Articles published in Intouch Magazine

Preventing Burnout At Work

Under stress, people can generally maintain high levels of performance for short periods. However, prolonged, high stress can result in overload. This can ultimately affect wellbeing, performance and morale.

Insights into Chronic Pain

Physical pain is a normal human experience. It’s a signal that something may need our attention, a signal to seek help. Pain is essential to survival. Without pain, we would not be aware of the risk of injury, illness or harm. In the 21st century, we are fortunate to have access to medical knowledge and technology that can ease pain quickly and effectively. However, there are pain conditions that do not respond to treatment, and this can lead to the experience of chronic pain.

The Language of Feelings

Dealing with emotions is a large part of life. Emotions can make us feel happy, sad, angry or elated. Emotions can also be confusing. Most of what we learn about emotions comes from our early family experiences.

Beating the Blues

Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses. It can affect people regardless of their age or circumstances. Reported increases in depression worldwide cannot be due to a reduction in the stigma associated with mental illness. It seems more likely that it is associated with significant social and lifestyle changes that have taken place over the last 20 years. The good news is that depression is treatable.

The Importance of Sleep For Health

It seems we are suffering from a sleep deprivation epidemic – enough to cause the federal government to call for a parliamentary inquiry into sleep health awareness in late 2018. In 2017 the National Sleep Foundation commissioned a review on sleep health. The review found that almost 40% of Australians report getting inadequate sleep.

HELP WITH IBS A Common Health Problem

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common problems seen by medical practitioners, accounting for roughly 12% of visits to GP’s. IBS can affect children and adults. Because IBS has no clear medical cause, it is regarded as a functional gastrointestinal disorder.

Resilience & Tenacity

Continuing our series on resilience, this article looks at the skill of tenacity. This is one of six skills that build resilience. Vision – Like a compass, providing purpose and direction Composure – Managing emotions related to stress Reasoning – Problem-solving Tenacity – Persevering, learning from successes and setbacks Collaboration – Reaching out for support Health – Maintaining healthy habits

RESILIENCE AND Reasoning

Reasoning involves making sense of problem situations and thinking through what needs to be done to find a solution. By maintaining composure the thinking part of our brain, (the smart brain) can do what it is designed for – thinking clearly, assessing the level of risk or challenge, being resourceful, considering options and working out what needs to be done.

RESILIENCE & Composure

In the last issue, I discussed how resilience helps us to bounce back from the inevitable setbacks and challenges of life, creating positive memories for facing future challenges. I proposed that resilience is not just an aspect of personality (something you either have or don’t have), but is a skill that can be learned. I outlined that resilience involves six key areas – Vision, Composure, Reasoning, Tenacity, Collaboration and Health.

RESILIENCE: Growing Through Challenges

In a nutshell, resilience is the ability to bounce back from setbacks and challenges. People with higher resilience tend to see challenges as opportunities to learn and grow. This gives a person more staying power, helping to work through difficulties and setbacks long enough to experience the results on the other side.