Brave Collective Studio in Bundaberg, Queensland | Counsellor

Brave Collective Studio

Locality: Bundaberg, Queensland

Phone: +61 488 198 502

Address: 10 City Vue Ter 4670 Bundaberg, QLD, Australia

Website: http://www.bravecollectivestudio.com.au

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25.01.2022 As priorities shift after a mum has her baby and as the people around the mum focus on the baby instead of her she begins to care less for herself and more for her child. This mind-set doesn't change as the child grows, either. But it's not just a lack of sleep, the understandable shift in priorities, the intense physical changes in the postpartum period or the myriad germs children seem to attract that's making and keeping mothers sick; it's our unwillingness to treat ourse...lves with the same care that we provide our children. Mothers are notoriously bad at asking for help, a byproduct of our "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" culture that has attached a person's worthiness to their ability to act entirely independent of anyone else. Mums in particular are judged by their resourcefulness and capacity for self-sacrifice, regardless of the personal cost. But if we encouraged mothers to help themselves as often as they help their children, if we believed mums when they said they are sick or in pain, perhaps we wouldn't have the worst maternal mortality rate in the developed world. Perhaps fewer mothers would be feeling isolated, alone and overwhelmed. Perhaps motherhood could becomes far less like a chore and far more joyful. In order to change the worthiness programming you have in your mind, you must stop acting like your worth is conditional and you must stop believing that you need to improve or change in any way, in order to gain worth. Looking to the outside world of people or things for your worth keeps you trapped in a vicious cycle with no way out. The outside world cannot give you worth! In fact, no one can give it to you and no one can take it away. This means that you must stop making your worth dependent on anything or anyone. You must claim your worth once and for all, and own it forever. The biggest thing I see mums do is they put everyone else before themselves. Guess what this does to your internal programming? It confirms that not even you believe you are worthy. What if you gave yourself the same love and attention as you do your children? Change starts with you. You have to show yourself you are worthy. You need to make the choice to put yourself first. Only then will things start to change. If your ready for change, be brave and reach out. Jo Lamond Xx

25.01.2022 The experience of trying to get pregnant can be all-consuming. If you have been trying to fall pregnant, but unsuccessfully, it is natural to feel frustrated and disappointed when you realise that you have not conceived at each cycle and it’s not happening. You may also, quite understandably, feel angry, jealous or resentful of others around you particularly towards those who seem to be able to become pregnant more quickly, effortlessly or accidentally. Allow yourself to fe...el whatever you’re feeling, and remember that deep sadness and grief is valid. Try to view your emotions as temporary states that will come and go. Remember it’s OK not to put yourself in situations that trigger your pain. This may mean sending a gift instead of going to a baby shower, or waiting to visit a new friend’s second or third baby until you’re feeling up to it. It’s OK to put your needs and feelings first. Find people you can confide in. Connect with others going through the same journey via Facebook groups or online forums. You’re not alone even if it might feel that way sometimes. Don’t be afraid, be brave and reach out if your feelings are overwhelming or if you feel as though it taking its toll on your relationship. Jo Lamond Xx

25.01.2022 My counselling focus is to move you forward into a life that matters, not to sit in your past pain and relive it. We focus on what really matters to you, by finding out what you truly value in each area of your life. We look at what memories, worries, fears, self criticism, or other unhelpful thoughts do you dwell on or get "caught' in.... We explore what you are currently doing that keeps you stuck, wastes your time or money, drains your energy, restricts your life, and impacts negatively on your health, work or relationships. We then take action to solve your problems, face your challenges, and do what matters to you. I incorporate aspects of acceptance & commitment therapy into my sessions, mindfulness and art therapy. I am a visual and interactive learner. This is how I like to work in my sessions as well. If you have questions about sessions please jump to the web page and fill out an enquire form, otherwise quick and simple - Send me a PM via Facebook. Be brave & reach out, Jo Lamond Xx

24.01.2022 Post-Natal Depression - Fight it with movement! I was diagnosed with PND 6 weeks after having Sofia. Depression loves to keep you isolated at home. To beat depression, you have to do the one thing it doesn't want you to do.... Move! Focus on meeting every humans basic needs for you and your baby. Healthy food, sun / fresh air, water, rest and connection. Create a routine with your new little one. Follow the same routine everyday. In that routine make sure you both get some ...sun on your skin everyday. Eat as healthy as you can, drink lots of water and connect other people everyday. If you can't sleep when the baby sleeps that is OK. Instead take some down time to yourself. Forget about the housework. You are more important right now. Once you got the basics down then add movement. Plan a morning or afternoon stroller walk with your little one. Head to the park for an afternoon play. I use to take Sofia to the shopping centre every afternoon at 3pm for an hour. I would just walk up and down the strip with a coffee in hand. What ever you do, start moving. It's the only way you can beat depression. If you are struggling, be brave and reach out. I am now offering one on one counselling sessions to pre-natal, antenatal and postnatal mums. I am here to support you, Jo Lamond Xx

