Can We Talk About This?

Ep.51 Mental Health Mini Series #4 Mindfulness

#4 of the Mental Health Mini Series focuses on mindfulness and explores the importance of being present in the moment. Your host, Amber-lee shares insights on the concept of mindfulness, its benefits, and guides listeners through two mindfulness exercises they can incorporate into their daily lives. The first exercise, '5-4-3-2-1 Senses Grounding,' helps listeners connect with their immediate environment using their senses, while the second exercise involves mindful eating that helps you practice being present. Mindfulness can reduce stress, improve self-awareness, and support your overall wellbeing, especially for busy mums, but anyone can do these simple exercises! Listeners are encouraged to practice mindfulness daily, when possible, and apply these techniques to their mental health toolbox.

 

5-4-3-2-1 Senses excercise begins at 10:43

Mindful Eating exercise begins at 16:32

 

Disclaimer:

Disclaimer: While the content of this podcast is intended to provide support and guidance, it is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice. The techniques and practices discussed here are general in nature and may not be suitable for everyone.

If you are experiencing significant distress, mental health concerns, or trauma, I encourage you to seek support from a qualified mental health professional. Additionally, if at any point during this episode you feel overwhelmed or triggered, please turn it off and talk to someone or do something that is helpful to you

 

Finding Support in Australia:

PANDA.org.au 

1300 726 306

COPE.org.au

Beyond Blue 1300 224 636

Gidget Foundation

Black Dog Institute 1300 851 758

 

References:

Baer, R. A. (2003). Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10(2), 125–143. https://doi.org/10.1093/clipsy.bpg015

Leng LL, Yin XC, Ng SM. Mindfulness-based intervention for clinical and subthreshold perinatal depression and anxiety: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trial. Compr Psychiatry. 2023 Apr;122:152375. doi: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2023.152375. Epub 2023 Feb 5. PMID: 36841089.

ACT Made Simple 2nd Edition by Russ Harris

 

TRANSCRIPT

Amber-lee (Host): Thanks for being here. Another mental health mini series episode. I'm so excited to share this one with you because today is all about mindfulness. And I promise mindfulness is not just a buzzword. Okay. So today I'm going to take you through two mindfulness exercises that are really easy to incorporate into your daily life as a busy mom who might struggle to be present, if you're anything like me. I love using mindfulness where I can in my life so I really wanted to share some techniques with you today. Firstly, I actually find it helpful to know what mindfulness is, how it's helpful. So I'll tell you a little bit about that. And then we'll get into the two exercises.

You can skip ahead if you want to as well. Mindfulness is actually just an ancient concept with a really wide range of spiritual and religious traditions dating back to at least 4, 000 years ago, or so we know. And Western mindfulness based approaches are mostly derived from Buddhism and many believe its basis is in meditation, but mindfulness can actually be used in many other ways.

So I'm not doing meditation today. I'm going to just purely focus on mindfulness.

There are lots of definitions, but to help kind of give an explanation of some of the practices you're going to be doing with me today, I wanted to give you a really good definition surrounding those practices. So, mindfulness is just all about living in the present moment. Accepting your current thoughts, feelings, what's happening around you, all without judgment.

It's a way to pay attention to the present what's happening inside you and outside of you with a kind and open attitude. So practicing mindfulness means you're aware of your thoughts, emotions, bodily feelings, and sensations and environment in a really focused and accepting way. It's about noticing what's going on around you right now. Without getting lost in the past or worrying about the future. I know moms sometimes we can be like, what if, what if, and where, and because we carry the mental load for our families, a lot of the time, that weight feels really heavy. And so we're often focusing on the past or worrying about the future and mindfulness helps us break away from those automatic reactions and habits that we might have leading to better control over our emotions and our attention, giving more self awareness and ultimately less stress. It's like training your brain to be more in tune with itself in the world around you, making it a really valuable tool for a healthier and happier life. You know, we live in a very fast pace society with heavy expectations on mothers. We often exist in systems that aren't designed for us or our children or our families to thrive. And one way that has helped me personally, along the way is mindfulness. I thought it might be helpful to give you like a kind of scenario, if you're having trouble placing it.

So maybe just imagine a new mom who's feeling Overwhelmed or anxious, or maybe a little bit sad after the birth of her baby. And this is a time, you know, when everything's changing her body, her relationships, her identity, her entire world, as she knows it. And it's only natural for her to experience these whirlwind of emotions.

But sometimes these feelings can be really tough to manage. And here's where mindfulness can make that difference. So by practicing mindfulness, this new mom can learn to focus on her present experiences with kindness and without judgment. So for example, when she's feeling these waves of anxiety or sadness, instead of trying to push those feelings away or criticize herself for having them, you know, maybe she's telling herself she should just be grateful because of X, Y, Z. She can just simply notice them. She can pay attention to her breath, the sensations in her body, or even the sound of her baby. And this helps her create a space of calm and acceptance around her feelings. It's kind of like dropping anchor. Right. And just being present, just acknowledging your emotions and feelings without letting them take over and really grounding yourself in the here and now, and by using this technique, just randomly throughout her day, she can find a way to navigate those emotional ups and downs of new motherhood. And it becomes a really helpful tool for not only reducing stress, anxiety, but for enhancing your overall wellbeing during a really crucial time. It's so crazy to me, right? That we have to practice being present. I mean that, what does that say about the society that we live in and how our lives are designed?

I wanted to share some of the benefits really briefly with you. I think it's really obvious after you practice this, I want you to pay attention to how you're feeling before. So right now, and then how you're feeling after you do these exercises. I wonder how you'll feel after you practice mindfulness. I'm really curious to know your thoughts.

So some of the benefits include things like a reduced. stress response. In previous episodes, we've talked about the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, that fight, flight, freeze, fawn response. And practicing mindfulness can actually lower your stress by reducing the activity in your amygdala. That's the emotional center of your brain that's responsible for the fight, flight, freeze, fawn. And when you practice mindfulness, you'll find that your body's stress response is lessened. It's, It lowers cortisol levels and it gives you that sense of feeling calm and you just have this more balanced emotional state.

It also improves your attention and focus which is really helpful and also gives you that sense of greater self awareness. It's funny, before I was practicing mindfulness, I had no idea how un self aware I actually was. But mindfulness can teach us that it's okay to experience a range of emotions, right? Because you're not judging them, you're not trying to push them away or avoid them, you're just simply accepting the emotion that you're in and the feelings that you're feeling and you recognize that they're temporary and that they kind of come and go. And you have this really non judgmental perspective, which can help make you That little bit more resilient when you face challenges.

There's lots of research on mindfulness. There's tons of like systematic reviews and meta analyses. They are, if you're unsure what they are, they're like top tier research. If they're, you know, if you think about a hierarchy and the different types of methods that people use in research, systematic reviews and meta analyses are top tier.

And what they found was mindfulness based interventions actually work better when they're combined with other therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, etc, etc. Those might just be words to you, but there is actually some scientific basis behind this. So sometimes mindfulness. And I think it's important to acknowledge that and we might need a little bit more support for our mental health. So please keep that in mind. All of these exercises that I do with you, they're just to simply help support you. Pack into your mental health toolbox and grab them when you need them. This definitely should not be replacing outside supports and resources. Okay, this is just one resource.

So I've got a really simple yet effective mindfulness activity to do now. It's called the 5, sensors grounding. That can be done in a few minutes. It doesn't require any special equipment or, or environment, you can just go be as you are right now and it's designed to bring your attention to the present moment, using the senses to anchor your thoughts and calm your mind. I recently actually did this exercise with, a young six year old boy who struggles with anxiety. And obviously I've got to, when you're working with kids, like you've got to make things into a game, you can't just be like, Hey, name five things, you know?

 so we kind of, I set up this little game where he could really bring himself out of his head and back into his body. And it. We did, you know, finding three things around the room that were this color and blah, blah, blah. And he was so receptive to it. It's almost like his anxious state completely disappeared in that moment.

