Your August Carer Support Guide 🌿

August 2026 | One Door Mental Health

Your August support network: Education sessions, peer groups, and wellness resources.
Hoping all are well and keeping warm.
To remind all our normal working days are:
Elli - Tue, Wed, Thur, Fri.
Shorter work days Tue, Thur, Fri. 
Mel - Week 1 Tue & Wed. Week 2 Tue, Wed, Thur. 
Daryn - Mon, Tue, Wed. 
Tendai - Wed, Thur, Fri.

Contacts
Elli Purchase 0459 023 781. 
Melinda Paulauskas 0466 560 233
Daryn Steer 0400 498 479
Tendai Chageza 0498 953 920

📅 What's On This Month
RSVP links are included with each event.

Online Education Session
Monday 25th, 6:30pm
Developing Communication Skills
RSVP → Isabelle

Support Groups This Month

Tuesday 4th, 10:30am
Carer Sound Healing
RSVP → Mel | Daryn

Wednesday 12th, 10:00am
Morisset Support Group
RSVP → Mel

Monday 17th, 6:00pm
Wallsend After Hours Support Group
RSVP → Mel | Daryn

Tuesday 18th, 10:30am
Carer Sound Healing
RSVP → Mel | Daryn

Wednesday 19th, 10:30am
Newcastle Support Group
RSVP → Mel

Wednesday 19th, 10:30am
Port Stephens Support Group
RSVP → Elli

Thursday 20th, 10:00am
Maitland Support Group
RSVP → Elli

Thursday 27th, 10:00am
Wallsend Support Group
RSVP → Elli | Mel

Mark your calendar: Saturday  3rd October 2026
2026 Mental Health Wellness Walk & Expo
By One Door Mental Health and Lake Macquarie and Newcastle Suicide Prevention Network
Join us for a day of community, connection, and wellness. More details coming soon!
Volunteer opportunity: Help make this event a success and connect with fellow carers. 
Email Daryn to volunteer

Newcastle – Strong and Social

Find friendship and support on your mental health journey.
This welcoming peer-led group is open to people experiencing mental health challenges, their carers, and supporters. Connect with others who truly understand, build lasting friendships, and strengthen your recovery through weekly social activities.
Led by Troy — a peer with lived experience who knows the power of community.

Taking your power back
is a proactive process of shifting focus from external circumstances and other people to your own thoughts, emotions, and actions. It involves reclaiming your sovereignty, establishing boundaries, and acting as the author of your own life rather than a victim of situations.

Here are specific self-practices to take your power back, organized by theme:

Mindset and Cognitive Practices
Reframe Your Language: Replace "I have to" with "I choose to." Acknowledge that you are making a conscious choice rather than acting as a victim of circumstances.
Acceptance of Reality: Stop resisting what is happening. Surrendering to the truth of a situation allows you to make effective, empowered counter-moves rather than wasting energy on denial.
"Let Them" Theory: When you cannot control a situation or person, stop trying to When you cannot control a situation or person, stop trying to make them happy. "Let them" do what they will, allowing you to protect your peace.
Stop Complaining: Complaining keeps you focused on the problem and implies a lack of power. Shift to problem-solving, which reaffirms your ability to make changes.
Third-Person Self-Talk: When triggered, talk to yourself in the third person (e.g., ", you have the strength to face this") to create distance from intense emotions and view situations more objectively.

Emotional and Internal Practices
Process Your Emotions: Do not repress anger or sadness. Allow yourself to feel what comes up, as unprocessed emotions can lead to emotional breakdowns.
Practice Forgiveness: Forgive others, not because they deserve it, but to release the heavy emotional anchor of resentment. Holding a grudge gives away your power to the person who harmed you.
Emotional Ownership: Accept responsibility for your own feelings. Do not give others the power to dictate your emotions by saying they "made you" feel bad.

Physical and Somatic Practices
Grounding: When caught up in your head, bring your attention to your feet on the floor. Feel your body and the physical sensations to bring your energy back into the present moment.
Breathwork: Use deep, intentional belly breaths to stimulate the vagus nerve and bring your nervous system into a calm, stable state.
Movement: Regularly move your body (exercise, dance, yoga) to release stored tension, emotions, and stress

Boundary and Action Practices
Set Clear Boundaries: Establish firm physical and emotional boundaries. If you feel overwhelmed, it is usually a sign of a boundary issue.
 Say "No": Say "no" to things you do not want to do without guilt. This is one of the most direct ways to claim your power.
Stop People-Pleasing: Realize that your self-worth does not depend on others' opinions. Evaluate the merit of criticism rather than automatically accepting it.
Curate Your Information Intake: Avoid consuming media that causes fear or makes you feel disempowered.

Daily Self-Aid Checklist
 Journaling: Use a journal to process thoughts and feelings, especially when navigating difficult, "powerless" situations.
Daily Intentions: Start each morning by setting a "mission" for your day rather than immediately checking your phone.
Spend Time Alone: Devote time to your own thoughts to counteract the influence of others' ideas.
A Key Reminder: Taking back your power is not a one-time event, but a lifelong practice that requires patience and self-compassion.

Your Feedback Matters
One Door Mental Health values feedback and recognises that opportunities to improve services and delivery of services arise from receipt of feedback in the form of compliments, comments and complaints.  
One Door Mental Health’s Compliments, Comments and Complaints Policy is to ensure all feedback is captured and processed in a way that reconciles the interests of clients and One Door Mental Health whilst ensuring expectations of fairness are met. Feedback is used to improve our services and practices.
Click the button below to give feedback.