24.01.2022 Once upon a time there was a young girl who dreamed of finding her prince charming. They would get married, have babies and live happily ever after. What this princess didn't know though was 10 years into her marriage things would fall apart and end with divorce. She would have to grieve the loss of her dream. The family unit she created, her role as a wife and the financial security she had created with her partner. ... She also had to grieve the loss of material things gained during the relationship, loss of routine and shared history with her now ex-husband. The hardest one of all was the loss of time as a family, because the kids are now one week on / one week off with their father at his new house. All these little losses that are hidden underneath the big loss of a relationship are called associated losses. The important thing about associated losses is to see and acknowledge them without judgment. If I cannot see them, I cannot acknowledge them. If I cannot acknowledge them, I cannot accept them, which means I will remain stuck in the grief. If you have found yourself on this journey grief, be kind to yourself. The key to making it through grief is to treat yourself like you would a dear friend. A good friend does not condemn you for your feelings. They do not call it silly or stupid when you feel sad about a loss. Instead, a good friend validates your feelings and gives you a safe space to be honest about how you feel. If you would like some support while going through your grief, be brave and reach out. Go gently my lovely lady, Jo Lamond Xx

23.01.2022 Denial helps us minimize the overwhelming pain of loss. As we process the reality of our loss, we are also trying to survive emotional pain. It is natures way of letting in only as much as we can handle. Sometimes when the pain gets too much instead of stepping into our grief we try to avoid it though compulsive behaviors, overworking or misusing drugs, alcohol or other substances as a way to deal with emotional discomfort. Fighting against grief is like trying to push a ba...ll under water. You trying to pretend it's not there. You don't want other to see it. It takes so much effort to keep it under water, outta sight. It's exhausting, and it starts to effect you physically as well as emotionally. Other's starting to notice you are struggling, but they have no idea why. You won't show them, you don't let them in. We must pass through grief. There is no other way around it. We want to welcome grief. Give it a place to live. Allowing it to just 'be' with us. Think about it like just allow that ball to float on top of the water. The ball is still there, but we are no longer struggling with it. It will no longer consume you. If you are getting exhausted from keeping your grief underwater like a ball, be brave and reach out. Jo Lamond Xx

23.01.2022 If you’ve ever doubted yourself, you know how crippling it can be. The missed opportunities, the indecision, the quiet torment - it stops us from living our best lives. Limiting beliefs are the little voices that convince you that you can’t be/do/have something. ... "I am not good enough" "I need to be in control" "I am not a good mother" "I don't deserve to be loved" "I should be able to do it all myself" "I have to be perfect" "I am not safe in the world" "I am never going to fall pregnant" "I am not important" "I can't learn anything new" "I am never going to lose this weight" "I am ugly and over weight" But self-doubt is really just a subconscious belief developed somewhere in childhood. If we change our beliefs, we can shed self-doubt and develop self-confidence instead. Have you ever wanted to more forward in an area in your life and felt an internal struggle with yourself? It may feel like stagnation, hopelessness, boredom or lack of enthusiasm. You would not be feeling this way if you weren’t being held back by your beliefs. No matter the situation, you can evaluate your situation; your emotions; and your physical feelings and then work backward to identify the thoughts that generated them. As you dig deep into why you believe something about yourself, you’ll see that most of your beliefs are based on what other people said. Basically, many self-limiting beliefs are based on other people’s opinions and their own limitations. They are not YOUR limitations you just adopted them! So if you adopted them you can then also give them up right? You have a choice - Keep it or trash it? If you feel like your limiting beliefs are holding you back, be brave and reach out. Jo Lamond Xx

22.01.2022 My daughter loves that I incoperate art therapy into my work. She is now always asking for me to set one up for her. She has given me permission to share this one with you that she did the other day. This relates to my earlier post this morning about emotional bubbles. You can see she has drawn 3 high bubbles in plan view. Each bubble contains two different emotions. She has pressed lightly to color them in. Coloring in all different direction creating flow. Notice how you c...an also see through them. Little bits of white showing. These bubbles are happy bubbles. There are also two bubbles that are out of view a red one at the bottom left hand corner and a orange one at the bottom right hand corner. They are completely blocked out in color, she switched to paint. This creates a heaviness to them. We then spent some time sitting together talking about what was happening in her picture. We all learn things a different way, therefore we all express things a different way. Art therapy is just another way to help you express what is going on inside you. If you would like to incoperate some aspects of art therapy into your counselling sessions be brave and reach out. Jo Lamond Xx

