Advocating for your own mental and physical health with family can be challenging, and even more so when you are in a vulnerable state. And having discussions with those you love, when you are ready to commit to new techniques, programs or practitioners can be daunting. This is often especially the case, when you know YOU are ready, it’s what YOU want, you know it’s the right thing for YOU, yet the people around you need convincing!
I have created this handout in order for you to feel supported during the beginning stages of this process. Included are ways to reframe discussions, evidence based research, and key blogs, so you can have the right resources to support, educate and guide the people around you along this process … It is my hope that this resource makes it easier for you to feel equipped to have discussions with your friends and family AND for them to feel they understand where you are at and are ready to support you on the path that you are choosing for yourself and your health!
Discussion Framing Ideas
Here are some ideas for framing your discussion with partners and friends around what support options you would like to take for your health and wellness:
The Foundation
This is a great place to start. You can explain to your partner that, at this point in time, you have a deep desire to make a change in your life, because what you have done in the past has not gotten you to where you want to be.
In order to gain the next level of wellness, you’d like to take an integrative/holistic approach which incorporates brain, nervous system and whole body healing, that is rooted in science and evidence based research. It is founded on neuroplasticity (the brains ability to change and rewire), nervous system support and a trauma informed approach.
You could use the analogy of a house… in order to have a sturdy house, you have to build a strong and reliable foundation. In this instance, the best option for you to build the foundation for your ‘inner’ house, is through working with a trained practitioner who specialises in helping people to build strong and reliable foundations and houses.
Mountain analogy
When you start out on your journey, hiking in the bush or mountain takes a lot of knowledge, practice, and understanding. You have to gather the right tools, have a tour guide, take the right equipment, and sometimes train in advance, and make sure that you are fully supported before you start. Through working with a practitioner, they can be your tour guide and will help you gain the tools and knowledge you need to find real healing so you can reach your fullest potential (aka the top of your mountain).
Not being able to do it alone
You could discuss how you are feeling … maybe it’s feeling isolated and stuck, not knowing what to do next. Not knowing where to go or how to get there. And you feel like you don’t have the right resources to get to where you are going on your own, so you would like to invest in the right support to help you get there.
If it resonates with you, you could mention that it feels like you have tried things in the past that did not work, and you’ve been struggling to commit to new things because the approaches just haven’t felt ‘right’, and after a lot of research, you feel like this new approach is that next big step for you and your health.
You could also mention that I (your preferred practitioner) knows the journey, because I have been on it myself personally and sought the tools to regain my own health and now support others to regain theres. And that through working with me, we will find the right tools to help you feel supported and find healing.
Explore different avenues and practitioners
You could discuss how you have spent a lot of time recently researching and exploring different avenues, approaches and practitioners as you feel that things need to change with your health. It is time now, and you would like to be able to take ownership of your life and your health and invest in a practitioner and different modalities that can provide you with the healing that you need.
I have found a practitioner
You could then mention that you have been searching and looking for some time now and you have found the right practitioner to work with. You have been following her for a while now (researching her articles, following her on social media and attending her workshops, and have had a clarity session to discuss working together), and you are ready to take the next step to invest in your health and healing with her.. You know that this will put you in the right direction and will help you immensely.
Some additional points of conversations-
- I’ve attended her workshop and spoken with her online
- I feel she really knows where I’m at, where I want to go and how to put the pieces of the puzzle together to get me there.
- She’s offering different things I haven’t tried before. I’ve felt, nothing I’ve tried before has really worked.
- I know that this journey with her IS going to help me, as I did an activity in her workshop that really made a difference to how I think and feel.
- I know what IS possible for me – and feel this is the next step to take.
- I’d like to work with her.
(Only if promoted) What does she do?
She incorporates brain, nervous system, and body-based techniques that are grounded in science, research, and evidence for PTSD, Anxiety, Depression, chronic illness and immunity through private 1:1 sessions.
Links to Evidence
- Evidence based modalities include EFT (over 160 clinical trials), Brain Spotting, EMDR (evidence based with much research around PTSD and veterans, Safe and Sound Protocol (based on 20 years of Polyvagal therapy research), Heart Cohesion (based on Heart Math Institute research)
- HERE is a link to research related to EFT/Tapping that has been shown to have significant declines for the following after a 4-day workshop:
- Anxiety (−40%)
- Depression (−35%)
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (−32%)
- Pain (−57%)
- Cravings (−74%)
- And increases in Happiness (+31%)
- SigA, an immune system biomarker (+113%),
- Improvements were found in Resting Heart Rate (−8%)
- Cortisol (−37%)
- Systolic Blood Pressure (−6%) and diastolic Blood Pressure (−8%)
- Research showing changes in genetic expression after a 50 mins EFT/Tapping session, resulting in 72 genes being expressed differently. LINK HERE.
Key Blogs
All of my blogs can be explored in detail HERE. Although I have selected a few key articles that explain my unique approach to healing below:
- Top Down and Bottom Up Article– includes many of the modalities and techniques I incorporate to support immune, nervous system, and neural brain retraining which promotes an internal environment for the body to heal.
- Neural Retraining and Why it Matters– includes the science of neural retraining and why it matters in the healing process as it is rooted in neuroscience.
- 10 Key Brain Retraining Insights – To gain deeper insight into brain retraining and why it is so beneficial.
- What I wish someone would have told me– This can be applied to any emotional state of dysregulation
- Window of Tolerance– This concept is something we work together on to create deeper healing in your life and is based in psychology.
- How emotional buy-passing may not be supporting you– Many women in my world struggle with this topic and I think it is important to understand how it might be affecting your mental health.
- Your Brain and Bodies Relationship to Sleep – If you want to gain a deeper understanding of your body and why sleep is vital to your health.
