THIS WAY UP

12/10/2025

Just like anything valuable needs regular care and attention to thrive, so does our mental wellbeing.

A few small, intentional steps can create a big transformation:

🧰 Check-in with yourself – identify areas you'd like to focus on. Which areas need a little extra care?

🧰 Set SMART goals – specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals work best

🧰 Use coping tools – mindfulness, online CBT, support networks, movement

🧰 Break unhelpful patterns – replace them with healthier habits

🧰 Build resilience – routines, problem-solving, learning from setbacks

🧰 Prioritise self-care – maintenance also includes joy, rest, and boundaries

🧰 Seek help – it’s never too early to ask for support from loved ones, colleagues, and/or mental health professionals

Take care 💛

07/10/2025

Ever felt overwhelmed by emotions? The 'Name It to Tame It' technique can help manage any difficult feelings you may be experiencing.

Try these 4 steps:

🌾 Notice the Feeling: When you're hit with a wave of feelings, pause. Take a moment to be curious about what you feel and how it shows up in your body. What physical sensations do you notice? Is it a heavy or light feeling? Does it change with time?

🌾 Name the feeling: After noticing the feeling, see if you can name it. Labelling your feelings can help you to gain a sense of balance and not be taken over by the experience.

🌾 Sit with the feeling: Acknowledge how you feel. Remember that emotions are part of the human experience. You're not alone in feeling them. Simply watch the feeling as it rises and falls in intensity.

🌾 A Mindful response: Once you've named your emotion, take a breath. Choose how to respond instead of reacting impulsively. Can you notice the feeling changing? Can you imagine the feeling floating away?

If you're not exactly sure how you're feeling, we have developed a free and anonymous Wellbeing Test to check your levels of stress, anxiety, or low mood.

Take care 💛

03/10/2025

We’re often quick to offer a kind word to a friend who’s struggling - but when it comes to ourselves, that same kindness can be surprisingly hard to find.

Self-compassion is about changing that. Here's how...

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The powerful tool of self-compassion is about learning to treat ourselves with understanding, patience, and care

01/10/2025

When experiencing difficult emotions like fear, anger, or frustration, it can sometimes feel like others are just “not getting” us, which can lead us to snap, yell, or withdraw from the situation without solving the problem or getting our needs met.

Reacting this way can lead to misunderstanding, defensiveness, and cause even more unnecessary stress.

Here are 5 steps you can take when experiencing strong emotions.

Remember, expressing your feelings helps others know what's going on for you so they can better understand how to support you.

If you’d like to take more steps towards feeling better, we have 18 evidence-based online programs that have helped over 300,000 people worldwide.

Check them out here: https://thiswayup.org.au/what-we-treat

Take care 💛

21/09/2025

Gratitude isn’t about getting it “right” - it’s about paying attention to the day-to-day with more deliberate focus on the little things that bring you calm, joy, and connection.

Start small with these 6 ideas:

🎁 Be thankful for your body’s abilities (like the calm you experience when taking a slow and gentle deep breath).

🎁 Relish simple moments (like sunshine on your skin).

🎁 Celebrate small joys (like hearing your favourite song).

🎁 Try to notice the beauty in each day (look out the window on your morning commute to notice something small yet meaningful).

🎁 Appreciate meaningful interactions (like a thoughtful text from a friend).

🎁 Recognise your growth (like solving a problem or learning something new).

Try writing one thing each day in your gratitude journal - pretty soon you’ll notice more and more moments worth cherishing.

10/09/2025

While RU OK? Day is only one day, try to check in with others on any day of the year and keep the conversation going.

These conversations require effort and can make us feel uneasy at times, but it could change a life.

Urgent help is available at:
13 Yarn 13 92 76
Lifeline 13 1114
Kids Helpline Official 1800 55 1800
Su***de Call Back Service 1300 659 467

R U OK?

Every year on RU OK? Day we are reminded to ask those around us, RU really ok?

