If we ignore my exes, I’m new to animals.
But, boy, am I making up for lost time.
I’ve bonded with a few recently that have taught me a valuable lesson – you should always trust your pets, especially if they’re trying to tell you that someone’s not on the level.
Humans might hate me, but the fluffies? They know a good ‘un when they lick one.
My friends agree. Here are their tales of… Read the full story
Particular drugs go in and out of fashion for all kinds of reasons, but it’s the speed at which Xanax has made an appearance that’s been surprising.
A couple of years ago it would have been almost unheard of for me to encounter a 15-year-old having problems with benzodiazepines. It’s now becoming more and more common.
Why are young people taking Xanax? Some do it to self-medicate for anxiety. Others use it as a party drug in combination with alcohol or cannabis.
The big shift has been how easy it is to get Xanax. Some young people purchase benzos on the dark web and we’re seeing more and more dealers using… Read the full story
Julie Rohrdanz is sometimes known as a real-life vampire – because she has to run for cover whenever the sun comes out.
That’s because Julie has polymorphic light eruption, also known as an allergy to the sun.
When Julie’s skin comes into contact with the sun she erupts in painful, itchy hives.
Julie comes from a long line of ‘vampires’. Both her mum, Sally Riedell, and her grandmother, Sally Ontiveros, have the same sun allergy.
Still, it was only four years ago that Julie was diagnosed.
When she was working as an accounts sale manager, a job… Read the full story
If you’ve ever smoked, you’ll know just how hard it is to quit.
I sympathise – you can read about my failed attempt to ditch the fags here.
We all know that smoking is bad, it causes cancer and emphysema and all sorts of other unpleasantness. But at the end of the day, it’s a personal choice and it’s no one else’s business if you want to take those risks and light up.
At least, that’s the case until you get pregnant. At which point, people are much quicker to get involved. But, in spite of the hefty judgement that comes with smoking while pregnant, this data claims that 7.2%… Read the full story
Let’s take a moment to commend the bravery of Nicole Rayne, a 23-year-old model.
While we all take tiny shuffling steps to avoid slipping over on ice, hide inside to avoid the snow, or bundle ourselves in five layers to deal with the chill, Nicole is stripping off and running around in the snow completely naked.
See what we mean about brave?
Nicole chose to take her naked form to York Museum Gardens… Read the full story
There are so many ways to celebrate our genitals in all their glory.
You can decorate your Christmas tree with vagina baubles, store your coins in a vulva coin purse, or lounge around in trendy vagina slippers.
If you prefer your celebration to be more edible, there’s good news. A cafe in Tucson, Arizona, called Shot In The Dark is selling vulva-themed cupcakes.
They call them ‘c***cakes’, but we’ll stick to being anatomically correct and use vulva to describe the iced on labia and clitorises.
Ever heard of the elevator pitch? Imagine this: you’re stuck in an elevator and have less than 60 seconds to pitch your business idea to the interested party.
Those 60 seconds could change your life, but only if you figure out the right thing to say.
That’s how I envision speed dating.
Stressful, awkward and with me nervously rambling on, all the while hoping my date doesn’t notice the sweaty hand marks on my cocktail glass.
But, since dating apps have turned romantic options into a never-ending… Read the full story
Marks & Spencer have given the punters what they want and backtracked on the design of their ‘granny’ pants.
It’s always confusing when a brand decides to change something that everyone loves and no one wanted changing. Yet it seems to happen all the time.
Most recent victims? A pair of M&S’s most popular pants, the five pack of Supima Cotton & Modal No VPL pants which come in a ‘full brief’ and ‘high leg’ design and cost £12 in black, or white and nude.
Most of the time when this happens there’s no recourse and we just have to suck it up and accept that the thing we love… Read the full story
As we discussed last week, while there’s lots of discussion about what giving birth will entail, there’s often just not very much information for new parents about the immediate aftermath of giving birth.
One topic which parents don’t seem to be getting enough information about is cord clamping – so much so that 40% of babies born in the UK are not having their cords clamped in accordance with the NICE guidelines.
The clinicial body NICE suggest that a baby’s umbilical cord should be left for between one and five minutes… Read the full story
Love it or hate it, it’s World Book Day!
While the snow might mean schools are closed (and your work place if you’re extremely lucky) but that hasn’t stopped book lovers from dressing up.
Kids and adults have been dressing up in their droves to celebrate all things literature.
Some schools are really getting in the spirit while others are also celebrating, in a different way, without the pressure to dress up.
As long as you have a book in hand and/or one that you love (who doesn’t), you’re good to go.
These are some of the most creative, fun, and adorable costumes:
This week, 26 February to 4 March 2018, is Eating Disorders Awareness Week.
