Holidays are amazing for so many reasons.

The opportunity to explore somewhere new, the opportunity to escape the winter and chase some warmer weather, the opportunity to relax and switch off, the opportunity to immerse yourself in a different culture, the opportunity to meet new people, learn, enjoy. The list could go on. Going on a holiday is really exciting, and is a privilege.

Something people don’t really discuss though, is going on a holiday can also be anxiety provoking.

They say that we are creatures of habit, but why can we be so terrible at establishing habits that can be helpful for us? How many times have you said to yourself that you’re going to start to do something only to have it fail?

Theodore Roosevelt famous quote: “comparison is the thief of joy” is still so relevant in today’s world. In fact, I think it’s likely relevant now more than ever, especially in the age of social media. Comparison is something we engage in often as people. We compare ourselves to others constantly so we don’t “fall behind the pack”. We can also engage in comparisons so that we can feel motivated to improve ourselves for the better and to strive for more. We can also engage in comparisons in unhelpful ways. For example we can start to compare ourselves to people who are worse off than we are to feel better about ourselves, we can start to criticize ourselves for not being as good or as accomplished as someone else, we can start to feel down and depressed, we can give up on pursuits, or worse, we don’t even bother trying in the first place. Comparisons can be harmful and there’s no escaping it sometimes. Whenever you’re scrolling on your phone, you’re likely comparing yourself to what you’re seeing even if you’re not aware of it. So how do we manage comparisons, especially when we find that it’s crippling us and stealing away our joy?

You may have discovered that here are Melbourne Wellbeing Group we have both general psychologists and Clinical psychologists, and we frequently get asked to explain the difference. That makes perfect sense because the difference isn’t always easy to understand. So let’s explore it here.

When managing stress, anxiety and panic, I think the first thing most of us think about is intervention. That is, what we do or could do in the moment when we are dysregulated and overwhelmed by our emotional state. And this makes great sense because the experience we have in these moments is often very uncomfortable and can be quite distressing. Our goal most of the time is to reduce the experience of such distress and discomfort.

I’m sure a lot of you can relate to biting your nails, picking at your skin or pulling out some hairs from time to time. Maybe it is an occasional habit that happens mindlessly. You might find it annoying and prefer not to do it, but it doesn’t really impact much on your life or functioning.