Are Britain’s Universities providing enough mental health support to students?┬áAs Cardiff Uni signs the Time to Change pledge, Michael OÔÇÖConnell-Davidson investigates.┬áA separate version of this post with annotations from the author, can be found on the Quench Medium page. Of all the problems facing our society, mental illness is perhaps the least understood. It is an inherently human problem, but not one that should be … Continue reading Picking up the Pieces
With the pressure to physically conform now greater than ever, Andy Love takes a look at body image, marketing and our unhealthy obsession with health A quarter of adults in Britain are currently obese. The papers are still trying to find a culprit. Is it sugar? Is it fat? Is it an epidemic? Am I sick? Are you? Supermarkets have started filling their shelves with … Continue reading The Unhealthy Ideal
Amelia Jones┬árelives her frightening experience of facial┬áparalysis, and reminds us that a smile goes a long way in ‘My Frozen Face’ I welcomed in the New Year excited to graduate and enthusiastic to enter the real world, but I faced an overwhelming sense of anxiety as looming deadlines and the mammoth task of my third year dissertation weighed heavy on my mind. The events that … Continue reading My Frozen Face
As fitness booms throughout social media, Emma Giles questions the development of a new competitive lifestyle, its benefits and possible repercussions in ‘Survival of the #Fittest’ The season of New YearÔÇÖs resolutions and the surge of self-motivational Facebook statuses has (thankfully) well and truly gone. Whilst this is a welcome change to those who realise that they have already broken their resolutions, one thing … Continue reading Survival of the #Fittest
With the image of heads buried in their hand-held screens surrounding us, Andy Love examines the way smart phones have changed our social interactions in ‘Communication Problems’.┬á ÔÇ£This one has a better battery life, better definition screen, better camera…it’s also flatter,ÔÇØ says a girl wearing glasses to two of her peers who listen closely as if sheÔÇÖs a wizard telling a story. Smart-phones progress so … Continue reading Communication Problems
If the grass is perpetually greener on the other side, maybe itÔÇÖs time to build a fence and shield gloating neighbours from view, argues Aimee-Lee Abraham┬áin ‘Fear and Self Loathing’.┬á We used to lurk nervously in the self-help section, wary of the stigma housed in its pages, fearful of contagion. We would lie through our teeth to cashiers, improvising tales of the poor uncle who … Continue reading Fear and Self Loathing
Can blogging improve your mental health? Sophie Lodge┬áinvestigates in ‘The Internet Confessional’.┬á In October 2012 15 year old Tallulah Wilson was hit by a train after years of suffering from clinical depression. In January this year her mother condemned the poor censorship of harmful blogging websites like Tumblr that she believed had fuelled her daughterÔÇÖs death. However, the inquest revealed TallulahÔÇÖs Tumblr account was deleted … Continue reading The Internet Confessional
Toby Mott┬ádiscusses Channel 4’s ‘Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners’ and the perception of OCD as a cute quirk.┬á ÔÇ£Obsessive Compulsive DisorderÔÇØ isnÔÇÖt any easier to write than it is to say. As so often seems to be the case with the clinical titles assigned to mental illness, just the terms themselves are enough to evoke an uncomfortable and involuntary wince. Despite the tireless efforts of charities such … Continue reading #OCDPROBLEMS
With the beginning of the Welsh National OperaÔÇÖs new season; ÔÇÿFallen WomenÔÇÖ, in Wales Millennium Centre next week, the subject of operaÔÇÖs place in the young adultÔÇÖs life is questioned. Jordan Nicholls takes us through some of the myths that have popped up around opera, and why theyÔÇÖre false. Many young adults are culturally curious, and enjoy activities such as trips to the museum and … Continue reading Fallen Women, Falling Myths
The term ÔÇÿbanterÔÇÖ is pretty friendly. ┬áOr at least, it used to be. Once upon a time, it meant an amicable ÔÇÿrib-diggingÔÇÖ between two leisurely gentlemen about who had caught the biggest fish; it was the only way Jane AustenÔÇÖs girls could ever get kicks in their patriarchy-enforced plight to get hitched; it was a dance between words, not an offensive battle.┬á Banter was the … Continue reading The Battle of Banter
Blurred Lines: ┬áthe best-selling single of 2013, number one in fourteen countries and the fastest selling song in digital history. Why then has a record with such huge popularity been banned from playing in over 20 University Student Unions, including UCL, Edinburgh and Leeds, and should Cardiff University be the next to follow in their footsteps? The reasons behind this censorship have received endless … Continue reading Blurred Lines
The Christmas holidays. Most students start counting down the days to this frenzy of seasonal television, Baileys and pyjamas as legitimate daywear in mid-October. However, not everyone at university is fortunate enough to be able to go home and re-bond with their family and pets for four weeks over winter. Whether itÔÇÖs because they have to stay to maintain a job, or because they are … Continue reading Cardiff at Christmas
Aimee-Lee Abraham examines the myths of pornography and the impact the industry is having on society and the student psyche.┬á This season, a housemate remarked, Channel 4 ÔÇÿhas gone a bit mental with all the sexÔÇÖ. This is not coincidental; the broadcasterÔÇÖs ÔÇÿcampaign for real sexÔÇÖ is well underway, with shows like Date My Pornstar and Diary of a Teenage Virgin dominating post-watershed airtime. Channel … Continue reading Girl Meets Porn
ÔÇÿHavenÔÇÖt seen this time in a whileÔÇÖ, I thought, clambering out of the surf lodgeÔÇÖs triple bunk bed at 6.30am on Friday morning. It was the opening day of the BUCS Surf championships, one of the biggest surf contests in Europe. The best thing about the contest is that it is a real eye-opener to competitive surfing, which has been previously overlooked in the sporting … Continue reading Cardiff Surf Club Makes A Splash
Chloe May discusses the rise of the ÔÇÿYouTube FamilyÔÇÖ and questions whether you can really make a career out of filming your day-to-day life. Home videos: every family has them. The thought of my parents deciding that my rendition of ÔÇÿWhen Santa got Stuck Up The ChimneyÔÇÖ, aged six, was worthy of being posted on the internet is a bizarre one. An even more bizarre … Continue reading The Modern Family
To avoid kitchen meltdowns and drunken brawls, take our advice on dealing with the worst culprits. Continue reading “How To Tame Your Flatmates”