22.01.2022 Imagine being in a tug-of-war with a monster. It is big, ugly, and very strong. In between you and the monster is a pit, and so far as you can tell it is bottomless. If you lose this tug-of-war, you will fall into this pit and will be destroyed. So you pull and pull, but the harder you pull, the harder the monster pulls, and you edge closer and closer to the pit. The hardest thing to see is that our job is not to win the tug-of-war. our job is to drop the rope. This is the r...elationship we have with our thoughts. We choose to react the way we do. We get hooked on the thoughts and then the emotions follow. The emotions then cause use to act. But our thoughts are just words and our emotions just pass through us if we allow them to be, without taking action to numb or suppress them. You choose to react, you choose to struggle. Therefore you can also choose not to struggle, you can choose to drop the rope and not play the monsters game. This means allow the thoughts and feeling to just be there. You can not make them go away, this is impossible. But you can learn too not react. This mean coming from a place of love instead of fear. If you would like to learn how to defuse and unhook yourself from your thoughts, be brave and reach out. Jo Lamond Xx

22.01.2022 I feel so blessed and honored to be able to support so many women as they walk through their grief. Just this morning I did a walk and talk session with a mum who has been in bed for the last few weeks. Today was the first time she got up, got dressed and left the house. If we stay small and closed off from others, grief will cover us like a weighted blanket. Keeping us down. But for this mum to decide that this was not the path she was going to take was super inspiring. If... you ready to take off the weighted blanket of grief, be brave and reach out. Go gently my lovely ladies. Jo Lamond Xx

22.01.2022 I got to meet the beautiful Jodie Bemet on Wednesday. She is the owner of Green Apple Health and Nutrition Jodie specialises in: -Overall health and wellbeing issues -Weight management... -Digestive Health issues -Mental health issues -Child Health issues Do jump over and check her page. Your nutrition has a huge impact on your mood. https://www.facebook.com/greenapplehealthandnutrition/

21.01.2022 To my beautiful ladies, I would like to inform you that over the next few weeks, Be Brave Counselling will be joining with Active Mums Personal Training Studio as one business. I have been running Active Mums fitness for nearly 9 years now. I started it as a way to move out of my post-natal depression. Personal training is a mentally focused business that has a masculine energy to it, counselling is a heart focused and has a feminine energy to it. ... So to find a beautiful balance for myself, I am not choosing head or heart. Instead I have decided to drop down into my womb. Here I can nurture & support. I can honor both energies as they combine into one. This is the birth of the 'BRAVE Collective'. Pre-Natal, Antental, Postnatal Fitness & Counselling. I will encourage woman to be brave with their hearts, strong with their desires and gentle with their minds. I will be merging my Active Mums Page into my new business page. This Be Brave Counselling Page will no longer be in use for my posts. Soon I will be adding a new logo, putting together a new web page and finally making some cosmetic changes to the studio to match the new business. How exciting! The butterfly is ready to break out of it's cocoon... be patient. BRAVE Collective... Coming Soon!

21.01.2022 Every month our bodies have a period. This is a chance for your body to release everything it has been holding onto. Including your emotions. The week before your period the body starts to prep for this release. There is a sense of slowing down, your energy levels drop and you become sluggish. You might feel bloated and constipated. As your mind starts to draw out all the emotions that you have been suppressing over the last month you might become depressed, you may cry eas...ily or snap at family members. It may feel like a whirl wind in your head, causing migraines and headaches. You may notice that you have a day, when everything is too much. Then the following day your period arrives. You gain control of your mind. This does give us false hope that everything is alright again. Until the next cycle come around. Ever noticed an increase of emotional eating around your period? For some this is an attempt to keep those emotions which your body is trying to bring up, down. Just before any kind of release there is tension. When you workout, the muscle contracts, pauses and then releases. During an organism, there is a build up of tension and then the release. A horse jumping over a jump slows down just before the jump, creating tension to propel themselves over. It is a natural cycle. Therefore it is understandable that our bodies do it too. So why do we greet this tension with tension? Why do we keep resisting the natural process? What if we surrendered and let go instead? What if we accepted our emotions and allowed them to be? If this cycle sound familiar to you and you are ready to break the cycle, be brave and reach out. Go gently my lovely lady, Jo Lamond Xx

