By Emily Lederman

Allergies are a common cause of illness that impact many individuals,
including millions of children.

What are they?

Allergies are defined as an ‘abnormal immune system reaction to things that are typically harmless to most people’ (Allergy.org.au, 2019). When a person is allergic to something, the immune system mistakenly believes that this substance is harming the body.

What causes them?

Allergies can be caused by many different substances such as some foods, animals, medicines, plants or even dust - these are known as allergens. In particular, one of the most common allergies is the allergy to dairy, known as “lactose intolerance”.
What is lactose intolerance you might be wondering? Lactose intolerance is a digestive disorder caused by the inability to digest lactose, the main carbohydrate
in dairy products.

What does it mean to be lactose intolerant?

If someone is lactose intolerance this usually means they try to avoid products containing milk or lactose. Some children develop a permanent intolerance to lactose and have to avoid milk products for the rest of their lives. Do you find yourself experiencing stomach pain or bloating, diarrhea or wind after consuming milk or milk products? These are all signs and symptoms of lactose intolerance, so this may mean that you may too have this allergy.

Watch Sebastian D, 14 years old, from the UK, do some of his comedy act and he also describes the difficulties living with his allergy – lactose intolerance. Season 8 – Unforgettable Youth – Part 2. https://teentalkproduction.okast.tv Streaming channel. Enter, subscribe, and stream for FREE for 7 days! Try it now!
This could mean that you may have to rid yourself of many of your favourite
foods like ice cream, pizza, chocolate, milkshakes and lots of other foods that
contain some type of lactose.

This can be really difficult at times, particularly when you're out with friends or family and they are all eating a delicious ice cream, or if you are at a birthday party and they have ordered everyone pizzas with lots of cheese! This may cause stress or social anxiety in children and embarrassment at the fact that they are unable to eat certain foods that everyone else can.

However, don't let this get you down as there are some excellent alternatives for this allergy. For example, there are many delicious dairy free foods available nowadays, including ice cream, cheeses and even lactose free milk! These products are usually easily accessible and make it a lot easier to enjoy your food whilst adhering
to food intolerances.

And another plus side to limiting dairy products is that you are actually helping the environment! The dairy industry has been under a lot of
scrutiny and received a lot of backlash for their
cruel treatment towards cows.

Ditch dairy, a movement targeting the issues with the dairy industry claims that the dairy industry has led us to believe that dairy cows live ideal lives, give birth, feed their young and welcome their daily milking. But the truth is somewhat different.
They claim that cows are kept continually pregnant, so they keep producing milk, forced to give birth to a calf every 13 months to ensure that she continues producing a high volume of milk into the next year- an extremely uncomfortable lifestyle for a cow. (Newkey-Burden, 2017)

So if you’re lactose intolerance is getting you down just remember that there are lots of delicious alternatives that are just as tasty as foods containing lactose, and think that in limiting dairy product you are doing something beneficial for the environment and putting a stop to the cruel dairy industry!

Some fun facts!
• Roughly 70% of the world’s population has some form of intolerance
• Humans are the only the only animal that drink another animal’s milk
• Lactose intolerance can run in families

Further information:
https://www.allergy.org.au/patients/about-allergy/what-is-allergy
https://www.paeats.com/news/2015/10-facts-you-didnt-know-about-lactose-intolerance/

The post NO MILK TODAY! Allergies – Lactose Intolerance appeared first on Teen Talk Production.

Did you know that according to the 2016 Census, on any given night approximately 116,500 Australians are homeless, with a whopping 27,500 of these being young people between the ages of 12 and 24 years?
But what does a homeless person look like? A new campaign is challenging stereotypes about those who have experienced homelessness. The Council to Homeless Persons (CHP) chief executive Jenny Smith says that the ‘My Name is...’ project gives an opportunity to those who have experienced homeless to share their voice and experience. This project makes homelessness a personal journey, raising awareness and hopefully pushing those who are struggling to speak out and get help where they can. Stigma and Discrimination is a major factor affecting homeless youth on a deeper level, so this project is a great step forward in helping to find a solution.
It is a common misconception that young people become homeless by choice although there are a number of causes that can leave a young individual without a safe environment to call home. These include:
• Family conflict or breakdown
• Abuse in the home (sexual, physical and/or emotional)
• Lack of employment and income
• Drug and alcohol issues
• Mental health issues
• And many more causes...
Without the feeling of safety and a place to call home, life can get pretty overwhelming for teens and young people. Whilst struggling with their evolution into adulthood and developing life skills, being homeless is sure to add further pressure onto teens. Struggling with homelessness also puts youth at risk of being a part of violent crime, something no human should have to deal with, let alone a young individual trying to find their feet.
Often, youth who are struggling either don’t know where to go for help or are ashamed to ask for support, which is why there have been a number of organizations put together to help tackle the issue of youth homelessness.
The Salvation Army is one organization that offers help to the homeless. They do more than just offer emergency accommodation, but better yet through their large network of services they aim to help bring people back into society, assisting them to fulfil a valuable role in their community and supporting them every step of the way.
I’ll leave you with a question; Does the government need to do more to provide social housing for long term homeless? Isn’t it ironic that there is so much commercial development and apartments being built, yet it is so unaffordable and unavailable to the homeless sector?

The post Homeless Youth – abandoned, nowhere to go! appeared first on Teen Talk Production.

Your sand is running out.
The ocean is swallowing up islands and the earth’s hourglass is almost empty.
Your planet is dying.
Daily we see more evidence of the damage being done to our unique and precious environment.
We need not list the damages because no doubt you already know. We all know.

