After a short spell of illness which caused me to temporarily lose my appetite, I lost weight which as a result, and seemingly overnight, put an end to the negative abuse I received. Instead, I was greeted with comments like “Wow, don’t you look great?’”. I remember feeling seen and acceptable for the first time. I particularly remember a comment from a friend of my brothers who remarked that I was turning from an ‘ugly duckling into a swan’.
Read MoreTaking a relaxed approach is no longer acceptable in my opinion. If we want a beautiful planet to explore, we’ve got to save it. Which may mean taking fewer flights and planning holidays closer to home. If you aren’t prepared to give up your long-haul lusting then why not try and ensure your journeys are as environmentally friendly as possible; making sure there are no stopovers is one option when travelling huge distances. Websites such as ‘Skyscanner’ do the work for you and highlight the green journeys.
Read MoreTime-skip to teen years and everyone else’s crushes were starting to get a bit more practical. I had had a very generic sex-ed class at school, and I had an idea of how “all of that worked”, and while I still felt entitled to say “ugh gross” when my friends mentioned porn, I started realising not experiencing sexual attraction, especially during a literal storm of hormones, wasn’t that common. I already believed there was something wrong with me because I liked men, but this only seemed to make things more complicated.
Read MoreAlcohol plays an enormous part of many student lives. Freshers’ week is essentially a battleground where, after a couple of niceties enquiring where you’re from, what A-Levels you did and what you were studying, you’re sizing each other up over who can neck the most shots in 30 seconds, or who can down the dreaded dirty pint without puking before getting to the club.
Read MoreAlthough interracial relationships are great and, let’s face it, natural, interracial dating experiences are usually tied inextricably with racism. Interactions with some of my partner’s friends have been interesting to say the least…
Read MoreI remember feeling sick to my stomach, going home straight after the lecture and crawling into bed while I bled through my underwear. It would be another four years before I got my endometriosis diagnosis.
Read MoreWhen I was in school I used to self harm. The last time I did it was at university. It’s something I still think about a lot; not that I tell people that but I do still struggle. I still battle with something that feels like a craving; like wanting a cigarette or a glass of wine at the end of a hard day.
Read MoreHere I want to give you a bit of a flavour for the models these experts use to make their decisions. Perhaps, that’ll show you that we are not entirely flying blind. There is strong scientific backing for the steps we are taking for coronavirus, and hopefully, it will be translated into a good plan (although that’s really the job for the politicians).
Read MoreI asked a doctor friend for her thoughts. She said that smear tests, and all other tests for that matter, are so much part of their daily routine that they are focussing on the task, not looking at our bits. ‘One fanny is much like another fanny,’ she cheerfully reassured me, ‘we are so busy we don’t even think about it.’
Read MoreIt would simply cease to exist if I hadn’t given up dieting and discovered Intuitive Eating, which is a philosophy that pivots on honouring your hunger and eating what you want to. I used to think my hunger was the enemy: a devious scheming bastard whose calling card was an empty Penguin wrapper and a stomach full of guilt.
Read MoreOne hour of allotted time outdoors each day? Ay there’s the rub. When we have shuffled off this mortal coil - that is, out of quarantine - no doubt we’ll think back to how much shuffling we actually got done. The question on everyone’s lips: to be or not to be a pandemic-jogger.
Read MoreI suppose it is to be expected that the older you get the more the dynamics of your friendship group change. People very rarely keep in touch with the friends they had when they were 18 or 19 when they are 30. But nobody tells you what it’s like when you’re only in your mid-20’s and you’re already losing touch with friends who you thought you’d have another few decades with.
Read MoreThis simple game is a well used tool in many therapist's box of tricks, it’s an invaluable way of seeing the world differently. A shield against the daily grind. It’s the ultimate silver lining, I find it helpful to seek it out. I may not meditate, I can’t get into yoga, but I practice positivity every single day.
Read MoreCelebrity culture. The ultimate ruse. Our most palatable form of capitalism: ultra-rich and beautiful, they make money from our idealistic obsessions, and we are constantly gagging for it.
Read MoreI think it is agreed by all parties that the prodigious number of smokers in the smoking area is, in the present deplorable state of the kingdom, a very great additional grievance. Therefore, whoever could find out a fair, cheap and easy method of making smokers sound and useful members of the commonwealth, would deserve so well of the public, as to have his statue set up for a preserver of the nation.
Read MoreI know something is wrong, so we take my friend’s Mum car and as we walk up the hill and around the corner we see two ambulances and several police cars. I run towards the house and am stopped in my tracks by a policeman - ‘you can’t go that way you don’t want to see that’… but I am looking for Dad. ‘He’s gone’ I am told.
Read MoreWe abuse our planet like a toddler rampaging through its mother’s home, oblivious and unwilling to relent upon its mindless pleasure. This is not new. Since our dawn we have been a family fuelled by greed and competition… only now these notions hold global consequence; hunting one too many dodos has become the degradation of the foundations of planetary health, unfortunately invisible to the biggest culprits - me and you.
Read MoreThe winter sun is streaming through the window, I sit with my coffee and edit the photographs I took at last weekends’ monthly drag show. Each photograph I bring up on the screen is a reminder of the wonderful people that I get to work with, hang out with and call my friends. It’s a reminder of how far I have come
Read MoreA friend once told me she doesn’t want to go to any group gatherings anymore ‘if a bunch of motherfuckers become mathematicians when the bill comes’ … and that got me thinking.
Read MoreIt is too easy in these modern times to cruise the internet’s infinite avenues of information; to scroll, and tap, and swipe; to fall victim to endless rabbit holes that produce more questions than answers: what to watch? What to read? What podcast to listen to?
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