Welcome to Caroline's Corner, Episode 13 a safe place for unique conversations for people who want to find meaning in their lives and life and share it with others. This will evolve and grow with some amazing and beautiful human beings.
Its lovely yet again to share a beautiful and meaningful conversation with a soulful and amazing lady, Mary McHugh, Director of counsellingonline.ie, first online counselling service in Ireland, she is a mother of 3 and Nana of 4 beautiful darlings, a work colleague and wonderful friend and most of all an every day human being navigating the struggles that life brings.
Our conversation brings us from the wild moorlands and spectacular coastal scenery of Achill Island and across the World!
We have a meaningful and loving conversation about “Counselling on Line”, why and how Mary founded the organisation, the challenges and Marys beliefs that pushed through old rigid ways of thinking in relation to therapy, on line counselling and its benefits, what its like to be a therapist, what therapy can offer, how the therapist, like everyone does not have their shit together and how they can offer a space for people to bring everything – their pain, their suffering, their fears, their anxiety, their shame, their suicidal thoughts, their anger, their rage and how that space, can also allow a person to see the “more than” in themselves – their potential, their possibilities, their resources, their strength, their power.
Mary explains the brain in a way that is hugely understandable and will help anyone in their day to day living especially if their intention is to make peace with their thoughts.
We discuss the bottom line! We have absolutely no control over others, only our own attitudes and responses and ways to develop these and to allow our minds to be at peace more. We talk about ways to self regulate our nervous system when it goes into panic, fight or freeze and when logic, clear thinking, reasoning and empathy goes out the window!
We share both of our experiences over many years, working with beautiful people whose whole being are so crushed that death by suicide has become a regular thought and how no one saves any other persons life, but how we can support someone in this acute and terrifying place, to allow the thoughts move through them.
We chat about the bull shit in systems and in ourselves! The part of al of us “if they really knew me” and in spite of/despite of any given experience or moment, we are all more than that moment and how to tap into what is in all of us – our potential, our goodness, our kindness our hearts, our souls, our humanism
A beautiful conversation that spans across the globe from the moorlands and costal scenery of Achill
“I wonder if you have the patience to wait till the mud settles and an answer will arrive of its own”