I’m Amy Kate – the proud founder and owner of The Mindful Collective. If you’re wondering how we came about, grab a cup of tea because I’d love to tell you our story!
I completed the Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours) program at the University of Queensland and then tackled the Masters of Psychology (Educational and Developmental) program at the Queensland University of Technology.
During this time I began blogging on amykateisaacs.com.au but there was something niggling at the back of my mind. I continued dreaming about bigger and brighter ideas. During 2015 I realised that I wanted to decrease the stress levels of as many wonderful women and girls as I could. That’s it!
The Australian Psychological Society’s 2015 Psychology Week survey report of the previous five years had some key findings that spurred me into action:
- Younger people (18-25 years) have consistently reported lower levels of wellbeing than older Australians;
- 35% of Australians report having a significant level of distress in their lives;
- Personal health (44%) and trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle (40%) were some of the most frequently identified reasons for Australians experiencing stress;
- Increased use of coping strategies that cause other life stresses was noted (like gambling, smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol and taking recreational drugs).
For inspiration, I tried to find websites and blogs that had a mix of science-based information and incredible stories (with a splash of honesty and humour) regarding wellness, stress-reduction, compassion, empowerment, health, relationships and mindfulness but came up a little short. I decided I had to create something to fill this void!
So, The Mindful Collective was created – advocating for (and making accessible in a fun and authentic way) the use of mindfulness and other stress-reduction techniques while also discussing other health and wellness topics.
Mindfulness has been defined as moment-to-moment, non-reactive, non-judgmental awareness by Jon Kabat-Zinn. If you’re wondering ‘who is Jon?!’ initially I was thinking the same thing as well! He is the founding Executive Director of the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School AND he is also the founding director of its renowned Stress Reduction Clinic and Professor of Medicine emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. But that is enough about mindfulness for now, you can read more about that in the blog!
Location
Kelvin Grove, Australia
Website
Facebook page: The Mindful Collective