It didn't cure his anxiety that I just always want to reiterate that. And so I've seen this work, not only in myself, but I've seen it work on other people. I've even seen it work in children. So. I really, really love this exercise to help you get out of your head and back into your body. Okay, let's start.

 So just in preparation, find a comfortable place to sit or stand where you can be undisturbed for a few minutes if possible. I know that we're all mums, so if you can't, that's okay too, okay?

(5-4-3-2-1 Senses Grounding Exercise) So I want you to now notice five things that that you can see. Look around you, bring your attention to five things that you can see. Pick something that you might not usually notice, like a shadow or a small crack in the [00:09:00] wall. Maybe there's colors or shapes or shadows or any other details that you can find and I want you to notice them and name them.

Five things you can see and I'll give you a minute to do that right now.

 Now I want you to notice four things that you can feel. So this could be the texture of your clothing, the feel of the chair. Or floor beneath your feet. Maybe there's air on your skin. Or the weight of your baby or child in your arms. And just acknowledge each, each sensation as you notice it. So now I'm going to give you a minute to notice four things you can feel.

And now I'm going to give you a minute to notice three things you can hear.

Now I want you to identify two things you can smell. If you can't immediately smell anything, maybe move to a different spot or sniff something nearby like a pillow or your baby's skin or a cup of tea. Smells can be a really powerful way to ground yourself in the present moment. And so now I'm going to give you a minute to notice two things you can smell.

Now I want you to focus on one thing you can taste. This might be a bit tricky but that's okay, bear with me. Maybe take a sip of a drink that you have nearby. Maybe go and grab a piece of chewing gum. We'll just notice the taste currently that's in your mouth.

Now take a deep breath and let it out really slow. I'm going to do this one with you. Ready? Inhale,

exhale.

Just acknowledge how your body feels right now. How does your mind feel?

Just remind yourself that you can return to this exercise any time you feel overwhelmed or disconnected or just feeling like you need to be more present. This exercise is beneficial because it doesn't really require much time. So we've taken time to do it today, but you could really be doing this in 60 seconds.

It can be a really quick way to bring yourself back to the present, especially when you're feeling overwhelmed or anxious. And it helps in practicing mindfulness by engaging in your immediate environment. And remember, non judgmental is the only way.

Now, the second exercise I wanted to do with you does require a prop. Uh, so maybe pause the episode right now so you can go and grab it, we're going to be doing a mindful eating exercise. So it's just a way to help ground you using taste, and I usually like to use a grape. You can use dates or raisins, nuts, anything that you might have. So this exercise is from the father of Western mindfulness himself, John Kabat Zinn is his name. He used these mindfulness based practices and approaches decades and decades ago. I think it was roughly 40 years ago. So this is one of his exercises. You can use dates or raisins as I said.

I like to use a grape because I don't like dates or raisins, but you can really use anything that you want to. Okay, let's begin. So throughout this exercise, you might have certain thoughts and feelings that arise. Just let them come and go in their own good time. And keep your attention on the exercise. And if you realize that your attention has wandered, just briefly note what distracted you and then bring your attention back to what it is that you're eating.

(Mindful Eating exercise) Take hold of your food right now. I have a grape. What do you have?

I want you to look at it as if you're this curious human. Who's never seen such a thing before. And just notice the shape and the colour and the different shades of colour. Maybe there's parts where the light bounces off the surface. Just notice the weight of it in your hand right now, and feel the skin against your skin.

What's the texture like? What's the temperature like?

I want you to raise it to your nose and smell it. Notice the aroma.

Just raise it to your mouth and pause for a moment before biting into it. Just bring your attention to what's happening inside of your mouth.

Notice the salivation around your tongue and the urge to bite into it.

Now slowly bite it in half, noticing your teeth breaking through the skin and sinking into the flesh and the sound that makes and the sensation of sweetness on your tongue.

Notice your teeth meeting as you chew and you feel the food falling onto your tongue and the urge to chew it and swallow it. Don't swallow it yet.

Chew it slowly, noticing the taste and the texture. Notice the movement of your jaw and the sound that chewing makes, and the sensation of it breaking down. Notice how your tongue shapes the food.

Notice your urge to swallow. And as you swallow, Notice the movement in your throat and the sound it makes.

And after you've swallowed, pause and notice the way the taste gradually disappears from your tongue.

Notice your growing urge to eat the remaining half.

Now, as you eat the rest of your food in the same way, I'm going to sit here in silence and I want you to redo that on your own, looking at it like you're curious, the weight, the feel, the texture, the temperature, the smell. And as you bite into it, noticing what your mouth is doing, noticing the taste.

That concludes our mindfulness exercises for today. Remember you can come back to these at any time, or you can adapt these exercises in your own way. That's helpful to you in your daily life. Remember to take time to be present because your body will thank you for it. Thanks for joining me.

And until next time.

Ep.50 Mental Health Mini Series #3 Progressive Muscle Relaxation

This episode in the Mental Health Mini Series, I, your host Amber-lee, take you through one of my favourite techniques, Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR). This technique nourishes your mind and soul having a deep impact on your mental health and physiological responses to stress. Motherhood introduces unique psychological stresses, making us vulnerable to conditions like depression and anxiety. Yet, PMR stands out as a versatile tool, offering relief and resilience across life's stressful seasons; from depression and anxiety, sleep issues to managing chronic pain, stress, and more. PMR enhances emotional regulation and physical relaxation. This episode doesn't just highlight the science behind PMR's benefits; it also guides you through a practical PMR exercise by This Way Up, designed to equip you with a technique that can transform your mind and body in the perinatal period.

Join me from 7:38 in to begin PMR.

 

Disclaimer: While the content of this podcast is intended to provide support and guidance, it is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice. The techniques and practices discussed here are general in nature and may not be suitable for everyone.

If you are experiencing significant distress, mental health concerns, or trauma, I encourage you to seek support from a qualified mental health professional. Additionally, if at any point during this episode you feel overwhelmed or triggered, please turn it off and talk to someone or do something that is helpful to you.

 

Finding Support in Australia:

PANDA.org.au 

1300 726 306

COPE.org.au

Beyond Blue 1300 224 636

Gidget Foundation

Black Dog Institute 1300 851 758

 

Resources and References:

The Way Up: https://thiswayup.org.au/ (your mental health professional can give you free access to ThisWayUp’s resources and courses as long as they have an account).

Abera, M., Hanlon, C., Daniel, B., Tesfaye, M., Workicho, A., Grima, T., Rasmus, W., Andersen, G., Fewtrell, M., Filteau, S., & Wells, J. C. (2022). Effect of relaxation interventions in pregnant women on maternal and neonatal outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. *medRxiv*. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.11.17.22282468

Ahmadi M, Rahimi F, Rosta F, AlaviMajd H, Valiani M. Effect of Progressive Muscle Relaxation Training on Postpartum Blues in High-risk Pregnant Women. J Holist Nurs Midwifery. 2019; 29(4):192-199. https://doi.org/10.32598/JHNM.29.4.192

Tan, X. Y. J., Choong, S. Y. X., Cheng, L. J., & Lau, Y. (2021). Relaxation interventions for improving sleep outcomes in perinatal women: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Midwifery. Volume 103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2021.103151

Toussaint L, Nguyen QA, Roettger C, Dixon K, Offenbächer M, Kohls N, Hirsch J, Sirois F. Effectiveness of Progressive Muscle Relaxation, Deep Breathing, and Guided Imagery in Promoting Psychological and Physiological States of Relaxation. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2021 Jul 2;2021:5924040. doi: 10.1155/2021/5924040. PMID: 34306146; PMCID: PMC8272667.

