In this episode, Debbie and her friend Philippa reminisce about their 13 and a half year friendship, which began during a challenging teaching placement. They discuss the experience of working with emotionally and behaviorally troubled children and the importance of composure and support in such situations.

The conversation also delves into the topic of perfectionism and the pressure to constantly excel, using the example of a talented but hard on himself nine year old artist. The teacher worked with him to manage his expectations and understand that mistakes are not the end of the world.

The episode emphasizes the importance of self-esteem and self-belief, which are not dependent on external achievements or circumstances. The pandemic serves as a reminder of this, as many people had their stability taken away. 

HIGHLIGHTS 

Rather than being hostage to your behaviors and emotions, you can then use them strategically in your life to let you know are you steering in the right direction or that you need to shift things? And you can then start to use them as strategies, so using them in the right way. So your busyness when that is in a healthy balanced state, that is really useful, when it's actually because you're overwhelmed, that's the problem.

Quite often we react without really taking that moment to reflect. And I think through therapeutic work it gives us that space to reflect and think, okay, what is this behavior teaching me? What message is it trying to pass me?

It's about giving yourself space to feel your feelings, to acknowledge them, and to be kind to yourself. We have such busy lives as mums and working and home lives that it's really difficult to do that sometimes. And I think that's when if you're not dealing with things and feeling your feelings, that's when things can become quite overwhelming and you slip into old behaviors or I would become quite chaotic.

And because you were in it, you didn't notice, because it happened progressively. And what that therapy did for you is it allowed you to almost step out of it and view the situations for what they were and then analyze who you were and how you were dealing with it. 

ABOUT THE HOST

Debbie started her career as a primary school teacher, but quickly recognized the complexities of being human and decided to retrain as a therapist. She is now a highly trained and experienced therapist, with advanced certifications in a variety of modalities including hypnotherapy, neuro-linguistic programming, mindfulness and meditation, past life regression, Reiki, Integral Eye Movements Therapy, sound therapy, Thought Field Therapy, and OldPain2Go.

Debbie is a full-time therapist and therapy trainer, and her passion is to help others and herself be the best versions of themselves that they can be. She believes that we are holistic beings and therefore, to truly achieve well-being and healing, we need to consider the whole person - including mental, emotional, physical, social, energetic, and spiritual aspects.

For Debbie, personal progress, healing, and spiritual development are a journey and her life is dedicated to that journey both within herself and in helping to facilitate it in the lives of others. As a therapist, trainer and host of the Tranquil Awakenings podcast, she will bring her wealth of knowledge and experience to the show, providing practical and holistic strategies to listeners on their journey of personal growth and well-being.

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