Sometimes things have to fall apart. We are trained , for the most part however, to look at crisis as a negative thing – a time that is filled with pain, loss and much suffering. Yet I wonder if this sort of thinking is serving us. What would happen if we were to look at the ‘crisis’ we are faced with as an opportunity instead? Is it possible that sometimes things have to fall apart in order for us to rebuild a better model of life for ourselves? Continue Reading →
3 Things to Transform Crisis in Opportunity
93.8FM Interviews Anoushka on Re-wiring the Brain for Happiness
In my latest interview with Eugene Loh for 93.8FM LIVE , I take a look at the evolutionary bias our brains have for the negative and provide some tips on how you can start to re-wire your brain for the positive today.
To listen to the interview you can click on this link.
Happy listening!
much warmth, Anoushka
To find out more about Anoushka you can click this link or email her at anoushka@abehpsych.com
Staying In Love after Baby – 4 things all couples should practice
There’s nothing quite like a new addition to the family to put stress on a couple’s relationship. While a baby brings with it so much joy and more often than not, increased connection between partners, it also adds multiple demands on the couple and can wear resources thin. Juggling the role of parent with the role of partner can sometimes be tricky, especially under conditions where you are sleep-deprived, emotionally-drained and can’t remember the last time you sat down and had 5 minutes just to yourself. In times as such , it’s easy to become more reactive and less patient with each other, more critical and less appreciative- which can not only increase conflict & tension but also start emptying that tank of compassion & good will which is essential to fueling your relationship. Continue Reading →
The Journey Home
We are all ultimately trying to come home to ourselves. The path however to getting there may not be always be easily traversed or well-lit. We will encounter many obstacles along the way ; challenges in our external experience and , inevitably, the darker deeper confrontations that happen on an internal level. In therapy, I try to provide my clients with a safe and nurturing space where they can address these life challenges, look at their inner struggles and then find the courage to take that next step. What I have found is always true- is that they are all journeying back to the same place- a space of greater authentic connection with themselves , where the rocks are removed, the path is clear and they know they are home. Continue Reading →
A Teaspoon of Novelty can Change Your Life
” When people are inspired , they have more brain real-estate” – Says Julia Volkman of BrainBasics in this excellent article on boosting your learning ability through harnessing the power of inspiration. Indeed, this and other recent research all seem to point what we’ve known intuitively for a long time now – when we like and are stimulated by something – we learn better.
Lisa Wimberger , founder of The Institute of Neurosculpting, has taken our brain’s love of inspiration & novelty to a new level. In her novel brain-training visualisations, she boosts the brains’ learning capacity through introducing interesting & novel tasks which involve right and left brain collaboration. Instead of a more typical ‘let’s talk about what you’re feeling’ approach, she mixes it up a little. Asking someone to name (left brain) an emotion , whilst paying attention to the sensation ( right brain) it may be creating in the body and any colour/texture/visual object it evokes ( novelty) is an example of this. The result? A stimulated brain, with neural pathways that are open and ready to learn. Continue Reading →
Boost Your Happiness and Beat the Blues in 3 Easy Steps
I believe strongly that Happiness is Our Birthright. Yet so many of us, myself included, have days where we feel really bogged down by the pressures we might have at home or work, by ruminations on the past and concerns about the future. We wake up worried about the things we need to complete over the course of the day and fall asleep criticising ourselves for the things we didn’t get round to doing – or tasks we feel we could have done better. We fixate on negative feedback and get anxious about how our friends, colleagues or even family might be evaluating us. Continue Reading →
A Taste of The Hardwiring Happiness Project
I wake up this morning and don’t feel quite right – I can’t quite put my finger on it at the moment, but already I have a niggling feeling this is going to be a difficult morning. Perhaps you can relate.
My daughter was up all night with a runny nose and ended up sleeping most of the night in my bed – I on the other hand did not. This morning, I notice as I wake up that besides the fact that Im exhausted , the room seems stuffier, darker somehow – almost like a grey film has settled over everything. My 18th month year old seems scratchier as well and as I go through the motions of things getting her ready for play school , things around the house that are not quite right also seem to pop out at me . For example , looks like one of the bath towels got thrown into a coloured wash as its all pink now…just bought it which is annoying – in addition, no matter how many times I seem to organise things upstairs rogue files and toys and books somehow seem to find their way back to cluttering up the space. Despite trying to calm myself down, I start to feel my blood pressure rise, my frustration bubbling to the surface , my mouth turning down into a distinct and undeniable frown. Perhaps this sounds familiar? Continue Reading →
The Hardwiring Happiness Project
The Hardwiring Happiness Project
16 March, 2015
thehardwiringhappinessproject.com
I started this project because ultimately I believe that it is your birthright to live a happy and fulfilled life – and that this is not some faraway dream but really something that, with the right tools, is right at your doorstep and you can experience every day. Continue Reading →
Staying with Intensity – Why Hot Yoga is My Therapy
It’s Friday morning and I’m probably 30 minutes into my 1 hour Hot Hour Bikram Yoga class, which in the 15 years that I’ve been practicing on a weekly basis could be the 3648 time I’ve done this – and yet as I feel the heat emanating off my mat, feeling into my warrior two pose, I find myself convinced the teacher has somehow made a mistake with the temperature dial in the room and all of us , engaged in the class are now faced with another 30 minutes of life-threateningly high heat. I look towards the door for my escape. Someone surely should say something before someone passes out? I look around the room and everyone just seems to be continuing , oblivious to the life or death scenario before us. My brain, on loop now, starts communicating one word quite perceptibly over and over again – “Run”. Continue Reading →
What’s Love Got To Do With It? – Or Why Technology is Not Going to Help You Find The One.
In a follow up to her last webcast which I explored in my article on The Neurobiology of Sex, relationship therapist and expert Pat Love looks at the increasing phenomena of online dating and the negative impact she believes this is having on our long-term staying power in monogamous relationships. She blames “choice fatigue” for this – and explains that “with hundreds of dating websites, thousands of potential partners to choose from, and the ability to specify attributes of a perfect mate in exacting detail, people are, paradoxically, less confident about their selections and increasingly dissatisfied with their current relationships.” Continue Reading →