SALLY-ANNE MCCORMACK - LIVING WITH ANTS

Famed ADAVIC committee member, Sally-Anne McCormack is a lot of things. She not only is a clinical psychologist with private practices in Blackburn and Burwood East in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, but also is a registered psychologist, counsellor, media consultant, former teacher, wife and mother of four. On top of all that she is a writer, too. 

Also a regular on the now ended programme The Circle, McCormack has written a series of books for children which also apply to parents, teachers and social workers. Her current book Living With ANTs, provides strategies to identify and how to deal with them.

ADAVIC is proud to be celebrating with Sally-Anne for the launch of her new book on Wednesday September 5th. Please visit the ADAVIC site for more information and bookings, or call 03 9853 8089.

Upcoming ADAVIC Events

Don't forget to keep checking our website for information about upcoming lectures and workshops.

In July alone we have:



Lecture: Beyond Benzodiazepines
Presented by Gwenda Cannard, CEO and co-founder of Reconnexion Inc.(formerly TRANX and PADA)
On Thursday July 7,2011 from 7.30pm-9.00pm
For more information and to book Click Here



Working IT Out: A weekend workshop for sufferers of anxiety
Presented by Counsellor and Author Bev Aisbett
On Saturday July 9, 2011 and Sunday July 10, 2011 from 10.00am-4.30pm
For more information and to book Click Here



Lecture: Stomp out the ANTs (Automatic Negative Thoughts)!
Presented by Sally-Anne McCormack, Clinical Psychologist & Author
On Thursday July 21, 2011 from 7.30pm-9.00pm
For more information and to book Click Here



Professional Development Program (PDP): Smart Therapy: Treating of Anxiety Disorders
Presented by Dr Sallee McLaren, Clinical Psychologist & Author
On Friday July 29, 2011 from 9.00am - 5.00pm
***Please note this is an Australian Psychological Society Endorsed Activity: 7 CPD Hours and is only available to health professionals***
For more information and to book Click Here

PSYCHONLINE - HEALTH TIPS by Sally-Anne McCormack, Psychologist

By Sally-Anne McCormack
Dip T (Psych Maj); Postgrad Dip Psych (Ed); B Ed; M Psych (Ed & Dev)
Psychologist M.A.P.S.

Dealing with Depression

Part One (Child & Adolescent)
As many of us know, the amount of people suffering from mental illness is extremely large, and many report that it is rapidly increasing!

It is widely suggested that around one in 5 people are suffering from depression at any given time (1 in 4 women, and 1 in 6 men). Recent statistics indicate that around 800,000 Australians suffer from depression every year – how will these numbers look in 2010? Or 2020? And what about children and adolescents? Research suggests around 5% of children, and nearly 1 in 10 adolescents are also inflicted with depression.

So, a question that needs to be asked is – what can we do to prevent it? Before becoming a psychologist, I started off my working life as a teacher. I spent a number of years studying, then entered the classroom with enthusiasm and a desire to inspire others to learn. After having a small bunch of children, I decided it was the right time to change my career path and become a psychologist. However, the passion of teaching has not deserted me, and has in fact enabled me to view mental illness from a different perspective. While I enjoy helping people deal with the depression and anxiety that they are currently suffering from, it seems incredibly logical to me that it would make much more sense to get into our schools and teach children and adolescents the skills that they need to learn to think in a more positive manner, and to become more aware of their feelings. This “no-brainer” idea should lead to a reduction in the above statistics! The Victorian Government has taken steps to move in this direction by introducing the new curriculum (Victorian Essential Learning Standards) into schools, and there are other initiatives being created to be used in schools, which is fantastic! But it is difficult for these programs to be effective if the staff at the coal-face are stressed and feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work they have to cover in 40 weeks per year. For some, there is a sense of having additional pressures and extra curriculum to be included in already overloaded days. There is still a way to go, but we have some incredibly positive signs …

So what can parents & teachers do to help these children and teens now? There are some easy and practical things that we can do to help prevent depression, or assist them to find a way out of the “fog”.

Tip One. Go for a walk! A family hike would be ideal, but at least 20 minutes of walking every day will increase the serotonin levels in their brains (which is the chemical that is depleted when someone is suffering from this mental illness). In a school, taking the class out for a run around the oval (or ideally, a school which runs some sort of exercise program before school for everyone would find physical and mental health improvements in all of their students!) can help lighten the mood for the day and everyone is more likely to learn efficiently than if they did not do any exercise.

