Joyful Being

01/04/2026

Most screening tools in the perinatal period focus on external symptoms:

Low energy
Not coping
Withdrawal
Flat mood

But they don’t ask enough about capacity:

Can you start tasks when your brain says no?
Can you organise multiple steps while sleep deprived?
Can you follow through consistently or does your capacity fluctuate greatly?

So what gets measured is what’s visible.
Not what’s driving it all.

And there’s another layer:

A lot of women are seen as “capable”
because they have a degree, a career, or they’ve coped well before.

So the deeper questions don’t get asked.

High masking doesn’t equal high capacity.

So some parents are told they’re depressed…
when their brain may actually be struggling with
initiation
organisation
follow through

Same presentation.
Different driver.

And if we don’t get curious about capacity,
we risk missing the support that would actually help

Importantly I need to point out that this is general information, not a diagnosis.

Just something to consider if you’ve been wondering
“what’s actually going on for me?”

26/03/2026

ADHD isn’t a lack of capacity.
It’s a fluctuating capacity nervous system.

For a lot of women, it looks like:

All in.
Focused.
Capable.
Getting it done.

…until suddenly—

Nothing.
Stuck.
Avoidant.
Overwhelmed by things that “should be easy.”

It’s not inconsistency in effort.
It’s inconsistency in access.

And that difference matters.

Because many women have spent years supported by external scaffolding:
• deadlines
• structure
• routine
• accountability

Then postpartum hits—

And those external supports fall away,
while the demand for steady, regulated, consistent output skyrockets.

Babies and kids don’t run on urgency or last-minute pressure.
They need presence.
Repetition.
Consistency.

Exactly the things a fluctuating capacity nervous system can struggle to sustain. And if you are sustaining it, at what internal cost?

So what used to work for you… stops working.

And it can feel like:
“Why am I suddenly not coping when I used to be so capable?”

But this isn’t new.
It’s just more visible now. Postpartum can expose it.

You’re not failing.
Your scaffolding changed.

I’m going to break this down more in future posts —
because this is where ADHD gets missed in women.

25/03/2026

We need to talk about this more.

“Let me know what you need”
is often said to ease our own discomfort — not theirs.

Because showing up is harder.
It’s awkward. It’s confronting. It takes effort.

But that’s what support actually is.

Pregnancy and baby loss is not a moment in time.
It’s something people carry every day for the rest of their life.

So don’t step back.
Lean in.

And as someone who has lived this loss —
the people who show up are so deeply appreciated.
Even when they don’t know what to say. Their presence and care is felt 🩷

When I am supporting parents in the therapy room, it’s rarely the “wrong thing” said that causes harm.

It’s always about the absence of loved ones showing up or checking in that hurts the most after loss 💔

24/03/2026

Most neurodivergent people aren’t diagnosed until pregnancy or beyond.
Women have historically been underdiagnosed with ADHD and/or Autism, and the perinatal period often brings these differences to light for the first time.

COPE’s recent survey shows just how big this gap is:
62.2% of people didn’t know they were neurodivergent (ADHD, Autism, or both) until they were having a baby.

To all the women who’ve been diagnosed with postpartum depression and felt like the treatment didn’t land—perhaps this was the vital information missed.

Learn more and access fact sheets here 👇
https://www.cope.org.au/

Thank you .org.au for bringing this information into awareness so that we can all better support people in the perinatal period.

17/03/2026

Parenting can be beautiful, meaningful, joyful…

…and also overwhelming, lonely, and mentally exhausting.

Those things often exist at the same time.

A small piece of good news: our newest psychologist Melissah has added another day at Joyful Being, which means a few new client appointments are now available on a Tuesday.

If you’ve been thinking about getting support during pregnancy, postpartum, or parenting, this might be a good time to reach out.

Spots tend to fill quickly, but we’ll open a waitlist once they’re gone. 💜

17/03/2026

Parenting can be beautiful, meaningful, joyful…

…and also overwhelming, lonely, and mentally exhausting.

Those things often exist at the same time.

A small piece of good news: our newest psychologist Melissah has added another day at Joyful Being, which means a few new client appointments are now available.