 

TRANSCRIPT:

Today, we're going to be doing one of my favourite exercises for your mental health. I love, love, love this exercise. I'm going to be taking you through a sequence of progressive muscle relaxation. I know it's a bit wordy, but I promise you, you're going to thank me later. So progressive muscle relaxation, or otherwise known as PMR, it works by engaging the body's natural relaxation response. So that involves activating the parasympathetic nervous system. So that's the rest and digest, the branch responsible for calming the body. After stress or danger subsides, right? So when we experienced stress that the sympathetic nervous system often referred to as the fight, flight, freeze, fawn response, that becomes activated leading to an increased heart rate, rapid breathing, muscle tension, among many other physiological changes.

Progressive muscle relaxation counteracts this stress response by systematically tensing and then relaxing different muscle groups. This process triggers a cascade of physiological responses that promote relaxation throughout your body and hopefully your mind. And as muscles relax, your heart rate decreases, your breathing becomes deeper and slower, your body blood pressure lowers, and the stress hormones like cortisol diminish. And these changes signal to the brain that the perceived threat has passed, shifting the body into a state of rest and recovery. So over time and with regular practice, PMR can help retrain the nervous system essentially. That's pretty exciting if you ask me, so you can actually teach your Stress response or your brain to respond more calmly to stresses this not only reduces immediate feelings of tension and anxiety, but also promotes that long term resilience against stress deal and cope with stress a little better.

So I thought PMR would be a really great one for mums to be doing and practicing. Now this is something that I did when I laid down in bed at night because I found it really difficult after my second born to fall asleep and I just felt wired and heightened and I definitely was tense. It was like I was stiff as a board on my mattress. It's like I didn't, I was so stiff I couldn't feel my mattress. That's how I would describe it. So this is something that I. Incorporated into my daily routine. So every night when I went to bed, I would do a progressive muscle relaxation from head to toe, and I loved it. I felt my body sinking deeper and deeper into that mattress until I fell asleep. And sometimes I wouldn't even finish because I was just so calm and so relaxed that I would fall asleep. So that is my hope for you.

Now, progressive muscle relaxation has lots of evidence to show that it helps with depression and anxiety. So I hope that with you practicing this, you actually feel those changes within your body and within your mind.

I want to say that this is not something that I would say is a cure necessarily. It's just a really great way to manage stress. It's a really great way to decompress to defuse and to put ourselves back in that parasympathetic nervous system state without further ado, let's get started. I will say that this progressive muscle relaxation is the actual one that I practiced and you also can do a progressive muscle relaxation technique in a matter of 30 seconds. Don't feel like you've got to be doing this all body experience. It's like I remember driving in the car. And I would be clenching my fists and then relaxing my fists and just even doing something as basic as that would trigger my nervous system to go, Oh yeah, I am safe and Oh yeah, I can calm down and everything's going to be fine.

So I'm giving you the full blown PMR technique today. But. Take it as you will. I have taken this particular exercise from ThisWayUp. I did that course quite a number of years ago. A psychiatrist gave me like a login for it and I loved it so much for perinatal mental health. So a big shout out to ThisWayUp.org.au They are incredible with what they're doing.

Let's get started. Just find a quiet space where you feel like you won't really be interrupted for a couple of minutes. Dim the lights if possible. Now there are no rules. You can leave your eyes open or you can close them. Close them, whichever you prefer, and also try not to tense your muscles too tightly.

So this should not be uncomfortable or painful. So we only want to go to about 60 or 70 percent capacity. Okay. So just keep that in mind while you're doing this exercise. And don't worry if your mind wanders during this exercise either. I always say, don't put too much pressure on yourself. When you're doing something like this, we can kind of get all worked up in our head about how we're not doing it right, or how maybe we're failing at it or that we can't relax. I don't want you to get caught up in those thoughts. I just want you to come as you are and just allow yourself to be impatient. Allow yourself to feel the way that you feel. You may also feel like this is a waste of time. And that may be because you're not used to feeling relaxed.

So I just want you to pay attention to what your body and your mind are saying and doing throughout this exercise. Cause it can be really interesting if we get curious about ourselves.

Okay. First, find a comfortable position and allow your attention to focus on your It's only on your body. Close your eyes.

Let them rest lightly on a spot in front of you. Let's start with a few relaxing breaths. Take a deep breath through your abdomen. Hold for a few seconds and exhale slowly.

Again, as you breathe, notice your stomach rise and your lungs fill with air.

As you exhale, imagine the tension in your body being released and flowing out of your body.

And again, inhale

and exhale.

As you go through each step now, remember to keep breathing.

Now let's begin. Move your attention to your forehead. As you inhale, tighten the muscles in your forehead by raising your eyebrows as high as you can. And just hold here.

And release. As you release, feel the muscles of your forehead relaxing.

Breathing in and out.

Next, tighten your eye muscles by squinting your eyelids tightly shut. Hold for about five seconds. And release.

Keep breathing in and out.

Move your attention to your facial muscles. Thorough your brows, and purse your lips together tightly. Try to pull all of your facial muscles forward, towards your nose. And hold here

And release. As you release, feel that relaxation of those facial muscles. How good does that feel? Are you noticing what's tight?

Remember to breathe. Now smile widely. Feeling your mouth and your cheeks tense. And hold here.

Now release. Just appreciate the softness in your face right now.

Now bring your awareness to your jaw. Clench your jaw tightly. Feeling the tension surrounding muscles of your jaw.

And now release. Feel the tension in your jaw just now. Ebb away.[00:11:00]

Bring your focus now to your neck and shoulders. Gently pull your head back as if to look at the ceiling and hold here.

And now release. Feeling that tension just melt away.

Now shrug your shoulders towards your ears. Feel the tension in the surrounding muscles and just hold here.

And as you release, just let go of all of that tension and stress.

And let yourself sink further into your surface, your chair or [00:12:00] your bed. And keep breathing.

Now bring your awareness to between your shoulder blades. Tense your upper back by pulling your shoulders back, trying to make your shoulder blades Just touch, and just hold here,

and release.

Take in a breath, now,

and just feel that tension leave your body.

Now move your attention to your arms,

tightly, but without straining, clench your fists, and hold,

and release.

Now flex your biceps. Draw your forearms forward towards your shoulders, switching on your bicep muscles. One at a time if you like. Feel that build up of tension. And just hold here.

Now release. And just enjoy that feeling of limpness.

Now tighten your triceps by extending your arms out and locking your elbows.

Hold here

and release. Just let your arms fall down.

Now bring your attention to your upper chest. Tighten your chest by taking in a deep breath

and hold.

Exhale. Blowing out all of the tension.

Now gently arch your lower back and just hold here.

Take in a breath if you can. And as you exhale, just relax.

Just feel that limpness in your upper body. Letting go of all that tension and stress. And just enjoy relaxing. Now

bring your awareness to the buttocks area. Squeeze your glutes together. Tightening those muscles. And just hold.

And now release. Feel that tension fall away. Imagine your hips falling loose.

Now bring your attention to your thigh muscles. Tighten your thighs by pressing your knees together, as if you were holding a penny between them.

And just hold.

Now release.

Coming back to the breath. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Go at your own pace.

Now bring your awareness lower down to your calf muscles. Tighten your calf muscles by pointing your toes. And hold.

And now release.

Just enjoy that feeling.

Now bring your focus to your feet. Flex your feet. Pulling your toes forward. Towards you, and feeling the tension in your calves. And hold.

And now relax. Just feeling the weight of your legs sinking down.

Now tighten your feet by curling your toes towards the ground. And hold.

Just feel that tension.

And now release. Feeling it flow away.

Now imagine a wave of relaxation slowly spreading throughout your body, beginning at your feet, and moving all the way up through your body to the top of your head. And just feel the weight of your relaxed body, breathing in and out, in and out, in and out.

Is there any tension left in your body? If there is, go back to this muscle group and tense. Holding for five seconds before releasing. Remember to breathe.

