Mental Health: What's the cost?

                This year the charity Mind revealed that only 1.36% of local public health budgets are spent on preventing people from developing mental health problems. This is shocking in light of the fact that 1 in 4 people will suffer from a mental illness and that simple facilities and activities could make a huge difference to those people. There is a vast range of mental illnesses from schizophrenia to depression and many people in the country are affected by them; yet we choose to taboo the subject and avoid addressing the issue. When we learn that obesity is on the rise, instantly gyms and support groups are funded by the government however when we discover that a fifth of adults of the UK have taken anti-depressants at some point in their lives, there is no rush to provide activities such as therapy sessions or meditation classes  for the public.

                Furthermore, surely it would be even simpler to initiate the means to prevent the problem in the first place? Students receive countless lessons about healthy eating and fitness, yet there is hardly anything on the curriculum highlighting the importance of looking after your mental health as well as your physical health even though 1 in 10 students will be affected by mental illness at some point during their education. This statistic could be drastically decreased if children and teenagers were encouraged to adopt habits and strategies that enable them to feel in control of their mind and secure in themselves, the closest that we have to this at the moment is simply "how to avoid exam stress" crash courses near the end of the academic year which are usually held too late and not taken seriously.

                Sadly mental illness is too often not taken as seriously as physical illness even though it can sometimes be much more fatal. For men over 40 years old, suicide is the biggest killer but we still prioritise facilities for physical health problems much more so than mental health problems. A stigma in daily conversation has developed and we are so fearful of this issue which means that we never confront it.  When it takes some people 18 months to reserve a hospital bed for their eating disorder and others are forced to persist through exams or work commitments when they are suffering with personal mental problems due to fear that if they focus on their mental health it will be a massive obstacle to a successful career- it should ring alarm bells that we need to make a change and push the leaders of our country to put money, time and effort into the necessities to support the large fraction of us who are burdened with one of these illnesses.

                Mind has fortunately taken a stand and have been actively trying to make a change by encouraging people to send letters to their MPs and overwhelming  figures in authority with the Mind manifesto which consists of the following six main commitments for whoever forms the next government after the General Election next year:

1.       Reduce mental health stigma and discrimination and continue to support the Time to Change campaign

2.       Mandate the NHS in England to offer talking therapies to everyone who needs them within 28 days of referral

3.       Ensure everyone gets safe, speedy and accessible crisis care whenever they need it, no matter where they turn

4.       Transform the support for people who are not working because of their mental health and create a system that really helps them to overcome the barriers they face

5.       Increase the overall NHS mental health budget by a minimum of 10 per cent in real terms over five years

6.       Implement a national strategy that helps everyone to take care of their mental wellbeing

         To find out more about Mind's work and about mental health please visit the websites below and help raise awareness & end the stigma.

Fozz.

Recommended links:

http://www.mind.org.uk/about-us/policies-issues/in-parliament/mind-manifesto-election-2015/

http://www.youngminds.org.uk/

http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/

How My Privilege Makes Me Feel

                 Recently- in light of events that have been occurring across the globe- I have been more aware of my privilege than ever before. Like so many, from social media I have seen the scale of protests that have been happening as a result of injustices in various countries: the most noted being the racial discrimination apparent in the US due to the Mike Brown, Tamir Rice and Eric Garner cases which have sparked such trends as #Justice4MikeBrown, #BlackLivesMatter and #ICantBreathe (if you are not fully aware of what's been going on please read articles such as: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/12/11/us/police-slayings-reaction-roundup/ or explore the hash tags on social media especially on Tumblr and Twitter).

                Watching these protests from afar and being involved in the social spread of these incidents have reminded me of how the fact that I'm white, heterosexual and cis-gender protects me. However, I have also felt unnerved by why these traits give me a sense of security. When discussing this with my family, I told them "My privilege protects me; but it doesn't comfort me" in which a relative replied "Of course it comforts you" which I realised is true to some extent when I look at their definition of "comfort". It is obvious that I would be comforted by the fact that when I dress in the clothes I wish to wear, I will not have the life beaten out of me in a dark alley; when I kiss the person I love in public, I won't have people shout at me that "I will burn in hell" or that "my love is f*cking disgusting"; and that when I walk down the street I will not be afraid of a police officer aiming six 'warning' shots at my heart. Of course it is a comfort to know that in most circumstances my appearance and identity will not lead to hatred from those who feel that they are superior to me.

