Opinion – why it’s time we ditched the phrase ‘summer body’
Perpetuating the toxic narrative that we need to alter our physical form for a season is having a serious toll on our mental health. Here’s why we should put the notion behind us once and for all. Trigger Warning: this article contains mention of eating disorders. Every year, as the warmer...
Current in Wellness
Ariana Grande is giving away $2 million in free therapy
The singer has partnered with a mental health support organisation to encourage today’s youth to seek help without feeling judged. On Tuesday, long-time mental health advocate Ariana Grande took to Instagram to announce that she’s giving away $2 million in free therapy to the public. The sizeable contribution has been made...
The IUD debate proves female pain is seldom taken seriously
Women have begun sharing harrowing stories of their experiences with the contraceptive device on social media, saying they felt under cared-for and misinformed during the insertion process. It’s inherently clear that women find it much harder than men to have their bodies understood within the medical sphere. Last month, responding to...
The pandemic-induced mental health crisis needs more attention
A recent report suggests we're facing ‘the greatest threat to mental health since the second world war,’ and a potential ‘tsunami’ of psychological problems, with Gen Z among the worst affected. It’s no secret that the impact of the pandemic - global devastation, millions of deaths, economic strife, and unprecedented...
Is ‘wearable ketamine’ the future of pain management?
A biomedical start-up is currently developing a wearable Bluetooth device that administers ketamine like an insulin pump to fight opioid addiction and treat chronic pain. In light of new findings that psychedelic drugs could transform mental health, scientists and researchers alike are persisting with their dedication to change our minds...
Netflix’s ‘Guide to Meditation’ aims to alleviate the stress of 2020
After a turbulent year, Netflix is helping subscribers to breath, unwind, and reset for 2021 with an original series dubbed ‘Headspace: Guide to Meditation.’ When it comes to evoking a sense of FOMO, 2020 has been the ultimate adversary chiefly because, thanks to the pandemic, everyone has been missing out...
The extraordinary medical potential of psychedelic drugs
Could psychedelics transform mental health? A growing number of scientists have begun asking whether mind-altering drugs such as DMT, magic mushrooms, and LSD may also have the potential to help treat anxiety, addiction, and depression. In the first study of its kind, UK regulators have given dimethyltriptamine (DMT) the green light for clinical trial into its effectiveness in treating patients with depression. Known for inducing powerful trips, the hallucinogenic is...
The gender health gap: women’s bodies shouldn’t be a medical mystery
The most worrying trend in female healthcare research is the lack of it. Women (defined here as both female-identifying people, and people with wombs) have always found it much harder than men to have their bodies defined in the medical sphere. Given that histories are recorded and circumstances dictated by men, it’s not surprising that womanhood is ‘othered’ in our self-definition as a species - pushed to the boundaries...
Diet companies encouraging post-isolation weight-loss is triggering
First, there were the memes. Then, there were the challenges. Now, in the seemingly never-ending quest for 'perfection,' diet companies have begun banking on our lockdown weight-gain concerns to make money. In the wake of recent bids for increased legislation surrounding social media’s fueling of a mental health crisis, I’ve been additionally questioning the toxicity of diet companies and their marketing methods. ‘If you’ve come out of lockdown feeling concerned...
Selena Gomez’s ‘Rare Beauty’ to raise $100 million for mental health initiatives
The singer's highly anticipated celebrity beauty and skincare brand has launched a fund connecting under-represented communities with mental health services. Long criticised for its perpetuation of problematic body image standards, the beauty industry remains in the early stages of addressing its complicity. From the get-go it’s been the small, independent brands like Nue Co. and Hum Nutrition at the forefront of the conversation, maintaining transparency when discussing the mental health...