You can’t open Facebook, turn on the TV or even go for a walk with out knowing that we as a race have messed up. If you aren’t frightened by what’s going on you should be. The saying is “the future is in your hands” but really, it is not.
The reality is the only people out there that have any power over the future care only about their retirement fund rather than their grandchildren.

Think back to your days as an Aussie kid, did you go swimming, sailing, fishing or paddle boarding? Did you spend hours hanging out down the beach having ‘barbies’ on the foreshore? How lucky you were to have such a unique and precious environment at your back door. Your kids won’t be so lucky though; the sun will become too hot to spend too long out side, the ocean will go from oil spills to a sterile sludge wasteland. But there is nothing you can do right? The leaders aren’t listening so your future is already irretrievable. When the time comes that your generation is running the world it will already be too late. Climate scientists say we are very close to tipping the climate threshold whereby our impact on the world will be irreversible and the damage to the planet will become self-sufficient. According to the Australian Academy of Science this rising global temperature will cause a chain reaction of life ending issues such as droughts and high sea levels. If enough CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) is emitted in to the air it is eminent that the Earth’s atmosphere will hit this self sufficient or “runaway greenhouse” level resulting in a permanent “Venus-like hot house Earth”. All this CO2 is coming from burning conventional and unconventional fossil fuels such as coal mining and cattle farming. The earth has supported life for billions of years and in just a few centuries humans have managed to take life right out of it.

Yes the youth of Australia is trying; 2019 has brought you to your feet yelling, “We have had enough”. Around the country you have marched and skipped school for climate change but did you noticed nobody listened? Why aren’t they listening? Do today’s leaders even care?

No they don’t.

Because the ‘Adani’ mine will bring in over 16.5 billion dollars to the Australian economy.

 Because the ‘Equinor’ mine will bring 1500 jobs to South Australia over the next 40 years.Because a nuclear power plant would lower average power costs and generate higher system reliability. 

Because money, money, money.

“Only when the last tree has been cut down and the last river poisoned and the last fish caught, will we realise we cannot eat money.”

So what needs to happen next? You need to create alternative sources, which are also monetarily viable to replace current climate threatening methods. An obvious example would be for power plants to offset their damage by planting a certain amount of trees per emission. How do we get the major companies to do this? The Government would need to provide incentives for this. You may be thinking isn’t the Government already doing this perhaps the Carbon Tax springs to mind? The atmosphere’s answer is: not enough.

Now you know what needs to be done and why it needs to done it let’s discuss how you can help. First brainstorm possible resolutions with your class or friends. Join a Climate Change Group or environmental organisation such as Sea Shepard or WildLife Warriors Australia; or make your own group and try to put some of these resolutions into action. Even the smallest projects can make a difference. Begin in your local area at the beach or the park by protecting endangered species and planting more trees. Do whatever you can but just do something! The situation is daunting and it is depressing but you must not give up. You need to be aware of what is happening and fight with everything you have. It may not be fun and it may be hard work but the satisfaction of saving the world will be worth it. Speak up and speak out and don’t be embarrassed of being heard. Force a change; turn back that timer while you still can.

If not for you than please do it for us.
Yours always,
The unlucky last generation
June, 2069

Citations:
Hansen, J., M. Sato, P. Kharecha, D. Beerling, R. Berner, V. Masson-Delmotte, M. Pagani, M. Raymo, D.L. Royer, and J.C. Zachos, 2008. Target atmospheric CO2: Where should humanity aim? Open Atmospheric Science Journal 2: 217-231.

National Research Council. 2011. Understanding Earth's Deep Past: Lessons for Our Climate Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/13111.

The post For Our Future appeared first on Teen Talk Production.

We have all seen the images. Botched boob jobs and nose jobs leaving the recipient looking somewhat akin to a modern Frankenstein, albeit with hair extensions and an orange tan. And you would be almost right to say that that person had plastic surgery. Almost right. The truth is that Plastic surgery is not an umbrella term to be used for all changes to someone’s appearance. Plastic surgery ‘is focused on repairing a physical defect, or to return a body part to normal function or appearance…’. (thanks SBS) Cosmetic surgery is instead what we should be using, as it is cosmetic surgery that is focused on enhancing or changing appearance. The prevalence of plastic surgery in young people is about more than just disliking an aspect of your appearance. Self-esteem and self-worth play a huge role and not to mention vanity, self-obsession and egocentrism.

Now, you may be wondering why on earth I am talking about surgical procedures that cost loads of money (a nose job could be up to $8000!) when you guys probably don’t have that kind of cash saved up. Well, more and more young people are turning to cosmetic surgery to bolster their self confidence or in an attempt to fit in with the current norms. I say current because societal ‘norms’ are more inconsistent than my maths grades were in high school (anywhere from 30% to 85% - I liked to keep my teachers guessing). It is like jumping on a Ferris Wheel and for that split second when you’re at the top and its only blue sky above, you feel incredible…and then you come down, and someone else, some new fad, replaces you, which is in turn replaced, and on and on until everyone feels a little bit worse. Fads fade! But YOU are a one-of a kind genetic sequence that no one can re-create. You are the original – do you want to be a knock-off? A ridiculously costly knock-off who requires procedural touch ups every few months? People seem to forget that most cosmetic enhancements fade over time. Lip fillers and cheek fillers will dissolve, meaning you have to dish out a few thousand dollars a year, every year that you want to look that way.