20.01.2022 Taking one hour out for yourself is the best gift you can give to yourself and your loved ones. Its amazing what a session with a counsellor can really do for you. Sometimes just getting everything off your chest allows you to breath again.... Never seen a counsellor before? I would love to meet you for a coffee. Discover who I am and if working with me is something you feel comfortable with. Coffee is on me. Be brave and reach out, Jo Lamond Xx

18.01.2022 I don’t know what it’s like to be a grieving father on Father’s Day, but I find those tangled into this club to be the strongest and most admirable men out there. I wish you peace, comfort and strength to go through the dark days up ahead, and may the emptiness in your heart be filled again with love from those around you. Jo Lamond Xx

17.01.2022 If I asked you to be brave would you stand up and hold your scared ground? If I asked you to be strong would you stand firm against your boundaries? If I asked you to soften into your heart would you finally let others in?... If i asked you to be gentle with your mind would you unchain yourself from your thoughts? Guess what? I am not going to ask you. Cause you don't need someone else telling you what to do. So instead..... I am going to show you how to be brave, so when your ready you can stand up and hold your scared ground. I am going to show you how to be strong, so when your ready you can stand firm against your boundaries. I am going to show you how to soften into your heart, so when your ready you can finally let others in. I am going to show you how to be gentle with your mind, so when your ready you can unchain yourself from your thoughts. No one can force you to let go / accept / move forward until you are ready. Give yourself the time you need to be where you are at. Then when you are ready... you will. Be brave and reach out, Jo Lamond Xx

17.01.2022 You are allowed to expand. You are allowed to take up room in the world. You are allowed to be you.... Dont shrink to make others feel better. Dont let anyone dim your light. Shine my beautiful lady, for you are the sunshine, you are longer the moon. Jo Lamond Xx

16.01.2022 For some mums having a baby, really quickly after losing a baby can be very healing. For other women it becomes one big pregnancy, so it becomes one big long prolonged grief experience. Mums may find it hard to separate out what happened with the previous pregnancy with this new pregnancy, grieving the baby that they loss and trying to manage new emotions for what's happening right now becomes extremely confusing. If you are thinking about falling pregnancy after a loss, I e...ncourage you to reach out to myself or another grief and loss counselor in your area. Together you can have an open and honest conversation with them and yourself. Every person and every story is different. Let them get to know you, so they can give you feedback based on your life, your experience and your emotional well-being. There is not one solid answer, there is not something that works for everybody. That is why it is so important to have that open and honest conversation about where you are at in your grieving process. Some times there is a feeling of your family being incomplete. The counselor can help you determine if it the loss of your baby that makes you feel incomplete or is it the longing to have another baby to join your family. There are so many important questions to rustle with during this time for you and it is ok to have a wide range of emotions after you have experienced a loss. There is nothing wrong with that. Go gently my lovely lady. Be brave and reach out, Jo Lamond Xx

16.01.2022 Old behavior patterns and limiting beliefs keep you where you are at. Challenge your thoughts, face your fears and break through old patterns. You can be who you want to be, the only one holding you back right now is yourself. ... It's time to let go. I got you. Jo Lamond Xx

15.01.2022 FITNESS TRAINING IN 2021 We will be offering personal training sessions in a semi private group setting. We have 5 stations in the studio, each space is approx. 7 metres squared. Each space has been allocated its own equipment. Each participant follows their own personal program. Each training station is equipped with: ... 1 x clipboard I x pair of suspension crank It straps 1 x grey loop band 1 x set of power tubes (green 7.5kg, orange 12.4kg and grey 14.9kg) 1 x pink mediband 4.2kg 1 x yoga mat 1 x Plyo box You will also have access to the pink connect it straps, kettlebells, weighted plates, dumbbells, medballs, slamballs, yoga blocks & yoga straps. At the start of every session we spend 10 minutes focusing on mobility yoga flows. These yoga flows will be warming up the body and joints before moving into your strength focused workout for 30 minutes. Your focused workout will consist of 6 exercises. Squat, lunge, and hinge for your lower body. Push, row and pull or press for your upper body. We follow a 6 week rotation of session set ups. Week 1 ENDURANCE Week 2 BACK TO BACK Week 3 TABATA Week 4 BURN+5 Week 5 TRIATHLON Week 6 PYRAMID The last 15 minutes of the session is dedicated to core, pelvic floor and stretch. We will be slowing down the music down, so you can focus on your breath, your core and PF activation. There will be 6 core exercises. You will have 2 mins on each one. We then clean up and stretch with a cold face washer. Each week you should be able to notice improvements in: Your posture, flexibility, mobility, and cardio endurance. Your strength during your personalise focused program. The strength and endurance of your core and pelvic floor. Measurements and fitness assessments are completed every 6 weeks. There is a 6-month commitment when you sign up to our personal training sessions. We believe that fitness is a long-term commitment, not a short-term challenge. Your little one is welcome to attend your session with you at no extra cost. Older children have an outdoor fort, mud kitchen and a trampoline to keep them busy. Wi-Fi is available. Bubs can be in a stroller, strapped to you, in a bouncer, jolly jumping or in one of our 1m x 1m play pens. Session will run at 9:00am, 10:00am and 4:30pm on most days. For session availability please send us a PM requesting this information. Jo Lamond Xx