                But then again, the thought that some people who do choose to express themselves, love who they want or simply show the colour of their skin in daylight will be met with unjustifiable violence and abuse does make me uncomfortable- more so disgusted and astounded. To think that simply just because of traits I was born with, I am rewarded with a blanket of security. I am meant to be grateful for this yet how can I display my thanks when I have to watch others being punished for the traits they were born with? I find it shocking that my 'privilege' is something which by law should be basic human rights. I find it scary that we were born into this hierarchy set up through years of 'norms' and 'traditions' with no valid reasons being able to pardon it.

                So how does my privilege make me feel? I feel sheltered , comforted and safe yet disgusted, unnerved and scared at the same time. I guess that the only way I can feel more at ease is if I use this immunity to amplify voices of those burdened by societal bullies and to show that I do not believe that the socially constructed supremacy linked with my looks and preferences should be supported or encouraged in any way. I guess my privilege both protects me and frightens me.

Fozz.

http://celestialallegorist.tumblr.com/post/100838670244

Let's Talk About Sex

                Most students have been through the trauma of Sex Education lessons. We have been scarred by memories of cringe-worthy videos, disturbing "circle time" and condom covered cucumbers. They're meant to have a purpose: to teach and prepare teenagers for when the possibly daunting situation of sex comes along. But how informative are they really? Are they actually helping kids feel more comfortable with getting intimate with their own and somebody else's body?

                Teenagers today are part of a generation where sexual orientations are starting to thrive and sex is becoming a part of their everyday life increasingly. However, schools are not keeping up and are not advising their students as well as it may be necessary. This is because schools follow a syllabus consisting of heteronormativity and male dominance. Before sexual intercourse is even touched on, there is a lack of informal teaching about periods, menopause and general female anatomy-causing boys to develop a taboo and girls to be confused and oblivious to their own bodies. When we finally move onto the birds & the bees, crucial information is conveniently ignored and a stigma starts to bubble. As realistic as it is to yank a condom over a mushy banana, adolescents are still ignorant to the different forms of contraception and the importance of the use of them in regards to STDs and unexpected pregnancies. Some worry that discussing contraception encourages teenagers to have sex but this has never actually been proven and many teenagers disagree that it has an effect on their sexual drive.

                It's appalling to think that with sex itself there is, more often than not, no Sex-Ed lesson on the dangers of sexual abuse or the value of consent. One in three women will be a victim of sexual violence yet there is no information on when sex is & isn't consensual and what to do if a student ever sadly found themselves in a threatening situation. Sexual abuse is also an issue which can affect men too which makes this issue even more concerning when this is a gender-wide problem. In a society where rape culture is worryingly toxic and treacherous, surely to target the youth and inform them on how sex should be mutually consensual and safe for both parties involved, should be a priority?

                Thankfully however, our society over the last few decades have been more welcoming of alternate sexual orientations to heterosexuality- but when it comes to school sex education we reach a dead end. Teenagers are not told often enough that their sexuality is their own and that their preferences should not be shamed. It may not be appropriate to go into the graphics of sex in a classroom, but hardly ever are sexual orientations or gender identities discussed. The teen years are notorious for sexual exploration yet schools only ever speak about heterosexuality and sometimes homosexuality. What about bisexuality, demi-sexuality or asexuality? What about those who are transgender or non-binary? How does this make queer youths feel about themselves? Teens should never feel humiliated for who they are or aren't attracted to so by schools only discussing sex as a heterosexual cisgender experience, they are sending the subtle message that maybe their preferences are "wrong" and "abnormal" whereas it is simply just unique to the individual.

                At the moment, teenagers resort to useful internet sources (such as the 4:01 show or Laci Green), to common experimentation (which due to lack of knowledge can sometimes be risky) and pornography (which is unrealistic and heavily features male dominance and sexual abuse).  But why shouldn't schools be a reliable source as well? Why does a fear and awkwardness to converse about sex have to occur? We should talk about something which is such a huge part of our lives; let's talk about sex.