You have the right to feel comfortable in your own skin. But that being said, with Snapchat and Instagram filters heavily contributing to BDD (Body Dysmorphic Disorder) younger and younger people are rocking up to a plastic surgeon’s office toting images of young starlets who have had work done or with the idea that a photo filter can become reality. You show up with your thousand bucks for lip fillers or cheek fillers or your several thousand for a nose job with the hope that after the procedure, you will look like Kylie Jenner or Ashley Tisdale. But here is the thing, they don’t even look like themselves. You are emulating someone who didn’t like their own appearance enough to keep it. You are trying to look like the image of someone else’s image of themselves.

Now I don’t say any of this with any malice towards the aforementioned celebrities. In fact, both Kylie Jenner and Ashley Tisdale came forward to say that they had work done on their faces. It takes a lot of confidence to say ‘I have self esteem issues just like you’. But see the images below and try to understand where I am coming from. It looks like 4 completely different people. They don’t even look like themselves.

Regardless of the psychological harm that these procedures can put you through, there are medical risks that need to be considered also.

Haematoma: A pocket of blood that resembles a large, painful bruise.
Nerve Damage
Infection
Deep Vein Thrombosis: A blood clot that occurs deep within a vein.
Scarring
Organ Damage
Deformity
Chronic pain
Disfunction
DEATH – Yes, death is a very real complication with plastic surgery, even for those in the peak of physical health, you have no idea what could go wrong, maybe you have a severe latex allergy you aren’t aware of or will have an adverse reaction to the numbing cream or anaesthetic! And people with other health issues will find themselves at an even GREATER risk of life threatening complications with surgery. Respiratory issues, circulation issues, smoking and drinking and substance abuse all increase the likelihood of complications during surgery.

And that doesn’t include the possibility of being dissatisfied with the new You. There is the serious chance that you will wake up to find you don’t like the way you look now, more than you did before. Not to mention that overtime you will find out that a lip filler is not the magical ingredient to make you more popular or happier with yourself. To combat this, The Medical Board of Australia introduced new guidelines for Under-18s seeking cosmetic surgery.

• a three-month cooling off period before major procedures for all under 18s and a mandatory evaluation by a registered psychologist, general practitioner or psychiatrist
• a seven day cooling off period before minor procedures, such as injectables, and laser skin treatment for all under 18s, and when clinically indicated, evaluation by a registered psychologist, general practitioner or psychiatrist

You need to be mature enough to process the magnitude of what you are about to do to yourself as well as understand the vast number of risks, both physical and mental and don’t think that you will avoid dire complications that come with surgery – they will happen to someone and that someone could be you!

Take any imposed beauty standards, tie a weight around them and throw them off a very very very high cliff. There is no place for them except the one that you create yourself. If you are SURE you want to go ahead with surgery do your homework and research the procedures and doctors because it is YOUR body and remember that changing something on the outside won’t necessarily change how you feel on the inside. Say EF off to beauty ideals do things that make YOU feel beautiful. Take a walk, go to the gym, hang out with your friends, bake something, read something just do things that make you feel good and worthy and enough. Instead of obsessing over your looks over your looks and focussing needlessly on yourself, why don’t you reach out and help others in the community around you? Doing something for others makes YOU feel worthwhile and giving up your time and talents for others can be super rewarding for you. Offer your help to an elderly neighbour or a struggling mum with a crazy toddler who just needs a break, volunteer your time at a reputable charity or community centre. Once you see what other people have to go through, you may find that your own struggles diminish in the bigger picture.

And finally, remember that you are enough. Exactly the way you are.

References
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/insight/explainer/are-cosmetic-procedures-becoming-normalised-young-australians
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/young-people-plastic-surgery-snapchat-filters
https://www.laserclinics.com.au/our-prices/cosmetic-injection
https://theskincareedit.com/2013/10/11/blake-lively-before-and-after

The post The Body Image Series – Final Part – Plastic Surgery appeared first on Teen Talk Production.

And that’s a pretty tidy summary of the joy that is puberty! Catch you next time!

Kidding.

Although, that really is what most people think about puberty. It is just one giant uncomfortable period of your life that would be made so much more pleasant if you could go through it under a blanket and emerge after like a beauuuutiful butterfly.

SO! What I propose is this: I write a nice little list of all the irritating and embarrassing things that happen to your body thanks to puberty and then a few handy tips that I found helped me when I went through it.

Pretty as pimples

Apart from irritating, embarrassing and all around annoying – what exactly are pimples?

Stick your face right up to your mirror and have a long hard look. See those tiny little holes? They are called pores, and inside your pores you find oil, dead skin cells and bacteria. Your body makes oil naturally but during puberty it goes into overdrive, and this excess oil combines with the skin cells and bacteria to clog up your pores, leading to breakouts. The good news…this process of clogging pores is cyclical and you shed your dead skin every 28 days, so you can start a new!

So what can you do about it? Here is what I have learnt during my life and as part of my study course into health and fitness.