Thank you for joining me today in your progressive muscle relaxation. Make sure, make sure that you check the show notes. You can come back to this episode at any time and try it again. Love to know what you think of this exercise. As you know, it is one that is personal to me and I love it. So until next time.

Thank you so much for listening. We hope you enjoyed this episode. If you're listening and would like to share your story with us or feel compelled to talk about issues surrounding women's health, please don't hesitate to reach out. We would love to hear from you. You can find us at the power of birth on Instagram and Facebook or on our website, thepowerofbirth.net. If you loved this episode, we would love it if you left us a review on whatever podcast platform you're listening on and share us with your family and friends. The conversation has to start somewhere. Thank you again for listening and we hope you join us in the next episode.

 

Ep.49 Mental Health Mini Series #2 Box Breathing

Box Breathing, also known as square breathing or four-square breathing, is a structured breathing technique with roots in ancient yogic practices. This technique involves a rhythmic pattern of inhalation, holding the breath, exhalation, and holding the breath again, each for an equal count of time, typically ranging from four to eight counts. 

As a mum, you wear many hats—nurturer, chef, chauffeur, teacher as so on. With all the love and joy also come moments of overwhelm, anxiety, and exhaustion. That's where Box Breathing steps in, offering you a lifeline to regulate and feel more balanced. Whether you're juggling tantrums, soothing tears, or simply stealing a moment for yourself amidst the chaos, simple things like Box Breathing can support you.

Tune in and come take a breath with me at 8:20. 

 

Disclaimer: While the content of this podcast is intended to provide support and guidance, it is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice. The techniques and practices discussed here are general in nature and may not be suitable for everyone.

If you are experiencing significant distress, mental health concerns, or trauma, I encourage you to seek support from a qualified mental health professional. Additionally, if at any point during this episode you feel overwhelmed or triggered, please turn it off and talk to someone or do something that is helpful to you.

 

Finding Support in Australia:

PANDA.org.au 

1300 726 306

COPE.org.au

Beyond Blue 1300 224 636

Gidget Foundation

Black Dog Institute 1300 851 758

 

More resources to check out:

Episode 9: How Implementing Breathwork in Your Life Can Change Your Life with Nicola Laye: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/episode-9-how-implementing-breathwork-in-your-life/id1572162194?i=1000525309231

 

Nicola Laye: https://www.nicolalaye.com/

 

I also use Insight Timer or other meditation apps that incorporate the breath and I highly recommend!

 

References:

Zaccaro A, Piarulli A, Laurino M, Garbella E, Menicucci D, Neri B, Gemignani A. How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing. Front Hum Neurosci. 2018 Sep 7;12:353. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00353. PMID: 30245619; PMCID: PMC6137615.

 

TRANSCRIPT:

Amber-lee (Host): All right. Another miniseries episode for your mental health. I'm very excited about this one because this one is all about breath work.

I'm going to tell you a little bit about the physiological mechanisms that are influenced by the breath. And that's just for those interested in knowing how your breath affects your body. Then we're going to get into some box breathing, which is a really simple yet powerful technique that you can use to shift your body from stressed, intense. To that sort of rest and digest and calm.

So you can listen to me blubber on for a bit, or you can just fast forward straight to the box breathing.

Our breath is connected to the autonomic nervous system. So that's what regulates our involuntary bodily functions, right? So as you go about your day, there are things that your body's doing that you're not consciously making it do; your heart rate and your heartbeat digesting your lunch and just breathing as you walk down the street.

There's many more functions, but those are like the big ones, right? So through specific breathing techniques, we can actually influence the balance between our nervous systems. We have our autonomic nervous system and two nervous systems branch off from that. The sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system, and you've probably heard me talk about this before so the sympathetic nervous system is a branch that's responsible for your body's fight, flight, freeze, or fawn response. This is activated in times of stress or perceived danger and actually tries to help protect us when the sympathetic nervous system is more dominant, our heart rate increases, our breathing becomes rapid and shallow, and our stress hormones like cortisol are being released to help us in those stressful moments. Now sometimes this nervous system can flick on when we recognize that, okay, I'm feeling stressed, but the stress is actually unhelpful to me in this present moment. That's when we want to flick back to our parasympathetic nervous system. In contrast, the parasympathetic nervous system is a branch responsible for the body's rest and digest, promoting relaxation, restoration, repletion, all those good nourishing things.

So activation of the parasympathetic nervous system leads to the decreased heart rate, the slowed breathing and a reduction in those stress hormones so box breathing is a really simple technique that can help shift your body from that sympathetic dominant state to the parasympathetic dominant state.

And by consciously manipulating the breath in a specific pattern of inhaling, holding, exhaling, holding, like a box. That's four steps, each for an equal count. So I usually start with four, but you can do six or eight or 10 depending on the stretch of your breath, mine's not very good so I sit at about four and six, but this is when we can engage that parasympathetic nervous systems relaxation response, which is what we need more of in motherhood.

If you ask me, because being a mom can be very stressful. I don't do or say anything without some kind of evidence. So I looked up a couple of research articles and found an amazing systematic review. I'm going to say the name wrong, Zaccaro et al. This was a 2018 study and they examined the psychophysiological effects of slow breathing techniques. Through a thorough analysis, where they look at lots of different existing literature on the same topic. They looked at experimental and observational studies in their study, and the researchers found the significant impact of breath control practices on various aspects of human physiology and psychology. Their findings revealed that slow breathing techniques exert profound effects on the autonomic nervous system activity.

Promoting increased parasympathetic tone and decreased sympathetic arousal. Facilitating a shift towards a more relaxed physiological state. So that's what they found. That's what we know. And that's what I've already discussed with you, right? But what they found was slow breathing was associated with favourable changes in cardiovascular function, including reductions in heart rate and blood pressure contributing to improved cardiovascular health and these practices were found to enhance respiratory efficiency and respiratory sinus arrhythmia, leading to better oxygenated and carbon dioxide exchange in the body. So this is important because slow breathing techniques were also linked to enhancements in psychological wellbeing with the reductions in stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, as well as improvements in mood, attention, and cognitive function.

What they actually found was that A tool like the breath, something that you do without even thinking about it, actually has the capacity to change your physiological state, but also your psychological state. And I just think that's incredibly powerful. And that's one of the reasons I'm doing this miniseries is to offer you this information to offer you these tools because they are free and you can use them anywhere and anytime.

 I'm going to be doing a box breathing with you. So just the idea about a box breath, if you're unfamiliar with it, it's just basically where you're inhaling for a count of 4. So inhale for 4, hold for 4, exhale for 4, hold for 4, inhale again for 4.

 This kind of deep breathing stimulates what is known as the vagus nerve. And that's a key component of the parasympathetic nervous system, which leads to that decreased heart rate and blood pressure.

 No matter where you are, you can try this technique right here, right now with just your breath. That's all you need.

Close your eyes if you feel like doing so. Otherwise, if you're still busy doing things and you just want to be doing this box breathing with me while you're doing them, that's cool too. We're going to be inhaling, and I'm going to be counting to four while you fill your lungs with air, and then you're going to hold your breath on the next four, then exhale on the next four, and then hold again on the next four. So that's the pattern.

Okay, you ready? Inhale.

Hold. Two, three, four. Exhale. Two, three, four. Hold. Two, three, four. Inhale. Two, three, four. Hold, 2, 3, 4. Exhale, 2, 3, 4. Hold, 2, 3, 4. Inhale, 2, 3, 4. Hold, 2, 3, 4. Exhale, 2, 3, 4. Hold, 2, 3, 4. Inhale, 2, 3, 4. Hold, 2, 3, 4. 2, 3, 4, exhale 2, 3, 4, hold 2, 3, 4, inhale 2, 3, 4, hold 2, 3, 4, exhale 2, 3, 4, hold 2, 3, 4. You can stop now if you like.

