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Mission Australia Youth Survey 2023
ADHD Parents may be interested in participating
July 2023
Animal assisted therapies and wellbeing.
So many of us love our animals, feel comforted by their presence and enjoy interacting with them. Have you ever wondered why we love out animals so much? Research is showing increasing benefits to living and interacting with animals. The stress hormone Cortisol is lowered and the connection hormone Oxytocin is released by simply patting a dog, cat or horse. This also helps blood pressure! The interesting thing is, it has the same result on our animals.
Many people around the world have used animals in therapy for years, due to the benefits they provide. I sometimes take my dog to sessions and the difference can be seen from the moment my clients see her. Their body language softens and they settle in to the room so much quicker.
There are an increasing number of service animals being utilised for many medical and psychological difficulties including epilepsy, anxiety and PTSD and therapy dogs are being used in other settings such as hospitals, schools, universities and offices all because of their effortless impact on our emotional wellbeing.
October
Change, transitions and endings.
To all the year 12 students who have now finished school and are in the middle of completing their HSCs. You have been at school for 13 years which has now quite abruptly come to an end. Many will be excited, relieved, overwhelmed, stressed with study, tired, worried, nervous, scared of the future or just empty and lonely. For some, you may feel all of these, all at once!
Teachers try to prepare you for studying for your exams in lots of different ways. However, it seems few prepare you for how you are going to feel when school ends. After 13 years of being told what to do, how and when and having your day structured out for you, all of a sudden there can be very little structure. This can feel weird, scary and overwhelming! This is completely normal with any big change but particularly this one. The good news is, it will get easier and will pass! When your exams end, you will likely feel worse for a little while, because now you dont even need to study! If you are working then this will help give you a sense of structure and purpose, but if not they may leave your life feeling quite empty. Please reach out to the safe people around you and if you have no one you feel safe talking to, then please reach out to one of the helplines found on this site. Be kind to yourself, this is a big change in your life and you deserve to take some time to adjust.
September
September
In Australia, we have gone through drought, fires and floods before the pandemic, which have tested so many people's strength and resilience. The Covid-19 pandemic has added worldwide stress and chaos, which few people have not felt. The war between Russia and Ukraine,has further impacted so many people, in so many ways. For those with family and friends directly experiencing the horrors of war, this is a time of unthinkable distress and trauma. For everyone else, this is another assault on our everyday life, with rising costs and unavailability of everyday things we take for granted. Many simply cannot stay afloat and are losing their homes and businesses. It would be too easy for some to give up hope of a brighter future!
More than ever, it is important to check in with the people around us and ask how they are going, with the intent to listen. It can be easy to think, "what can I do?" You can show you care! There are resources out there to guide them to, if necessary. But for some, knowing they are not alone and other people care, can be enough to hold them afloat.
March
March
I first came across the term "Highly sensitive person" years ago while studying. What I read surprised me, but also made a lot of sense. Researchers are finding out more about the HSP through neuroscience and what they have found is fascinating. This was written by Andre Solo from https://highlysensitiverefuge.com/
BY ANDRE SÓLO /SCIENCE /MARCH 30, 2020
The Difference Between the Highly Sensitive Brain and the ‘Typical’ Brain
The HSP brain may be the most powerful social machine in the known universe.
The HSP brain may be the most powerful social machine in the known universe.
Do you notice little details about your surroundings that others miss — especially details about the people around you? Do you quickly get overwhelmed when your to-do list is long, your weekend is busy, or when you spend time in a loud, bustling place? Do you reflect on your experiences deeply, and feel emotions in a big way? If so, you might be a highly sensitive person (HSP). HSPs are the 20 percent of the population who process things more deeply than others. This stems from a difference in their brains and nervous systems. What exactly makes HSPs different? Recent research has the answers. Let’s take a look at the four biggest differences.
Do you notice little details about your surroundings that others miss — especially details about the people around you? Do you quickly get overwhelmed when your to-do list is long, your weekend is busy, or when you spend time in a loud, bustling place? Do you reflect on your experiences deeply, and feel emotions in a big way? If so, you might be a highly sensitive person (HSP). HSPs are the 20 percent of the population who process things more deeply than others. This stems from a difference in their brains and nervous systems. What exactly makes HSPs different? Recent research has the answers. Let’s take a look at the four biggest differences.