And so I’ve spent some time looking at the different treatments.
I have considered the importance of finding the right treatment for each person, from cognitive behavioural therapy to in-patient treatment.
I have also considered my own experiences of treatment for anorexia.
Recovery is a long journey and it will look different for everyone.
At the point when someone first experiences symptoms of… Read the full story
Any M&Ms fanatic knows the total agony of having to decide between peanut, crispy or plain milk chocolate – unless all three are on offer of course, in which case, go crazy.
But you’ll now be happy to know that you can get all three for the price of one, as an M&Ms mixed bag is here to save the day.
The M&Ms Mix Pouch is available in Tesco for £1. It contains a bag of peanut, milk chocolate and crispy M&Ms.
The pouch comes decorated with all three of the M&Ms branding, and contains 128g of M&Ms.
A woman who is allergic to the snow has been forced to stay indoors this week due to the snowy weather.
Rachel Warwick is trapped indoors every time she sees a snow flurry, as she breaks out in a painful rash when coming into contact with it, due to suffering from a rare condition which means she is allergic to all forms of water.
This means the 30-year-old actress is either left housebound or forced to cover up from head to toe in waterproof clothing whenever adverse weather hits.
For the past week, Rachel has been stuck indoors due to the snow. And with storm Emma due to meet the… Read the full story
There’s rainbow hair, unicorn hair, and even pizza hair (not the real thing on your head).
But how do you create them?
You could, if you wanted it to be done meticulously, let the hairdresser neatly part your hair and carefully apply the colour where you want it.
Or you could let your hair do its own thing and let it drip.
Yes, that’s right, drip dye is a thing now.
And it’s creating some pretty artsy and mesmerising results.
A bit like the ice bucket challenge, the colourist holds the gooey stuff at a height and lets it pour slowly on… Read the full story
Who’s the greatest writer of the last two hundred years?
Charlotte Bronte? Jane Austen? Charles Dickens?
Oh no friends. No, no. It’s clearly, without question Jacqueline Wilson, the purveyor of the bleakest and most miserable children’s books imaginable.
Jacqueline Wilson proved that while we’d love to think kids want to read about fairies and plucky quests, what they actually like is broken homes, foster care, drugs, spousal abuse and bullying. Which is why she’s written about a million books, all of which are different levels of depressing.
In celebration of JW, and of World Book day, we’ve compiled a definitive list of Wilson’s books from most to least depressing.
Many women are alerted to Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) when they have irregular periods.
No one really knows what causes it, and despite the name, it doesn’t mean you have cysts, it just means that there’s a hormone imbalance.
The symptoms aren’t great.
While they vary woman to woman, PCOS can include weight gain, excess bodily hair, acne, and hair loss.
Polycystic ovaries (PCO) is similar to PCOS, is more common, and doesn’t have all the same symptoms and risks.
I didn’t really know what it was when I was told I have it.
I just noticed that I wasn’t getting regular periods. And because I knew I wasn’t pregnant,… Read the full story
Today, 1 March, is Self-Harm Awareness Day, a day when people who have previously struggled – or are still struggling – with self-harm come together to raise awareness of how it affects them.
Today is important. Because today is a day when so many who have battled self harm feel confident enough to speak out.
So often people who self-harm are left to feel ashamed of their scars. It makes them feel lonely. Isolated. But today is a day to shed light on these feelings, and to acknowledge that self-harm is very real.
And, seeing as it is a day to raise awareness of self-harm, it’s worth… Read the full story
It’s snowing!
It’s that exciting? Isn’t it wonderful? Isn’t it not at all annoying and definitely not getting in the way of your ability to live your life?
When something novel, like snow, happens, it’s tempting to think about all the great ways to include snow in your life. Like rolling around in it. Taking lots of pictures of… Read the full story
Fibromyalgia is an invisible illness.
It can therefore be difficult for anyone who doesn’t have it to understand its various symptoms.
There’s chronic widespread pain in joints, muscles and connective tissue, and fatigue.
The latter is not simply a feeling of being tired, but a debilitating lack of energy that impacts every aspect of the person’s life.
Other common symptoms include stiffness and headaches but there are a lot of symptoms associated with fibromyalgia.
Here are a few that are particularly difficult to talk about.
Also know as irritable bowel syndrome, our bowel… Read the full story
If you suffer from a chronic illness, explaining it to your employer can be one possibly one of the hardest conversations you will ever have to have.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), an autoimmune disease which affects the digestive tract, is often coined an ‘invisible illness’ as it brings symptoms that can be crippling, but not visible to the naked eye.
Severe abdominal pain, diarrhoea, weight loss, nausea and extreme fatigue are just some of the symptoms we suffer with on a daily basis.
So how on earth do you even… Read the full story
