One of the most powerful things you can do for your emotional well-being is to increase connection in your life. 

I've just come back from the Australian POTS Foundation conference where we discussed POTS, hypermobility disorders like Ehlers-Danos syndrome, long COVID, and ME-CFS.

Having strong relationships and social connection boosts dopamine, a neurotransmitter (chemical messenger) that impacts how we feel pleasure. And the people you choose to spend time with matters. Mirror neurons in your brain help mirror or copy the behaviour and actions of people around you. What limiting beliefs might be holding you back from making more meaningful connections?

I wanted to share some tips for Navigating Back to School: How To Ease the Transition. Whether you're a new parent or have been through this a few times, the start of a school year can be a mix of excitement and anxiety.

If you were feeling burnt out at the end of last year, maybe you thought taking a break over the holidays might help.

But if you are burnt out, why don’t you feel different after taking a short break?

The reason is burnout can develop over a long period and result in significant physical and cognitive changes which can be difficult to undo quickly.

Do you rely on self control or motivation to reach your goals? Have you tried and failed to stick to a new habit after a few days of trying. I hear you! You are not alone. I’ve been researching behaviour change and uncovered some fascinating insights I want to share with you.

Why do your New Year's Resolutions fail? And what's the best option this year? You probably have the best of intentions! This year, you are going to make New Year’s Resolutions and actually stick with them. Sounds good? I hate to break it to you... But research shows most of us will ditch our resolutions around the 2-3 month mark.

How You Can Break The Stress Cycle. How are you feeling right now? Overwhelmed? Exhausted? Burnt out? I want to share how you can break the stress cycle, once and for all. And it’s all about reframing ‘self-care’ from being a temporary antidote to stress to an effective business practice for peak performance.

At this time of year, you might come into contact with people where you are more likely to have a difficult conversation, such as friends or family. I heard a new technique for managing challenging conversations and wanted to share it with you. 

Want to know how to manager your productivity? At such a busy time of the year, I thought you might like some extra resources.  With all the holidays and projects and things that you want to finish before the end of the year, we are all carrying a lot in our mental load. So I want to give you a great productivity hack that really worked well for me. 

The latest CSIRO Healthy Diet Score report reveals that Australians’ diet quality is generally below the healthy level. Many of us are not maximising nutrition for our health and well-being. Eating well isn’t just about what you consume today and tomorrow. Having a balanced diet and changing your eating habits to maximise your physical and emotional health isn't about completely changing your life.

How often do you see your friends and family? The Answer Could Save Your Life.

Research from Britain suggests loneliness can increase the risk of an early death.

They dug into issues such as how we connect socially, how often we confide in someone close, how often we feel lonely, our frequency of visiting friends or family, participating in group activities weekly, and living alone.

How can you use your strengths? If you want to change?

Strengths are your superpower. It's what makes you, you and it's what makes you special.

Here are 3 ways you can use your strengths to change and evolve.. Have you ever thought about your strengths and how you can use them to change and evolve?

Here is the best mental health advice that changed my life.

What I have found helpful is to have a toolkit of strategies in place such as meditation and movement to manage your mood on days when you need it most. You might worry about what people think about you or feel people are judging you. But those people are usually in their own heads thinking about themselves and not you. Often, you might try to get rid of uncomfortable feelings like anxiety.

It’s easier to be positive when your life is going well and the world is relatively settled.

When that’s not happening, (like it is right now for some of us) that’s when you need to call on practices that build resilience. Researchers from the University of Virginia found when standing in front of a hill, people who were with their friends estimated the hill to be 10 to 20% less steep than participants who were alone. And the longer the friendship, the less steep the hill appeared.

What do you think would be more stressful?

Knowing something bad is going to happen or the uncertainty that it might happen, but it also might not.

Scientists from the University College in London found it was uncertainty that led to significantly more stress, than actually knowing something unpleasant was going to happen.

How easy is it to change your mindset? Recognise your daily actions and habits matter. Every action you take today is a vote for the person you will be next year and in 5 years time. Build in protective factors to help manage stress such as movement, connection and meditation. And consistency beats intensity - make daily habits automatic so you don’t have to choose to be healthy.

Feeling like an imposter means you value what you’re doing. If you feel like an imposter, it means being successful in your field really matters to you. In other words, you are in the right place.  Step back from feelings of shame and not being good enough.

How often have you thought about the mentors or people who helped shape you into the person you are today It might have been one single conversation or regular friendly advice from someone older than you.

How often are you actually paying attention to what’s going on for you right now? Even reading this - are you solely focused on paying attention to the task at hand? Focusing on the present moment can be challenging.

How often do you feel lonely? Loneliness isn’t about being alone. In fact, you can be surrounded by people but feel completely alone, whether you are at home or at work.