New Year’s Resolutions spending: Brits prioritising wellness and personal finance for 2024
1 January 2024 – American Express today released its latest Amex Trendex report, focusing on New Year’s resolutions for 2024. According to UK data, 65% of Brits are likely to set New Year’s resolutions for 2024. 17% of Brits say they typically stick to their resolution for the whole year, lower than the global figure of 26%. 7% of UK respondents tend to only keep up their resolutions for the first week of January, while a further 18% will abandon them before the end of January. Physical wellness is the top focus for resolutions, with 56% of...
read moreThe positive side of an autistic diagnosis, by Julie Day
What are the positive things about my autism diagnosis? I am going to answer a few questions that people asked me about having Asperger’s. I was asked: What are the positive things about my diagnosis? Here they are: 1. As others I know who have been diagnosed late in life, it’s a sense of relief. A relief that, as someone else said, after a life of feeling somehow different, you now know why and have a real reason for being that way. When I was diagnosed in 2011, it felt that all the pieces of my life, esp the negative side (not...
read moreHow to Tell if Social Media Is Harming Your Mental Health By Joanna Mastrocola | January 27, 2023 Medically reviewed by Dr. Nassim Assefi
While social media is an excellent tool for staying in touch with friends and family, finding communities based on interests and communicating quickly, it can also negatively impact mental health. Seventy-two percent of Americans use some form of social media, and many check their social media at least once daily. Studies show that 90 percent of teens ages 13 to 18 have used some form of social media. One report found that 95 percent of teens are engaging with YouTube and 67 percent are on TikTok. As we pay more attention to mental health...
read moreFrom Stigma to Strength: Evolution of Mental Health Discourse, by Erin Lorde
Amidst the evolving discourse surrounding mental health, where stigma and darkness once prevailed, a new dawn is emerging. The journey from stigma to strength has been a gradual evolution, and at each juncture, the narrative surrounding mental health is being reshaped. The generations, once divided by taboos and misunderstanding, are now finding a shared path in their journey toward understanding, acceptance, and healing. Generational Gap Unveiled: Unmasking Stigma For the older generation, raised in an era where conversations about mental...
read moreBreaking the Silence: Addressing Stigma and Mental Health in Chronic Pain, by Erin Lorde
Introduction: Living with chronic pain is an enduring battle faced by a staggering number of people worldwide, affecting over 1.5 billion individuals. This widespread health condition encompasses a diverse range of ailments such as fibromyalgia, arthritis, migraines, and back pain. While the physical consequences of chronic pain are well-documented, its profound impact on mental and emotional well-being is often overlooked. In this article, we’ll explore the imperative of dismantling the stigma surrounding chronic pain and probe into...
read moreIf a ‘normal’ doesn’t exist, what am I socially masking? by Jane McNeice
I am Autistic and I socially mask. I do not choose it, I do it to survive, and in my blog ‘Why I am unable to stop socially masking’ I explain my reasons why. Yes, I hear you, we ALL socially mask – a work mask, a social mask, amongst others. I am not referring to neurotypical social masking, I am referring here to Autistic social masking, it is AMPLIFIED, and it is curated to a level of detail most won’t even comprehend. On the back of my late diagnosis at age 45, I totally recognise my social masking for what it is, and the need for it, and...
read moreI have great concerns about Philip Schofield’s safety from suicide
**HEALTH WARNING – SUICIDE CONTENT** I have great concerns about Philip Schofields safety from suicide. I write as a humanitarian and as a Suicide Intervention provider and trainer. I have just watched the interview with Philip Schofield and even if you remove the most obvious warning sign 1) his reference to knowing how Caroline Flack felt, I saw (at least) four more clear suicide warning signs which were: His appearance and presentation, a broken man if ever I saw one He says he has no future now Loss talk and my own ‘gut’ feeling...
read moreThe benefits of Animal Assisted Therapy
Animal-assisted therapy is a type of alternative therapy in which animals play a supporting role in the treatment of physical or mental health conditions. There are many different types of animal-assisted therapy, and it’s suitable for a huge variety of people. Read on to find out four benefits of this style of therapy, to give you a better understanding of how it works and who it can help. 1. Animals can reduce stress There’s a growing body of evidence to show that interacting with animals reduces levels of the stress hormone...
read moreThree activities to try that promote self-care
Are you always busy? For many people, the daily grind of endless responsibilities and commitments, work, school and/or family lives can take over and self-care can often be the last thing we think about. But it isn’t selfish to prioritise yourself, it’s essential. Self-care promotes wellbeing, and being in a positive state of mind is vital to ensuring you have the mental capacity and energy to pursue all of the tasks in your daily routine to the best of your ability. Whilst it can feel conflicting at first, making dedicated time in your...
read moreNeurodiversity in the Workplace: a blind spot for employers, by Jane McNeice
The scale of the issue Given what we now know about neurodiversity, it would be reasonable to say that all workplaces will have a neurodiverse workforce, many workers being neurotypical (the majority brain type or neurotype in our society) and a lesser number being neurodivergent (those whose neurotype differs from the majority). The challenge is knowing what the exact profile looks like in a particular workplace and the value of knowing this. If we were to simply take the 1 in 7 (Local Government Association) statistic of how many are...
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