Ponderings on sobriety, ADHD, anxiety & wellbeing
Learnings, podcasts, stories, hacks and useful info for you to tap into!
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The 10 Most Common Reasons ADHD clients tell me they drink
As a therapist and coach who works at the intersection of ADHD and grey area drinking, I hear a lot of the same stories from clients about why alcohol has become such a significant part of their lives.
And for most of them? It’s not about celebration or fun. It’s about relief.
👉🏼A way to get through the day or the ‘witching hour’ when everything feels too much.
👉🏼A coping tool that starts off feeling helpful... but over time becomes another problem to manage on top of everything else.
But here's what I want you to know. This is not a personal failing, it’s your ADHD.
Reflections from seven years alcohol-free!
Reflections from seven years sober/alcohol-free! Here’s what I’ve learnt along the way.
HALT! and other silly season survival tips
Learning to build a solid foundation within ourselves that is anchored in knowing these truths is, for so many of us, one of the hardest things we do in life. And this time of year – amongst the fun and festivities - can bring forth old family wounds, grief, loneliness, difficult relationships and exhaustion that make it even harder to stay grounded.
So here are 3 tools for you to use over the Xmas period to manage stress, alcohol, family stuff or anything else that can impact on your sense of self:
Remember the HALT acronym – HUNGRY, ANGRY, LONELY, TIRED? It’s a super useful tool over this period (see more below) and for life in general.
Exploring the pros and cons of Mental Health Care Plans
So, you've probably heard about GP Mental Health Care Plans (MHCPs; sometimes also referred to as MHTPs for ‘Treatment’) as a way to access mental health services more affordably. They're often the go-to from GPs when you're considering mental health treatment and the type of support/practitioner they refer them on to. However, like anything, they come with their own set of pros and cons.
Many of us are not familiar with some of the implications of the MHCP - and to be clear this article is not designed to deter you from them in any way as they are invaluable for many. But it is important for all of us as health/mental health consumers to have all the information to enable us to make the best decisions for our particular circumstances and needs. So let’s take a look.
Are you different from ‘the others’?
As humans we frequently ‘other’ people we believe are not like us. From political beliefs to race, culture, life experiences, age to socioeconomic status. Most of us do this to some degree. Same with people experiencing struggles; whether that’s mental health, disability, financial difficulty, addiction, trouble with the law, unemployment. We often think we’re different to them, which usually means ‘better than’ if we’re really honest. So if similar things arise in our own lives - like issues with alcohol or mental health - it’s part of why we push it away and deny it, because that group and that label is so wholly undesirable to us. But are we really that different?
SXSW🎉CHANGING THE ‘GETTING WASTED’ AUSSIE PARTY CULTURE: SXSW SYDNEY
It was a fantastic opportunity to speak on this topic with the incredible panel Caterina Giorgi from FARE Australia, Jasper Vallance from Xstatic Sunsets and Murat KILIC (DJ, Producer, Conscious Club Events) and myself from Untoxicated at the first ever South by South West conference (SXSW) held outside of its birthplace in Austin USA.
Very heartening to see the strong interest; we were moved to a larger capacity space at the last minute because crowd numbers were double the expected. 💃As a panel we brought our own lived experience of long partying histories and alcohol use to the discussion, as well as our experiences in establishing alternative spaces for people to socialise and connect without booze.We talked about how we can shift our overconsumption of alcohol as a nation + its heavy enmeshment in our culture and ways we socialise, and paths forward to creating some change
Why I go to therapy
None of us have it all worked out. Not your psychiatrist, your Mum, the inflluencer you follow who talks about mental health. We are ALL fallible humans who need support, guidance, help with our 'stuff'. That includes mental health professionals and those in the helping professions. Therapy gives us a way to process our emotions, our struggles, our challenges and to see things from a different and more helpful perspective. It educates us. It gives us more awareness of who we are. Everyone should do it, frankly.