4 Differences in a Highly Sensitive Person’s Brain
4 Differences in a Highly Sensitive Person’s Brain
1. Your brain responds to dopamine differently.
1. Your brain responds to dopamine differently.
Dopamine is the brain’s reward chemical. Simply put, it drives you to want to do certain things, then gives you a sense of victory or pleasure when you do them. Many of the genes involved in high sensitivity affect how your body uses dopamine — in ways we don’t yet fully understand. HSPs are likely less driven by external rewards than non-HSPs. Rewards are the “gold stickers” of life, for example, a job promotion, a paycheck, or inclusion into a social group. Similar to introverts, HSPs are simply not as excited by the things that many others chase. This is part of what allows HSPs to hold back and be thoughtful and observant while they process information. It also likely prevents them from being drawn to the same highly stimulating situations that end up overwhelming them. If you’re an HSP, and you just don’t find yourself very interested in a loud party or taking risks, you have your dopamine system to thank.
2. Your mirror neurons are more active.
2. Your mirror neurons are more active.
Mirror neurons play a big role in the HSP brain. They help us understand what someone is doing or experiencing, based on their actions. Essentially, these brain cells compare the other person’s behavior with times you yourself have behaved that way, effectively “mirroring” them to figure out what’s going on for them. That’s an important job for a lot of reasons, but one of the things it does in humans is allow us to feel empathy and compassion for others. When we recognize the pain (or joy) someone is going through and relate to it, it’s because of this system. More mirror neuron activity means a more empathetic person — like an HSP.
HSPs don’t necessarily have more mirror neurons than others, rather, their mirror neuron systems are more active. In 2014, functional brain imaging research found that HSPs had consistently higher levels of activity in key parts of the brain related to social and emotional processing. This higher level of activity kicked in even in tests involving strangers, meaning HSPs can easily extend compassion to people they don’t personally know. (The effect was still highest with loved ones, however). As an HSP, these mirror neurons are both your superpower and, at times, more than a little inconvenient — like when you can’t watch the same TV show as everyone else because it’s too violent. But it’s also what makes you warm, caring, and insightful about what other people are going through.
3. You really do experience emotions more vividly.
3. You really do experience emotions more vividly.
Hidden away in the front of the brain is a fascinating area called the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). This area is hooked into several systems involving your emotions, your values, and processing sensory data. When we say that highly sensitive people process things more deeply than others, there’s a good chance it happens right here. While the role of the vmPFC is not yet completely understood, it’s definitely associated with emotional regulation, and it enhances the things we experience with a certain emotional “vividness.” Everyone experiences life more vividly during emotional moments, not just HSPs, but high sensitivity is linked to a gene that increases this vividness, essentially turning up the dial. That gene allows emotional enhancement to have a much greater effect on the vmPFC as it processes experiences. What does this mean for HSPs? Unlike mirror neurons, this emotional vividness isn’t necessarily social in nature. It’s all about how vividly you feel emotions inside you in response to what’s happening around you. So, if you seem to feel things stronger than other people do, it’s not just in your head (okay, it’s entirely in your head, but you know what I mean!). HSPs are finely tuned to pick up even subtle emotional cues and react to them.
4. Other people are the brightest things on your radar.
4. Other people are the brightest things on your radar.
For less sensitive people, it’s easy to tune out other people. But for an HSP, almost everything about the brain is wired to notice and interpret others. This is clear from the many other parts of the brain that get extra-active for HSPs in social situations. For example, the brain imaging study mentioned above also showed increased activity in the cingulate area and the insula — two areas that, together, may form our “seat of consciousness” and moment-to-moment awareness. For HSPs, these areas become far more active in response to images of other people, especially those exhibiting a relevant social or emotional cue. In other words: Highly sensitive people actually become more alert, almost “more conscious,” in a social context. If you’re an HSP, other people are the brightest things on your radar.
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The Gift of the Highly Sensitive Brain
The Gift of the Highly Sensitive Brain
There’s a lot that can be said about the gifts of the highly sensitive brain. It processes information on deep level, sees more connections, and cares and relates to others in a profound way. But perhaps your most important gift as an HSP is the one designed to protect you. Your brain is fine-tuned to notice and interpret the behavior of everyone around you. If someone is bad news, you know it. If someone is not going to treat you right, you see it coming. If a situation isn’t right for you, you probably know that, too. That’s vital, because HSPs need healthy environments and supportive loved ones to thrive — perhaps even more so than others. If you’re an HSP, your brain may be the most powerful social machine in the known universe.
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