{"id":541,"date":"2024-12-03T18:54:39","date_gmt":"2024-12-03T18:54:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/helenaoleary.com\/?p=541"},"modified":"2024-12-03T19:00:38","modified_gmt":"2024-12-03T19:00:38","slug":"like-learning-a-new-language-2-2-2-2-3-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/helenaoleary.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/03\/like-learning-a-new-language-2-2-2-2-3-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Focus on Presence, not just presents"},"content":{"rendered":"\n[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; admin_label=&#8221;section&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_row admin_label=&#8221;row&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;|||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; custom_padding__hover=&#8221;|||&#8221;][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Text&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<p>Why do Christmas movies make me cry? Is it the music, the love, the family, snow, possibility \u2013 all having the ability to draw me in and connect to my soul year after year. Nostalgic for Christmases past and even for Christmases I have never experienced.<\/p>\n<p>Simplicity, beauty and connecting is what the Christmas season means to me.<\/p>\n<p>The toy drives, the charity events, the quality time, the overdue catchups.<\/p>\n<p>But Christmas can also mean:<\/p>\n<p>The grief of the bereaved, the loneliness of the anxious, the poverty of not being able to provide \u2018enough\u2019 for loved ones.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps Christmas is about reflection, for gratitude for who we have and for ourselves (our resilience, strength, determination).<\/p>\n<p>For others again, Christmas is just another day to be endured.<\/p>\n<p>Tis the season\u2026for kindness.<\/p>\n<p>None of us know what anyone else is dealing with<\/p>\n<p>This is a tricky time of year for our emotions and our mental health \u2013 if you\u2019re giving, give kindness, focus on presence not just presents, spend quality time.<\/p>\n<p>Wishing you a peaceful Christmas season x<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Email: <a href=\"mailto:helenakoleary@gmail.com\">helenakoleary@gmail.com<\/a> or Whatsapp 089 2243437 to book a counselling session<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<!-- \/divi:paragraph -->[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why do Christmas movies make me cry? Is it the music, the love, the family, snow, possibility \u2013 all having the ability to draw me in and connect to my soul year after year. Nostalgic for Christmases past and even for Christmases I have never experienced. Simplicity, beauty and connecting is what the Christmas season [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":547,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>You Talkin\u2019 To Me?<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><br>Self-talk is the internal dialogue that runs through your head every day and can be positive or negative in nature. The language we use with ourselves can have profound effects on mood, health, happiness, motivation, worldview, and achievement of goals. Performance and success are enormously impacted by the way in which we talk to ourselves. Doesn\u2019t it stand to reason that we need to bring this knowledge to the micro-level of our everyday lives in order to improve self-care and well being?<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><br>In a 2022 study published in Psychophysiology, a peer reviewed journal, it was found that manipulating self-talk alters hormonal response patterns and affects respiratory and cardiovascular health as well as influence motivation and outcome of tasks undertaken. Furthermore, by developing an awareness of how we address the self, we flip a switch in the cerebral cortex which is the centre of thought, and another in the amygdala which is the seat of fear. This will move us closer to or further from our sense of self and all its emotional intensity.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><br>Positive self-talk tips: Identify automatic thoughts and unhelpful beliefs\/behaviours\u200b and reality check these thoughts, to speak to yourself as you would speak to a friend and remember that everyone makes mistakes.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenaoleary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenaoleary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenaoleary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenaoleary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenaoleary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=541"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/helenaoleary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":546,"href":"https:\/\/helenaoleary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541\/revisions\/546"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenaoleary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenaoleary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenaoleary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenaoleary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}