We didn't do it for a very long time today, but I just want you to be able to see if you can practice this for just a few minutes. If it feels too forced, just simply sit there and focus on whatever natural breath you're doing, but maybe add a hold in where you can because it's about that controlled, slow breath.

There are so many situations that you can use breath work in and when I was thinking about different situations that breath work is really helpful for, I was thinking as a mom, it's in those times of feeling overwhelmed or anxious or stressed where we want to quickly bring down our nervous system back into that calm, regulated state. There are so many moments, but I remember particularly when my son was 18 months old and my daughter was three months old cooking dinner, it's like mid COVID.

My husband was rarely home at that time. It was just like us at home all the time. No visitors, like no spontaneity. It was groundhog day every day. And I really struggled at dinnertime with, both babies wanting to be held and nurtured and also trying to get dinner on and stay within the clock so that by 7pm, I can be putting them to bed so that I could get a break.

And You know, the constant back and forth to the kids were holding at least one of them in my arms, cooking dinner and trying not to burn myself all or dinner, tending to their needs. Someone spilled something or broke something or someone's having a meltdown. It just felt like absolute chaos all the time. I just always found this time of day really stressful. Coming back to the breath in those moments, breath work would be so helpful just to see you through. It's not going to solve all your problems, but it's going to be able to help you see through that relentless dinner time.

It's also a practice I've used before bed because it promotes relaxation, and it prepares your body for restful sleep. So I still use breath work before bed. These days, it might not look like box breathing, but just some form of breath work. And my kids who are now three and five also do it. This is also why the breath is really good during labour and delivery. It helps you manage pain, stay focused, maintain that sense of control. And I remember when I was having my second baby, the labour was under three hours and she just came so hard and fast and quickly that the only technique I had time to use was the breath.

So I'd done some breath training with Nicola Laye, big shout out to Nicola Laye. I've done an episode with her, I believe in season one off the top of my head it's episode 9 of this podcast. And I did this in preparation for birth and I'm so glad that I did it. And I just had her in my head the whole time telling me to breathe, but it was such an effective tool. And because the breath promotes relaxation, it's so good for labour.

I also find just in the midst of those parenting challenges. So, the little story that I shared before about dinnertime, anytime you're dealing with parenting challenges. Like maybe it's the 10th tantrum in the day, just having a really hard day. Maybe there's lots of sickness in your house.

Maybe you've got a hundred tabs open in your brain at once. Maybe you haven't eaten all day, but you're now trying to leave the house and it's just becoming really stressful. Maybe your newborn is screaming blue murder in the car, but you just need to get from A to B. I remember those days. That was so tricky.

You could be trying to respond to your dysregulated child, but it feels like nothing's working. And so then you're feeling really stressed and over it. Maybe you're sick of the sibling rivalry and the fighting, meal refusal, and just the fact that you may even have financial pressures and that domestic labour that is never ending.

Just the challenges that come with being a parent. I've just named a tiny little sample of the things that we can experience, but it can be really challenging and really stressful. And you can be feeling really dysregulated. So it's important that we're taking care of ourselves and the breath can help us do that.

It can shift us from that really stressed, tense state to that relaxed and regulated state. And it's something that I would say to try and practice daily. You don't have to be doing a box breathing, but just practice conscious slow breathing daily. And I would love to know if this has helped you.

 I hope you enjoyed the box breathing and I hope you feel more centred and at ease as you continue through your journey whether you're in the perinatal period or you have older children. Remember you have the power to nurture your own serenity one breath at a time. So until next time, take care of yourself, be gentle with yourself.

You're doing the best that you can and that is more than enough. See you next time.

 

Ep.48 Mental Health Mini Series #1 Body Scan

Welcome to season 4 of Can We Talk About This?!

I am kicking off with a Mental Health Mini Series designed with mums in mind, where you get 6 episodes with me, Amber-lee Buendicho, offering some basic tools and resources for your mental health that you can incorporate in your daily life. We all know the demands of mothering and personal life can be stressful, triggering, frustration, exhausting and I wanted to offer some of my favourite tools because we need to take care of ourselves too! This series is here to offer a helping hand, guiding you through a journey of emotional regulation, recognition, and acceptance. Each episode is crafted to empower you with the skills needed to navigate emotional landscapes and to instill practices that enhance wellbeing. These exercises are aimed at helping you find a moment of peace amidst the chaos, and fostering a deeper connection with yourself. This is more than just a series; it's a space for you to breathe, learn, and grow.

 

In this episode I take you through a simple body scan exercise ask you some follow up questions to help you integrate awareness. I then offer some insight into how our brain works when we feel big emotions and how something as simple as a body scan can bring us back to ourselves and some of the benefits you receive when you use body scan practices. Body scan begins at 7:40 mins and goes for a total 11 mins 30 secs.

This particular body scan is general in nature and was adapted from TherapistAid materials. 

 

Disclaimer: While the content of this podcast is intended to provide support and guidance, it is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice. The techniques and practices discussed here are general in nature and may not be suitable for everyone.

 

If you are experiencing significant distress, mental health concerns, or trauma, I encourage you to seek support from a qualified mental health professional. Additionally, if at any point during this episode you feel overwhelmed or triggered, please turn it off and talk to someone or do something that is helpful to you.

 

Finding Support in Australia:

PANDA.org.au 

1300 726 306

COPE.org.au

Beyond Blue 1300 224 636

Gidget Foundation

Black Dog Institute 1300 851 758

 

TRANSCRIPT

Amber-lee (Host):

Welcome back to, can we talk about this? I'm your host, Amberlee Buendicho. Thank you so much for joining me for another wonderful season. I took a big break from the podcast and, and my other studies to just kind of, Be a little bit more present in my life. Enjoy some time being a mum, being with my kids, going on adventures, and just kind of doing things that fuel my soul and my nervous system has really thanked me for that.

 

So, a kind little reminder to you mum is that if you need to take a break where you can, Please do because the world can wait. We need you to be happy and healthy too. But I'm back and I'm so ready to get into season four. I have an amazing lineup of guests for this season and we're going to [00:02:00] start really getting into some heavier topics regarding perinatal mental health.

The first part of this season, I'm doing something a little bit different. So, I'm offering a mental health miniseries. And this is sort of where I'll be exploring practical strategies for coping with stress and diffusing overwhelming emotions, calming your anxious mind, interrupting those negative thought patterns, but also trying to increase your awareness of your inner world, your brain, your body, and what's going on inside your inner world.

 

So these are just all basic essential skills that can help you. Not only help you survive those hard days, but also thrive amidst the challenges that you're facing. And I've also used these tools in my own life. I personally vouch for them. Motherhood is just such a unique experience for everyone. And we all experienced the highs and lows. We experienced the joy and the love, but then also it's just incredibly challenging with the sleepless nights, the endless to do list, the loss of identity, reparenting yourself, navigating tantrums or the unsettled baby, feeding difficulties, managing your own emotions, and just feeling like the weight of Cultural and societal expectations.

The demands of motherhood can sometimes just be completely overwhelming. I want to be able to offer you some tools that you can just simply adapt into your daily life when you're feeling exhausted, anxious, overwhelmed, stressed, or just need a little bit of self care. This miniseries is for you. So each episode I will offer the insights, techniques, and exercises that you can do to easily incorporate, and hopefully even empower you to take control of your mental health and your wellbeing. And I just want you to remember that you are strong, you are capable, and you are worthy of support because you matter too. So let's get started. The little exercise I'm doing today I'm kind of the purpose of it is I'm trying to get you out of your head and bring you back into your body. This is just a very, very basic and simple body scan exercise.

So you just need to simply listen to the prompts and follow along. Of course, I always ask that you open your heart and mind to the exercise and just give it a try. And I'd also love to know what you think. I'll get into the body scan now, and then just for time sake, so that we're getting into it. at the beginning of the episode.

And then after the body scan, I'm going to kind of talk about what we're doing and why we're doing it. And then also kind of the benefits of doing a body scan and when you can incorporate that into your life. So let's get started with the body scan.