Fozz.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Sources and recommended links:

https://www.youtube.com/user/The401Show

https://www.youtube.com/user/lacigreen
http://amplifyyourvoice.org

My Apology to Taylor Swift

                I've always been quite proud of my music taste. I've loved everything from old classics to mainstream pop and indie rock to contemporary ballads; but I could never bring myself to like Taylor Swift's music. I had justified reasons for this, including the fact that I wasn't a massive fan of country music and I didn't appreciate the way in which her lyrics would tear down other girls in order to win over the high school heartthrob (You Belong With Me being a prime example). But then when Swift released singles from her album Red including I Knew You Were Trouble and 22, which featured addictive melodies and empowering lyrics, I still could not admit to liking them. Whenever I was asked why I held on to my hostility towards her, I would reply in a bitchy manner about how annoying it was that she was this crazy clingy girlfriend who acted  like a Queen bee. I hadn't developed this opinion by myself though- I hadn't watched interviews with her and given up my time to find out more about her- I had simply just repeated what the media had told me: that she was a flirty attention seeker.

                But while Taylor Swift had a two year break to tour and evolve her sound, I also spent the time educating myself about female empowerment and sexism within the music industry. So when Swift returned to 2014 with Shake It Off, I fully embraced the "let the haters hate" anthem and was thoroughly impressed with her Radio 1 Live Lounge session. I thought this would be the end of my love for Taylor, but after reading the huge amounts of fabulous reviews of her record 1989, I decided to purchase it and give it a chance. Now, a month later of listening to the album repeatedly and watching interviews with the reigning pop princess, I have fallen in love with Taylor Swift. 1989 is cleverly mastered with layered chorus vocals and synth sounds reminiscent of the 80's music scene but is also entwined with the feel of modern musicians including HAIM and Lorde. It also links in well with her intelligent and witty attitude discussing equality of the sexes and her career in a brutal and misogynistic industry whilst using sarcasm (Blank Space being a prime example).

                So I guess I have to apologise to Taylor Swift. I'm sorry that I made assumptions based on what I had read in gossip magazines and I'm sorry that I was a hypocrite and judged her for tearing down fellow girls when I did the exact same thing. I've matured as has she and now I am obsessed with a completely new artist! I've done this exact same thing before with other celebrities such as Kristen Stewart and Katy Perry but thankfully I have managed to let go of my prejudice. But I can't help but pity other girls stuck in the same mindset as I was. While we read and believe the bitchy articles that cover our media about our fellow females, we therefore restrict ourselves to embark on the work of so many talented women. This is especially a problem for teenagers who are trying to build a version of themselves constructed by what they see in our society so they need to make sure that they explore pop culture for themselves instead of being  tricked by the headlines on the magazine racks. 

Fozz.

How our superheroes lack the "feminine touch"

                Marvel has recently found huge financial success in their most recent film Guardians of the Galaxy, which grossed over $94 million in it's opening weekend making it the largest August opener of all time.  But one of the main reasons the film has hit headlines, is due to the fact that 44% of the audience was female. This is the highest female viewer rating which Marvel has ever encountered and is taken to be a positive sign for future superhero movies.

                Many wondered why Guardians of the Galaxy had collected such a large female audience and many notions were suggested. Miss Representation, who are a campaign working towards ending gender inequality and increasing diversity of women we see in our media, claimed that people were excited and impressed that the film included Marvel's first-ever female screen writer- Nicole Perlman. They also pointed out the fact that the film stars the complex female characters played by Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillan and Glenn Close. Many other people however, just pointed at Chris Pratt's abs to justify all the female attention the film was receiving.

                Then again, the Guardian writer Bim Adewunmi came up with another theory when writing an article entitled "Why do women love Guardians of the Galaxy?" that maybe women just like the film because they are human. She states in the article that "women like Guardians of the Galaxy because it is a good movie. It is witty, quirky and fun, and has plenty of charm". I support Adewunmi's opinion and am thrilled to learn that women are enjoying themselves and seeing fantastic films despite those movies being notoriously targeted towards men.

                Which means that us female viewers are looking forward to the next step: a female-led superhero film.  There are a few Marvel ladies including Black Widow from Avengers Assemble, Iron Man 2 and Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Pepper Potts from the Iron Man trilogy who we adore but in recent years, we have failed to see a woman actually star in their own super hero Hollywood Blockbuster. Despite the latest demand for a woman to be seen saving the Earth, we are making rather disappointingly slow progress.

