Main character energy

Whether you're taking selfies in a public toilet, re-watching the US version of the Office or swanning around Stockport pretending to be Cruella Deville, just a little reminder that you're always the main character in your own life. Here's to making that plot twist a good'n. Happy Saturday ❤

Photos by the incredible Livia Lazar

BREAKING NEWS: How do you keep up?

So to say there's a lot going on in the world right now would be an understatement.

Just when we thought times couldn't get any more turbulent, the universe seemed to stop, turn around and whisper,  'hold my beer'.  What was once harmless scrolling through Twitter, Instagram or even Facebook *shudder*,  has now become a never-ending news cycle rabbit hole, and any longer than five minutes will only cause your inner monologue to plead with you to 'make it stop!!'. Whether it's government updates, a breaking news story or Karen's questionable status, the overload of information can be more than overwhelming. And when so much of what's being reported is incredibly important, this can become a problem.

Why? Because there's no time to take it in, to process it, learn from it, and understand it. The vital movements which are happening across the world which are a crucial cornerstone of change are being diluted and taken advantage of (e.g. don't use a protest as a backdrop for your sponsored insta post please and thank you.) We skim headline after headline across social media, Whatsapp, MSN news, and words - often very important ones - become distorted, skewed, and of course, reshared.

Whilst real time access to news, thanks to the likes of Twitter etc has been revolutionary, it can also present real problems, namely in the form of over consumption, and fake news. With people being at home more often than they otherwise would be, screen time has increased dramatically, and the likelihood of your family member on Facebook sharing that viral Daily Mail article has similarly sky rocketed. Chances that they've checked it for validity? Slightly lower. 

OK ok, so I realise this may seem like a *bit* of a rant, and I would be lying if I said it wasn't, but in my humble opinion, I feel it's a pretty important one. The news is actually an incredible useful resource, and whilst it can often be hard to see past the hashtags, accurate reporting is the only real way we can find out about anything beyond our front doors. So how can we make the most of the information we're fed?

Check your sources. I think I need to get this tattooed. As you probably know, there was plenty of misinformation flying around the web about Covid, most of it courtesy of someone's Mum's-cousin's-brother-in-law's-sister-twice-removed who knows someone who knows someone else who seemed totally legit.

Take your time.  With news being thrown at us left, right and centre, keeping up to date with what's going on is pretty much equivalent to a full-time job. Keeping informed is important, but in most cases pointless if you've only read the headline and not the article. After all, learning and understanding from what you've just read takes longer than a five minute scroll when you're waiting for the kettle to boil.

You are allowed to take a day off or two. Really. Whilst it can feel weird disconnecting, especially  during times like these, taking a breather from your news feed might be just what you need. And not something to feel guilty about. It's your offline actions that are most important.

How do you keep up with what's going on in the world?

xxx

You can find resources and places to donate to the incredible Black Lives Matter movement here.

Photos on film c/o nick.anastasiou.photography

Remembering to look after yourself

 OK, so it really shouldn't take #WorldMentalHealthDay to prompt me to write a post about mental health but here we are.

This is something which is particularly difficult to write about, for most people I imagine, as it's something that so many of us keep close to our chest. Whilst now, *thankfully*, it is gradually being spoken about more on a general level, it's still rare to hear about the individual experiences of people who have struggled, or who are still struggling. And that is the key; being aware that those struggles are not black and white. There is no set start and end time. Even where there are periods of miraculously impossible happiness, that darkness has a tendency to wait in the wings, ready to eclipse the light. 

Darkness is how I describe these periods, predominantly because it's an easy way of encompassing an impossibly complex feeling, which I would never, ever be able to describe. Like wading through treacle and being stuck in a long forgotten memory, like being underwater and forgetting how to swim, like remembering part of a dream and for some reason, you can't quite open your eyes.  Maybe it's  even more of a shadow, drifting in and out of focus, completely dependent on the time of day, the year and the weather. In short, impossible to predict. 

I don't think sharing all of my own struggles is something that I'm quite ready to do just yet. This is  mainly because I haven't quite faced up to them myself, which is, in of itself, part of the problem. With every passing storm comes an overwhelming sense of guilt. What have I got to feel sad about?

This is why we need to talk about it. Mental health is something that applies to everyone. It's like muscle health or bone health or fingernail health; just because it's not visible, doesn't mean it should take a back seat. If it's not something that's taken care of, the effects can be incredibly damaging, harmful, and very, very visible. 

Whilst I'm prone to self-deprecation and use humour as a handy defence mechanism, it's important to acknowledge the times when you're less than okay. It's easy to worry about those around you, but remember to look after yourself too.

Photos by the wonderful ed2too