(disclaimer) I should note that in some situations a body scan or meditative or mindfulness exercise may not be appropriate. For severe psychiatric symptoms and conditions, so psychosis, dissociation, uncontrollable panic attacks, a body scan might not be actually be appropriate for you. So please be mindful before engaging in this practice with me today. Also, um, for, Some people with PTSD or post traumatic stress disorder, certain aspects of body focus practices like a body scan can actually trigger traumatic experiences and memories or overwhelming emotional responses. In such cases, it's actually essential to approach mindful practices with some sensitivity and it might even be better to do a trauma informed approach rather than just something general, like I'm doing today to kind of prioritize your safety and emotional regulation. Going on from that, anything that's kind of like very acute. So during an acute crisis situation, such as suicidal ideation, acute mania or severe agitation, individuals may be in a state of very, very heightened distress and require immediate intervention from a trained professional. So. Mindfulness practice is really not the place if something is very acute. Um, so just keep that in mind. Severe eating disorders is the next one. Individuals with severe eating disorders, particularly those struggling with body image disturbances or body dysmorphia, they might find that they may find body focus practices like body scans, triggering or distressing. And it's just really important that you're working with a healthcare provider, a professional experienced in treating eating disorders to develop a more holistic treatment plan and addressing those underlying psychological and physiological factors. A body scan may not be appropriate in such situations. Um, and I also read a little bit about substance use disorders. So individuals with substance use disorders may have difficulty maintaining focus and concentration necessary for a body scan. Um, this could be during intoxication or withdrawal. So in such cases, I, a mindfulness intervention would not be the right approach. So just also consider that. The last thing was intellectual or developmental disabilities. Individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities, including like autism, mindfulness practices like body scans may need to be adapted to accommodate for that individual's experience in sensory communication, cognitive ability, um, tailored, a more tailored approach and support from trained professionals would be necessary in this circumstance.

So just consider what I've said, and This would be regarding future miniseries episodes as well. Okay. While there's so many benefits to doing something as simple like a body scan in some scenarios, they're actually not helpful. So please consider that before you continue on with me today. Okay. Now let's get into it.

 

(body scan begins) Over the next several minutes, you will focus on the physical sensations throughout your body. These sensations might be the feeling of the clothes on your skin, tension within your muscles, temperature of the air, Or anything else that you can feel. Sometimes you might notice no sensation at all. Your job is to simply observe these sensations.

You do not need to change how your body feels or do anything else. To begin, sit back or lie down in a comfortable position. Maybe you're driving in the car right now. Maybe you're laying in bed. Maybe you're just simply sitting on your lounge. If it feels safe to do so, close your eyes or just let your gaze soften and take in a few big deep breaths.

Inhale and exhale. Find your own breathing pace.

Notice the feelings all throughout your body.

Notice your breath, notice your thoughts,and if your thought starts to linger, just bring it back to the breath, back to the body.

Notice your feet, including your sole, your heel, your toes, and the top of the foot. Notice the sensation of the ground, or your socks, or your shoes. Your shoes, or anything else around you that your feet can detect.

Travel up your body. Imagine a line from your feet, to your ankles, to your shins, to your calves. Notice sensations both deep in the muscles, and on the surface of your skin. Skin, how do they feel?

If your thoughts have lingered, bring it back to the breath. Inhale and exhale.

Find your breathing pace.

Now imagine that line moving up your legs. To your knees and your thighs. Notice how your clothing or how the blanket feels against your skin.

What sensations do you feel? Imagine

that line moving up your body again. Taking note of the feelings and sensations in your hips, your pelvis, your backside. Your backside. Simply just notice the sensations. and those feelings. Without any need [00:12:00] to change them, just name them.

Remember to breathe, inhale, exhale.

Pay attention to the feelings in your lower back and your abdomen. Moving that line. Notice how your body feels against the surface where you're sitting or laying down.

Notice the rise and fall of your stomach as you breathe.[00:13:00]

For a few muments, just pay attention to your breathing. Breath

in and out. Breathing deep into your body. Watch your stomach and your chest rise and fall when you exhale.

Bring your mind back to the breath.

Now move that line to your upper back and chest. [00:14:00] And just experience the sensations that you feel here.

Notice the material and how that feels against your skin. Notice your muscles. Your breath.

What are you feeling?

Now notice the feelings in your hands. Your fingers. And your wrists.

Maybe you feel like moving them gently. How does that feel?[00:15:00]

Just notice the sensations in your forearms, your upper arms, and your shoulders. Where are your shoulders sitting? Are they high? Are they rested? There's no need to change how you feel, just acknowledge it.

Moving that line up to your neck and your throat, and just pay attention to how that's feeling. Is it dry? Is it sore? Is it comfortable?[00:16:00]

As you breathe in, just check in with your neck and throat once more. Is there tension? Is it rested? How do you feel?

Just notice the feelings in your face and your head, moving that line. Attend to every feature on your face. One by one. Your jaw and your mouth. Your tongue and your teeth.

Your nose. Your eyes. Your eyelids. Your ears. Your brow. Your forehead. What did you notice?

Remember to keep breathing in and out at your own pace.

Finally, slowly use that line and scan your entire body. Noticing all the sensations. Start from your toes again. Slowly move that line. To your shins, to your knees, to your thighs, to your stomach, to your chest, to your shoulders, to your neck, to your face, to your head. What did you notice?

The body scan exercise is coming to a close, so at your own pace. Allow your eyes to open or move your body gently in a way that feels good.

Just notice how you feel. Remember to go gently. This concludes the body scan exercise. (body scan ends)

 

 

I just have some follow up questions for you now. How did you feel when you kind of started that exercise compared to now after completing it?

Was there any shift or change in your physical state? Your emotions? Your wellbeing? Are you now feeling more relaxed or grounded or present?

What did you notice during the body scan? Consider the sensations, the thoughts, the emotions that arose as you scanned each part of your body. Was there an area of tension or discomfort or unease? What stood out to you the most?

Think about how you approached any uncomfortable sensation or emotion that arose during that body scan. Did you notice any resistance, or avoidance, or judgement?

Did you struggle to offer yourself some self compassion and acceptance?

Did your mind wander during the body scan? If so, where did it go? Did you find yourself getting caught up in your thoughts or worries or distractions?

Were you able to gently bring your attention back?

This is just one practice to kind of bring you out of your head and back into your body and using a mindfulness based exercise to practice awareness and navigate stress and discomfort and difficult emotions in your life.

Just reflecting and asking yourself these questions can help deepen not only the practice for yourself but gain some insight into your inner experience. The purpose of doing and exercise like that. So we often experience really big emotions like anxiety or fear or anger or upset, even low emotions like depression.

There are several psychological mechanisms at play in the brain when we experience these big emotions. These emotions often trigger and activate what we call the amygdala. So this is a region in your brain responsible for processing emotions. A lot of the times it's referred to as the emotional centre of the brain.

This is particular for fear and anxiety, I should say. And when the amygdala perceives a threat, it initiates the body's stress response, also known as the fight, flight, freeze, or fawn response. And this response involves the release of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline, leading to the physiological changes.

You may experience like increased heart rate, shallow breath, muscle tension, and so on. And in the moments of heightened emotion, we have another part of the brain called the prefrontal cortex, which is basically where your forehead is. And this part of the brain is responsible for all that rational and logical thinking, problem solving, abstract thinking, decision making.

But this becomes temporarily impaired when our amygdala takes over, when our fear and anxiety take over. And this can make it really challenging to regulate our emotions effectively and respond in a calm and rational manner. So engaging in something like a body scan can actually help mitigate your physiological and psychological responses because you're now pinpointing where you feel those sensations in your body and you're bringing yourself out of your brain and into your body.

So doing something like a body scan, there are many other methods, but I'm just using the body scan. And as an example, this actually activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for promoting rest and digest, right? This activation counteracts the stress response triggered by your big emotions.

