in a hard month, this helped
Kia ora koutou (hello all!),
Wowza, my family has had a hard few months. As we settle our health and our hearts, I wanted to share a few things that helped me this season.
Things That Helped During A Hard Few Months
Books
These books served as a sanctuary and/or a welcome distraction.
- Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke - compulsively readable, delicious and decadent. Lead to lots of good book club convo.
- Shout out to the Diabolical Lies podcast - co-led by Yesteryear's author, Caro Claire Burke & Katie Gatti Tassin. I cannot overstate how addictive-ly consumable and thought-provoking this podcast is, especially recommended for white* women interested in a well-researched feminist, capitalist-critical, anti-racist discussion of cultural topics including ICE, Taylor Swift, trad wife influencers, and injectables.
- (*white women being more likely to find the anti-racist discussion illuminating while some/most/all black and brown folks would be like 'duh' - but maybe also 'yes!')
- Whistler & her essay collection These Precious Days by Ann Patchett:
- like a literary warm hug; books about kind, thoughtful people who act in the ways you wish everyone did (honourable mention to Patchett's 2023 Tom Lake)
- When I get stressed, anxious, or scared the compassion can drain out of me, especially over text and email.
- I spent much of the last two months in physical or emotional pain while also wanting to show up for my work and the world with compassion. Secure by Dr Amir Levine felt like the cheat code to do that. Here are my two favourite bits:
- Clear guideposts for secure responding: CARRP or Consistent, Available, Responsive, Reliable, Predictable. This became my checklist when I was trying to interact like a mature human while also depleted.
- The power of SIMIS or seemingly insignificant minor interactions of everyday life. Yes, that 5 minute conversation with my friend helps. Yes, a teeny interaction with the quirky librarian is a boost.
Apps
The Tapping Solution app - there's a free "Tapping For Pain" guided sequence and yes I definitely started crying the first time the guide invited me to repeat I wonder what I can learn from this pain. Phew.
Photo Dump
As always, among the challenges there were lots of great moments:
- Taylor Swift got married,
- I gave a well attended talk at the beautiful recently reopened Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui Central Library,
- we hiked in a goblin forest and enjoyed dark skies,
- and I found lots of funny and useful things online.
Kerry Working
- You can hear me on the Mindform podcast talking about burnout: found on YouTube, Apple, and Spotify. Notice how tight and pressured my voice sounds in the opener? I was really uncomfortable for the first chunk of this interview but settled into more normal Kerry mode midway through.
- Please join me for a 90 minute webinar "ACT For Burnout" hosted by ACT Wellington. Let me copy paste from the advertising lol
What is different about Kerry’s approach to burnout?
She actively engages the tension between the very real system-level drivers of burnout and the reality that meaningful relief often begins with individual change.
She helps clinicians understand the connection between values and vulnerabilities—and why this matters for resilience and returning to work post-burnout.
This fully revised 2026 training includes two important additions:
integrated shame and moral injury interventions, essential for those working in high-risk and service-focused professions
a review of cognitive distortions common among helpers that fuel burnout (and what to do about them)
Here's to rainbows, the knowledge that the sun will come out tomorrow, and the truth that reconnecting with our power and agency is only ever a few steps away.
Arohanui and love to you all.
- Kerry