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By Dr E K Wills PS. I wrote this not AI Sunset on the Year 2025 This year has been one of discovery and difficulty for many and I am no exception. Thankfully, I have a guide of sorts in my supervisor/therapist (recommended for all psychiatrists and in fact can be helpful for anyone) who suggested a reflection of the year’s highs and lows in order to discover the potential path for next year. I cheated by looking back over my annual calendar which held some forgotten pearl

By The MotherMind Doctor My whole life I’ve been told I’m too sensitive and too angry . I preferred to think that I’m overly curious and have difficulty, being able to relax. This is what led me to explore our family history. In The lead up to Father’s Day I recalled my mother‘s suggestion of asking my father to fill the gaps in our family history. This lead me to look up the information that had been collected by my uncle and documented meticulously. What jumped out of the

By The MotherMind Doctor Arrested Development is a great name for a sitcom. It comes from the medical term for ‘stoppage of physical or mental (emotional, psychological, intellectual) development’ and many jokes can be based on this premise. It is no longer used in mental health due to it not being very politically correct and is now referred to mental status instead. In other areas of research, it can mean a plateau of development. Developmental Psychology looks at the

By The MotherMind Doctor ‘Attachment’ is something we hear about a lot. It is defined as a ‘lasting psychological connectedness between people’. But what is it and what do you do if you have ‘attachment issues’? Attachment has an important role in predicting a person’s later social and emotional style. Other parent roles have not been shown to have as much an impact on any aspect of outcome (such as that of a roles such as teacher, disciplinarian, or even bonding as a car

Australia’s first female prime minister was disparaged as a witch and a bitch as recently as 2011. The whole country allowed this to be perp

by The MotherMind Doctor Perfection is actually a paradox—an ideal we can never reach. Managing perfectionism is essential because perfection, with its flawless and complete accuracy, is unattainable. So why do we strive to attain it? Is it really the positive character trait we all need to achieve great things? As with everything, a balance is required to strive for the best possible result and the ability to know when to let go of an anticipated outcome. Without this bala

For a lighter look at role reversals, Freaky Friday has mother psychiatrist and daughter Lindsay Lohan, switch bodies as a way to understand

By Dr Emma What if the world were run by women? I recently noticed that I have an underlying sense of frustration pretty much all the time. I knowledge we’ve just come through a pandemic and that we have a cost of living crisis but there’s an underlying sense of resignation and lack of hope. This was probably fuelled by the recent release of the gender pay gap statistics which have been justified as an inevitable product of biology and social roles as well as occupational

by EK Wills In our fast-paced world, where stress and burnout seem to be constants in our daily lives, the quest for holistic well-being has taken a new turn. Enter "Kur," a traditional German approach to health incorporated into retreats and tourism that has gained international attention for its unique blend of nature, culture, and medical expertise. Germans are embracing this time-honoured tradition to recover from burnout, perhaps we can learn something from this? Like th

For those of us who grew up before the awareness around neurodiversity, we attracted labels like ‘angry’ or ‘prickly’ and ‘sensitive’.

Do you feel like you belong to the community you live in? I personally recall moving over a dozen times before I left high school and I wonder whether that has had an impact on my need to put down roots and feel connected to a community. Australia is a mobile society. Many people do not live in the same place they grew up in, be that the same house or same town. A third of our population are born overseas and only a third of people stayed living at the same address in the las

By EK Wills A week in Bali was an opportunity to reflect on what really matters but the noise of distraction – good and bad- drowned out any true contemplation. The 6 hour flight out of Sydney was a captive start to a downloaded audible version of Waking Up by Sam Harris. I was trying to get some clarity for how I want to settle into post pandemic life, now I have completed my training. This was the opportunity to step out of the fishbowl to gain an outside perspective and ma

Anger can be a motivator for change through frustration, encouraging us to address outstanding issues but it needs to be channelled well.

As your child now has their own opinions, it does little to try to impose yours at this stage.

They can learn to cook, clean, garden as part of their contribution and it can be mutually decided on who does which tasks.

If you have found a way that works with your child, then stick to it and reinforce it. While each child is unique, it helps to continue with

If you can’t be calm, make them safe and WALK AWAY

The old movie Parenthood likens parenting to a rollercoaster ride. If you resist and try to control it, it can be scary. But if you can go w

There is no manual that comes with the decision to have a family. Each step is taken and based on advice from friends, family.

By E K Wills There is no manual that comes with the decision to have a family. Each step is taken and based on advice from friends, family or self-help books. This can be overwhelming and actually feel too overwhelming to tackle…. …This simple step guide to parenting can help set your family up for the best possible foundation without overly complicating your role. It does not preclude other influences involved in the developing of mental ill health such as genetic or uncontr