So leading to a decreased heart rate. Decreased muscle tension and decreased overall arousal. We want to be in the parasympathetic nervous system state, right? We want the rest; we want the digest. Our body scan can also help us maintain our focus and sustained concentration. Practicing directing attention intentionally.

To different parts of the body and noticing those sensations that actually strengthens, strengthens those neural circuits associated with attention, regulation, and cognitive control. So just simply by bringing yourself back into your body and feeling your body and feeling those sensations that helps us maintain emotional regulation and respond more skilfully to intense emotions in daily life.

Now, nobody is going to get this perfect. I just want to reiterate that this is simply a tool that you can use. So next time you have a big emotion, you can think, okay, quick body scan, you know, head, eyes, nose, and just like imagine that line moving down your body or up your body, whichever feels right, and try and see where you're experiencing that emotion, where you are feeling that sensation of that emotion.

And just simply by being able to feel it and name it, that helps us bring it down. It's not going to cure anything. It's not, it's just a very simple exercise to practice awareness and be in your body. A lot of us are kind of living out of our bodies. These days, we're up in our head, we're heightened, we're wide, we're overwhelmed.

It's just something to bring it back in. Okay, this is, I'm feeling it in my back. Okay, I'm just going to take some deep breaths and just let my back relax, as an example. And just simply by doing that, you're interrupting that limbic system, that amygdala, that emotional center. And the stress response might not be as big, the big emotion might not be as big.

Just simply by doing a body scan. Try it. I'd love to know what you think. There's lots of research about the benefits of doing something like a, like a meditative body scan like this. You know, it helps lessen anxiety. So, there are plenty of studies. You know, there's over 47 meta analyses studies that have showed that, um, a mindful body scan meditation practice actually helps decrease [00:26:00] anxiety and may even be helpful for people with generalized anxiety disorder. It decreases stress levels. So when you're in that high cortisol state. that actually decreases your mental health. You'll have poor sleep, weight gain, difficulty concentrating, weakened immune system, and the high levels of cortisol and stress reactions become like this vicious cycle where we feel like we can't calm down.

So doing a body scan helps lower those cortisol levels. And in saying that, it improves your sleep quality. This could be something that you could do before you fall asleep at night, while you're driving in the car, anywhere. You can do this anywhere. It also reduces chronic pain.

According to this randomised controlled study with 55 participants that I found, a 10 minute body scan meditation done in a clinical setting actually quickly relieved chronic pain in some people. That was published in 2014, improved self awareness. I think that's a given. Body scans allow you to kind of tune in with what you're feeling rather than pushing your feelings aside.

You might notice that you have physical symptoms like chest pain or rapid heartbeat or cognitive symptoms like fear of losing control or poor memory, or even behavioural symptoms like you're pacing, you're agitated, restless, all those sorts of things. You may not recognize why you're experiencing these symptoms, but body meditate, body scan meditations can help you recognize.

And so that's part of being self-aware. We recognize within ourselves what we're feeling and where we're feeling it. This form of, um, meditation, I guess you could call it is also, it also just helps you simply relax. It puts you in that parasympathetic nervous system state that we just talked about.

And, you know, you focus on your breath, you focus on your body and it decreases that tension. And you have, a better ability to relax. And the last one is it just simply improves your focus. And that's all part of the self awareness as well.

Well, that's all I have for you today. I hope that by simply just being able to understand what I was doing then, and being able to bring yourself back into your body and do that body scan, that you can use this next time you're feeling those big, big emotions. You're feeling that cutoff from your rational, logical problem solving brain.

And I'm not saying that having those big emotions is a bad thing. They're actually. Our body is doing its job. It's when it's impairing your ability to function. So if I can use it in an example, so I'm feeling really stressed because we're running late and my son, you know, spills his cup of milk in the morning.

And so now I've got to clean up this milk and now, um, you know, it just, if it's like the cherry on top, right. I'm sure we've all been there before. My body's response is more stress, right? Because we're running late and I need to get out the door, but now I've got to spend time cleaning up this milk.

So just by being able to be like, okay, yep, I feel stressed in my back right now. I need to take a breath. I'm then being the parent that I want to be. So I have a healthy way of coping with the stress and I'm not taking out on my child or myself or my husband, for example, um, And that I can be the parent and the person that I want to be.

And I'm following the values that I have, which is I don't want to yell at my son and take my stress out on him because it was an accident and accidents happen. So I'm going to take a breath. I'm going to take a moment. I'm going to check in with myself before I respond. And the body scan is just something you don't have to be doing a 10 minute body scan. You can just be simply doing this in a matter of like 10 seconds. So taking that 10 seconds, scanning your body. Okay. I know how I'm feeling now. Okay. And offering not only yourself some [00:30:00] compassion, but maybe your child in that scenario as well. That's like a tiny little scenario that I could give you. Um, I am now rambling, so now I am going to end, but I hope that that was helpful to you.

I look forward to doing more of these exercises with you. I've got some really good ones up my sleeve, but I just thought that I would start with something really, really, really basic so that you could kind of be checking in with yourself. It's kind of like the fundamentals of A lot of these tools and resources that I'm going to be sharing with you. Until next time, thank you so much for listening.

We hope you enjoyed this episode. If you're listening and would like to share your story with us or feel compelled to talk about issues surrounding women's health, please don't hesitate to reach out. We would love to hear from you. You can find us at the power of birth on Instagram and Facebook or on our website, the power of birth.net. If you loved this episode, we would love it if you left us a review on whatever podcast platform you're listening on and share us with your family and friends. The conversation has to start somewhere. Thank you again for listening and we hope you join us in the next episode.

Episode 47: Brianna’s Story: The Dark Cloud that Follows You After Loss

Brianna talks about her experience in her first pregnancy which was full of excitement and preparation to then find out at 14 weeks her baby had passed at 10 weeks gestation. Brianna talks about the devastating realisation she had been carrying a dead baby and openly talks about what her physical loss looked like and the aftermath of her ‘missed miscarriage’ and the impact grief, sadness and post traumatic stress symptoms had on her mind and life. When Brianna did finally fall pregnant again, everything was ok but the dark cloud of possible complications or loss followed her for the entire pregnancy. Brianna shares her feelings and experiences throughout her pregnancy and into her birth. Brianna talks of an empowering birth experience but a difficult postpartum with a very unsettled baby, feeding struggles and trying to decipher anxiety and intuition as a new mother.   

  

If you are struggling with pregnancy loss or infant loss, please reach out to these amazing organisations who can support you

www.pinkelephants.org.au

www.sands.org.au

www.postpartum.net

 

If you are struggling with your mental health in pregnancy or postpartum, please reach out to

www.panda.org.ay

www.postpartum.net

 

Music is called "Flowers" by Limujii and can be found on YouTube, SoundCloud and Spotify.

Episode 46: Rebecca’s Story: Perinatal Acute Anxiety, Tokophobia, Postnatal Depression, OCD & PTSD

Rebecca bravely shares her experiences struggling with her mental health since childhood and how her experiences becoming a mother exacerbated her struggles. Rebecca openly shares about her very wanted pregnancy and how anxiety and tokophobia (clinical fear of childbirth) robbed her of any joy or excitement and how that impacted her birth decisions and immediate postpartum experiences. We chat about distinguishing anxiety, tokophobia and common fears of childbirth.

 

Rebecca shares about her birth and the acute psychological distress she experienced and how that impacted her postpartum which quickly took a scary turn. Rebecca was admitted into a Mothers and Baby Unit to treat her mental health struggles and she shares about how this completely transformed her mental health and her life. Rebecca talks candidly about her grief, self blame, the experience of anxiety, OCD and intense intrusive thoughts as well as her struggles accepting diagnoses and support including medication. We also chat about the importance in having mental health professionals with a special interest in perinatal mental health issues and the difference that made in Rebecca’s diagnosis and recovery.   

