I’m incredibly proud that addressing mental health issues with programs such as this week’s Mental Health Week in support of World Mental Health Day, and ABC’S Mental As, a week of TV, radio, and online programming dedicated to dismantling the stigmas surrounding mental health, has now become an everyday norm. It’s very difficult now to…
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October 10 is World Mental Health Day, so this week (October 5-12) we are observing National Mental Health Week in Australia. In light of this, guest writer, Jaen Wilson joins us to answer some FAQs about what ‘seeking help’ means and how to go about it. There has been a lot of great public discussion lately around depression, suicide,…
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It’s October! Not only can we start planning our Halloween costumes, but it’s also well and truly springtime. As the weather warms up, pets start shedding more, flowers release pollen, and dust is blown up into the dry air. Fur, pollen, and dust are common allergens, which can make spring an uncomfortable time for those…
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If you are sexually active, one would hope you have heard of the infections that can set upon your bits if you have a lax attitude to safe sex. Perhaps they are not as embedded in your brain as one Geordie Shore cast member, whose sweet nothings during love making consisted of ‘chlamydiaaaaa!’ Beyond chlamydia,…
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Last week, endometriosis was on Lip’s radar, as pharmaceutical giant Bayer refuses to supply more than half a million Australian women suffering from the crippling disease with valuable pain medication. Endometriosis affects up to 10% of women worldwide and is defined mostly by intense pelvic pain. Twenty-three-year-old Sylvia Freedman, the woman behind the push for…
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As feminists, we believe women should have choices. We believe nothing should stand in the way of a woman living life as best she can. For the half a million Australian women diagnosed with the debilitating disease endometriosis, their autonomy is currently being compromised by pharmaceutical company Bayer. Bayer is considering bringing the drug…
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When I was a kid there was a family of four girls who would take turns babysitting us. The eldest sister was about 19 and had coarse hair on her face, was a little bit overweight and, to be honest, I thought she looked strange. It turned out she had polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), and…
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Earlier this year, we found out that on average woman spends 55 minutes in the morning getting ready. But did you know that in the time it takes you to get ready in the morning, you’ve already ingested up to 168 chemicals? And by purchasing some of the beauty brands on the market, you could…
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Getting your period can be bloody awful, and for many women the week or so leading up to it is not much better. The changes the body goes through in this time can cause moderate to severe symptoms, known as premenstrual syndrome, or PMS. While PMS can make life difficult, about 5% of women of…
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When public figures like Ian Thorpe, Demi Lovato, and Catherine Zeta-Jones speak out about their struggles with depression and depressive disorders, it can be discouraging to find so many myths and misunderstandings about this illness still perpetrated in our society. Depression and other depressive disorders occur in 1 in 5 women and 1 in 8…
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Throughout high school, I would become physically ill every term just before everything was due. Sometimes just before only one assignment was due which meant I’d get sick a few times a term. I went through high school with a myriad of doctor’s notes trailing behind me. There was always a polite letter to excuse…
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For $29.95, HelloFlo ships period starter kits with supplies they’ve deemed necessary for new menstruators. Marketed to parents as a gift for their girls, the kit includes pads, panty liners, a canvas pouch to carry supplies, guides for parents and girls and a beaded bracelet. The bracelet has left me scratching my head. Is it…
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Did you know that the past decade has seen rate of sexually transmissible infections (STIs) increase in Australia? Many recent studies outline the surprising numbers around the increase of HPV and HIV in young people, as well as an increase in STIs in people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent, but it is difficult…
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When I was a kid, there were these strange cereal ads where a woman would be trying to buy her groceries and the male grocer would pick up her box of cereal and say ‘Hey, nice choice!’ and list off all these random facts about this wonder cereal. ‘And it’s high in iron,’ he’d…
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