Donegal Psychology Centre

Donegal Psychology Centre Psychology clinic in Co. Donegal helping people improve their mental health and modify health behaviours.

20/05/2026

Learning Irish as an Australian psychologist, I’ve noticed how differently the language holds emotions

In English, we often say:
“I am sad.”
“I am anxious.”
“I am angry.”

But in Irish, emotions are often described more like:
“Sadness is on me.”
“Fear is on me.”

There’s something really neat about that framing.

It subtly separates the person from the feeling, suggesting emotions are experiences we move through, rather than identities we become.

It can be a nice reminder that feelings can be real, heavy, and important… without being the entirety of who we are.

17/05/2026

If you aren't used to talking about or sitting with uncomfortable emotions, it can be tough to describe them or it can feel all sorts of awkward (especially when I start asking you about it). When we grow up in a house that doesn't talk about emotions or actively avoids/inhibits them, this can be a new experience as adults.

Here are a couple of gentle ways to explore this. It doesn't have to be in depth, just dipping your toe in to see what's going on inside.

1) Just put a word on it, any word, and stop there. No need for further dissection. "I feel anxious", "I feel giddy", "I feel frustrated". It may not be completely accurate, but it's a starting point.

2) Does it come with any body response? Tightness in the chest, sweaty hands, lump in the throat? Notice that.

3) Take 30 seconds to notice your breathing. Did the emotion increase or slow your breathing? Again, just notice it.

4) Let the thoughts come and go as needed. Don't focus on any one thought. Just let it come, and watch it pass, without trying to control or analyse.

5) Practice sitting with it just for a moment, without needing to try and fix it or figure out where it came from.

13/05/2026

It's natural to want to dive straight in and process traumatic memories quickly so you can move on with your life, but going in too quickly can sometimes backfire.

We will usually spend the first several sessions, sometimes months, getting your brain and body ready to re-visit and process prior trauma.

It's also important to remember that this preparation time is also therapy - helping you understand yourself, identify patterns, learn new coping skills. It's all part of the process 🧠

11/05/2026

🦋The butterfly hug is a grounding and relaxation technique we often use in EMDR therapy to help the nervous system feel calm and grounded.

Was great to share some knowledge about psychology career paths at the local secondary school (Pobalscoil na Rosann) car...
07/05/2026

Was great to share some knowledge about psychology career paths at the local secondary school (Pobalscoil na Rosann) careers fair 🧠

04/05/2026

Are you feeling stressed? 😮‍💨

Stress is a natural part of life, and a small amount can actually be good to motivate action. But stress that comes in like an uncontrollable wave can feel difficult to manage and navigate. These are 4 questions you can ask yourself when you're feeling stressed to help provide some clarity:

1) What’s actually stressing me right now? Be specific. Naming it can help your brain shift out of uncertainty and identify the specific stressor.

2) Is this something I can control, influence, or need to accept? Identifying how much control you have over the stressor can stop you burning energy on things outside of your control.

3) Do I have the ability and resources to manage this, or do I need support? Stress occurs when we feel the demands placed on us are greater than our capacity to cope. Check in with yourself to see if you do actually have the ability/resources to manage the stressor, or remember a previous time you've overcome something similar.

4) What’s one small, practical step that could make this feel even slightly lighter? Taking small actions to address the stressor itself, what ever they are, can help to reduce that “stuck” feeling.

30/04/2026

Watching my fingers go back and forth in front of your face can definitely sound bonkers, but decades of research shows that it works 🧠👀✌️

28/04/2026

You can probably recall a time in school you had to give a presentation and things didn't go as planned, and can still (even now) feel the intense emotion of that event. This may explain why you still have challenges with public speaking.

Alot of our current challenges can be linked back to things we've experienced in the past (and are still holding on to).

26/04/2026

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy helps your brain process difficult memories that feel 'stuck'. Memories that can trigger an intense body reaction, even from small reminders.

It may sound a little 'woo woo' at first (even I thought this), and it can be a slow process, but it has a strong evidence base and is the first line treatment for distressing or traumatic memories.

The brain has a natural process for storing memories and recovering from distressing events, but it sometimes needs a little help to get there.

Sometimes when something overwhelming happens, the brain doesn’t fully process it at the time. Parts of us can end up ho...
24/04/2026

Sometimes when something overwhelming happens, the brain doesn’t fully process it at the time. Parts of us can end up holding those experiences, almost like they’re frozen in place. Other parts often try to cope the best they can, even if the strategies they use don’t always help us in the long run. With the right support, those memories can be processed, and our body and brain can move forward without re-living the distress experienced in those original moments.

22/04/2026

Why do we have an inner critic?

We often develop an inner critic when we experience something impactful early on, like a sense of failure or feeling as though we are not "good enough". In a backwards kind of way, the inner critic is a part of ourselves that is trying to help us avoid feeling like that again. It just does it in a rather harsh way, which can often add to our inner distress 🫠

I wonder what the inner critic would like to do for us instead (perhaps encourage or motivate?), if it realised that it didn't need to protect us from feelings of failure? 🤔🧐

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Dungloe

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