Shawn Matthews

Shawn Matthews đź’š Dedicated Relationship and Wellbeing Expert
đź’š Bachelor Degree of Social Science
đź’š NLP Practitioner
đź’š Unlock your Happiness, Connection, and Inner Peace

When Your Mind Won’t Let You Move Forward…Have you ever found yourself stuck in a cycle of:💭 “What if I make the wrong d...
03/08/2026

When Your Mind Won’t Let You Move Forward…

Have you ever found yourself stuck in a cycle of:

💭 “What if I make the wrong decision?”
💭 “What if this doesn’t work?”
💭 “What if I regret my choice?”

Sometimes the hardest part isn’t making the decision…

It’s trusting yourself enough to make one.

When we lose confidence in ourselves, every choice can feel overwhelming. We start searching for the perfect answer, the perfect strategy, or the perfect outcome — but life rarely gives us certainty.

Healing is learning that:

✨ You can make a decision and adjust if needed.
✨ A mistake is information, not a definition of who you are.
✨ Consistency matters more than perfection.
✨ Trust is rebuilt through small actions repeated over time.

At Open Arms Health, we support you in understanding the patterns behind your thoughts, building practical strategies, and developing the confidence to move forward — even when uncertainty is present.

You don’t need to have every step figured out.

You just need to take the next one. 🤍

Open Arms Health
Where Compassion Meets Conversation

What does healing actually look like?Healing is often portrayed as a moment where everything suddenly feels better.But r...
29/07/2026

What does healing actually look like?

Healing is often portrayed as a moment where everything suddenly feels better.

But real healing is usually quieter than that.

Healing looks like:
🌱 Choosing yourself, even when old patterns feel familiar
🌱 Setting boundaries without needing everyone to agree
🌱 Noticing your triggers and responding with curiosity instead of criticism
🌱 Letting yourself rest without feeling like you need to earn it
🌱 Making choices from your values rather than your fears
🌱 Recognising that growth can happen even when you still have hard days

Healing feels like:
đź’› Having more space between a feeling and your reaction
đź’› Feeling emotions without being consumed by them
đź’› A sense of safety within yourself
💛 Grieving what you needed but didn’t receive
đź’› Becoming more compassionate toward yourself

Healing sounds like:
“I can handle this.”
“My feelings are valid, but they don’t have to control my actions.”
“I can make a different choice today.”
“I am learning.”
“I don’t need to be perfect to be worthy.”

Healing doesn’t mean you never struggle again.

It means you begin to meet yourself differently when you do.

Small steps. Honest moments. Repeated choices.

That is where change happens. 🌿

đź’š Reviews like this remind me why I do what I do.Every person who reaches out for support is trusting me with some of th...
23/07/2026

đź’š Reviews like this remind me why I do what I do.

Every person who reaches out for support is trusting me with some of the most difficult moments of their life. That trust is something I never take for granted.

When someone shares that therapy has made such a profound difference in their life, it is incredibly moving and deeply humbling.

"Online therapy has been so helpful, has literally saved my life. So grateful for everything Shawn has done, she was truly world class."

To my wonderful client—thank you for your courage, your trust, and your kind words. It has been a privilege to walk alongside you on your journey.

If you're wondering whether it's too late to ask for help, or whether things can get better, please know that change is possible. You don't have to face life's challenges alone.

At Open Arms Health, my goal is to provide a safe, compassionate space where healing, growth, and hope can begin.

đź’š Where Compassion Meets Conversation.

When Trust Is Broken, Why Does Your Brain Keep Looking for Danger?Have you ever found yourself constantly checking…📱 Who...
20/07/2026

When Trust Is Broken, Why Does Your Brain Keep Looking for Danger?

Have you ever found yourself constantly checking…

📱 Who is messaging your partner?
đź‘€ Whether they looked at someone else?
💭 Whether something “feels off” even though there is no clear evidence?

It can feel confusing when one part of you says:

“They haven’t done anything wrong.”

…but another part says:

“Stay alert. Something might happen.”

This is often what happens when trust has been impacted — especially early in a relationship.

Your brain may not be trying to ruin the relationship. It may be trying to protect you from experiencing the same pain again.

The problem is that protection can sometimes look like:

⚠️ Constant scanning for threats
⚠️ Reading into small things
⚠️ Testing your partner through conflict
⚠️ Needing reassurance but never feeling fully reassured
⚠️ Feeling guilty for being “the problem”

A helpful question is:

**“Am I responding to what is happening now, or am I responding to what happened before?”**

Because anxiety and intuition can feel very similar.

Intuition often feels calm, clear, and grounded.

Anxiety often feels urgent, repetitive, and like it needs certainty immediately.

Healing isn’t about forcing yourself to “just trust.”

It’s about rebuilding safety — both with your partner and within yourself.

Sometimes the deeper fear isn’t:

“What if they hurt me?”

It’s:

“What if I trust again and I don’t survive being hurt?”

Learning to pause, notice the fear, and separate past pain from present reality is where trust begins to grow.

