Introducing Rebecca Gilchrist
Meet Rebecca, a passionate Clinical Psychologist and rural mum who truly understands the unique challenges of bush life. Living on a 6th generation mixed grazing property in New England, NSW, Rebecca juggles being a mother of two, stepmum of three, and all that comes with farm life. 🚜🌾 After birthing her daughter at 33 weeks on an ambulance plane, spending time in NICU, and navigating a high-risk pregnancy in the outback, Rebecca is dedicated to bringing mental health services to rural women across Australia and beyond. 👶✈️
Through telehealth, Rebecca offers psychological assessment, diagnosis, and therapy to women no matter where they are. 🌍 She specializes in supporting women in regional, rural, and remote communities with mental health care, fertility challenges, perinatal planning, and recovery. 💻🤰 Whether through one-on-one sessions, group programs, or workshops, Rebecca shares her expertise and personal experiences to promote mental well-being, especially for those balancing the demands of farm life and family. 🐄👩👧👦
Normalising Emotions 🌧️😅
We all have emotions, including tough ones like rage, guilt, shame, or anxiety, that influence our choices and behaviours. These emotions can sometimes feel overwhelming, leading us to snap, lose our temper, or avoid tasks. A helpful way to manage these feelings is by approaching them with curiosity. For instance, if you’re feeling anxious or jittery, ask yourself, “What’s my brain or body trying to prepare me for?” This helps us understand the early warnings or challenge fears that might not be realistic.
Remember, emotions can have many causes, like hormone shifts, pain, fatigue, or even deficiencies in vitamins or minerals like iron. If you’re struggling to understand an emotion, consider chatting with your doctor or psychologist for more insights! 🩺💭
Recognising Survival Mode 🧠⚠️
Ever felt that sick feeling in your stomach, or maybe the jitters and sweaty palms? When our brain senses a threat, it switches into ‘survival mode,’ sending energy to the limbic system – the part of the brain that controls things like heart rate, body temperature, and breathing. This is your brain’s way of prepping your body to fight, run, or freeze, leading to symptoms like a quickened heart rate, flushed cheeks, dry mouth, or a sick stomach.
In survival mode, the brain’s resources are diverted away from areas responsible for memory, learning, and decision-making. While this was useful for our ancestors, it’s not so helpful when dealing with modern challenges like a tantruming toddler. 🙃
Start by noticing the early signs of stress. How does your heart rate, body temperature, or tummy feel? If you notice stress responses, it might be time to take a break, go for a run, or try some stress-relief tools.
Hacking the Stress Response 🏃♀️💪 (Including Exercise)
When you’re in survival mode, it can feel like you’ve lost control. The good news? There are simple strategies to help you regain it. While these won’t make the tantruming toddler or stress disappear, they can take the edge off the emotional wave and help it pass faster. Getting out of survival mode will also reengage your whole brain, making it easier to tackle the problems you’re facing.
In survival mode, your limbic system ramps up, increasing your heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, and body temperature. Using tools to consciously adjust these is a quick way to hack the system!
1. Breathwork 🌬️
We’ve all been told to “take a breath,” but often it doesn’t seem to help. The trick here is breath restriction. The limbic system controls respiration, so holding your breath in a timed way can refocus the mind on the sensation of breathlessness rather than the runaway train of stressful thoughts. Try box breathing: Breathe in for four counts, hold for four counts, breathe out for four counts, then hold again for four counts. Repeat two to three times, noticing where you feel like you’re running out of air!
Try one of our Breathwork sessions on DediKate 🔗⬇️
2. Hot and Cold ❄️🌡️
As we ramp up to deal with a threat, our body temperature rises. After a traumatic event, you might even feel a sudden chill. In the moment, a freezing cold shower for a few minutes or submerging your face in cold water can be helpful. Similarly, if you’ve just navigated a challenging event, or are supporting someone who has, wrapping up in a warm blanket can help manage the drop in body temperature as the stress response slows.
3. Exercise 🏃♂️
When prepping to face a threat, your brain sends stress hormones to your extremities, getting ready for fight or flight. This might feel like jitters, restlessness, or agitation. The quickest way to reduce this tension? Move your body! Quick, intense bursts of exercise that raise your heart rate can help – think 5 burpees, star jumps, a sprint around the house, or 60 seconds of skipping.
There are plenty of Distress Tolerance tools you can use to switch out of survival mode. Try a few and have them saved somewhere handy, so you don’t need to rely on your memory when your brain is firing on all cylinders! 🧠🔥 Download Distress Tolerance PDF for more tools. 🔗⬇️