1. Some people are more prone to acne than others – yep, it sucks. Sometimes you will find that you get pimples no matter what you do! If this is the case, I recommend seeing a dermatologist (skin doctor) who can prescribe medication suited for your case.
2. Water is your new best friend.
   Not only does it help your body function at optimum level, it helps to keep your skin hydrated from the inside out and will flush toxins from your body!
3. Stay away from make-up. I know, it is not the most helpful advice for the time in your life when you are prone to reaching for the make-up BUT make-up clogs your pores up!
4. Wash your face morning and night with water and a simple alcohol free soap. I suggest QV wash. Always moisturise your face – again I suggest QV body lotion.
5. Your diet matters. This is paramount to healthy skin. Stay away from processed foods and food and drinks that contain added sweeteners, salt or too many saturated fats. Eat 4-5 serves of vegetables a day, 2-3 serves of fruit, 4-5 serves of whole grain carbohydrates (I promise they are your friend) and 2-3 serves of lean protein either from animal protein or (preferably in my humble opinion) plant based proteins – nuts, seeds, legumes, beans, tofu etc. Check out these government endorsed guidelines for more info: https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/guidelines/australian-guide-healthy-eating

Growth spurts hurt
You know it isn’t going to be enjoyable when your body literally stretches itself out. Your major growth spurt can happen anytime between 9-17 years. This is also around the time when most of the growth plates of the major long bones in young bodies fuse, close or become ossified. They will finish their growth development between 16-25 years old – most commonly around 18. If you get severe growing pains in your lower limbs (Pelvis, Hip, Knee, Ankle, Foot or Lower Back) as these are weight bearing, the strain is compounded and shoulders, arms and posture may be negatively affected. These are correctable and preventable during the teenage years.

Sometimes your bones will grow too fast for the muscles and tendons to keep up. This should be temporary, however underlying hereditary or genetic considerations, or previous history of sporting injuries and trauma should also be investigated in case these affect your normal growth patterns.

These types of misalignments, at the lower back, hip, knee, ankle & foot could cause a chain of pain in one or more of these areas as your body compensates for the growth anomalies. This may lead to chronic problems and pain syndromes into adulthood.

If the duration of your pain is more than 3 months, appears in multiple joints from the age of 9 or younger or reoccurs at frequent intervals, see a Podiatrist/Podiatric Practitioner as they specialize in assessing and diagnosing bone issues of the lower back and lower limb. Preventing of misalignments of bone and muscle are possible any time during growth, however most commonly before 18 years.

The best improvement in correction occurs between 9 – 17 years but varies for each individual.

To keep yourself healthy and active, intervention ASAP is best before 18 Years, after that you may find yourself requiring lifelong pain treatments & preventative measures.

Your maximum height is generally reached within two years of the start of puberty, however, boys tend to begin their growth spurt two years after girls. So for a short period of time you may be towered over by them – but don’t worry, it is all temporary. By the age of 16 boys will finish their growth spurts but their muscles will continue to develop.

Don’t forget that genetics play a big role in determining how tall you will be. Aside from platform shoes or high heels, there really isn’t much you can do to change your height. Finding a way to be comfortable in your own skin will make navigating puberty that much easier.

My clothes don’t fit…

This is the scariest part of puberty for a lot of people. However, it is a normal hormonal change – affecting girls more than boys. Female weight gain during puberty can be attributed to the hormone oestrogen. During puberty the brain signals the ovaries (female reproductive organs) to start producing oestrogen, this hormone causes changes in the female body – not least of all, weight gain – as your body readies itself for being able to have baby.

You can be expected to gain approximately 6-7kg over the few years that puberty takes. While this may seem like a lot, remember, at this time you are also getting taller and moreover this weight gain is a healthy and vital part of going through puberty. You may feel uncomfortable if all of a sudden you become curvier than your friends but remember that it is unhealthy to try and prevent pubescent weight gain. It might make you uncomfortable in the beginning but it will even out eventually, and your friends will catch up.

Emotions are GREATly unappreciated

You are getting an influx of hormones, everything is changing, things are erupting on your face and your jeans are too short or too tight. OF COURSE you are going to get mad. The trick is acknowledging what it is that is making your emotions run wild and then either accepting you don’t have control. or taking control.

Any major body changes bring with them a sense of discomfort and self consciousness. You aren’t used to looking or feeling this new way and are very conscious that other people have noticed this new you as well. You may become more quick to anger or irritate as you try to cope with these massive changes. It is important to remember that while it may all seem sudden and totally out of control, there are small things you can do to help your body adjust (see the bits of advice previously mentioned). It can seem appealing to push your frustration and anger down, bottle it up and pretend everything is fine, and hey, maybe this works for you, but it takes just as much strength to let everything out. I’m not talking about getting a sledge hammer and smashing up your bedroom, but it is good to cry and rage a little, gets the feelings out in the open where they can’t fester and darken. Here are a few non-violent ways to cope with this onset of emotions.

1. Take a walk – literally anywhere. To the shops, to the park, around the block. Take your headphones and listen to music or don’t take anything and just listen to the world go by. Getting out of your house or school and doing something just for you and by yourself can help calm you down instantly.
2. Join a kickboxing class – okay so this one is a little bit violent, but in a controlled and directed way! You can’t beat punching a bag or some pads when it comes to venting frustration. I have used this technique MANY times throughout high school and it just kicks ass!
3. Sit down and talk to someone – a friend, a parent, a teacher, a councillor. Talking through your emotions is a great way to help you make sense of them and then together you can come up with coping strategies. Not only does this mean there are more ideas bouncing around, but you have now let someone in to what can be an isolating time in your life. They now have the knowledge that you might sometimes be cranky, off your game, in need of a hug or just a bit of space.

Another important point to remember – certain personality types might find that they are pushed into overdrive during puberty. You may become even more shy, anxious, nervous, quick to anger, bossy, aggressive or irritable. Childhood trauma, mental and physical health issues can become exacerbated and you may find it more of a struggle to get through puberty successfully or moreover, find that these become a barrier or a hang up later in life!

