Doreen Slabbert Clinical Psychologist

10/10/2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGuZVuUBeiQ&t=16s

It is a human experience to have inner self-talk that is ”bad” or critical, or just plain hard to hear. You don’t have to let those internal narratives direct your life.

This is such a lovely video to depict how these voices develop, why we all have them and it doesn’t mean we are crazy, and also how we can overcome the impact they can have on our lives.

Go on, give it a watch 🙂

All of us have deeply unhelpful inner voices inside us, dragging us down with criticisms and unfair accusations. Wisdom involves learning how to replace them...

07/07/2022

A reminder to give yourself a (mental) break. Love the cheekiness of this video on Self-Compassion. If you have 5 minutes, have a look.

It’s all too easy to be extremely tough on ourselves; we need – at points – to get better at self-compassion. Here is an exercise in how to lessen the voices...

06/07/2022

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17/05/2022

When changing your self-talk from super negative to super positive feels inauthentic, asking yourself questions instead can be the training wheels to bring the practice of self-affirmation into your self-care routine. The secret? Listen and be open to hearing your own truth.

Don't let anybody tell you that talking to yourself is crazy! If it is, then we're all equally crazy, because like it or not, we all have an inner experience of self-talk. Many of us know our inner voices to be highly self-critical, and sometimes downright mean. And maybe that's a good first questio...

14/04/2022

Did you know.......
Your brain is built in a way that means where you place your focus, is more likely to be the direction you move toward? Your Reticular Activating System in the brain does this thing where is searches the environment for the stuff you focus on. If you decide to buy a particular kind of car, you suddenly see that car everywhere you go. The focal object is brought to the foreground of the mind, and your awareness of it increases. There are no more of those cars than there had been, you're just tuned in on it, so you notice them more!

Imagine if you used this to your advantage, by using mindfulness and affirmations to find more evidence for the things you actually WANT in your life?
*I am beautiful... Sees own reflection in mirror and goes "Damn, you're fine, girl".
= Instant confidence boost with long-lasting effects.
Rinse, lather, repeat

:)

08/04/2022

Did you know that girls with ADHD are more likely to go undiagnosed, because their presentation often looks somewhat different to boys'? Many boys and girls are labelled as "lazy", with "poor priorities", and are told to "apply themselves" to "reach their potential". That is like telling a blind child to "just look harder" to be able to see better.

I thought this article was such a good summary of a very common experience I'm hearing more and more from my clients. Stick with it on your journey to get help. It is worth it in the end.

https://capsulenz.com/be/tiktok-made-me-realise-i-had-adhd/

Adult ADHD diagnoses are on the rise - but why is it so much harder for women? Guest writer Lauren Borhani reveals her own experience - and why so much anxiety and depression could have been avoided.

23/03/2022

New Blog Post: https://www.wholeheartedpsychology.com/post/emotional-vocabulary-superpower-for-emotional-regulation

Did you know that verbally expressing your emotions can provide relief from the intensity of the emotion you are experiencing? It's no wonder that many of us struggle with emotions, if we are never taught how to identify or accurately describe our emotions. How often do we just say nothing while we'...

21/03/2022

This is your reminder to look up from your phone and see 5 things, hear 4 things, touch 3 things, smell 2 things, and taste 1. Ah... now doesn't that feel a bit more *grounded* ?

Bonus points: take a deep breath.

29/01/2022

Started doing some fun videos on TikTok. Who knows what it might evolve into. Healthy debates encouraged ;)

Check out my channel here: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMLLq91G2/

Less talking, more listening.

25/01/2022

Thinking about how our environments affect our wellbeing. If you’re surrounded by clutter, does your mind feel cluttered? If you have an ashtray / tv in your room, are you more likely to smoke/watch tv? If you have a filled water bottle next to your bed when you wake up, could you be more likely to drink more water?

22/12/2021

All I want for Christmas is for everybody to do their self-care!!!

When living with complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD) the holiday season can be a real source of dread. So taking time to care for yourself between the stress of increased social pressure, travel and budgeting is as important as ever.

16/12/2021

A friendly reminder that you have permission to set boundaries anytime, but it might be an especially useful tool to use during the holidays. This can be a very demanding and pressured time while many of us have very low fuel in our tanks. This year has been a tough one! Saying that magic two letter word might be just the thing you need. *whisper* it’s possible that all the horrible ”what ifs” you think will happen when you say no, may happen anyway or may never happen. I like thinking about it that if the conflict doesn’t happen externally, it’ll just happen internally.

14/11/2021

12/11/2021

07/07/2020

Sometimes going through the journey alone can be overwhelming. I find it helps to listen to podcasts or read books about others’ experiences with mental health to help me feel less alone. Sometimes it also gives me hope or tips! Here’s an exciting venture that makes it accessible to hear voices of women of colour! Beautiful

05/07/2020

I know it’s hard not to take it personally, but we can all do better to take small steps towards being there for the littluns. There’s no such thing as perfect parenting, but there is good enough parenting, which simply means allowing yourself to do better as you get to know better. Here’s a great place to start!

Parenting is acknowledging children’s feelings. Not dismissing. Not minimizing. Just acknowledging.