14.01.2022 To get ahead of your emotional eating you need to become aware of your emotional triggers. Emotional eaters are prone to derail, detour, and divert difficult feelings through food. Emotional eating is usually brought on by what is known as a trigger. This could be an event, thought or feeling that causes you distress, leading to comfort eating. You might be very aware of what these triggers are, or they might be subtler. Your grief is likely to be a big factor in what your tr...iggers are, but there may also be more specific things causing you to overeat. This may be stress around managing your loved one’s estate, anxiety about the future, conflict with members of your family, or painful memories resurfacing. Identifying and understanding your triggers can be an important step in managing your overeating habits. This will help you anticipate when a trigger might occur, allowing you to emotionally and mentally prepare. Grief is one of the worst experiences you can go through. Your brain is desperately trying to find ways to make you feel better and the temporary dopamine high of eating food is quick fix for a few brief moments. The act of eating can also provide a welcome distraction from upsetting thoughts. Emotional eating after the death of a loved one, sometimes called grief eating, is a very common side effect of bereavement. While some people lose their appetite after the death of a loved one, others reach for sugary and fatty foods to help them cope with the overwhelming negative emotions of grief. If you don't take to time to address the underlying emotions grief eating can go on for months and even years. If you would like to start breaking down your emotional eating triggers, be brave and reach out. Jo Lamond Xx

13.01.2022 Do you know a mum who is struggling? I have been able to add in a few new walk & talk times into my diary. These are early morning 7:30am sessions at either Lake Ellen or Botanical Gardens. They can send me a PM via this page or email me at [email protected]. Jo Lamond Xx

10.01.2022 I developed post-natal depression 6 weeks after giving birth to my daughter in 2012. I did not know who I was anymore. I was exhausted, lonely, and felt so lost in this new role I had been given. It felt like someone had taken my life, put in in a jar and shook it up. The hardest thing to do was to reach out for help. To admit something was not right. What type of mother am I. I felt like I had failed my daughter and my partner. Good mums do not have post-natal depression. M...y daughter was born at 38 weeks. She was taken away from me just after being born. I was unable to breastfeed. I have never felt more like a failure. It was not till one evening when it all got too much, I rang my mother in-law for help. She came and got my daughter and gave me a much-needed break. With this break came some clarity. With a supportive partner by my side, I seeked out help from a counselor. During my counselling sessions I realized that I was not connecting with my daughter. I was still holding on to the pregnancy itself. I had to grieve the loss of my pregnant belly. I also had to grieve the loss of who I was before becoming a mother. I could not go back to how I use to live. I had high expectations of myself, which constantly set me up for failure. Lowering the bar to just good enough was hard. But after a few months, I started to feel OK with it. As I worked through my PND, I also discovered that I have been holding onto past grievances that I had not yet walked through. Two of them where my grandma, who died when I was in grade 3 and my granddad who died when I was in grade 5. In finally allowing these emotions to pass through me, I have been able to discover who I am. I have learnt how to connect with my daughter and to love myself at the same time. I now know where I belong. Depression is about the past. Emotions about events that you have not processed. Depression is your bodies way of telling you something needs your attention. It is not a curse. It does not mean your broken. It just means you have a wound you have not healed yet. My daughter was my guiding light. For her I wanted to be better. I thought I was the one that was going to be teaching her, but it has turned out that she is the one that is teaching me. If you or anyone you know is struggling with PND, be brave and reach out. You are not broken. You are not useless. I know right now in this very moment you are doing the best you can and that is enough. Walking with my daughter was something that really helped my PND. This is why I like to offer new mums the option of walk and talk counselling sessions. Fresh air, sunlight and your little one strapped into a stroller. Connect me via this page to organise a walk time or send a enquire via my web-page. Jo Lamond Xx

