Page 20 - PR Mag June18

RSPCA Launches: Operation Wanted Dear Alice

Now in its 5th year, Operation Wanted is a joint 3 month State-wide animal desexing campaign driven by RSPCA Qld, participating
vets and local councils. Starting on June 1, 2018, participating vets will be offering their local communities 20% off dog and
cat desexing.
“Every year we have a terrific reaction from Queensland residents and we’d like to thank participating vets and councils that have
already signed up again in 2018 to offer the discount. It’s the vets and the shire councils who help drive the campaign in their
communities and make it a success,” said RSPCA Qld spokesperson Michael Beatty.
Last year it’s estimated around 20,000 animals were desexed in Queensland during the campaign which equated to 10,000 extra
animals being desexed as a direct result.
“This year we’re hoping to top that number,” continued Mr Beatty. “There is a massive pet over- population all over Queensland and
of course Australia. Over 50,000 animals come into our care every year and the vast majority of the domestic animals have not been
desexed. We’ve got to get the message out there.”
“Plus of course the reason we have such a massive feral cat and wild dog population is because people were not and are not
desexing their pets. These animals dramatically impact on the environment.”
“Anything that responsible pet owners can do to reduce this threat to our native wildlife – both in our national parks and in our own
backyards – will help to make a real difference to our environment and this simple desexing procedure is a very good place to start.”

There are many benefits associated with pet desexing which pet owners may not be aware of:
• No risk of unwanted litters
• Reduces their desire to roam
• Reduces the risk of some cancers
• Reduces other unwanted behaviours such as urine spraying (cats) How to be Confident
• Cheaper Council registration fees
• Allows pets to be happier and more relaxed

To register for a 20% discount and to find a participating vet near you, visit - www.operationwanted.com.au Dear Alice,

Thanks for taking the time to listen today. I read your column as often as it comes and I am often struck by your confidence in yourself.
I have struggled with this my entire life, and it has bled through everything in my journey: career choices, relationships, personal
perspective - even involvement in daily conversations.
How do you maintain or even build a positive level of self-worth when your brain tells you perpetually that you aren’t considered
attractive to anyone; that you aren’t worth the time; that who you are and what you want to stand for isn’t even worth considering,
despite close family and friends telling you otherwise?
Adam
Hi Adam,
Confidence is one of those things that isn’t just a feeling or a behaviour; it is the result of the ongoing practice of positive self-talk and self-
regard, mixed with the accompanying behaviours. You aren’t going to wake up and ‘Be Confident’... but you can pull yourself up on negative
self-talk and actively force yourself to look in the mirror and say ‘I accept you’. When you are consistently looking outwards and comparing
yourself to other people, you end up feeling “less than”; it’s important to hold yourself to your own standards and be content with who
you are today. True confidence is being able to look in your own backyard and say, “I am comfortable with who I am”. Coming from that
space is going to appear more confident to others and you’re going to feel good about who you are at the same time. The best motto for
confidence is: “fake it till you make it”. Because you have been feeling this way for a long time, the neural pathways for that thought train are
going to be set in, so that is why it’s important for you to be strict on your internal monologue. Accepting that your thoughts are just one
perception is going to allow you to question them. Then, you can challenge your thoughts. A good trick is to think the opposite, so let’s say
that you think to yourself, ‘I stuffed up, I’m worthless’, you can then force yourself to think that, ‘on the contrary, I’m a good person and I tried
my best under the circumstances, and on this occasion, it didn’t work out.’ Even if you don’t believe it, the sheer repetition of the opposite
thought will hopefully balance out the self-doubt in your brain and hopefully take over entirely. You could carry around a journal and when
you notice some negative self-talk, write it down. Then you can write an opposing thought to challenge the negative one. This exercise can
be helpful as you will soon be able to recall the opposing thought more readily if you have written it down. Something else that may be
beneficial is using your friends and loved one’s positive thoughts to contradict your negative ones. If your friend thinks your worthy, use that!
Challenge yourself by asking, “Why is my perception of myself incongruent with my friend’s perception? Do I have any reason not to trust
their perception? What if their belief that I am worthy is true?” These brain exercises are going to turn into positive habits that will assist you
to rewire your brain and build self-worth. Lastly, be the person that you feel you are, accept yourself unconditionally and
focus on living the life that you want to live. Being down on yourself is exhausting and it’s time to get past it and enjoy
your life. For more strategies, a cognitive behavioural therapist would work well. Good luck!
If you’ve got a question for Alice

that you’d like published, email it

to - info@northlakesnow.com.au

June 2018 www.pineriversqld.com.au 21