So that these don’t become a detrimental life pattern…

• Talk to someone, a councillor, psychiatrist, psychologist or family member.
• Find out whether Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or NLP can help you.

Don’t forget…everyone, LITERALLY everyone in the entire world has gone through this too. From your regular crush to your celebrity crush – no body escapes the wrath of Puberty! It is annoying but most importantly… it is temporary!

 Resources

https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/puberty.html
https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/guidelines/australian-guide-healthy-eating
https://www.menstrupedia.com/articles/puberty

The post The Body Image Series – Part 3 – Puberty…It Sucks appeared first on Teen Talk Production.

The Body Image Series – Part 2

Dying to be thin and the body impossible!

 Fat. Chubby. Ugly. Rolls. Wobbling. Thigh Gap. Bones. Ribcage. Puppy fat. Puberty. Growth Spurts. Bloating.

Slim down for a boy you like. Get muscly for a girl you like. You can borrow my jeans but they might not fit you. Loose 5kg in 5days. Incredibly weight loss tea. Detox to loose weight. 10 ways to appear thinner in pictures. You’re looking a bit chubby at the moment.

 We are bombarded with all of this and more on a daily basis. It can seem impossible to turn off the negative thoughts in your head, to remove the negative people from your life, to come to the conclusion that your self worth is not tied to a number on a scale or a size in the store. It can be hard to learn to love yourself. But it is not impossible!

One thing that can help you is getting educated on some of the serious issues that arise from body image problems.

 Eating disorders are a HUGE issue and its time to bust some myths!

In Australia approximately 28% of males and 35% of females between the ages of 11-24 do not like the way their body looks. At any given time 913,986 people are suffering from an eating disorder in Australia. 64% are girls and 36% are boys. Approximately 20% of girls have an undiagnosed eating disorder and all of this occurs most commonly in adolescence or young adulthood. Now let’s get specific!

Anorexia, the shortened title for Anorexia Nervosa, is defined by…

The persistent restriction of energy intake, intense fear of gaining weight and disturbance in self-perceived weight or shape.

(Thank you National Eating Disorders Collaboration)

Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is a psychiatric illness where a sufferer restricts the food they eat and over-exercises to the point where their weight becomes dangerously low. AN is called a psychiatric illness because the physical changes that occur, do so because of overwhelming thoughts related to eating, weight gain, self-worth and self-perception.

AN has two sub-types (different categories of AN):

1. Restriction subtype – People with this subtype place dangerous restrictions on the amount of food they consume. This includes calorie counting, removing entire food groups, skipping meals or obsessive behaviour regarding food i.e. eating only one colour.
2. Binge/Purge subtype – People who suffer from binge/purge will also severely restrict the amount of food they consume but may also purge (vomiting, taking laxatives) or experience binge eating (consuming lots of food in a short amount of time and feeling a loss of control).

Anorexia is not the only eating disorder out there. It’s time to talk about Bulimia. Bulimia Nervosa is a little different to AN. People who suffer from Bulimia may be able to maintain their weight but experience binge-eating sessions that push them to feel they have lost all control, to be racked by guilt and shame and to then engage in ‘compensatory behaviour,’ this means they may make themselves vomit, restrict food for a while, exercise like crazy or take laxatives. Loads of people think that to suffer from an eating disorder you have to be super skinny, but this is not true! To the outside world, someone with Bulimia may look perfectly normal and that makes it a very dangerous illness. Bulimia often starts with a typical weight-loss diet, you restrict your foods, sometimes cutting out a whole food group (poor carbs, they have such a bad reputation, but I promise, they’re not the devil!) which leads you to feel really hungry, and sometimes the diet stops there and you go back to your normal eating habits (which probably weren’t bad in the first place!) but sometimes you sit down and eat ALL the food you restricted before, and then to compensate for that you restrict yourself all over again. It is a dangerous cycle and could indicate the beginnings of Bulimia.

It can feel confronting to talk about illnesses like AN and Bulimia, but it is so important that we do! Sadly, the people who suffer from these eating disorders the most are young people just like yourselves between 12 and 25 years old!

I encourage you to go back over the images in this blog and familiarise yourself with the signs and symptoms of these illnesses. Who knows, your new found knowledge may just save someone’s life! And one more little tip: always be conscious of what you say to others, the smallest comment can have the largest impact, even if it was not meant to be hurtful! I can still remember that I was lying on my side when my first boyfriend point out that my tummy was dropping down to the bed instead of staying fixed and flat (I think he forgot about gravity) …I was 14 years old then, I am 23 now and I still to this day take a peak at my tummy when I lie on my side…just to see if it still droops like he said it was before. It is hard to forget these small comments There isn’t much of a need to comment on somebody else’s body so unless you’re telling someone that there is a giant spider climbing their up their thigh…just hold in those comments.

Remember, if you suffer from psychiatric illness like Anorexia or Bulimia, you are not alone. The hardest thing to do is ask for help but by asking for help you are putting yourself first, you are taking your life back and that is incredibly brave. Surround yourself with people who encourage you to be the happiest, healthiest and best person you can be and you will find that problems seem smaller and victories come easier J

Catch you next time!

Your Teen Talk Blogger

Asha Khan

@asharosie_khan (Instagram)

For more info about eating disorders and body image check out Teen Talk DVDs 8, 10, 14 & 15!