If you’ve been thinking about getting support during pregnancy, postpartum, or parenting, this might be a good time to reach out.

Spots tend to fill quickly, but we’ll open a waitlist once they’re gone. 💜

10/03/2026

We often tell mothers “you can’t pour from an empty cup.”

But that phrase can miss the reality many parents live in — where friends are back at work, the village isn’t there, and the energy required to build support is often more than you have left.

Self-care isn’t just a personal responsibility. It’s shaped by the support systems around us.

If your cup feels empty, it doesn’t mean you’ve failed.
It might mean the system around you is asking too much 💛

10/03/2026

08/03/2026

The conversations about gender equality can feel enormous sometimes.

But culture is built in small moments inside homes.
Teaching boys that care, kindness, emotional literacy, and shared responsibility are just normal parts of being human.

Everybody cooks because everybody eats.

I think about this not just as a mum, but also as a psychologist — small everyday habits shape the way the next generation relates to care, equality, and emotion.

Happy International Women’s Day to the women quietly shaping the future every day 🫶🏻

05/03/2026

Therapists spill coffee too!

Both of these photos were taken two minutes apart.

Photo 1: professional psychologist calmly doing Telehealth.
Photo 2: iced coffee down my shirt.

Same desk. Same day.

When I started in psychology 20 years ago, I genuinely believed I had to hide the messy version of me. Being human didn’t feel very “professional.”

Back then the message was pretty clear: be professional, be composed, and keep your humanness quietly out of sight.

But the most healing spaces are the ones where people can be human. Messy. Emotional. Laughing. Crying. All of it.

In the work I do around pregnancy, loss, and early parenting, humans show up messy, brave, exhausted, hopeful — often all at once.

And I’ve learned that when the therapist can be a real human, it gives everyone else permission to be one too.

Because most of us are walking around trying to look like photo one while secretly feeling like photo two.

Professional enough to help, human enough to spill the coffee. ☕💜

Both can be true.

People don’t heal in perfect spaces.
They heal in human ones.

Being human isn’t unprofessional.
It’s what makes the work possible. ☕️

23/02/2026

✨ She booked in for acupuncture… and left with a job!✨

Meet Melissah.

She came into took my business card, and reached out for a coffee. Somewhere between talking nervous systems, mental load, and the invisible labour of modern life and parenting, I just knew — she gets it.

Melissah brings life experience. Wisdom. Curiosity. A grounded, thoughtful presence that makes you exhale without realising you were holding your breath.

She’s not a just “nod and smile” vibe
She’ll sit with you in the hard.
She keeps it real.
She’ll help you name it — hello mental load, hello overstimulation, hello “why am I carrying all of this?”
And she’ll work alongside you to build practical, doable support that actually fits your life.

She has immediate availability, for now, at Juno Specialists and her calendar is already filling before I have even had a chance to officially announce her joining.

If you’ve been meaning to reach out but didn’t want to wait months, this might be your moment.

New clients can complete the online enquiry form via our website or email hello@joyfulbeing.com.au and Mel, our admin support, will sort it for you 🫶🏻

Some people just feel aligned from the beginning. I’m so glad she’s here 🤍

23/02/2026

✨ She booked in for acupuncture… and left with a job!✨

Meet Melissah.

She came into took my business card, and reached out for a coffee. Somewhere between talking nervous systems, mental load, and the invisible labour of modern life and parenting, I just knew — she gets it.

Melissah brings life experience. Wisdom. Curiosity. A grounded, thoughtful presence that makes you exhale without realising you were holding your breath.

She’s not a just “nod and smile” vibe
She’ll sit with you in the hard.
She keeps it real.
She’ll help you name it — hello mental load, hello overstimulation, hello “why am I carrying all of this?”
And she’ll work alongside you to build practical, doable support that actually fits your life.

She has immediate availability, for now, at Juno Specialists and her calendar is already filling before I have even had a chance to officially announce her joining.

If you’ve been meaning to reach out but didn’t want to wait months, this might be your moment.

New clients can complete the online enquiry form via our website or email hello@joyfulbeing.com.au and Mel, our admin support, will sort it for you 🫶🏻

Some people just feel aligned from the beginning. I’m so glad she’s here 🤍