Dr Natasha Arndt - Counselling Psychologist

20/08/2026

THANKFUL THURSDAY

Being thankful should never require you to pretend.

Gratitude is beautiful.

But gratitude becomes something else when we use it to silence ourselves.

“I shouldn't feel sad — I have so much to be grateful for.”
“Other people have it worse.”
“At least I have…”
“I should just focus on the positive.”

That isn't gratitude.

Sometimes, that's toxic positivity dressed up as thankfulness.

Being grateful doesn't mean denying what hurts.

You can love your children deeply and feel exhausted by parenting.
You can be thankful for your job and feel overwhelmed by it.
You can love someone and be hurt by them.
You can recognise how fortunate you are and still be struggling.
You can be proud of how far you've come and be tired from the journey.

Two things can be true at the same time.

Gratitude says:
There is goodness here.
It doesn't have to say:
Therefore, nothing is difficult.

Real gratitude makes room for the whole human experience.
It doesn't demand that we turn pain into a lesson before we're ready.
It doesn't ask us to find a silver lining in everything.
And it certainly doesn't require us to feel guilty for struggling simply because someone else may have it worse.

THIS THANKFUL THURSDAY
Instead of asking yourself to “look on the bright side,” try asking:
What am I genuinely grateful for today?

And then:
What is also difficult for me right now?

Make room for both.

Because perhaps one of the healthiest forms of gratitude is being able to say:
“This is hard.
And there is still goodness here.”

19/08/2026

Some wisdom does not require more explanation

18/08/2026

TUESDAYS ARE FOR TAKING ACTION

Children learn to regulate in the presence of a regulated-enough adult.
Not a perfectly calm adult.
Not an adult who never gets angry.
Never becomes overwhelmed.
Never cries.
Never needs a break.
Never makes a mistake.
And certainly not an adult who sacrifices themselves in the name of being a “good parent”.

They need something far more human:
An adult who knows how to be present.
Present with their child's emotions, yes.
But also present with their own.

Because children aren't only learning emotional regulation from what we do to help them when they're struggling.

They're watching how we struggle too.
They notice what happens when you're frustrated.
Do you explode — or can you recognise that you're reaching your limit?
They notice what happens when you're overwhelmed.
Do you pretend you're fine — or can you say,
“I'm feeling overwhelmed. I need a few minutes.”

They notice what happens when you're angry.
Can anger exist without becoming frightening?

They notice whether you have boundaries.
Whether you rest when you're tired.
Whether you ask for help.
Whether you speak kindly to yourself when you make a mistake.

And they notice what happens when you get it wrong.
Can you come back?

“I shouldn't have spoken to you like that. I'm sorry.”
That is regulation too.

It isn't the absence of emotion.
It is learning that emotions can be noticed, tolerated, expressed and moved through — without losing ourselves or each other.
And when their own emotions become too big, they borrow that steadiness from us.
Sometimes that means sitting beside them while they cry.

Sometimes:
“I can see how angry you are. I'm here.”
Sometimes it means holding a boundary:
“You're allowed to be disappointed. The answer is still no.”
And sometimes it simply means not being frightened by their feelings.

Over thousands of these ordinary moments, children begin to internalise something incredibly important:
Feelings are survivable.

I don't have to be afraid of what's happening inside me.
I can be angry and still be loved.
I can have boundaries and still be connected.
I can make mistakes and repair them.
I can be overwhelmed and find my way back.
Eventually, what they once experienced with you begins to become something they can offer themselves.

TAKE ACTION THIS TUESDAY

Don't only ask:
“How do I help my child regulate?”
Ask:
“What does my child see when they watch me have a difficult feeling?”
Not because you need to do it perfectly.

But because one of the greatest ways we teach children how to sit with themselves…
is by showing them how we sit with ourselves.

17/08/2026

MONDAYS ARE FOR MINDFULNESS

When did we stop noticing?
The ant carrying something impossibly big.
The strange shape of a cloud.
The moon in the middle of the day.
The tiny bird hopping around our feet.
The way the sky changes colour just before sunset.

As children, most of us stopped for these things.

Not because they were important.
Not because they were useful.
Simply because they were interesting.

Somewhere along the way, growing up became synonymous with hurrying. We learned to walk past things. To glance instead of look. To fill every quiet moment with a screen, a task or a thought about what needs to happen next.