That was heavy… For something more upbeat check out the Teen Talk Music & Performers Concert. Sunday July 29^th, 5pm-10pm, Elsternwick Park Sports Club.

https://www.trybooking.com/VTZX

 Check out these badass stories of survival!

https://www.buzzfeed.com/carolinerothstein/17-stories-of-eating-disorder-survival?utm_term=.dfrpkQXM8N#.kuoKm6aAMW

Get help <3

https://thebutterflyfoundation.org.au/

Resources

https://www.nedc.com.au/eating-disorders/eating-disorders-explained/types/anorexia-nervosa/

https://www.eatingdisorders.org.au/eating-disorders/bulimia-nervosa

https://www.eatingdisorders.org.au/key-research-a-statistics

The post The Body Image Series – Part 2 – It’s time to drop some truth bombs! appeared first on Teen Talk Production.

What affects body image?

You will be hard pressed to find someone who has never experienced having negative body image. It troubles everyone at one point in time and for a whole variety of reasons which go with a whole variety of body types. I would not go so far as to say having bad body image is natural… but is it normal?

Everyday we are bombarded with images and videos designed specifically to makes us want something, to feel as though we are missing something or to make us feel incomplete. It is ridiculously hard to feel like your body is perfect as is, when we are so adept at singling out the parts of us that we don’t find represented in advertising and the media. And there it is, the worst offender when it comes to affecting body image and self-perception, the media.

Magazines, billboards and television commercials all contribute to worsening self-image. They project an idealised standard of beauty, and one that is unattainable for the majority of people. For girls and women, the body type most often glamourized in the media is thin, athletic, long-limbed, flat stomached and thigh-gapped. You have to remember that the models they use don’t even look like that. Remove the airbrushing and photo shopping that goes into these advertisements and you are still left with a body type that is physically impossible for some people to obtain, and that is because it is ONE body type that the media choose to lord over all the rest. Having a thigh gap, for example, comes down to nothing more than bone structure, and you can’t alter that. A thigh gap is very uncommonly found in women who maintain a healthy body and have the required bone structure. It comes down to the width of your pelvis and the angle that your thigh bones (femurs) attach, no amount of surgery can alter this.

Girls and women in particular are predisposed to carry fat around their thighs and bums, this is something you may notice occurring as you go through puberty and start reaching your late-teens. But not everyone will carry their weight in the same way. In general, the human physique can be broken into three categories for both girls and guys – mesomorph, ectomorph and endomorph – these are called Somatotypes and it is not uncommon for you to be able to identify with 1, 2 or even all 3 of these characteristics. A mesomorph carries more muscle and finds it easier to gain and loose weight, an ectomorph carries less bulk and finds it harder to put on weight, and an endomorph carries more muscle and weight and finds it harder to loose. So in some way, our body types can be accounted for in our genetic make-up, what you get from your mum and your dad.

We compare ourselves to the people we see in day to day life, and most of the time they are the people we see blown up on billboards or glossed over in magazines. The media uses altered and photo-shopped images to sell us anything from groceries to stationary to underwear and we need to remind ourselves that what we are seeing is not representative of all the different and beautiful body types out there in the world. There will be days where that feels impossible and it is then that you need to turn to the people closest to you…and perhaps switch off your iPhone for a little while. Most of the time, getting a little distance from the crazy amount of images out there, is exactly what you need to remind yourself that you are great the way you are.

Until next time!

Asha, your teen-talk blogger

@asharosie_khan

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-29569473

https://www.livestrong.com/article/1012082-filling-thigh-gaps/

The post The Body Image Series – Part 1 – What affects body image? appeared first on Teen Talk Production.

[To find part 1 of this blog post click on the following link http://www.teentalkproduction.com.au/are-you-using-technology-or-is-it-using-you/]

Going viral
At some point most of us had dreams of being famous, and maybe we still do. Never has that dreamed seemed so within our grasp as it does now. Young people are desperate for their content to ‘go viral’, even going so far as to delete posts that don’t generate enough likes. This creates a false perception of success and failure. If people ‘like’ me, I have value. If I don’t get likes, I am a failure. Our need for approval is heightened by social media and drives us back to our screens again and again, seeking that hit of dopamine (literally, a feel good hormone) that floods our brain when we see new things pop up on our newsfeed or notifications on our phone. But we are seeking validation in the wrong place. Think about the people you look up to (in person) in your everyday life—kind, honest, responsible people. They are the ones you should be seeking acceptance and validation from.

On the bright side…

We’ve talked a lot about the negative effects of social media. So where do we go from here? Let’s have a look at the positive effects of real life experiences. Wouldn’t you rather life be full of REAL, rather than the virtual? Get out of your comfort zone: out of bullying zone, out of catfish zone, the danger zone … and experience real friends, real games, real exercise, real adventure, real fun.

We were made with five wonderful senses: sight, touch, hearing, taste and smell. After watching a cooking show like Master Chef to give you some ideas, why not try cooking a recipe with your friends, or a sibling? Food tends to taste better in person. Our five senses are all located near memory areas of the brain, and when you engage all of them you are far more likely to remember the experience. On the other hand, a virtual experience fades from memory quite quickly. You can’t hug, kiss or hold hands with a computer device, and positive, healthy physical touch is much needed for our overall well-being. We need to know that we’re loved, not just followed by a bunch of strangers on Twitter.

