We’ve all heard of fight, flight, and freeze, but what is fawn? Fawning is the art of people pleasing. Hands up if you’re guilty of this one. I’m raising my hand here. Fawning is a recently acknowledged anxiety state where we often acquiesce to people’s requests because we are full of apathy, overwhelm, guilt, and/or shame. These emotions are often driven by a sense of responsibility for wanting to do good by others as well as a desire to be accepted, to not want to be seen as a bad person, to be seen as helpful, resourceful, capable, and the list goes on. When we feel these deep emotions, we often disconnect from our own needs abandon our boundaries and lose our sense of self. In our bodies we can experience a feeling of anxiety, emotional overload, intense physical sensations and sometimes numbness. In this state we essentially sacrifice our own needs to ensure the needs of the people around us are met. If we do this relentlessly and forget about our own selves in the process, it can leave us feeling resentful which eventually leads to burnout. Sound familiar? So what do we do about it?

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending the book launch of a friend, and the afternoon was spent talking about the central themes of her book – motherhood, identity and finding oneself after becoming a mother. These lovely discussions left me thinking a lot about what it means to become a mother and I thought it would be an interesting topic for this week.

Have you ever considered group therapy? Did you know that group therapy is a highly effective therapeutic process? I think most people, when they think about therapy, are thinking about the one on one space, but in reality there are lots of ways to access therapy and group therapy is one of those wonderful options. Group therapy is commonly used in inpatient settings and in community settings (think support groups or alcoholics anonymous), but there are lots of group therapy programs in other settings too that can be a wonderful treatment option. I have had the privilege of being a group therapist at various stages in my career and have found the process rewarding and fascinating. So, how does it work?

Oh procrastination. Why do we do it? Wouldn’t things feel so much easier if, when we have a task to complete, we just did it? Why does it feel so hard to get started? Why do so many of us struggle with this? The battle with the urge to procrastinate is such a universal experience and something that I can relate to oh, so well. I have been struggling with procrastination for as long as I can remember, and it remains something that I continue to have to work at. Can you relate?

There is a massive emphasis on self-care at the moment, and for good reason!! The psychological impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and prolonged lockdowns can be devastating, so it is more important than ever to make sure we are looking after ourselves.

You've been triggered... Now what?