Looking after your mental health during this year’s bushfire season

The festive season is a time when many people travel to reconnect with families and friends and take time out to relax and recharge after a busy year. It’s often when new year resolutions are made – a time to clear the slate and start afresh in a new year. 

However, it can also be a tough time for many people. It can highlight loneliness and disconnection, losses and disappointments experienced during the year. 

This past festive season has brought extra challenges with bushfires. Scenes of dead animals, devastated communities, and thick smoke blanketing cities and communities can be distressing. Many people have postponed holidays and travel or cut summer outdoor activities short to avoid the fires and smoke haze.

© Gab Tydd Therapy 2020

These factors can contribute to experiences like anxiety, grief and a general sense of helplessness.

During times like these it can be helpful to talk with a counsellor who can support you to make sense of these experiences. Counselling can help you to work through concerns and worries with an objective listener, to prevent feeling overwhelmed.

If this sounds like something you, or someone you know, may benefit from book a free, no obligation 15-minute introductory phone call to learn more.

Gab Tydd

I am a professionally qualified counsellor and therapist based in Newtown, NSW. I support individuals, including people in the creative industries to find more helpful ways to cope with stress and to more effectively communicate with people in their lives – at work, at home and in social interactions.

I also support individuals who are feeling stuck or finding it difficult to navigate through challenging times and transitions in their lives, including the transition to a new life stage.

I am passionate about helping individuals to become more aware of their personal strengths and values to help navigate through life more clearly. I am also passionate about helping individuals to move beyond a life lived in fear to live the best life they can.