happiness Habits
    • Improve your wellbeing
    • Cancellation policy
  • All things parenting
  • How to talk to teens
  • What is Mindfulness?
    • For Children
    • For Teens
    • For Parents
    • Some science behind mindfulness
  • FAQ
  • Keep connected
  • Kim Dunn
  • Connection Resources