I had a pretty hard time at school with bullies. They used to chase me home every day. I had nightmares, I was terrified, and nobody seemed to know how to help or what to do about it.
When I was in high school, I was having a think about how miserable I had been as a little kid having to invent my own coping skills.
It really bothered me that there was no one to teach me how to cope – how to ‘get my head together” as we expressed it in the sixties.
From that revelation, sitting on my living room floor, I vowed that I would do something to help people who were in mental or emotional pain.
After 25 years in the media where I had a fantastic career, culminating in being the first woman in Australia to rate No. 1 in prime time talk radio, I quit and went to University to study Behavioural Science, followed by Health Psychology where the emphasis is on general wellbeing and counselling.
After eight years of study and training, I became a registered psychologist and certified trainer and was on my way to realizing my dream of making information about coping with life available to those who needed it – preferably BEFORE they needed it, so they’d be prepared for life’s mental and emotional challenges, as well as the physical ones we’re automatically taught (clean your teeth – don’t touch the hot stove – wash every day - and so on).
The Talking Room offers a variety of ways to do this, for grown-ups, kids, in the workplace and in many other ways.
Do you have a story to share about how knowing how to cope could have helped you, or maybe changed your life?
I know I wouldn’t have had to go through a lot of pain and fear if I’d known what to do – or if my parents and teachers had known how to help.
If you’d like to share your story, or make a comment about this or any other topic raised in The Talking Room, I would be delighted to hear from you.