ONE LIFE - Mental Health and Wellbeing

29/09/2025

🥳Some exciting news for locals!

I now have the capacity to see people locally (Whakatane, Opotiki, Ohope and beyond face-to-face at the Ohope Beach Medical Centre!

Tuesday and Thursday afternoons are available.

It's been a long time coming, trying to find a suitable and local space.

Bookings need to be made in advance.
PM me or head to my website www.onelifenz.com for more information.

Excited to be seeing you in real life!

NB Please note, I am not affiliated with Ohope Beach Medical Centre, so please don't contact them to make bookings. Contact me directly. 🥰

25/09/2025

Another blog I wrote some time ago.

I wish it weren't necessary to share this again. But with recent events....

"How do we cope when we feel like the only sane one left?

How do we cope, when our best friend that we have known and trusted ‘forever’ suddenly appears to be on the ‘other side’? How do you cope when someone you love has a very different opinion from you over religion, politics, the Ukraine war, or the chaos in Gaza? What do you do when your neighbour turns out to be a huge Trump supporter and believes COVID was started by the government to control its citizens?

The recent shooting of Charlie Kirk appears to have opened another Pandora’s box of right-wing versus left-wing, Christian versus non-Christian, or indeed Christians with belief systems that they purport to be ‘Christian values’ versus being a good decent human being.

The last few years have been a tumultuous time, with COVID-19, the Ukraine war, the ongoing climate changes, the annihilation of the Gaza Strip, and world leaders who are driven by greed, power, ignorance and corruption.

Alarmingly, many faults/cracks that we were once able to ignore have been brought to the surface in almost every area of our society..."

How do we cope, when our best friend that we have known and trusted ‘forever’ suddenly appears to be on the ‘other side’? How do you cope when someone you love has a very different opinion than you over religion, politics, the Ukraine war, or the chaos in Gaza? - A blog by Helen, mental heal...

25/09/2025

I wrote this blog a while ago. I feel it's time for a reshare of a few of my blogs at the moment!

"I had someone lament to me the other day. “I feel like such a failure”.

Ah.

That old chestnut.

I deeply hear you and I deeply recognise you.

These words have been uttered from my mouth several times over the past few years.

Whereas once I would have thought of myself as pretty knowledgeable in my area - I am now exposed to 100’s and 1000’s of people who are ‘more’ than me. More knowledgable. More wealthy. More successful. This can make us feel pretty small and insignificant and wonder - ‘what’s the point’ with the little that I do?

Also, due to the delights of social media, we are much more vulnerable to criticism and rejection. Things that people would not say to your face (especially once they know you and have a relationship with you) are easily spouted out on social media. ‘Relationships’ on social media can be built and destroyed in a day. It can be a tough world for a sensitive soul.

We are also heavily influenced by what we see and hear of others achieving, most of which comes from the delights of social media."

Read more here:

We are heavily influenced by what we see and hear of others achieving, most of which comes from the delights of social media. As the old saying goes: Comparison is the thief of joy. Feeling like a failure can cause you to withdraw from others at a time when you probably most need friends and fam

19/09/2025

19/09/2025

If you struggle with endometriosis....

Struggling with endometriosis or pelvic pain? In My Top Tips For Managing Endo & Pelvic Pain, I share practical, holistic strategies to help you feel more comfortable, supported, and in control of your body. As an endo empowerment photographer in Auckland, I’ve seen how reclaiming confidence thr

14/09/2025

This is a beautiful way of explaining this flax weaving in relation to our lives and grief.

10/09/2025

As you know, along with my private work, I also work as a HIP (Health Improvement Practitioner).

I highly recommend this - if you want to seek health or support about (almost) any issue.

It is a FREE service
Appointments are 30 minutes
You can have as many appointments as required.

HIPs are registered health professionals (nurses, occupational therapists, psychologists, social workers), most of whom have worked within the mental health service. They know their stuff!

You can self-refer or ask your GP to see if they have a HIP available.

