Nourish Flourish Thrive Integrative Health

18/02/2026

14/02/2026

One of the most misunderstood parts of healing is how relational it actually is.

When pain happens, the body looks for more than understanding. It looks for connection.

Another person’s presence helps the nervous system register that the experience didn’t just happen in isolation. That something landed. That the intensity could come down. That there was a shift after the pain.

This is why connection is so powerful for healing. Not because it fixes what happened, but because it helps the body register that the moment passed.

When pain is met in this way, it’s more likely to settle into the past. When it isn’t, the body keeps responding as if the moment is still relevant.

This is also why healing rarely happens alone. We are wired to make sense of pain, release it, and move forward in the presence of others.

And that connection doesn’t have to come from the person who caused the harm. What allows pain to finally rest is accurate witnessing, wherever that comes from.

14/02/2026

🙏🏻👏🏻❤️

14/02/2026

13/02/2026

13/02/2026

13/02/2026

Simple executive function building ideas: https://www.theottoolbox.com/executive-functioning-skills/

13/02/2026

Kelly is married to Dylan and in the last 5 years, she’s developed a shopping addiction. At first@she was in denial. It wasn’t until she was hiding Amazon packages from her husband and lying to him about money that she started thinking something was wrong.

Kelly’s husband works long hours in a hospital. She spends many nights alone watching tv and scrolling on her phone. She loves her husband, but they’re both overwhelmed with work. They’ve become strangers in way. They talk often about carving more time for each other, but life gets in the way.

Shopping gives Kelly an intense dopamine hit. Sometimes she just fills her cart for hours. Sometimes it’s just a quick moment on Amazon. She feels the impulse come up and she struggles to stop herself. Buying things gives her what she isn’t experiencing in her relationship: a feeling of being satisfied. She can’t put her finger on why, but she’s always felt alone. She’s always felt lonely, even as a child. The thrill of buying and trying new things is the only time her nervous system feels regulated. It’s the only time her mind is quiet and her thoughts aren’t ruminating.

But shame sets in quickly. She should be saving. Dylan has talked to her and she’s committed to budgeting. She knows she’s letting him down and when she does, sugar numbs the regret she feels. She shops, then she eats. Then she spends hours telling herself she’s worthless.

Kelly doesn’t understand how powerful the need for human connection is. When she shops, she’s not buying makeup or a new dress, she’s buying a tiny moment of feeling alive and connected to life. She feels almost nothing throughout the day, she’s dissociated. When she hits “buy now” life is hopeful again. When she walks into a store and buys things she tells herself she doesn’t need, she feels like she’s included in life— not just an outsider looking in.

Addiction is never about the substance. It’s the answer to a body that’s shut down or hypervigilant. It’s escape from pain and loneliness. It’s a miserable cycle, but it’s better than feeling nothing at all

13/02/2026

Every time you choose authenticity over approval, you are not just making a brave emotional choice—you are engaging in nervous system retraining at its most powerful level.

Because performance—whether it looks like perfectionism, people-pleasing, or hiding your truth—is a survival strategy. It’s the body saying, “If I show you who I really am, I might not be safe.”

But authenticity—saying the thing, showing the real emotion, taking up space—is you telling your nervous system: “I no longer need to abandon myself to be accepted.”

This is neuroplasticity in real time. You are rewiring your brain to recognize that safety doesn’t come from being chosen by others—it comes from choosing yourself.

You stop outsourcing your worth.
You stop negotiating your truth for temporary comfort.
And instead, you build internal safety through radical honesty and gentle self-permission.

It might feel shaky at first. Your heart may race. Your voice may tremble.
But with each moment of aligned action, your system learns: “I can be me… and survive.”

That’s the healing.
That’s the work.
That’s the freedom.

12/02/2026

A Queensland not-for-profit mental health clinic that delivers novel therapies such as ketamine and psilocybin is expanding its services.