If you’re looking for a psychologist, it can sometimes feel overwhelming. You might have noticed that not all psychologists describe themselves the same way. Many use the general title ‘psychologist’, ...

Mindfulness and attention are frequently misunderstood. It is often associated with slowing down, switching off, relaxing into a calmer state. While these experiences can occur, they are not the aim. ...

I wrote the original version of Reintroducing Myself in 2023. Reading it now, it holds up reasonably well, but a lot has changed, and it felt like time to say ...

When pressure increases, attention shifts.Recognising this, and learning how to work with it, can shape how you think, respond, and perform.Performance is not only shaped by skill.It is shaped by ...

A different way to understand anxiety What does anxiety mean? Anxiety tends to show up at particular moments. It often appears when something matters. Before a performance. Ahead of a conversation that matters, whether it ...

How the way we consume information shapes both our thinking and our wellbeing This article was prompted by recent media exploring disinformation, big tech, and the growing role of artificial ...

There are moments in training, work, or life when discomfort rises quickly.Your breathing shifts.Your heart rate lifts.Your thoughts become sharper and more urgent.Sometimes it happens standing on a shoreline before ...

Published March 2026 Perfectionism Is Not the Same as Excellence Perfectionism and performance are often closely linked, particularly for high-achieving professionals, athletes, and students. High standards are praised. Precision is ...

Most discussions of performance focus on what happens in front of others.The presentation. The meeting. The interview. The competition. The moment of visible evaluation.Yet a substantial proportion of performance occurs ...

Lion’s mane jellyfish were present across the Bay in very high numbers in December. They have become more scattered recently, but there are still some around.Their sting is unpleasant. I ...

Preparing for Meaning, Not Just Execution High-pressure moments are not shaped by physiology alone. They are also shaped by why something matters.Values and performance under pressure are closely linked, particularly ...

Preparing for High-Pressure Moments (Without Trying to Eliminate Anxiety) High-pressure moments place unique demands on both mind and body. Whether it’s a race, performance, exam, presentation, or critical conversation, these ...

When self-criticism becomes a problem Self-criticism often arrives quietly. It can sound like high standards, self-monitoring, or a desire to improve... until it begins to interfere with flexibility, confidence, and ...

Rest and the nervous system are closely connected, shaping how we regulate emotion, sustain attention, and recover from ongoing demands. Rest is often framed as something we earn after productivity, ...

Beginning a new year can carry more emotional weight than we often expect. As the year comes to a close and a new one begins, many of us feel an ...

The period between Christmas and the New Year can bring a welcome pause - a little more space to breathe, reflect, and reset. It can also feel emotionally mixed: quieter ...

End of year stress is more common than many people realise. For many people, December carries a particular emotional weight. It’s a month filled with endings, expectations, competing demands, and ...

Freezing under pressure is more common than many people realise. It’s not unusual to feel nervous in challenging moments - but few expect to feel stuck or unable to respond ...

Understanding Performance Anxiety: Why It Happens and How to Work With It Do you get nervous when you have to get up on stage to sing or act?Do you feel ...

Breathing techniques for anxiety can be powerful tools for regaining calm and focus — whether you’re preparing for a big performance, a meeting, or simply trying to quiet your mind. ...

As a psychologist who spends time on the road as well as in the therapy room, I’ve had my own encounters with performance anxiety.Whether preparing for a race or stepping ...

October is Mental Health Awareness month. We need to take care of our mental health and wellbeing. For some this might mean taking appropriate measures to manage a mental illness. ...

There is something about Florence and the Machine that captures the experience of anxiety in a way that clinical language rarely does. Florence Welch draws on her own experience of ...

It's been a while since I've been active on my blog or on social media. But last week I decided I needed to give you more... More information about who ...

4 Recommended Psychology Self Help Books (plus a few extras) I teach clients a variety of ways to manage distress. Sometimes though reading something further can add a different dimension to ...

Cultivate equanimity to help with anxiety - Notice, Accept, Float Using meditation to cultivate equanimity can enable one to manage unpleasant or unwanted emotions in a way that reduces their ...

Forest on fire The bushfire recovery process will take time. And the government has recently announced a number of measures to support this recovery process. Areas of Australia have been ...

Thankyou GPs for doing all that you do for your patients... Mental Health Awareness Week Mental Health Awareness Week is about putting a spotlight on our mental health and what ...

Performance Anxiety Anxiety before a performance assessment can be hard to manage. Here are some tips that might help. Performance anxiety is not uncommon... and when you have to prepare ...

SELF-DOUBT & CONFIDENCE Who doesn't struggle? Here is one approach to managing self-doubt and stepping up anyway... stepping up into confidence. It's common to struggle with self doubt and a ...

Burnout? What self-care & wellbeing? Exhausted... burnout... Have to go to work, can't leave the desk for lunch, maybe skip eating altogether, need to work late, forget to eat dinner, ...

Best Psychology Podcasts Do you know which psychology podcasts are good to listen to? This blog post contains a list of psychology podcasts that give a some helpful or interesting ...

5 Things You Can Do to Manage Anxiety Today Breathe, breathe slowly Name your anxiety Evidence check Notice and let go of unhelpful thoughts Exercise 1. Breathe to Manage Anxiety ...

There are times when anxiety becomes impossible to ignore.You might try to push it aside, focus on what you’re doing, or carry on as if it’s not there. But the ...

