Slip Psychology

18/06/2026

When emotions don't get expressed, they don't disappear. They tend to go somewhere.

For some people that's chronic tension in the body. For others it's a general flatness - not sad exactly, just... not quite present. For others it comes out sideways - irritability, snapping at small things, feeling overwhelmed by things that "shouldn't" bother them.

Suppression is often learned early - in families or environments where certain feelings weren't welcome, or where keeping the peace mattered more than honesty.

The good news is that what was learned can, with time and the right support, be unlearned.

🌿

- Kirra, Registered Psychologist

💬 Not a crisis service. For urgent support: 000 or Lifeline 13 11 14.
Education and entertainment only. Not a substitute for psychological support.

18/06/2026

"Getting support doesn't mean something is seriously wrong with you. It means you've decided to stop white-knuckling it alone."

There's a version of strength that looks like handling everything yourself, indefinitely, without asking for anything.

And there's another kind - the kind that knows when it's time to reach out.

Both take courage. Only one is sustainable. 🌿

- Kirra, Registered Psychologist

💬 Not a crisis service. For urgent support: 000 or Lifeline 13 11 14.
Education and entertainment only. Not a substitute for psychological support.

18/06/2026

Perfectionism often gets mistaken for high standards. And sometimes it is.

But it can also be a way of managing anxiety - if everything is done well enough, nothing bad can happen. If I don't make mistakes, I won't be criticised. If I'm always on top of things, I'll stay safe.

The exhausting part is that the bar keeps moving. There's no version of "done" that actually feels like enough.

A question worth sitting with: are your standards motivating you, or are they protecting you from something?

Both can be true at the same time. 🌿

- Kirra, Registered Psychologist

💬 Not a crisis service. For urgent support: 000 or Lifeline 13 11 14.
Education and entertainment only. Not a substitute for psychological support.

18/06/2026

There’s a reason it feels so clear in the room and so slippery the moment you leave.

In session, you’re supported. Someone’s helping you slow down, find the words, hold the insight steady long enough to actually take it in. Out in the world - mid-conversation, mid-conflict, mid-everything - that scaffolding disappears, and the old pattern is right there waiting, faster and more familiar than the new one.

That’s not a sign therapy “isn’t working.” It’s what learning any new skill looks like. You don’t hear a concept once and rewire decades of habit on the spot. The skill needs reps - in real moments, under real pressure, including the ones where you completely forget it until five minutes too late and think “oh, that’s what she meant.”

Each time you almost remember, or remember halfway through, or only catch it in hindsight - that’s still progress being logged, even when it doesn’t feel like it in the moment. 🌿

- Kirra, Registered Psychologist

…

💬 Not a crisis service. For urgent support: 000 or Lifeline 13 11 14.

Education and entertainment only. Not a substitute for psychological support.

18/06/2026

The funny version of the story is usually the one that’s safe to tell.

The version with good comedic timing. The self-deprecating angle. The bit that gets a laugh instead of a wince. It’s a way of sharing something real without having to actually feel it while you’re sharing it.

In emotion-focused work, that gap is often the most interesting part - not the story itself, but the distance you’ve put between yourself and what it actually felt like at the time.

When a therapist responds with something like “I’m sorry that happened to you” instead of laughing along, it’s not about correcting your sense of humour. It’s an invitation to notice that underneath the joke, there might be a feeling that never quite got room to exist. Sadness, fear, anger - whatever didn’t get expressed at the time because humour was the safer container for it.

That doesn’t mean you have to stop finding things funny. It just means there’s often more available underneath, if and when you’re ready to feel it rather than narrate it. 🌿

- Kirra, Registered Psychologist

…

💬 Not a crisis service. For urgent support: 000 or Lifeline 13 11 14.

Education and entertainment only. Not a substitute for psychological support.

18/06/2026

17/06/2026

Something that comes up a lot in therapy: the way we learned to love as children tends to become the blueprint we use as adults.

If love felt unpredictable - warm sometimes, distant other times - the body often learns to stay on alert. To scan for signs things might change. To hold on tightly or pull away before getting hurt.

None of that is a character flaw. It's an adaptation. A very logical response to an early environment.

The part worth getting curious about, gently, is whether that same pattern is still showing up now - in your relationships, at work, in the way you respond when someone gets close.

Awareness is usually the first step. 🌿

- Kirra, Registered Psychologist

💬 Not a crisis service. For urgent support: 000 or Lifeline 13 11 14.
Education and entertainment only. Not a substitute for psychological support.

17/06/2026

Anyone else find it genuinely hard to say "I need a minute" without immediately following it with an explanation, a justification, and a small apology?

The idea that your needs require a defence brief before they're allowed to exist is something a lot of people relate to - especially if you grew up in an environment where being "easy" was safer than being honest.

You don't owe anyone a detailed rationale for needing rest, space, or support.

That's just... being human. 🌿

- Kirra, Registered Psychologist

💬 Not a crisis service. For urgent support: 000 or Lifeline 13 11 14.
Education and entertainment only. Not a substitute for psychological support.

17/06/2026

Something worth knowing about burnout - it doesn't always arrive all at once.

For a lot of people, it builds slowly. First you're just tired. Then you're tired and a bit flat. Then you're tired, flat, and quietly dreading most of the things on your calendar - including the things you used to enjoy.

By the time most people recognise it, they've been in it for a while.

A few things that can creep in before the "big crash" that often go unnoticed:

- Feeling irritable at things that wouldn't normally bother you
- Finding it harder to concentrate or make decisions
- Withdrawing from people, even ones you care about
- Losing your sense of humour or lightness
- Feeling like you're going through the motions, but not actually present

If any of those land - it doesn't mean something is permanently wrong. It might just mean something needs attention.

- Kirra, Registered Psychologist

💬 Not a crisis service. For urgent support: 000 or Lifeline 13 11 14.
Education and entertainment only. Not a substitute for psychological support.