29/08/2025

Over the past month we've been discussing performance anxiety and its links to social anxiety. To round out the month, we want to remind you of our evidence-based online Social Anxiety treatment program: https://thiswayup.org.au/what-we-treat/social-anxiety

If you often feel anxious, self-conscious, or afraid of being judged negatively in social situations - like day-to-day conversations, parties, or during presentations, such that you avoid these situations, or endure them in distress, this program may help you.

Take the first step towards feeling more comfortable in social situations today 💛

19/08/2025

Ever get performance anxiety or stage fright? This is a stress response tied to fear of judgment, failure, or not meeting expectations (yours or others').

Some common situations that may trigger performance anxiety include:

💬 Preparing for and attending a job interview
💬 Performing, presenting or speaking to a group
💬 Competing in an event (e.g., sports, creative arts)
💬 Going on a date, exploring a new location, or meeting new people

Read on to learn more about how to manage ➡️

We all experience performance anxiety in some form, here are some strategies that work to help manage your stage fright.

18/08/2025

We all experience performance anxiety from time to time, and it’s likely that with practise and exposure, you can engage in the activities that are important to you, even if you feel a little anxious.

📌 Keen to learn more about performance anxiety? Sign up to our newsletter, we are exploring this topic in-depth this month! 📌

For now, here are some quick tips to manage performance anxiety

💭 Label and normalise the thought: “This is one of my unhelpful ‘stage-fright’ thoughts, these are really common, and it shows that I care. It’s ok that I’m having this thought.”

💭 Reframe your thought: “I’m human, and I’m not expected to be perfect. I’ll prep and do the best I can.”

💭 Write down your helpful, reframed thought. Use this as self-coaching and motivation to approach the task.

💭 Try controlled breathing. Take slow, gentle breaths in through your nose, and out through your mouth to calm the nervous system.

💭 Break down the activity into smaller steps. For example, film yourself giving a speech and watch it back without judgement.

If you’d like more support on overcoming anxiety when it comes to performance, you might find our Social Anxiety Program helpful: https://thiswayup.org.au/programs/social-anxiety-program/

11/08/2025

You may have heard the term ‘Imposter Syndrome’.

It's that voice that says, “you just got lucky” or “you don’t really deserve this”. That feeling of not belonging, or not feeling your skills are quite up-to-scratch enough to be in a particular position.

The ‘Imposter’ for many people likes to come out in the workplace (💭 “I don’t know as much as my colleagues…maybe my skills aren’t good enough?”).

Here are 5 tips to help you manage Imposter Syndrome at work.

Take care 💛

08/08/2025

Most of us experience some anxiety in certain social situations, especially when we’re going to be in the spotlight or meeting someone new.

However, when our fears about social interactions get in the way of the things we want and need to do in life, such as tend to commitments, engage in relationships, and feel good about ourselves, this could be an indication of social anxiety.

Whilst social anxiety can be isolating, things can improve with the right tools and support.

Today we list some of the signs of social anxiety that you may identify with.

Our online Social Anxiety Program is designed by experts to help people manage and reduce social anxiety with step-by-step with evidence-based skills: https://thiswayup.org.au/programs/social-anxiety-program/

You can get started today 💛

04/07/2025

All emotions, whether they’re enjoyable, painful, or neutral, are sources of valuable information to help you identify what you might need.

Emotions such as fear, anxiety, guilt, shame, disgust, hurt, anger, jealousy or sadness, are labeled "difficult" or “negative” because they feel uncomfortable or painful by design - they are part of the body’s alarm system.

The good news is you can learn to notice, sit with, and process the more difficult emotions so that they don’t linger for as long. The more you practise these skills, the easier it becomes to notice and process the feelings that you might otherwise want to avoid.

Still unsure? When you’ve been stressed out and not feeling quite like yourself it can be difficult to know how you really feel. To help you check your levels of stress, anxiety, or low mood try our free and anonymous Take-a-Test Tool: https://thiswayup.org.au/take-a-test-tool/

Take care 💛