Tip Two. Notice your own negative feelings. How does your body react when you are angry? Does your face go red? Does your jaw tighten? Does your voice get louder? Do your hands become fists? What about when you are worried? Does your voice start to shake? What about your body? Do you need to go to the toilet? Do you start to sweat?
Most of the time we do not really notice what happens to our body until after the event. How many of us have said “I didn’t realise how angry I was at the time”. If you can start noticing these physiological warnings about your feelings, then you can start teaching your child/teen how to recognise their own. This is extremely important, because without this recognition, we cannot change our thinking patterns which are what cause depression in the first place!

Tip Three. Once you and your child have learned to notice your feelings, the next step is to help them to identify what thoughts are going on in their heads. Most of the time, when we ask someone (either child, teen or adult) what they were thinking when they were feeling angry, they say “Nothing”.
Regardless of whether this is true or not (and I do not believe that it is!), the fact is that if they can control their thoughts, they will essentially control their feelings. For example, if my best friend just asked my boyfriend out, it is difficult to be angry if I am saying to myself, “Well, at least she has found someone caring to talk to” or “He is wonderful the way he helps people solve their problems”. It is only if I say, “She should not have rung him behind my back”, or “He should not have agreed to go” that I would be feeling infuriated with either of them.

Tip Four. Notice your own language. Do you say to the children (or to yourself) phrases such as “That was really stupid” or “What an idiot” or “I’m never any good at that”? Each of these phrases – even said in jest – are negative and model poor thinking habits. In my practice I tell people that “mud sticks” and even if you think it is funny referring to yourself as a “weirdo”, you end up believing it, and so do those around you! It is extremely important that you change YOUR language so you can model more appropriate ways to speak about yourself. This does NOT mean that you have to say something that is not true. An example for me would be not saying that I am a dreadful cook. It is better for me to say something less negative such as “I do not enjoy cooking” or “Cooking is not a strength of mine, but I can set the table beautifully!”. But for me to start saying “I am a great cook” is not only a lie, but an unhelpful statement because everyone in my family knows that it is inaccurate, and if I really chose to believe what I said, then every evening I would “fail” and it would simply reinforce negative thinking patterns. I would much rather one of my children to say (and think) “I did not do well in my maths test yesterday” than to say “I am useless at maths”, so it is vital that I model this behaviour too!

The bottom line is for us as parents, teachers or guardians of children and teens to be mindful of what we are demonstrating to those in our care. The risk of depression is considerably high, and it is important for us to help reduce these statistics in the future by doing some work on ourselves today.

If you or a loved one is currently suffering from depression, I would recommend you seek advice firstly from your doctor, and then contact a psychologist for individual advice or strategies to help with your child, teen or yourself. The Australian Government introduced an initiative for people with mental illness (such as depression or anxiety) to qualify for a Mental Health Care Plan from your doctor which enables a partial rebate for sessions with various allied health professionals. Check first if you meet this criterion. However, you do NOT need a doctor’s referral to see a psychologist.

Sally-Anne McCormack is a Melbourne psychologist, former teacher, and a mother of 4. She is currently writing books on depression and parenting gifted children, and has 2 fabulous websites: http://www.psychonline.com.au/ and http://www.parentsonline.com.au/ which offer advice, resources and email newsletters. Sally-Anne is registered as a media spokesperson for the Australian Psychological Society (A.P.S.) and is a committee member of ADAVIC. She has practices in Blackburn and Burwood East and can be contacted via email (psychonline@optusnet.com.au) or by telephone (03) 881 22 373.

Abolish Anxiety!!!

WEB PSYCHOLOGIST - HEALTH TIPS

By Sally-Anne McCormack
Dip T (Psych Maj); Postgrad Dip Psych (Ed); B Ed; M Psych (Ed & Dev)
Psychologist M.A.P.S.

Abolish Anxiety

If you are receiving this newsletter, then you have undoubtedly had some issues with anxiety yourself or someone you love. Anxiety does not just disturb us mentally it has physical side effects as well. For example, when I begin to feel anxious, I notice that I scrunch my fingers and toes. I am starting to get arthritis in these extremities and it therefore LITERALLY can be painfully obvious when this is happening! For some people, there are other symptoms which may include things like having a dry mouth, shaky voice, profuse sweating, jelly legs, racing heart, flushed face, butterflies in the stomach, and various others.

These signs are a great way of having anxiety brought to our attention. Sometimes we may feel anxious but not even realise it. For example, there have been times where I have thought that I am going along well, but suddenly notice that my heart rate is increasing and my fingers hurt. At this point I ask myself the question – “What is going on in my head right now?”. I might be thinking that the person I am meeting might be disappointed with me. If they know me, they might think that I have “let myself go”. If we have never met, they may be expecting someone smarter / taller / thinner / darker / older (or whatever else I believe they may value), then I might feel like a failure. So my next question to myself is – “What is the likelihood of this being true?” to get a more realistic view of the situation.