                 Kevin Feige, President of Marvel Studios, recently said that " the studio has no intention of releasing a female-led action film in the foreseeable future" and that sequels to their already established franchises are set to be top priorities through to 2017. It was rumoured that a Black Widow film was on the horizon but Feige's statement has destroyed any hope for that for at least 4 years. DC Comics has made a slightly better advancement however, with Gal Gadot being cast  as Wonder Woman and allegedly thought to appear in Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice in 2016, the future Justice League movie in 2017 and eventually her own Wonder Woman movie in 2018- but these have not been fully confirmed and may have their release dates delayed.

                Actresses are also keen to have their chance at the starring role. Kristen Stewart actually turned down a role in a super hero movie, justifying the decision by saying, "I don't want to be the superhero's girlfriend. I want to be the superhero." Which I think is more than fair enough. Scarlett Johansson also has previously said that she would love to star in a Black Widow origin movie "if the audience wants something like that" as " these spin -offs are really like fan-driven".

                So in order to actually have the female-led superhero movies we need to show, as the viewers and consumers, that we want them. This is the link to tweet Marvel Studios that we want a strong and complex super heroine confirmed before 2017: https://t.e2ma.net/click/62p5d/mjpkjg/qirocb and here is the link to sign a petition for a Black Widow movie: https://www.change.org/p/yo-marvel-whereismyblackwidowmovie . It's about time the women wore the cape for once.

Fractured Fozz

                I had never broken any bone in my body. Until a couple of weeks ago, I had never had a fracture or sprained anything properly; I was an X-ray virgin. So when a severe sprain in netball training turned into a painful chip of the bone- a part of me was actually kind of excited. Missing the couple of days off school for hospital appointments seemed pretty appealing, choosing a colour for my cast appeared to be fun and the thought of several weeks lying on the sofa watching netflix was seriously awesome. Then, when I went on to learn that we were going to hire a wheelchair to get me round at a quicker pace, I was so happy thinking about all the fun I would have rolling around everywhere.

                However the novelty wore off pretty soon. It took me approximately 24 hours to completely 180 spin on my opinion and wish I could rip off the plastic prison that my leg was encased in. Firstly, hardly anywhere is wheelchair friendly. Every ramp is too steep and every pavement is too bumpy and numerous times an entire slab has come loose and occasionally even popped out while I was wheeling past which is not only annoying and possibly harmful to me but frustrating for whoever is wheeling me around.

                The other problem with being in a chair in public is other people. I've always made it a point to never stare and possibly offend someone in a wheelchair or crutches as I thought they would not want the unnecessary extra attention, however I found most people seemingly purposely avoid my gaze and look straight ahead which surprisingly made me feel dehumanized as if I was unworthy of having eye contact with everybody else. It wasn't their fault of course, they obviously weren't trying to offend me on purpose, but I had never realised how much effect eye contact had on how included I felt in the space around me.  

                Secondly, I felt ostracised by how I couldn't participate in daily occurrences. I couldn't hang out with my family for our little catch ups in the kitchen before dinner as by the time I had got up from the sofa, put on my crutches and dodged various obstacles in my path during the initial pain of walking, the conversation was over. I couldn't go to meet ups with friends due to the unknown variable of whether there would be stairs or whether anyone would want to go through the infuriating agony of wheeling me anywhere. I couldn't go to a concert as I would have to either "sit in the foyer if I got tired" or exhaustingly "just lean on the wall" which sounded to me like a disappointing night.

                I could go on about the bruises on my arms that I obtained from my crutches, how uncomfortable it is sleeping with a bulging calf or even how it seemed like an aching uphill trek just to reach the TV remote on the other side of the room for the first couple of days. However, by the time this is published, I will have hopefully had my cast removed and I'll be back to my fully able bodied self. But I will do my utmost best to remember how exasperating all of this was and use my incredibly brief and insultingly tiny injury to develop sympathy towards those who are sadly in a more permanent state than I am and actively make adjustments  to my behaviour and the environment around us to make it as comfortable  and inclusive to those not as fortunate as myself.
If there's anything that I've learned, it's that the fun wears off quicker than the pain killers.