There are many ways to find real life adventure. Here are just a few suggestions:

• Bike riding

• Scavenger/treasure hunt

• Volunteering at a local charity

• Baking something sweet, then sharing it with loved ones

• Visiting your relatives or elderly neighbours

• Mini Golf

• Casual game of soccer or cricket at a local park

• Painting/drawing a landscape or a portrait of a friend (or visiting a local art exhibit)

• Designing your dream house or car

• Board games and word association games

• Water fight

• Visiting a local skate park

• Doing a puzzle

• Learning phrases in a foreign language

• Bodyboarding and making a car out of sand at the beach

Not only are these activities fun, they are good for your health because they engage either your body or your brain. Things like this help your brain development, while too much screen time can actually stunt it—not to mention the impact it has on your eyes and the ability to fall asleep. Kids Matter says that screen time can not only delay a young person’s bed time but trigger adrenaline which makes it difficult to fall asleep. The blue light from the screen also disrupts the body’s natural production of melatonin, which regulates sleeping vs waking time—meaning overuse of screen time can throw off your sleeping patterns. If you want to have a good, long sleep, Huffington Post recommends turning your screens off an hour or two before bed time.

Laying aside all the bad things that social media has introduced to our society, it has also done a lot of good. Charities going viral and raising money and awareness for great causes has never been as effective as it is now. Social media groups and chatrooms devoted to promoting positivity and combatting mental illness are a great way to get our young people connected to other teens struggling with the same issues, and to getting the help they need. Inspirational bloggers and Instagram celebrities have also been a beacon of light in the darkness, keeping teens’ spirits up and directing them to professionals who can help them.

Psychologist Jean Twenge in an article in The Washington Times recommends not cutting out smart phones entirely, but limiting your contact time to two hours a day or less. The more we stimulate our brains, exercise our social skills (and our physical bodies) the healthier and better-rounded we will all be.

Remember, balance is the key!

By Lil Williams, Teen Talk’s in-house blogger

References:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2016/09/27/australias-suicide-crisis-has-peaked-to-a-terrifying-new-height_a_21480647/, sourced 10 January 2018.

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/nov/14/teen-suicides-rise-with-smartphone-social-media-us/, sourced 10 January 2018.

https://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/families/enewsletter/screen-time-and-sleep, sourced 18 January 2018.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/laurie-hollman-phd/effects-of-screen-time-on_b_11407544.html, sourced 18 January 2018.

http://blog.leonardo.com/the-technology-obsessed-generation/, sourced 29 January 2018.

https://www.maketecheasier.com/25-funny-internet-memes/, sourced 29 January 2018.

The post Part 2: Are you using technology … or is it using you? appeared first on Teen Talk Production.

Has social media really made us more connected? A sight I see often today is a family sitting at a café: dog barking, baby crying and everyone else . . .  glued to their screens. If this isn’t ringing any bells, what’s the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning? If it’s not checking some social media platform on your phone or tablet I will be surprised.

Is anyone out there … out there?

Functions like statuses on Facebook, as well as ‘my day’ on Snapchat and Instagram give us the illusion of interaction, when in reality a lot of the time no one is replying directly to us. We put out a story for the world to see, and view other people’s stories but there is no tangible connection. Several celebrities have commented recently that fans will come up to them like they’re already best friends but the star obviously has no idea who they are. This is largely due to them being ‘friends’ on Facebook or following them on Instagram or Twitter. It gives a false sense of friendship, to the point that some people are delusional about it. This disconnect even stretches to the point that millennials are confused when someone calls them, rather than texting, as they find phone calls ‘awkward’.

I lived in a share house during university. One day my five housemates were all playing video games with each other … in different rooms/floors of the house with headphones. It was ridiculous! And do you think I could I get a response about dinner out of a single one of them? No. Because the game couldn’t be paused.  They could have all been spending time with each other in the same room, but instead were all locked away in their rooms with the doors shut. Can this isolation lead to anything good? Huffington Post tends to think no, considering that "In 2015, suicide accounted for one-third of deaths (33.9 percent) among people 15-24 years of age.” The Washington Times published supporting research stating that teens who used social media every day were “14% more likely to be depressed than less-frequent social media users”.

Cyber bullying
Cyber bullying has been largely responsible for the rise in mental health issues and suicide due to social media. Bullies can be more cowardly than ever, conveniently able to hide their face, and even their identity. Victims of this bullying can feel like there is no escape, and that the whole world is watching their humiliation, not just a few peers in the school yard. Things put up on the internet are also never able to be truly deleted, so can inflict lasting damage.

Catfishing
While not the same as bullying, catfishing is when someone enters a romantic relationship over the internet with a person who is either not what they seem, or might not even exist! It can only lead to devastation and heartbreak for the person who has been fooled, and this betrayal could lead to major trust issues in the future.

Everyone on their best behaviour – the pressure to be perfect
If you look through your Instagram feed for too long, you might start to actually believe that everyone around you has a perfect life. The pressure to be ‘Instagram-worthy’ while also being able to use the hashtags #organic and #nofilter is at an all-time high. No one wants to post photos that are less than amazing, and we all seem desperate to make all our followers jealous with how fantastic our lives are. The problem with this pressure and falseness is that if we are struggling in any way, we don’t have a safe space to let it out and seek help. On the other hand, if people do post something negative on social media, they are accused of attention seeking. You can’t win, it seems.

Using technology … without letting it use you
The amount of information that young people are sharing on the web today is a little scary. Befriending strangers on Facebook, YouTube commenting, Tumblr, anonymous chat rooms and Snapchat, as well as dating apps like Tinder all encourage young people to expose as much of themselves as possible, and I don’t just mean their phone number. This opens them up to risk of falling prey to predators who use the internet as a hunting ground, and we’ve all heard one too many stories about a lovers’ meeting going awry.

