Dr Zoe

18/03/2026

💡 There is a better way.

Your brain was not built for a day of constant pings, banner alerts, and tiny digital interruptions dressed up as productivity.

Recent research found that social media-style notifications can slow cognitive processing for around seven seconds after each alert. The more important finding? It was not total screen time that mattered most, but how often people were interrupted and how often they checked their phone.

So no, your brain is not failing at focus.
It is responding exactly as you’d expect to a day built to fracture attention.

📱 Fewer pings
🧠 More rhythm
✨ Better thinking



Research: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563226000233

Photo credit: Anders Norrback Bornholm

15/03/2026

I woke up this morning to 100k followers. 🤯
Thank you for being here, reading, reacting, sharing, and joining the conversations.

I didn’t have a big plan when I started this page back in 2020. I was living in Cambodia, writing up my PhD, and planning a move to Mauritius… then the pandemic hit and the world shifted.

Since then, this page has grown from a few mental health posts a month into a space where we talk about what it’s like to be human in modern life. If you’re new here, hello and welcome 👋

I’m Dr Zoe — an Australian Accredited Clinical Social Worker with a PhD in trauma and resilience. I’ve lived in six countries and I’m now based in Cairns, Australia, while continuing to work globally with individuals and organisations.

What you’ll find here:

- Practical, science-backed tools for wellbeing, resilience, and nervous system regulation

- Workplace wellbeing, relationships, communication, and mental health (without the fluff)

- Research and articles I’m reading, writing, or recommending

And yes — you’ll also meet my cat Jaeger (therapy cat). He features… regularly. 🐾

Thanks for being part of the journey. If you’ve been here a while, tell me: what kind of posts would you like to see more of?

14/03/2026

Life lessons from a therapy cat (Part 3): Jaeger is basically a tiny nervous system expert.

When he needs to settle, he doesn’t “push through”. He builds safety:
• favourite blanket
• favourite pillow
• the same sunny spot behind my office curtains

Same cues, same routine, same outcome: his body gets the message, “we’re safe now”.

Humans can borrow this. Your nervous system loves predictable signals. A “settle spot” is not indulgent, it is regulation by design.

Try it:
Pick one place + 2–3 cues you can repeat daily (tea, hoodie, lamp, playlist, weighted blanket, scent). Use it for 5 minutes when you get home, before bed, or between meetings.

Jaeger calls it nesting. Neuroscience calls it conditioning safety cues. Either way, it works. 🐾🧠

Head here for more life lessons from a therapy 😸 https://www.instagram.com/drzoewyatt/

12/03/2026

A free quiz to find out if you’re a good team player? 👀

It’s a fun little self-reflection exercise, not exactly hard science.

But if it tells you you’re excellent, I trust you’ll share it with absolutely no one and stay humble 😏

Take the quiz here:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/tests/career/team-player-test

09/03/2026

Your brain was not designed for 47 pings, 12 tabs, and a “quick question” every 6 minutes.

My latest article is out in e27:
The hidden cost of constant pings: Cognitive load in modern teams.

I wrote this because a lot of modern work looks productive on the surface, but underneath it is mentally expensive. Constant notifications, interruptions, and context switching do not just feel annoying, they add real cognitive load and make it harder to think well, focus deeply, and finish anything without feeling scattered.

Read it here: https://e27.co/the-hidden-cost-of-constant-pings-cognitive-load-in-modern-teams-20260303/

DrZoe Wyatt-Potage: Workplace Psychological Wellbeing Expertise

08/03/2026

Happy International Women’s Day.

Many women I know are carrying a quiet mental load every day.
Planning, remembering, organising, caring, problem-solving, and keeping things moving both at work and at home.

So this day matters. Not because it needs pink ribbons and cupcakes, but because women’s lives, work, safety, health, and time matter.

A little appreciation is lovely.
Real support matters more.

Here’s to women everywhere, and to building a world that makes things lighter, fairer, and safer.

04/03/2026

If you’re getting everything right, you’re probably not learning. 😅

There’s a cool finding often called the 85% rule: for many learning tasks, progress is fastest when you’re accurate about 85% of the time, and you miss about 15%. That small, regular dose of “oops” is where your brain updates its predictions and gets sharper.

That 15% isn’t failure, it’s friction.

It’s the moment your brain goes:
“Huh. That didn’t go so well.”
…and then quietly rewires a little bit so next time it’s closer.

No friction = no signal.
No signal = no change.

So if you’re learning something new and it feels slightly clunky, congrats, you’re in the zone.

(Nature, 2019)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-12552-4

28/02/2026

My new article is out: AI is becoming the “first draft” for distress.

People are using chat tools to untangle feelings, rehearse hard conversations, and work out what to do next. That can be genuinely helpful, but it can also mislead or delay real support if the guidance is off. I reviewed what the research says so far, and what safer care pathways could look like.

How are you using AI day to day?

Image note: AI-generated image. Human-made opinions (mine).

Article:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/401334681_Drafting_Distress_in_a_Chat_Window_A_Review_of_AI-Mediated_Help-Seeking_And_Care_Pathways

24/02/2026

Kind words are small, but they can change someone’s day.

When you give kind feedback, the brain feels safer.
When we feel safe, we think better.
We communicate better.
We cope better.

Try this today:
Send one short message of appreciation to someone you know.

19/02/2026

My brain will do anything today except the one task that matters. 😆

Brian Tracy’s Eat That Frog! idea is simple: spot the task you keep dodging (the “frog”) and do it first, before your day gets crowded.

Why it actually helps:
• Avoidance keeps your brain on low-key alert in the background
• Once the hardest task is done, everything else feels lighter
• You stop leaking attention all day thinking about it

So… what’s your frog today? 🐸

16/02/2026

I’ve just published a piece with e27 on why speed without slack can backfire at work – more switching, more cognitive load, more rework.

If you work in a fast-paced team, this one’s for you:

https://e27.co/singapores-ai-edge-depends-on-slack-20260214/

DrZoe Wyatt-Potage: Workplace Psychological Wellbeing Expertise

13/02/2026

Valentine’s Day is a full dopamine carnival: ads, bookings, social posts, and the subtle suggestion that one dinner should prove your entire relationship status. 😅

Quick brain note: dopamine is more “wanting/anticipation” than “instant happiness”. So if the build-up is huge, the after can feel a bit flat… even when the night is actually lovely.

I wrote a short, practical guide to keeping expectations realistic and the night genuinely enjoyable:
https://www.drzoewyatt.com/post/the-dopamine-trap-of-valentine-s-day-and-how-to-avoid-the-crash

Tell me your plan: romantic dinner, friend date, self-date, or strategic avoidance?