10.01.2022 Imagine your emotions as bubbles. Some emotions are light, smooth and shiny, as soon as you see that bubble you want to pop it and experience everything inside. The laughter, the joy, the excitement. It's such an amazing experience. But there are also bubbles that are not so inviting. When they show up they are spiky, hot, rough and heavy. Everything tells you not to go there. Moving through grief means welcoming all bubbles. No matter how they show up. We develop courage to... welcome them. We find curiosity in their shape and form and we just sit with each one. Giving it the compassion it needs to just dissolve away. Notice that we didn't pop the spiky, hot, rough and heavy bubble. We didn't crack into it like an Easter egg. We didn't pull it apart and decode it. We just allowed it to be. We didn't run from it. We didn't push it away. We sat with it like a friend in need. In the end it just dissolves. If you are ready to sit with the bubbles of emotion that keep coming up for you, be brave and reach out. Jo Lamond Xx

09.01.2022 We don't move on, We move forward. We don't get over it, We integrate it as apart of who we are.... We don't get back to "normal". We are forever altered by loss as we were by love. -Unknown

09.01.2022 Sometimes we have difficultly explaining our feeling verbally, art can help break through that barrier by allowing us to show them in a safe way. This is an 8 year old art therapy drawing of the emotions she is having due to grief inside and outside of her body. Each feeling is a color. After she had finished, she told me about her drawing. We talked about each emotion and how she had been managing each one. Blue is sadness, she had be trying to to ignore it. Trying to get i...t to go away by thinking about happy things. She acknowledged it had not been working. So we imagined sadness as a character (Like in the movie 'Inside Out'.) "How would you treat this character if you meet it?" I asked. "I would hug it and listen to what it had to say". This lead into a beautiful conversation about talking with her mum and getting her to help with hugs and talking things through from now on. "My sadness needs a hug mum". Go gently lovely ladies, Jo Lamond Xx

09.01.2022 With every act of self-care your authentic self gets stronger, and the critical, fearful mind gets weaker. Every act of self-care is a powerful declaration: I am on my side, I am on my side.

08.01.2022 Depression keeps you in the past. Anxiety pulls you into future. The present moment just is. Open your mind to a new way of thinking.... Open your heart to let out the pain. Rediscover your values and let them guide you. You have a choice, it's time to put you first. Hello Monday! Jo Xx

08.01.2022 How do you get out of depression? You decide too. You make the choice to not act and feel that way anymore. So you take action. You get out of bed, you get dressed and you reach out for support. Private counselling helps you to shine a light on the thoughts that are keeping you depressed. Psychologist use CBT for people with depression, I prefer to focus more on ACT as it moves the person forward. It teaches you to unhook from your thoughts, so they no longer have control ...over you. Getting active creates flow in your body. Depression likes you to be still, so fight it with movement. It also releases endorphins, a hormone that helps you to feel good. The more of this you can get, the less you brain can feel negative. Lifting weights can make you feel powerful and in control. The most important thing to remember is that you are on your side. Depression strips you of this. It makes you think that you can do nothing about it. You will feel like this forever. But it is wrong. You are worthy, you just have to show yourself that you are worthy. No one else is going to do it for you. You have to take action yourself. You have to make the choice yourself. If your ready to unhook from your thoughts and to move your body out of that dark hole you have been in, reach out. Jo Lamond Xx

07.01.2022 I saved a seat for you in the stillness. Its time to take time out for yourself. You have been holding on for too long. Its time to stop, soften and let go. ... Go gently my lovely lady, Jo Lamond Xx

06.01.2022 I believe your grief is as sacred as your love. It is yours to process in what ever way feels right for you. Be gentle with your thoughts. Jo Lamond xx

06.01.2022 Ever hear of the fight & flight response? This is the stress response that your brain engages any time it, not you, decides you are in danger. Your brain does this thinking it is helping you to survive but unfortunately, it often perceives mortal peril at inappropriate times. Leaving you feeling terrible and desperate to escape the situation you are in. The more frequently the fight-or-flight response is activated, the more likely it is to be activated again. It will take les...Continue reading

06.01.2022 A negative thought will come into your mind. The negative thought provokes negative emotions. Before you know it you are trying to suppress / avoid these internal experiences by doing some externally. (eating, smoking, drugs, cleaning, alcohol, binge watching t.v ect.) When the behaviour is being destructive to your life, your health or your relationships this is when most women seek help. ... During our sessions together we will break down the thoughts, emotions and behaviours that are becoming destructive. I will then give you to tools you need to find a 5 second window which I call the "moment of awareness". In this window you will mentally be able to interrupt your old patterns of behaviour and insert new ones based on your core values. This means instead of reaching for that block of chocolate, that is putting your heath at risk cause you have gained 5kg in the last month over stress eating, you will instead reach for what you really need. It's time to embrace the emotions that show up. Welcome them like an old friend. Have them sit with you in this "moment of awareness" for a while and listen to what they are actually trying to tell you. Then when you feel fully informed you can then choose what you do moving forward based on your core values. Not based on fight and flight reactions. If you feel like your actions / behaviours are becoming destructive to your life, health and relationships, be brave and reach out. Jo Lamond Xx

