Welcome to season 4 of Can We Talk About This?!

I am kicking off with a Mental Health Mini Series designed with mums in mind, where you get 6 episodes with me, Amber-lee Buendicho, offering some basic tools and resources for your mental health that you can incorporate in your daily life. We all know the demands of mothering and personal life can be stressful, triggering, frustration, exhausting and I wanted to offer some of my favourite tools because we need to take care of ourselves too! This series is here to offer a helping hand, guiding you through a journey of emotional regulation, recognition, and acceptance. Each episode is crafted to empower you with the skills needed to navigate emotional landscapes and to instill practices that enhance wellbeing. These exercises are aimed at helping you find a moment of peace amidst the chaos, and fostering a deeper connection with yourself. This is more than just a series; it's a space for you to breathe, learn, and grow.

In this episode I take you through a simple body scan exercise ask you some follow up questions to help you integrate awareness. I then offer some insight into how our brain works when we feel big emotions and how something as simple as a body scan can bring us back to ourselves and some of the benefits you receive when you use body scan practices. Body scan begins at 7:40 mins and goes for a total 11 mins 30 secs.

This particular body scan is general in nature and was adapted from TherapistAid materials. 

Disclaimer: While the content of this podcast is intended to provide support and guidance, it is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice. The techniques and practices discussed here are general in nature and may not be suitable for everyone.

If you are experiencing significant distress, mental health concerns, or trauma, I encourage you to seek support from a qualified mental health professional. Additionally, if at any point during this episode you feel overwhelmed or triggered, please turn it off and talk to someone or do something that is helpful to you.

Finding Support in Australia:

PANDA.org.au 

1300 726 306

COPE.org.au

Beyond Blue 1300 224 636

Gidget Foundation

Black Dog Institute 1300 851 758

TRANSCRIPT

Amber-lee (Host):

Welcome back to, can we talk about this? I'm your host, Amberlee Buendicho. Thank you so much for joining me for another wonderful season. I took a big break from the podcast and, and my other studies to just kind of, Be a little bit more present in my life. Enjoy some time being a mum, being with my kids, going on adventures, and just kind of doing things that fuel my soul and my nervous system has really thanked me for that.

So, a kind little reminder to you mum is that if you need to take a break where you can, Please do because the world can wait. We need you to be happy and healthy too. But I'm back and I'm so ready to get into season four. I have an amazing lineup of guests for this season and we're going to [00:02:00 ] start really getting into some heavier topics regarding perinatal mental health.

The first part of this season, I'm doing something a little bit different. So, I'm offering a mental health miniseries. And this is sort of where I'll be exploring practical strategies for coping with stress and diffusing overwhelming emotions, calming your anxious mind, interrupting those negative thought patterns, but also trying to increase your awareness of your inner world, your brain, your body, and what's going on inside your inner world.

So these are just all basic essential skills that can help you. Not only help you survive those hard days, but also thrive amidst the challenges that you're facing. And I've also used these tools in my own life. I personally vouch for them. Motherhood is just such a unique experience for everyone. And we all experienced the highs and lows. We experienced the joy and the love, but then also it's just incredibly challenging with the sleepless nights, the endless to do list, the loss of identity, reparenting yourself, navigating tantrums or the unsettled baby, feeding difficulties, managing your own emotions, and just feeling like the weight of Cultural and societal expectations.

The demands of motherhood can sometimes just be completely overwhelming. I want to be able to offer you some tools that you can just simply adapt into your daily life when you're feeling exhausted, anxious, overwhelmed, stressed, or just need a little bit of self care. This miniseries is for you. So each episode I will offer the insights, techniques, and exercises that you can do to easily incorporate, and hopefully even empower you to take control of your mental health and your wellbeing. And I just want you to remember that you are strong, you are capable, and you are worthy of support because you matter too. So let's get started. The little exercise I'm doing today I'm kind of the purpose of it is I'm trying to get you out of your head and bring you back into your body. This is just a very, very basic and simple body scan exercise.

So you just need to simply listen to the prompts and follow along. Of course, I always ask that you open your heart and mind to the exercise and just give it a try. And I'd also love to know what you think. I'll get into the body scan now, and then just for time sake, so that we're getting into it. at the beginning of the episode.

And then after the body scan, I'm going to kind of talk about what we're doing and why we're doing it. And then also kind of the benefits of doing a body scan and when you can incorporate that into your life. So let's get started with the body scan.

(disclaimer) I should note that in some situations a body scan or meditative or mindfulness exercise may not be appropriate. For severe psychiatric symptoms and conditions, so psychosis, dissociation, uncontrollable panic attacks, a body scan might not be actually be appropriate for you. So please be mindful before engaging in this practice with me today. Also, um, for, Some people with PTSD or post traumatic stress disorder, certain aspects of body focus practices like a body scan can actually trigger traumatic experiences and memories or overwhelming emotional responses. In such cases, it's actually essential to approach mindful practices with some sensitivity and it might even be better to do a trauma informed approach rather than just something general, like I'm doing today to kind of prioritize your safety and emotional regulation. Going on from that, anything that's kind of like very acute. So during an acute crisis situation, such as suicidal ideation, acute mania or severe agitation, individuals may be in a state of very, very heightened distress and require immediate intervention from a trained professional. So. Mindfulness practice is really not the place if something is very acute. Um, so just keep that in mind. Severe eating disorders is the next one. Individuals with severe eating disorders, particularly those struggling with body image disturbances or body dysmorphia, they might find that they may find body focus practices like body scans, triggering or distressing. And it's just really important that you're working with a healthcare provider, a professional experienced in treating eating disorders to develop a more holistic treatment plan and addressing those underlying psychological and physiological factors. A body scan may not be appropriate in such situations. Um, and I also read a little bit about substance use disorders. So individuals with substance use disorders may have difficulty maintaining focus and concentration necessary for a body scan. Um, this could be during intoxication or withdrawal. So in such cases, I, a mindfulness intervention would not be the right approach. So just also consider that. The last thing was intellectual or developmental disabilities. Individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities, including like autism, mindfulness practices like body scans may need to be adapted to accommodate for that individual's experience in sensory communication, cognitive ability, um, tailored, a more tailored approach and support from trained professionals would be necessary in this circumstance.

So just consider what I've said, and This would be regarding future miniseries episodes as well. Okay. While there's so many benefits to doing something as simple like a body scan in some scenarios, they're actually not helpful. So please consider that before you continue on with me today. Okay. Now let's get into it.

(body scan begins) Over the next several minutes, you will focus on the physical sensations throughout your body. These sensations might be the feeling of the clothes on your skin, tension within your muscles, temperature of the air, Or anything else that you can feel. Sometimes you might notice no sensation at all. Your job is to simply observe these sensations.

You do not need to change how your body feels or do anything else. To begin, sit back or lie down in a comfortable position. Maybe you're driving in the car right now. Maybe you're laying in bed. Maybe you're just simply sitting on your lounge. If it feels safe to do so, close your eyes or just let your gaze soften and take in a few big deep breaths.

Inhale and exhale. Find your own breathing pace.

Notice the feelings all throughout your body.

Notic