Latest Stories from Olivia
How can sleep make us happier?
Our generation has heaps of responsibility on its shoulders – so much so that we might often forget the most important tool to get through the day is high-quality sleep. With the first day of spring, the Hindu festival of colours, Holi, pancake day, and international happiness day, March is always bursting with reasons to celebrate. But one celebration that a lot of people often overlook is World Sleep Day. Every...
You decide – is it possible to get rid of anxiety?
With increasing social media pressure, global conflict, the climate crisis, low employment rates and rising energy costs, young people have a lot to be anxious about today. But must we live with anxiety, or can we train our bodies to expel it? If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve experienced anxiety at least once before. Anxiety is feeling uneasy; it’s having a mild – or severe – fear about something that...
Diabetes doesn’t have to lead to disordered eating
Those diagnosed with type 1 diabetes are more than twice as likely to experience an eating disorder than people without, yet specialists continue to encourage carbohydrate-counting and food logging. How can diabetics avoid sliding down the slippery slope of disordered eating? Finding a balance between the right intake of food versus insulin is a dilemma diabetics face from the very outset of their diagnosis. So it’s only natural that, at...
Seven diabetes myths debunked
While diabetes can be traced back to Egypt in 1550 BC, the condition is still deeply misunderstood nearly 4,000 years later. Here are a few common misconceptions, debunked. Technology and the internet are removing the mystery surrounding diabetes for both Type 1 and Type 2 patients. With information always available at our fingertips, online communities spanning the globe, and body monitors tracking our blood sugar at all moments of the day,...
Opinion – How I came to terms with Type 1 diabetes
Getting diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 21 was nothing short of life-changing, but in a matter of weeks I have learned there is a silver lining to everything – even chronic health conditions. ‘There will be moments where you’ll think: “Why me?” but you can’t think that way. Because there is no “why” and this is just something that is now part of what makes you, you.’ My nurse, Dorcas,...
Where are we with climate education?
This month, the world celebrates International Day of Education. But as the climate crisis continues to approach us, where does it sit in our curriculums and why is it ever more critical that we teach our children how to tackle it? I still remember the first time I learned of climate change. Although, back then, it was more widely known as global warming. It was during a rainy science lesson in...
Opinion – Italian art must acknowledge its powerful women
The proposed erection of a statue celebrating the world’s first woman to get a PhD has sparked backlash across Italy. Should society still be allowed to debate the creation of art that salutes the female gender? In 1678, Elena Cornaro Piscopia became the first-ever woman to receive a PhD. In 1776, the city of Padua, where she had lived and died, decided to erect 88 statues of all its important,...
Exclusive — Meeting deaf YouTuber Jazzy Whipps
Jazzy Whipps, 22, was born profoundly deaf in both ears. After years of not being represented in British media, she took to YouTube herself and started a platform dedicated to deaf UK culture. It’s midday and Jazzy Whipps pops up on the Zoom screen. She waves at me with a full smile and a black hairband holds back her blonde waves. Her interpreter is running late, so we communicate via...