05.01.2022 The world built by you yesterday does not support the next level you desire to reach. You get to surrender to old to receive the new. You can not have both. Can you be at peace and let it fall away. Let it go where it needs to go. Let it all fall away with ease and grace. ... Do not hold on to your old beliefs. Let. Them. Go. Sit patiently to receive the new as it will only appear in the void, the space you create after you’ve patiently expanded your receiving capacity to what is next. Go gently my lovely lady. Jo Lamond Xx

04.01.2022 Sunday 18th October at 3pm to take the steps your baby didn’t have the opportunity to take. Click the event for more details.

04.01.2022 "I was young and free once. I did what I wanted, when I wanted it and I lived for me. Everything was my choice. I had no one to answer to but myself. I felt like me, the real me. Then... I became a mum. Where did I go? Lost among nappies, washing, toys and dirty dishes. I am on a schedule, it's not my own. I looked for myself in my reflection yesterday. I don't know who that was looking back at me. She looked exhausted, maybe I should of said hello, but the baby was screami...ng for a bottle so I just walked off. I cried again in the shower tonight. It's like everything builds up all day and then when the water hits my skins it's an instant release. I don't know who I am anymore. I feel so lost." If you feel as though you have lost your identity and are ready to find it again, be brave and reach out. You are worth the time and the effort it takes to find yourself again. Go gently my lovely lady, Jo Lamond Xx

04.01.2022 As soon as you find out your pregnant you start to day dream about the future. The pregnancy you want to have, the birth experience and how you will be as a mum. You feel it will be easy, that everything will flow like the movies. But for some mums this is not the case. If there were any complications during labor or giving birth this can trigger postnatal depression. This can include: - Having a traumatic or extremely painful birthing experience - Your baby was born prematu...rely - You have experienced physical health complications due to the birth of your child - You baby is experiencing health problems After giving birth you experience a lot of changes, some triggers around adjusting to motherhood may be increased if: - You are having difficulty breastfeeding - Your body has changed and you are not coping with the changes - You are not adjusting to the demands of your baby such as breastfeeding and the irregular sleeping patterns as easily as you’d hoped. Adjusting to psychological motherhood changes is one area that many women can be unprepared for. A new baby will most likely change the dynamic of many of your relationships and change the way you see and think about yourself. Some of the issues arising from this that can cause postnatal depression are: - Frustration at the inability to perform simple task such as housework - Worries about money due to your inability to work and supporting a new baby - Relationship strain between you and your partner - Stress around living arrangements - Feeling isolated, unable to socialise and spend time with adult company - Feeling unsupported by your partner, family and friends - Feeling unprepared or unable to live up to others expectations of being a perfect mothers. Postnatal depression is a common, but debilitating condition that affects one in seven women following the birth of their baby. Unlike the baby blues which passes on its own, postnatal depression can be long-lasting, and affect your ability to cope with a new baby. When suffering from postnatal depression the world can seem like a cruel, harsh place. If you or someone you know may have PND, let them know that they are loved and they are not alone. Be brave and reach out to them, let them know there is support for them. Jo Lamond xx Postpartum is a quest back to yourself. Alone in your body again. You will never be the same, you are stronger than you were. Amethyst Joy

03.01.2022 It's the struggle to keep things as normal as possible. It's trying to keep emotions under control. It's wearing the mask all day, so no one can see your pain. My beautiful lady... Your burning the candle at both ends.... Surrender to the struggle. Surrender to the emotions. Surrender to the pain. Crave out some time in your week. Where you can give yourself the compassion you need. Take the time to befriend your grief. Ask her if she has a sense of what she needs right now. How can you support her and guide her through. Sometimes it hard to reach out, when all you want to do is to go within. I see you, I hear you and I am here to walk with you through your grief when you are ready. Be Brave, Jo Lamond Xx

