Reverse Body Dysmorphia: Loving The Arse of Authority

March 20, 2013 in Body Image, Health, Mental Health

I have a confession to make. I have reverse body dysmorphia. Gasp! There, I said it! For those who aren’t aware, body dysmorphia is when perfectly normal-looking people like Michael Jackson, Joan Rivers and the entire cast of any of the Real Housewives shows believe themselves to be so physically hideous that they require surgery or extreme action (weightloss, etc) to correct their deformities. Only some keep “correcting” themselves until their noses fall off or they look like total freaks, or in fact they simply die of old age because they never stop (*cough, cough, Cher, cough*). Reverse body dysmorphia [...]

Stopping The Abuse Cycle

February 19, 2013 in Mental Health, People, Relationships, Self

I’m sure all of you had the same strong emotional reaction to Tamsin’s amazingly powerful post, He told me it was all in my head… I believed him. I was gutted. The idea of anyone physically or emotionally abusing my dear friend upset me deeply. (And T, thanks again for being brave enough to share your story with us.) But her post also hurt me on an emotional level because I know what it’s like to be the abuser. Now, I want to make one thing clear – I’ve never hit a woman (or anyone for that matter). I think violence [...]

Does Makeup Feed Our Insecurities?

February 12, 2013 in Body, Body Image, Face, Gender, Lifestyle, People, Self

On a night out recently with some friends we were deciding whether to continue on to another, much bigger venue. One female friend protested. Her reason? She wasn’t wearing any makeup. Being my typical self I told her to stop being so ridiculous and I (truthfully) told her she looked perfectly fine and did not need makeup on in order come out. Another lady friend was happy to make a night of it and crash at my place, but on one condition: that I had ‘good’ makeup for her to wear to work the next day. To cut a long [...]

Where Do Fat Individuals Fit into a Healthy Society?

December 12, 2012 in Body Image, Film & TV, Fitness, Food & Recipes, Health, Lifestyle, Mental Health, Nutrition, People, Self, Society

I’m a little bit torn. Every other day I see the Ashy Bines Bikini Body Challenge or the Michelle Bridges 12-Week Body Transformation lurking in my Facebook newsfeed. Twitter brings me nutrition advice about activated almonds and I stumble over the Michelle Bridges column every weekend upon opening Sunday Life. That woman is seriously everywhere. I start to feel bombarded. I start to feel like I’m living in a society in which my body is everybody’s business. Like the excess kilos that push me to the wrong side of the ‘overweight’ mark are a burden I’m placing on Australia; like [...]

A Break Up Taught Me How Strong I Am

October 15, 2012 in Dating, Health, Mental Health, People, Relationships, Self

If we’re to believe everything that books, magazines, movies and morose teenage love ballads tell us, a break-up is just about the worst torture that a heart-possessing human being can live through. So when my boyfriend broke up with me recently, I put down the phone with bated breath, waiting to be seized by the urge to write bad poetry on tear-smattered pages. I waited. The urge didn’t come. But hold up – I’m starting this story all out of order. Let’s go back to the beginning – the months before I was dating J. As 2012 rolled in I [...]

A Dress Helped Me Love My Body

August 2, 2012 in Anecdotes, Body Image, Fashion, Health, Mental Health, People, Society, Stories, Style

I studied the dress on the hanger. It was bright, stripey and colourful. The navy stripes of the singlet top changing into green at waist height, then into orange as it traveled to the floor, caught my eye. I was reminded of summer and fun. But it was in the straight size section. The larger size section that I had already perused was full of boring drab colours and shapeless tunics. I wanted this dress. The old me would have sighed, and walked away. The new me of the last few years, living on a diet of body positive blogs [...]

I Don’t Really Care About Photoshop

July 25, 2012 in Body Image, Celebrity, Entertainment, Fashion, Photography, Technology

Once upon a time, I loved reading magazines. OK, it was not that long ago, maybe 6 months ago. I had to stop buying them because I needed to save every single cent I had for my trip to America. I was very upset by this as reading a magazine with a row (ok, maybe 2) of dairy milk in hand and ignoring everything and everyone around me was one of my favourite past-times. To clarify: I rarely purchased the weekly rags, just Madison, Shop Til You Drop, Marie Claire and Good Reading (I still get this one). Oh, and [...]

Imposter Syndrome: My Battle With Negative Self-Talk

July 19, 2012 in Health, Mental Health, People, Self, Work

Lately I’ve had the worst time of my life. OK, not really. Nothing that has happened for me in my life thus far has been worse than when my father died in 2005. But I’ve had a pretty bad time. No, I haven’t been sacked. No, no-one has died. I project the image that I have supreme confidence, that I am a genius with an IQ of around 1000 and that I’m probably the best solicitor you’ve ever met. I have a double window from my office that is the size of a mansion, didn’t you know? This is a [...]

Is 32 The New 50?

July 13, 2012 in Body Image, Hair, Health, Home, Lifestyle, Nails, People, Self, Society, Style, Work

I’m 32.  Recently I went to a hairdresser who is not my regular hairdresser. She commented on my hair, asking if my boss minded its colour, and when I said it had never been an issue, she suggested it should be and perhaps I could ‘tone it down’ to something more ‘age appropriate’. Those who know me will be aware that my wardrobe is filled with mostly black staple pieces that I will add a coloured accessory to- be it a scarf, jewellery, nails or even my hair. That’s me. But this exchange with the over zealous and fairly immature [...]

Confidence and the Fear of Rejection

July 12, 2012 in Body Image, Dating, Health, Mental Health, People, Relationships, Self

Today’s guest post by Mandi Aylmore: There comes a moment in your life, when you have to just accept who you are. You realise you aren’t going to change. You also realise that you actually like who you are (unless of course you are an axe murderer, in which case I would strongly suggest you keep working on yourself. Change is a good thing!) Well, recently, I’ve had that moment. I’ve embraced my nerdiness. I’ve realised that despite my nerdom, I’m actually kinda awesome, and that I no longer hate myself. That’s a huge thing for me to say. I’ve [...]