 

There is so much to learn from those who have lived experience with these mental health conditions and I truly believe this episode can benefit other struggling mums simply by real talk and validation, but also for mental health professionals who work with mums.

 

You can find Rebecca at @perinatalstoriesaustralia on socials, her podcast Perinatal Stories Australia or website www.perinatalstoriesaustralia.com

 

If you or someone you know is experiencing signs and symptoms of anxiety, depression, OCD, tokophobia or PTSD – please urgently seek professional help.

 

www.cope.org.au (they also have a perinatal psychologist directory)

www.panda.org.au 

www.gidgetfoundation.org.au 

www.birthtrauma.org.au 

Episode 45: It’s Just the Baby Blues… Or Is It?

Too often struggling mums go to get support for their mental health and are told, “its just the baby blues, it will pass” when really, it’s not the baby blues. I, Amber-lee your host, thought an episode addressing all things baby blues would be helpful to this audience so that we can have an understanding of what is normal and what is not in early postpartum. I describe what the baby blues looks like, common symptoms, hormonal fluctuations, sociocultural factors, ways to help you through it as well as when to seek help. 

Remember, the baby blues are temporary and should pass within 2 weeks of experiencing symptoms. If symtpoms are persisting or worsening, it is important you seek further support as that is not that baby blues. 

 

In this episode I talk about a hormone graph and if you would like the visual you can see it here: https://www.thepowerofbirth.net/post/understanding-the-difference-between-baby-blues-and-postnatal-depression-a-guide-for-new-mothers

 

This episode is for educational and informational purposes only. Please seek mental health advice from your health professionals.  

 

You can download free resources for your emotional health when you subscribe to thepowerofbirth.net or if you head to the printable PDF page there is plenty for you to explore.

 

Make sure you are following @thepowerofbirth on social media too!

 

References:

David R. Grattan, Sharon R. Ladyman, Chapter 2 – Neurophysiological and cognitive changes in pregnancy, Handbook of Clinical Neurology, Volume 171, 2020, Pages 25-55.

https://www.marchofdimes.org/find-support/topics/postpartum/baby-blues-after-pregnancy#:~:text=The%20baby%20blues%20usually%20go,your%20partner%2C%20family%20and%20friends.

Some information was taken from Advanced Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorder Training with Postpartum Support International

Episode 44: ’More Than A Healthy Baby’ - Perinatal Trauma & Post Traumatic Growth with Dr Erin Bowe

This episode delves into the often-overlooked world of perinatal trauma and post-traumatic growth. Your host Amber-lee Buendicho is joined by the very down-to-earth and insightful Dr. Erin Bowe, author of the book 'More Than A Healthy Baby: Finding Strength & Growth After Birth Trauma'. We talk about what led her to write this book and Dr Erin expands on some of the concepts she writes about, including her own traumatic birth and breastfeeding experiences.  

 

We explore the complexities of perinatal trauma, including birth and breastfeeding trauma, differentiating what Dr Erin calls 'little t trauma' and 'big T trauma', the psychological mechanisms of trauma, the role of perception, and gaining an understanding of how these experiences can deeply affect a mother's and families.

 

One of the critical issues discussed in this episode is the tendency to dismiss mothers' experiences and struggles, often misdiagnosing their trauma as mere depression. Dr. Erin sheds light on the importance of recognising and addressing the unique challenges faced by mothers in the perinatal period, helping listeners understand the difference between trauma and other mental health issues.

 

We learn through Dr Erin about Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) emerges as a promising and effective therapeutic approach. Dr. Erin provides valuable insights into the workings of EMDR and its potential to facilitate healing and growth after perinatal trauma.

 

In the latter part of the episode, we explore the profound concept of meaning-making and how it contributes to post-traumatic growth. The conversation delves into the power of hope and resilience within motherhood, revealing that growth and strength can emerge from even the most challenging experiences and what that can look using Kintsugi as a powerful analogy. Amber-lee shares some of her personal experiences with post-traumatic growth. 

 

Disclaimer: The content of this episode is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical or psychological advice. 

 

A big thank you to The Kind Press Publishing and Dr Erin Bowe for offering some of our listeners a chance at getting their very own copy of Erin's books More Than A Healthy Baby: Finding Strength & Growth After Birth Trauma and Social Media Detox For Mums: A New Way To Find Balance - listen to this episode to find out how you can get a free copy (Australian residents only). Limited stock available.

 

If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health in motherhood please consider reaching out to the wonderful support organisations within Australia:

www.cope.org.au

www.panda.org.au 

www.birthtrauma.org.au

www.gidgetfoundation.org.au 

For our international listeners go to www.postpartum.net 

Episode 43: Sex After Baby & Rediscovering Sensuality

Join me as I sit down with Vanessa, mum and Sex Therapist from Authentic Awareness, for an eye-opening discussion on the topic of sex after having a baby. Together, we delve into the often overlooked aspects of postpartum sex and how the conventional postpartum six-week clearance from healthcare providers can be a missed opportunity for important conversations with women and couples.

Throughout our conversation, we tackle a wide range of issues, starting with the fluctuation of libido and the differences in sexual desires between males and females. Vanessa, drawing from her expertise, generously shares her invaluable tips for rediscovering sensuality after becoming a mother. We address the complexities of navigating intimacy when our partner initiates sexual activity, but we find ourselves not in the mood or feeling exhausted from the demands of motherhood. We also discuss the societal pressure to prioritise intercourse over other forms of sexual connection and intimacy, and the cultural expectations of women and sex, shedding light on alternative ways to nurture and strengthen the bond between partners.

Naturally, a conversation about postpartum sex wouldn't be complete without addressing birth injuries. We explore how these injuries can impact sexual experiences and provide insights into navigating this often overlooked aspect of postpartum recovery.

You can find Vanessa @authenticawareness or https://authenticawareness.com.au/

You can purchase Mama’s Sensual Safari here: https://authenticawareness.com.au/courses/

Disclaimer: The information provided is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered a substitute for professional advice or consultation. It is important to consult with healthcare providers or qualified professionals for personalized guidance and support regarding your specific situation. 

Episode 42: Embracing Healing After a Traumatic Homebirth (HBAC)

In this powerful episode, we follow the courageous journey of Bec Black, a perinatal psychologist and mother of three, as she shares her deeply personal and traumatic experience of attempting a Homebirth After Caesarean (HBAC). Bec takes us through her emotional and physical struggle, the unforeseen challenges she faced during labour, and her transfer to the hospital.

Throughout the episode, Bec opens up about the intense emotions she grappled with following her traumatic birth experience. She talks honestly about the profound struggle she encountered in accepting that her birth did not unfold as she had hoped and offers vulnerability and insight into the complex emotions that can arise when expectations clash with reality during childbirth.

As a psychologist specialising in perinatal mental health, Bec also reflects on how her own journey informs her professional practice. She shares how her personal experience of birth trauma has deepened her empathy for her clients, and discusses the importance of acknowledging and addressing the emotional wounds that can arise from childbirth.

The episode delves into Bec's postpartum journey as well, shedding light on the challenges she faced during this vulnerable period. She explores the impact of her birth experience on her mental and emotional wellbeing, and how she navigated the path towards healing and acceptance. Her story serves as a beacon of hope for others who may have experienced trauma during childbirth, inspiring them to seek support and reminding them that healing is possible.

Join us for this heartfelt episode as we witness Bec's courage, resilience, and growth, ultimately discovering that even in the face of trauma, there can be the possibility of finding purpose and healing.

The following episode contains sensitive content related to traumatic childbirth. We advise listeners to prioritise their wellbeing and exercise self-care when engaging with this content. If you find yourself in need of support or guidance, please reach out to a qualified healthcare professional or a mental health provider.

You can find Bec @themindfulbirthmovement  or https://themindfulbirthmovement.com.au/