Ellen Jackson of Potential Psychology has recently written a blog that profiles Online Psychologists to follow in 2019. She has included a number of brilliant psychologists who work in the ...

Cyclcross is hard. Photo by Angel Santos (Unsplash) 'It never gets easier, you just get better', I've heard variations on this theme many times... As a cyclist the most common ...

Photo by Kinga Cichewicz, Unsplash I wish I slept better or more... It's not uncommon to want more sleep than we actually get. We might go to bed too late, ...

     Last weekend there were 2 major endurance events that friends and team mates competed in: the Tour of Bright (ToB) and Ironman Busselton. I am always impressed when ...

14 tips | Connect to Thrive Social relationships support good mental and physical health. These tips will help you to enjoy better interactions with the people you encounter, so you ...

Sometimes we just want to stop, lie down and take a break. We might feel like giving up. We might feel like what we're doing doesn't matter. We might feel ...

Yes, this post is a little late. But if you are following Enhance Life Psychology on Instagram (see the link at the bottom of the page) you would have seen ...

It is common to hear the idea of “being in the moment” spoken about as something we should be able to do easily.As though it is a calm place we ...

Kintsugi Kintsugi is the Japanese tradition of repairing broken pottery with gold. There are some lovely images that can be found of beautiful Japanese pottery that has been broken and ...

This is a collection of videos from the Enhance Life Psychology Facebook and Instagram accounts. I thought I'd collect them here into one blog post for those who might have ...

More about exercise, reaching your potential and enhancing your life. But this time in an audio format. Last week I was interviewed by the lovely Ellen Jackson for her Potential ...

How many times have you been told that you should exercise?How many times have you responded with “yeah, I know” and then struggled to actually do something consistently?Exercise is often ...

I recorded this video live on Facebook last night. I've written and recorded other livestreams about anxiety, but this is slightly different, while still drawing on techniques I regularly use ...

Spending time in nature is often recommended as a way to support mental health. Within research on nature and mental health, environment is understood to influence attention, physiology, and behaviour, ...

A few weeks ago I attended a two-day workshop on Personalised Integrative Therapy presented by Adrian Lopresti, PhD. Current treatment modalities for depression and anxiety have some efficacy, but meta-analytic ...

Sometimes asking for help when we're feeling depressed or anxious is just too hard. Sometimes we need others to come to us.  There have been 2 high profile individuals die ...

The Australian Psychological Society has decided to present a series of public lectures about mental health. The first lecture was by Dr Michael Yapko and was based around his most ...

  Therapy can be challenging. You have chosen to see a Psychologist because you're struggling with something. There are many reasons people seek help, some of these might be: anxiety, ...

Mindfulness can be difficult sometimes, but know that you can find these moments anywhere. I needed to take a break from sitting at my desk so I took myself for ...

International Day of Happiness 2018 Today is the UN International Day of Happiness. It was first celebrated in 2013 as a way to recognise the importance of happiness in people's ...

I spoke about sleep in a live video on Instagram earlier today. I thought it might be useful to post it here as well for anyone following my blog. I ...

I am aware that the articles published last week were focused more on the application of  mindset to cycling, with a particular focus on competitive cycling. I wanted to explain ...

The Psychology of Bike Racing — Part 3 of 3 This series of articles was inspired by a few conversations I had with women who are relatively new to racing ...

The Psychology of Bike Racing — Part 2 of 3 First published February 2018. Updated December 2025 to reflect current performance psychology and nervous system–informed approaches. I Want to Perform ...

The Psychology of Bike Racing — Part 1 of 3 First published February 2018. Updated December 2025 to reflect current performance psychology and nervous system–informed approaches.This article explores the psychology ...

Do you struggle with an unhelpful internal monologue? Do you often catch yourself telling yourself that you’re just not good enough, or can’t do ‘that’, or will never do ‘that’? ...

Many people use apps as their first attempt to manage their mental health concerns. It can be less intimidating to try an app first... sometimes it's because of a fear ...

Here's the follow-up to my previous live-stream video... This time I'm talking about how we can use breathing to assist in the management of our anxiety. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvwBtXImivI For a written ...

Understanding anxiety often begins with recognising how it shows up.Do you feel worried, tense, on edge, or unsettled?Perhaps your heart rate increases. Your breathing changes. Your thoughts become faster or ...

Many of us welcome easy access to technology, lured by the promise of better connection with others, greater engagement and a more efficient life. But psychological research confirms that social ...

Do you know how to listen to and sit with someone who is struggling? It can be difficult and uncomfortable to sit with someone else's discomfort. Here are a a ...

What is mindfulness? A growing body of evidence suggests that the practice of mindfulness, which originates from Buddhist methodologies, may improve both mental and physical health, and could improve our ...

I recorded this vlog a few days ago. I spoke about pain and the factors that can affect our experience of pain. https://youtu.be/l6spfXJGznE This is also posted on the Enhance ...

Do you know what mindfulness is? Here's a short video that explains what mindfulness is. https://youtu.be/CaZzf4hU7-0   I've also shared it on the Enhance Life Psychology Facebook page. I will ...

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3 Ways To Manage Anxiety With Your Breath You know that feeling… you can't breathe… your heart is racing… your palms are sweaty… you’re feeling shaky… you need to get ...