It is important that we know how to use technology responsibly, especially in places like school and university. Ask yourself: is the content appropriate and inoffensive, is the website legitimate and legal, and are there potential viruses in that link? When interacting with someone online, it is best to give out as little of your personal information as possible, especially when you first ‘meet’ them. If an online ‘friend’ wants to meet up, ask if you can bring a friend with you the first time, and make sure the meeting point is in a public place (and always tell someone where you are). Warning: if they insist that you come alone, their intentions are almost certainly bad. Be open with your parents or an adult you trust about the websites and social media platforms you are using (I know it may not come naturally)—they are here to look out for you. Just remember that if you come across something on the internet that seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Part 2 to follow soon....

By Lil Williams, Teen Talk’s in-house blogger

References:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2016/09/27/australias-suicide-crisis-has-peaked-to-a-terrifying-new-height_a_21480647/, sourced 10 January 2018.

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/nov/14/teen-suicides-rise-with-smartphone-social-media-us/, sourced 10 January 2018.

https://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/families/enewsletter/screen-time-and-sleep, sourced 18 January 2018.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/laurie-hollman-phd/effects-of-screen-time-on_b_11407544.html, sourced 18 January 2018.

https://micaicmc2015.wordpress.com/2015/08/06/epw-edit-anti-social-media/, sourced 22 January 2018.

The post Are you using technology … or is it using you? Part 1 appeared first on Teen Talk Production.

Why is fitting in so important to us young people? We buy brands, cut our hair, listen to music, change the way we speak … all in order to fit in, to find acceptance.

“Why fit in, when you were born to stand out?”
– What a Girl Wants

Acceptance is a core desire for us as human beings, but sometimes we sacrifice being who we truly are in order to follow the crowd. Have you ever done something you didn’t really want to do, just because you were afraid of judgement from others, or that you would be left out? There have been times in high school and university when I was left out because of choosing differently to my peers. For example, on some sunny days they would invite me to join them in ditching class to go to the beach. I could have gone to make them happy, and yes the beach would have been fun, but when I looked at the bigger picture, I decided that going to class (and therefore my education) was more important to me and my future.

It is important to do things for the right reasons. If you decide to be a hairdresser because you love hair and want to make people feel beautiful, go for it! But don’t be a hairdresser because someone told you that you were dumb and could never get the marine biologist job that you wanted. It is easy to count ourselves out of the race before we’ve even reached the starting blocks. Can you imagine the regret of reaching the end of your life and looking back wondering if you could have lived a better life, if only you had pursued your dreams?

So what is stopping you from doing what you want to do? Is it fear, a mean or discouraging comment, a lack of self-confidence, a desire to fit in or have people think you’re cool? Whether it’s a career path, a fashion choice, a hobby you take up, or a friend you make, there is always going to be someone who disagrees with you, someone who has a negative opinion about it. You know why I never read the comments on YouTube or viral Facebook posts? Because I’m bound to read something that will make me either sick or depressed. I don’t need that kind of negativity in my life, and neither do you.

If your friends are going to judge you or leave you out because of a choice you make that you feel is right for you, then they don’t really sound like true friends. While you may have people look at you funny, or misunderstand you sometimes, isn’t that better than living your whole life as somebody else? Peer pressure is a real thing—we’ve all felt it—but it doesn’t have to be the thing that defines us.

Being yourself requires bravery, especially when you’re young. It’s healthy to step outside of your comfort zone and push the boundaries of ‘normal’. What is normal anyway? If it’s the opposite of unique and interesting, then I don’t want to be it. If you want to be able to care less what other people think, you have to be confident and comfortable in who you are. To be a truly confident, secure person, you cannot hate any part of yourself.

Instead of being a sheep that follows the crowd, you could be a leader who creates a better environment for the people around you. You may not realise it, but you—your words and your actions—have the power to affect people around you. What do you see in the world that upsets you? What are you going to do to change it?

For example, you might think the world lacks kindness. In your daily life, you can spread kindness to the people you come into contact with. Smile at people you pass on the street, ask the person at the checkout how their day was, volunteer your time at a retirement home. You may say to yourself, “But I am just one person. What difference can it make?”

Never underestimate the power of your efforts. You can’t change the whole world by yourself, but if you be yourself and reach out in love to others, you can change their whole world.

Life is full of opportunities. Sometimes a door opens at exactly the right time and you happen to be the one standing next to it. If it’s a good opportunity, take it before the door closes, or someone else will. Seize the day! Not much of value in this world is easily or quickly attained. Getting an education, having fulfilling relationships, becoming an Olympian or building a successful career or business—none of these happen overnight but all have incredible value. If we don’t do anything that requires effort, our lives will be a string of meaningless nothings. Sometimes we have to overlook the short term pain for the long term pay off. Success doesn’t come from raw talent or genius, but from hard work, patience, and a willingness to try again after failure. Life is not a sprint; it’s a marathon. If you think you’ve failed, it just means you haven’t finished the race.

And remember…

“You is kind.
You is smart.
You is important.”
- The Help

Lil Williams
(Teen Talk’s in-house blogger)
______________________________________________________________

Images (sourced 2 November 2017):
http://spiritualcleansing.org/be-yourself-everyone-else-is-already-taken/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/341007003013953800/?lp=true
https://quotespop.com/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/399624166914078210/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/335588609708565403/?lp=true
http://tradingphrases.com/be-the-change-you-wish-to-see-wall-decals.html

The post Be the Change appeared first on Teen Talk Production.