Mindfulness is, in many ways, an invitation to become curious again.
To stop.
To look properly.
To notice something completely ordinary — and allow yourself to be fascinated by it.

Maybe growing older doesn't have to mean becoming harder to impress.

This week, notice something you would have stopped to look at when you were five.

16/08/2026

SUNDAY's REFLECTION

Not everything that weighs on you is yours to carry.

We spend so much energy trying to manage things that were never ours to control:
What others think of us.
How they react.
Their expectations.
What has already happened.
What might happen next.
How we are perceived.
Outcomes we cannot guarantee.

And while we are carrying all of that, we sometimes lose sight of what is ours.
How I speak to myself.
How I treat others.
Where I place my time and attention.
The values I choose to live by.
How I respond.
The boundaries I keep.
The care I give my inner world.

So perhaps the question for this Sunday isn't:

“How do I carry all of this better?”

Perhaps it is:

“What was never mine to carry in the first place?”

As you move into a new week, put down what isn't yours.

And tend gently to what is. 🤍

14/08/2026

FRIDAYS ARE FOR FUN 😂

I’ve decided to name my anxiety .... Jessica.

Because apparently it’s much easier to set boundaries when your anxiety sounds like an annoying colleague who has absolutely no respect for office hours.

Overthinking something that hasn’t even happened yet?

Not now, Jessica.

Replaying an awkward conversation from seven years ago?

We’ve been through this, Jessica.

Creating an entire worst-case scenario from one unanswered WhatsApp?

JESSICA. P-E-L-ease. 😂

Sometimes humour is a surprisingly good way to create a little distance between you and your anxious thoughts.

Because not every thought needs your attention.
Not every worry needs solving.
And sometimes…

Jessica just needs to sit down. 😏

Happy Friday!

What would you name your anxiety? 😂
How would you respond to 'them' when they carry a name.... a persona... 😂

13/08/2026

THURSDAY are for being THANKFUL

“MakE it a haᗷit tO taᒪk aᗷOut yOur ᗷᒪessings mOre than yOur ᗷurᗪens. Where fOcus gOes, energy fᒪOws.”

Life will always contain both.
Things that are difficult.
Things that disappoint us.
Things we wish were different.

But alongside them are often quiet blessings we have become so accustomed to that we barely notice them anymore.
The person who checks in.
The body that carried you through another day.
A safe place to come home to.
A conversation that made you laugh.
A moment of peace in an otherwise difficult week.

Gratitude doesn't mean ignoring what hurts or pretending everything is wonderful.

It simply means our burdens don't get to have all of our attention.
What we repeatedly notice becomes easier to see.

So today, make a little more room for what is good. 🤍

What is one ordinary BLESSING in your life that you never want to take for granted?

12/08/2026

WEDNESDAY WISDOM

“I think we forget…
life was never meant to be understood.
It was meant to be felt.”

We spend so much of our lives trying to figure things out.
Why did this happen?
What does it mean?
What should I do next?
When will it all make sense?

But perhaps not everything needs an explanation.

Some moments are meant to bring joy.
Some are meant to hurt.
Some will confuse us.
Some will change us.
And some will simply pass through us, leaving something behind that we may only understand much later.

There is wisdom in reflection — but there is also wisdom in allowing ourselves to simply experience our lives while we are living them.

To laugh without analysing the moment.
To grieve without rushing ourselves towards acceptance.
To love without guarantees.
To sit quietly with uncertainty without demanding an answer.

Maybe life isn't a puzzle we're supposed to solve.
Maybe it's something we're supposed to be present for. 🤍

10/08/2026

09/08/2026

🌷 Happy Women’s Day 🌷

Today, we celebrate women — not only for how much they do, but simply for who they are.

For the strength that is visible,
and the strength no one sees.

For the times you kept going,
and the times you had the courage to stop and rest.

For the care you give so freely to others,
and the journey of learning to offer that same kindness to yourself.

You do not have to carry everything gracefully.
You do not have to be strong every day.
You do not have to earn your worth by how much you give, achieve, fix or endure.

There is strength in softness.
There is courage in asking for help.
There is wisdom in setting boundaries.
And there is power in choosing yourself, too.

Today, may every woman remember:
You are worthy — not because of what you do for everyone else, but because of who you are. 🌿

Happy Women’s Day to all the beautifully complex, resilient, growing women among us. 💛