Bob Brotchie and I have both benefited from mindfulness while overcoming the effects of childhood trauma. We share our experiences in this podcast and give you the basics of starting a mindfulness practice of your own.

This podcast is a little longer than you are used to and consists of 2 parts.

I am joined on the podcast by Bob Brotchie. Bob is a successful private practice counsellor seeing individuals with anxiety related symptoms in person and online aged 8 and up from his office near Newmarket, Suffolk. He attributes his ‘later-life’ inner-peace to practicing mindfulness for everyday anxieties, past life trauma’s and the complexities of life. He shares mindfulness tips where appropriate with his clients - along with other psycho therapeutic models. A regular blogger for mental health matters and particularly ‘mindful approaches’ to life.

Want to learn more about mindfulness? You can find Bob's course here: bobbrotchie.com/

Bob Brotchie and I have both benefited from mindfulness while overcoming the effects of childhood trauma. We share our experiences in this podcast and give you the basics of starting a mindfulness practice of your own.

This podcast is a little longer than you are used to and consists of 2 parts.

I am joined on the podcast by Bob Brotchie. Bob is a successful private practice counsellor seeing individuals with anxiety related symptoms in person and online aged 8 and up from his office near Newmarket, Suffolk. He attributes his ‘later-life’ inner-peace to practicing mindfulness for everyday anxieties, past life trauma’s and the complexities of life. He shares mindfulness tips where appropriate with his clients - along with other psycho therapeutic models. A regular blogger for mental health matters and particularly ‘mindful approaches’ to life.

Want to learn more about mindfulness? You can find Bob's course here: https://bobbrotchie.com/

PTSD is a natural response to trauma, just as bleeding is a normal response to being stabbed.

This is a vital point actually. So often we feel like we are going crazy and some people feel a sense of shame for developing PTSD. Would you feel that same sense of shame for bleeding, though? Or breaking a leg? Same difference. This is the result of your experiences, it says nothing about you other than that you are a survivor.

I want to reflect on some of the misinformation that floats around about PTSD.

- PTSD does not only affect veterans

- PTSD isn't just in your head

- PTSD is not a sign of weakness

This is my response on the day of hearing about Anthony Bourdain's passing. It is an emotional appeal to reach out to your loved ones and let them know they are loved unconditionally.

We need to have a conversation as people, as human beings, about how we feel. The good, the bad and the ugly! We are not alone in our experiences, no matter how lonely we may feel.

If you are struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts, please reach out to people who can help. Here are some numbers: https://www.instagram.com/p/BjyEv6KnNTV/

- Talk to your friends about the real stuff

- Check up on your friends and family

- Check again

- And Again

Realizing that flashbacks could be emotional, and did not have to be disassociative in any other sense of the word, I started to better understand what was happening when I was triggered. That in turn, helped we to better manage my PTSD symptoms. Let me tell you more.

- PTSD flashbacks are not necessarily like you see in the movies

- Emotions may come up that are not connected to the present moment

- Becoming more aware of our emotions can help us better cope with emotional flashbacks

As much as we’d like to just stop feeling the pain and the grief in our lives, we can’t just pretend it’s not there. In order to heal it, we need to feel it. And we need to talk about it. If not, it’ll come to bite us in the tush.

- Pushing pain away takes more energy than dealing with it

- If we do not express pain in a healthy way, we will express it in an unhealthy way

- The vulnerability that is required to acknowledge our pain can be difficult to muster

- Sharing your story gives you strength. If, you find the right audience

- Create space and time to really grief and heal

Here is the blog post I reference: http://swanwaters.com/being-well-enough/

In the aftermath of Mother’s Day (this podcast was originally posted on 14 May 2018), you may need a reminder that you are -in fact- entirely lovable.

- Happy healthy people do not abuse other people

- Their trauma does not excuse the abuser, but it may help us understand why they cannot connect to us in a healthy way

- It is important to remind ourselves that we are loveable, the abuser, however, is incapable or unwilling to love us. That is not the same thing!

Here is our free Facebook Group if you are looking for some support: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SwanWaters/

This episode of the pint-sized healing podcast looks at personal efficiency and how our obsession with to-do lists may cause us to feel a lot of guilt. There are so many things we feel we should do, and then when we fail to complete our unrealistic list of activities we feel horrible about ourselves.

Today I share some ideas about how you can adjust your to-list, so you can feel a lot better about the daily grind.

- When we can't stay on top of our overinflated to-do list, we can experience a lot of guilt

- Cut big projects down into their individual tasks, so the list is more realistic

- Make a list of feelings you would like to experience, and then connect those to activities that can cultivate those feelings

- Include the things you really look forward to and are relaxing and fun to your to-do list

This is the Positive Psychology course I mentioned: https://www.coursera.org/learn/positive-psychology

In this episode, I talk to you about Mother's Day (it was originally published on 30 April 2018) and give you some alternative ways to celebrate the day if you are a survivor of maternal abuse (or if you just want to switch it up).

- Take a break from Social Media for a few days

- Celebrate the mother you are to your inner child

- Celebrate Mother Earth or other maternal energy you experience in your life

Letting go is an important step of healing, but one we often do not mark or celebrate. Creating a ceremony when you are ready to let go of pain, is an amazing tool in your healing.

- Healing isn't linear

- Letting go is the final step, one we sometimes forget

- Creating a ceremony can help with that step

The blog post I refer to is 'Giving Your Memories Wings' and can be found here: http://swanwaters.com/giving-memories-wings/