A health improvement practitioner is also known as a wellness advisor or HIP. They're based in general practice clinics and provide free support around long-term conditions and wellbeing.

26/08/2025

Micronutrient supplementation can offer an alternative to antidepressant medications during pregnancy for mothers who are struggling and seeking other treatment options.

This does not mean that you should come off antidepressants if you already take them, but that micronutrients may be an alternative if you become depressed while you are pregnant, you are at risk of Postnatal Depression (PND), or you want to come off antidepressants before becoming pregnant and would like to consider an alternative.

Mothers who took micronutrients antenatally were monitored for symptoms of depression during pregnancy.

25/08/2025

I can't emphasise this enough. If 'everyone around me' is an issue, it may be that it's time to look inside.

You are not wrong to feel this but it is time to do the inner work.

If you find yourself feeling deeply hurt, triggered or emotionally overwhelmed by what seems like small moments, such as a piece of feedback or a casual comment, that is not a sign that you are too sensitive.

It is a sign that something tender inside you is asking for your attention.

When your nervous system feels like it is under threat, even in a neutral or professional environment, it is usually not just about what is happening now.

It is about what is still unresolved inside you.

While it is valid to feel upset in the moment, when this reaction becomes a recurring pattern over months or years, it becomes your responsibility to turn inward and begin the healing work.

Not because you are to blame, but because no one else can do it for you.

When patterns repeat, it is a call to wake up, not to double down.

If you have found yourself saying things like

Why does this keep happening to me?
Why am I always misunderstood?
Why do I get so triggered when people challenge or correct me?

Then your nervous system is giving you really important data.

It is likely that you have had past experiences of being misjudged, emotionally unsupported or left to carry more than your share. Now, present day moments are activating old wounds that were never fully healed.

That does not make you broken. It makes you human. But it also means the only way out of this emotional loop is through it.

Your responsibility is to yourself.

This is the moment where self compassion meets self leadership. Your responsibility now is.

To pause the emotional story and ask, is this about what just happened or about what this reminds me of?

To stop outsourcing your emotional safety to how others behave.

To build inner tools that help you respond from your adult self rather than react from your wounded self.

To let go of being right about being wronged and instead ask, what is this really showing me about what still needs healing?

You are not meant to stay stuck in the same emotional loop for years. You are meant to grow, to become resilient, to lead from a grounded, regulated place and not from pain.

If you see yourself in this

If these words are hard to hear but something in you whispers, this is me, that is not shame talking. That is your inner self waking up.

You do not have to carry this forever. You just have to decide to do the work.

That is what InsideOUT Mentoring is here for. It is a space where you can

🌱Explore your core wounds with compassion.

🌱Learn how your unmet needs shape your emotional patterns.

🌱Understand your triggers and build real tools for self regulation.

Shift from feeling like life is happening to you into becoming a conscious, grounded participant in your life.

This is not about blaming the past. It is about becoming free in the present.

If you are ready, or even just curious, I would love to walk with you on that path.

Book a free clarity chat here, to find out whats involved.

https://donnastichbury-therelationshipfacilitaor.as.me/schedule/7a704a55/appointment/71806865/calendar/11189858?appointmentTypeIds%5B%5D=71806865

You do not have to do it all at once. You just have to begin. ❤️

21/08/2025

Dr Rachael Sumner also interviewed with me on the Sense of Hope podcast, where we talked about psychedelic therapy in mental health.

Here, Dr Sumner speaks with RNZ about the poorly understood role that hormones play in women's health, from epilepsy to premenstrual dysphoric disorder and beyond.

What's happening in your brain, based on EEG of brain activation in relation to estrogen and progesterone?

Did you know that estrogen is more excitatory and progesterone is more inhibitory?

What does this mean for seizure activity or PMDD?

Emile Donovan speaks to Dr Rachael Sumner, senior research fellow at the University of Auckland, about the poorly-understood role that hormones play in women's health, from epilepsy to premenstrual dysphoric disorder and beyond.