Lamppost Counselling Services

04/15/2026

I’m someone who wrestles with depression, and many of my worst episodes have started with a long season of burnout. Because of this, I approach burnout recovery a bit differently now: instead of collapsing into inertia, I try to build a gentle balance of rest, small pleasures, and tiny intentional actions.

In Autistic and AuDHD burnout, rest is deeply necessary, but rest alone can sometimes tip into numbness, inertia, and that heavy, depressive “stuck” feeling. When rest is paired with doable sources of pleasure and sensory nourishment, plus a bit of structure that respects our actual capacity, it can help us stay out of that immobilized inertia trap. I think of this as finding a rest-and-pleasure balance: gentle routines, soothing sensory input, and special-interest time.

I write more about AuDHD inertia, the lethargy cycle, and adapting behavioral activation for AuDHD folks in this week’s research article: https://neurodivergentinsights.com/managing-burnout-with-rest-and-pleasure/

04/15/2026

04/15/2026

DBTSkills. Emotion Regulation. 'Anger'.

04/15/2026

04/09/2026

Type BRAIN if you want the link to this poster and lesson that goes with it and I’ll send it to you.

When a child yells, shuts down, runs off, or completely freezes, it is not random. It's most likely the stress response.

Fight.
Flight.
Freeze.

That reaction comes from the hardworking part of the brain that is wired to protect us. When something feels threatening, even if it is just a hard assignment or a social problem, the brain reacts fast. Thinking gets harder. Listening gets harder. Making good choices gets harder.

And Your Brave, Hardworking Brain lesson teaches kids what is actually happening. What fight can look like. What flight can look like. What freeze can look like. And why their body feels buzzy, angry, panicked, or stuck. And most importantly, what helps the brain settle so the thinking part can come back online.

When kids understand the stress response, it stops being “What is wrong with me?” and starts being “Oh. My brain is trying to protect me.”

If you want the full lesson, type BRAIN and I’ll send the link.

04/09/2026

04/09/2026

Image credit BigLifeJournal.

04/08/2026

C.S. Lewis wrote after the death of his wife, Lewis’s reflections move away from easy comfort and instead embrace the jagged, honest reality of loss and the patience required to live through it.

04/07/2026

“Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.” — Dr. Maya Angelou

Today is National Find a Rainbow Day, a perfect reminder of one of Dr. Angelou’s most beloved messages.

Dr. Angelou believed kindness, compassion, and encouragement could brighten someone else’s life — just like a rainbow after the storm.

🌈 Who has been a rainbow in your life?

04/07/2026

DBT Skills. Module : Emotion Regulation.

04/06/2026

DBT : Mindfulness Module. Skill : Understanding Mindfulness. 'Being Mindful does not always mean calming down'.

Being mindful is about the ability to self regulate when situations begin to, or indeed do - underwhelm or overwhelm us. To stay centred and grounded when outside stimuli begin to affect us.

Our 'ventral state' as referred to in the photo is '' a state of safety and social engagement, where the nervous system is calm and open to connection.

It's characterized by feelings of ease, connection, the ability to engage with others and the world around us''.

Find out more by joining our Subscriber Hub where we have a repository of files, resources and infographics. Join today - cancel anytime.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/469904102596793

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