Preparing for your First Appointment

Lately I have heard it has been hard to get a first appointment with a psychologist as there are so many needing support at the moment. Having to wait can feel stressful. Here are some simple things you can do to help yourself while waiting for that initial contact with you new therapist Brisbane.

1. Square breathing. This is a very simple grounding technique but yet so effective if practiced. It can help calm down your body’s stress system. So if you are feeling stressed, overwhelmed, agitated, worried or anxious, just stopping and doing some square breathing can help your body feel less like it is in an immediately life threatening situation. When your physiological reactions then calm down it is much easier to think a bit more clearly about the situation you are having to deal with. It will not change the situation but it can help with improving coping and resilience. You can practice for 10 minutes per day, or just try to apply it when you notice your earliest sign of stress/ anxiety. A good way to remember practicing it during the day can be choosing something you do daily and have that as a reminder. For example if you look at your phone a lot, try changing your background and use that as a reminder to stop and take 1-3 calming breaths every time you see it. Or before you start a new task or a new email at work, stop and take 1-3 breaths.

The instruction for square breathing: Try to breathe in all the way into your belly. When we are stressed we tend to breathe shallowly high up in our chest. Slow down you breathing. Focus especially in breathing out slowly for 3-4 seconds at the same time as you relax your muscles. Then hold your breath for the same amount of time (3-4 seconds) and then breathe in slowly (3-4 seconds) and then hold your breath again for 3-4 seconds before exhaling slowly again. You can visualise it as a square:

1. Use a free mindfulness app. Mindfulness is often used in therapy and daily practice can be helpful for a range of different reasons. A free app that I often recommend to my clients as an introduction is “Smiling Mind”. Try a couple of weeks of a short daily practice and notice how that is working for you and if you are noticing any benefit.
2. Physical exercise. I often ask about this in my first session with clients. Exercise can have a positive impact on low mood, coping with stress and anxiety and can also be positive for sleep (but not too close to bedtime). If you are feeling depressed going to the gym may feel overwhelming. Start with what feels doable for you today. Set a smaller goal. Today it may be maybe putting your favourite song on and dancing to it at home or a 5 min walk around your neighbourhood. Set smaller doable goals rather then get stuck in all or nothing.
3. Support. Social support actually helps us deal with stress and high demands. See if you can access you support network of friends and family a bit more. Especially if you have someone in your life who is good at listening and validating.

5. Re-engage in activities you used to enjoy doing if you are feeling low. Often when people are feeling low they withdraw from friends and become very passive, not doing things they previously enjoyed. Sometimes this isolation and passivity also later becomes  maintaining factors to the low mood. Breaking this cycle is important.

So re-engaging and talking to friends again if you have withdrawn can be helpful (even if you are not feeling your best). Sometimes people with depression feel like they have to wait until they feel better until they can re-engage with friends or activities. But often the waiting to feel better is not the best strategy. One Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)  strategy for depression is even called behaviour activation. So increasing activities that may give you access to positive reinforcement is key. If your energy levels are low. Start where you can, start small and as your mood and energy levels start to improve you can start doing more.

Take care and I hope these little tips are helpful.