Open Arms Health
Where Compassion Meets Conversation

When your heart and your head are having two different conversations…Sometimes in relationships we experience thoughts t...
15/07/2026

When your heart and your head are having two different conversations…

Sometimes in relationships we experience thoughts that seem to contradict each other:

“I need space… but I don’t want to lose this.”
“They hurt me… but they also love me.”
“They aren’t changing… but I’ve noticed some growth.”
“We aren’t a team… but we are starting to find our rhythm.”
“I feel unsafe… but I also feel deeply cared for.”

These conflicting thoughts can feel exhausting — but they often aren’t a sign that you’re confused. They may be a sign that you’re trying to hold the full picture.

Relationships are rarely just good or bad. People can have beautiful qualities and still have patterns that hurt us. Someone can love us and still struggle to meet our needs. We can appreciate what we have and still question whether it’s enough.

Instead of asking:
“Which thought is the truth?”

Try asking:

✨ What is each part of me trying to tell me?
✨ What needs are being met, and what needs are being missed?
✨ Am I seeing consistent change, or moments of improvement?
✨ Do I feel like myself in this relationship?
✨ Does this relationship create safety, connection, and partnership?

The goal isn’t to force a decision from a place of fear.
The goal is to create enough honesty and self-awareness that your decisions come from clarity.

Two things can be true at the same time. 🤍

đź’› Sometimes the strongest people are the ones carrying the heaviest invisible burdens.đź’” Years of chronic pain.đź’° Financia...
08/07/2026

đź’› Sometimes the strongest people are the ones carrying the heaviest invisible burdens.

đź’” Years of chronic pain.
đź’° Financial stress.
đź’Ť Relationship struggles.
🕊️ Loss.
⚠️ Survival mode.

Yet somehow… they still wake up every day and keep going. 🌅

What many people do not realise is that prolonged stress and emotional pain do not just affect the mind — they impact the nervous system, the body, relationships, confidence and a person’s sense of hope for the future.

🌱 Healing is not about “being weak.”
It is about finally allowing yourself support after carrying everything alone for far too long.

No matter your age or your past, it is never too late to:
✨ create change
✨ process emotional weight
✨ reconnect with yourself
✨ begin healing again

You do not have to fix your whole life overnight.
đź‘Ł You simply start with one honest step forward.

When Rejection Becomes Your IdentityRejection hurts.But one of the deepest wounds isn't the rejection itself—it's the me...
01/07/2026

When Rejection Becomes Your Identity

Rejection hurts.

But one of the deepest wounds isn't the rejection itself—it's the meaning we give it.

Over time, repeated experiences of rejection can lead people to believe:

❌ "I'm not good enough."
❌ "I don't matter."
❌ "People always leave."
❌ "I'm unlovable."

The problem is that we often move from:

👉 "I was rejected"

to

👉 "There must be something wrong with me."

These are not the same thing.

Someone else's inability to choose you, understand you, love you, or meet your needs does not determine your worth.

Many people spend years trying to avoid rejection by:
• People-pleasing
• Staying silent about their needs
• Seeking constant reassurance
• Perfectionism
• Withdrawing before others can hurt them

Yet these strategies often create more loneliness, not less.

Healing begins when we recognize that rejection is an experience—not an identity.

You can acknowledge the pain of being overlooked, criticised, excluded, or left behind without allowing those experiences to define who you are.

Your worth was never meant to be measured by whether everyone chooses you.

Sometimes the most important question isn't:

"Why was I rejected?"

It's:

"What have I come to believe about myself because of that rejection?"

đź’™ Healing starts when we challenge the story, not just the event.

🌿 Movement is more than exercise — it’s a powerful way to care for your mental and emotional wellbeing.When we move our ...
29/06/2026

🌿 Movement is more than exercise — it’s a powerful way to care for your mental and emotional wellbeing.
When we move our bodies, we release stress, boost our mood, and reconnect with ourselves. Even small moments of movement can make a big difference. đź’š

You don’t have to do intense workouts to feel the benefits.
A short walk, stretching in the morning, dancing in your kitchen, or getting outside for fresh air all count. 🌞

✨ Gentle reminders for today:
• Move your body in a way that feels good to you
• Step outside and soak in some sunlight
• Stretch and release tension from the day
• Remember that movement is an act of self-care, not punishment

Your body and mind deserve kindness, care, and support. 🤍

What’s your favourite way to move your body and reset your mind? 🌱

Loss can change so much — including the way we see ourselves. 💚After grief, heartbreak, change, or difficult life experi...
24/06/2026

Loss can change so much — including the way we see ourselves. 💚

After grief, heartbreak, change, or difficult life experiences, it’s common to feel disconnected from who you once were. But rediscovering yourself is not about becoming the “old you” again. It’s about gently learning who you are now.

Healing is not a race.
Growth takes time.
And every small step forward matters.

🌱 Give yourself permission to start again
🌱 Reconnect with the things that bring meaning and joy
🌱 Be patient with the parts of you that are still healing
🌱 Allow yourself to grow into a new chapter with compassion

Sometimes the strongest growth happens quietly, beneath the surface, before we can fully see it.

What is one thing helping you reconnect with yourself lately? 👇

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Upper Coomera, QLD
4214

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Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 8:15am - 4pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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