Once I work out what I am thinking (which may take me a while, because often it is not obvious, and I have to guess at my thoughts!), then I can change them to something more helpful to me. For example, if I am giving a talk, and I think that someone is nodding off because my presentation is really boring, is that helping me to do better? What are the other possibilities? They may simply be really tired, they may have been dragged there by an enthusiastic partner, or they really MAY be bored with my talk. Does that mean EVERYONE finds it boring? Or is it simply that I cannot please everyone, so I can continue to try hard to educate the other 99% of people who are listening. Focusing on the one “failure” is unhelpful to my work, so I try to reduce my anxiety levels by thinking of another reason that is just as valid.

So, here are some health tips to help YOU abolish anxiety:

Tip One. Deep Breathing. Take in a slow, deep breath, hold it briefly, then slowly let it go. I generally tell clients to breathe in to the count of 5, hold, then count backwards from 5 at the same pace. Repeat this 5 times. It is even more helpful if you can actively try to relax every muscle in your body as you breathe out!

Tip Two. Helpful Thinking. Instead of ruminating about all the things that can or have gone wrong, consciously focus your attention on the things that are going right. For example, if you spill the milk for the second time today, remind yourself of how many other things you have been near but have NOT knocked over today. Or that you didn’t break the cup. One of these thoughts will make you feel frustrated or depressed, the others will make you feel more positive about yourself. It is your choice!

Tip Three. Set Aside a Specific “Worry Time”. It is not going to help me to worry about how little preparation I have done for the exam I am going to complete next week. I cannot change that right now as I am about to start work, but I can certainly set aside half an hour after I finish work to problem-solve (or at least acknowledge my predicament). Worrying about it at work does not “fix” it, but could potentially cause me some problems with my boss if my mind is not on the task all day.

Tip Four. Address Anxiety Immediately. As soon as you become aware of your body’s physical state (ie. the signs listed at the beginning of this article), address your thoughts straight away! Do not let yourself continue with the negative thinking pattern because it may become a habit and increase your anxiety levels over time. Take control as best as you can!

Tip Five. Relax. Give yourself some time to do something that you enjoy, concentrate on something calm and peaceful (perhaps visualise yourself in a relaxing place if you do not have the opportunity to go anywhere), and allow yourself the time to unwind physically and mentally after an event.

Tip Six. Learn to Say “NO”. If we allow ourselves to become overcommitted, then we lose time, energy and focus. Saying “No” does not mean rejecting everything and everyone, it simply means getting to know your own limitations and not allowing others to impose their agenda on you. Saying “No” means just setting boundaries, and most people respect us for this.

Tip Seven . Seek Help From Others. If you find that your anxiety is too difficult for you to manage, then it probably time to enlist friends and family to help you. If you are still having difficulty coping, then make an appointment to speak to your doctor. He or she will determine how best to treat you and put you on the right track.

So now back to my arthritis. I could choose to see this as the worst possible thing that could happen to me. I have always dreaded paper cuts and splinters because I hate pain. However, rather than viewing this as a negative (which could be one way of seeing this degenerative condition), I see it as my early warning system for anxiety (I actually scrunch when I am angry as well, so I feel pain then too). I put all of this into perspective – I am not in pain while I am keeping still, I am extremely fortunate to have lived many years virtually pain free, I have a reliable “early-warning system” for when I am experiencing heightened negative emotions, AND I trust that the medical system will continue researching this common condition and over the years there will be better management and pain-relief as I get older. So you see – all is good J!

Sally-Anne McCormack from WebPsychologist is a Melbourne psychologist, media consultant, author, former teacher and a mother of 4. Her first book -“Stomp Out The ANTs” – for people with anxiety and depression will be launched in March 2010. You can purchase advanced copies through any of her 3 informative websites: www.WebPsychologist.com.au , www.CyberPsych.com.au and www.ParentsOnline.com.au which offer advice, resources and FREE email newsletters.

Sally-Anne is registered as a media spokesperson with the Australian Psychological Society (A.P.S.). She has practices in Blackburn and Burwood East, runs adult and child/teen groups for depression, anxiety and insomnia, sees individual clients. Sally-Anne also offers online counselling (although it is not covered by Medicare).
She can be contacted via email (sally-anne@optusnet.com.au) or by telephone (03) 881 22 373.