03.01.2022 Anger occurs when we get something we don’t want or value. When it comes to pregnancy loss, we are often quick to dismiss anger and bury it deep within. Like all emotions, anger must be expressed completely before we can let it go. Our objective is to release it all so that we can access any sadness, which may be hidden underneath. Many women who experience pregnancy loss naturally gravitate towards sadness because it seems more acceptable or understandable than anger. ... However, if the anger is present (though perhaps hidden) it won’t matter how much sadness we release we will not heal until the anger is expressed too. Since our healing is in the expression of the feeling, we need to create situations where we feel safe to express anger. Then expressing anger until we are spent, having emptied our anger ‘storage facility’ in the process. This is where the boxing bag comes in super handy in the studio. You put the gloves on and we start hitting the bag, allowing that anger to pass through. This is called expressing anger ‘cleanly’. Dirty anger is when you take it out on others or physically harm yourself. Example: punching a wall, screaming at your kids. The most important thing to remember when expressing anger is the vocal component. Just punching something isn’t enough, we need to verbally express what we are feeling at the same time. Behind anger is hurt and pain. You need to pass though your angry to be able to move forward through grief. Your heart can then start to heal, your soul can start to restore itself. If your holding your anger and feel ready to release it in a clean, safe way; be brave and reach out. Jo Lamond Xx

02.01.2022 Let's be honest. Grief is messy. It is easy to acknowledge the sadness and the tears, but what about the anger? I really believe grief is love. So why is there anger in there? It helps to know that the root of most angry behavior is hurt or fear. If we get to the cause of the anger and admit it (being hurt or afraid), we have a chance to understand ourselves, to deal directly with the root cause.... When trying to understand our own angry reaction to something or someone, we might ask ourselves,What is there about this that has hurt me or made me afraid? Many times the answer will be that there has been some implied threat to one of our basic needs: Food, shelter, love, identity, social affiliation, or security. It may be easier to express anger to someone nearby than to try to figure out just whom or what we are really angry with; so the ones who get the blast of our anger are usually our nearest and dearest, those we would not want to hurt at all. To make the journey through grief we must pass through anger. It's that muddy swamp, it's that mountain climb. If we want to find that peace feeling on the other side, then the work has to be done. Anger is a e"motion". So it is energy in motion. Therefore it must move through us to pass. Once the motion has started you will be able to drop out of your head and back into your heart where the fear and hurt are hiding. I did a post on the movie "Moana" a few weeks ago. (Scroll down to find it.) At the end of the movie Moana must restore the heart of the goddess. This is exactly what needs to happen when you pass through anger associated with grief. You are just hurt. You are just in pain. If you would like someone to walk beside you through your grief, be brave and reach out. Jo Lamond Xx "I have crossed the horizon to find you, I know your name. They have stolen the heart from inside of you. But this does not define you. This is not who you are. You know who you are" - Moana

02.01.2022 I had not laughed in weeks. Then all of a sudden the cat chased a moth into the glass door one evening and I bursted out in laughter. My husband turned to me and said "It's so nice to hear you laugh". I looked at him and then bursted into tears. Sometimes we don't feel we have the right to be happy during grief, but it is ok to find something to be happy about. Intense emotions are normal and healthy to a degree. But you still need to live your life. And if you can find ha...ppiness (even for a minute), then hold onto it as long as you can. The moment will be fleeting. Go gently my lovely lady, Jo Lamond Xx

01.01.2022 You have to let it all unravel. Surrender into the unknown. Allow love and loss to shape you. Go gently my lovely lady,... Jo Xx See more

01.01.2022 Now, let me ask you a question: When was the last time you thought about your womb? Was it in anger because she had bled again and failed you? When we are trying to conceive, each month as she bleeds, the disappointment and anger rises towards ourselves, but in fact this is really directed at our wombs.... Emotions are energy in motion and if not released it will be stored in your body. I have worked with lots of women over my time with pelvic floor issues. Sometimes when focusing on breath work, there is resistance in allowing the breath to enter the lower abdominal area. This is another reason why I become an antenatal and post natal counsellor. Emotions stored in the body can have great impact on our periods and our plans to get pregnant. Accepting those emotions and releasing them can have a huge impact on our mental and physically health. What's your relationship like with your womb? Jo Lamond Xx

01.01.2022 I wanted to share with you our "Chemo Pack" my daughter and I put together for my dad who is starting 7 weeks of chemo and radiation this week. This was a great "acceptance" project for my daughter and myself, to take part in. We also created weekly support cards. They contain 2 quotes, a joke and a memory. It's so important that your children see you processing your grief in the open, instead of behind close doors. They learn to process their emotions by the way you process... yours. Have the open and honest conversations. Let them know it's OK to cry and be sad about things going on in their lives. It's ok to be scared and worried about situations. You can't make the feelings go away for them, but you can acknowledge them, support them and show them no matter how big and scary their feelings get, you can always talk about them to someone you trust. Go gently my lovely ladies, Jo Lamond Xx P.S Love you dad.