Fozz.
N.B.- This is present me and I am out of my cast! The rehabilitation is intense though and the pain is still constant. Working on a list of points to take to Student Parliament to improve the school environment to make it easier for those in a similar or worse situation than I am. 

The Hypocrisy of Teenage Girls

                The majority of teenage girls can unfortunately be hypocritical. I hate to say it but a lot of us, myself included, spend our time being infuriated at how teenage boys make comments about our bodies and looks-which is sadly a common occurrence nowadays. Teenagers are constantly being suffocated by what is "hot or not" which can affect us negatively, burdening us with low self esteem or possibly worse. Cruel comments that come out of boys' mouths can be partly to blame for this and a lot of girls openly call them out on their vulgar remarks- and rightly so.

                But us girls sometimes then turn around and insult one another's appearance; the human race is prone to bitching about one another. Most of the time it is just harmless ranting and venting to a close friend but sometimes it's a bit more than that. Sometimes it can turn into a snappy insult about a new look that a fellow female was trying to test out- just a sideways observation that didn't mean anything. But then someone blabs, someone confronts someone else and people end up falling out. We've all been guilty of it and we have all been exhausted by it.

                Then you've got the petty little fights when the context is blown way out of proportion and all because of what? Because someone judged someone else's looks for just a second. But these are the same girls that turn around and tell boys to stop judging girls on their appearance. It's like in Mean Girls, one of the most loved and quotable movies of this century, yet a lot of us tend to miss out when Tina Fey says, "You have all got to stop calling each other sluts and whores. It just makes it okay for guys to call you sluts and whores."

                So what can we do? Just be a bit nicer, I suppose. Encourage your friends to try out a new style even if it is wacky and ridiculous, help each other find a new confidence with being secure about ourselves and our bodies. We need to help one another and not belittle anyone for how they look. Us girls need to practice what we preach and try and cut down on this bitchiness that we seem to get carried away with. It's really crazy how better things would be if we were all just a bit more involved in girl power and kinder to each other.

Fozz.

"Connections between people can become stronger as the wifi does."

                Back in late April earlier this year, London based Gary Turk uploaded a video called "Look Up" onto YouTube in which he explains through a poem, how we are all becoming too dependent on technology and how we are not living in the moment and cherishing the time that we have together because we are all too busy looking on our phones. He encourages the viewer to "look up" so that they can go out into the world and have new experiences.

                The video has reached over 45 million views due to how persuasive it is when Gary Turk uses a love story to portray how the fact that being so consumed in the worldwide web can affect meeting your soul mate. When TheFineBros hosted a Youtubers react to the viral hit, many of the guests- who have technology to thank for their careers- understood the message of the video and although they were touched by the storyline, they were frustrated at how hypocritical it was that Gary Turk is relying on technology to spread the message that technology has now become a negative development in our society. Popular YouTube star Tyler Oakley went on to say in the feature that the internet can also connect so many people and has so many advantages.

                Which I personally agree with; the internet can be a positive catalyst for relationships and enables us to interact with each other on a whole new level of communication. They say that 23% of online daters meet their long term spouse but these relationships don't always have to start on OK Cupid or eHarmony. According to statisticbrain.com, 20% of current committed relationships in the US start just online. Romantic, sexual and platonic relationships can all start by a simple comment on a Facebook status, a cheeky retweet on Twitter or a friendly follow on Tumblr. People miles apart now have the capability to Skype to one another; as close to face to face as some people can achieve. Connections between people can become stronger as the wifi does.

                However, Gary Turk obviously has a point. We can sometimes be too easily engulfed by a screen and we need to learn how to use technology to our advantage before it takes advantage of us. We can use social media to spark relationships and to stay in touch but when we are with each other we need to be able to put the phone away and to converse without the assistance of emoticons. We should stop focusing on how many likes our instagram pictures are getting and instead concentrate on who else is tagged in the photo with us.

Fozz.   

Link to the "Look Up" video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7dLU6fk9QY

Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6CTu_Zmn8E

http://www.statisticbrain.com/online-dating-statistics/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7dLU6fk9QY

http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/10/21/online-dating-relationships/

Why I'm Pro-Selfie

              The official definition of the word "selfie" is "A photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a Smartphone or webcam and shared via social media." It is a phenomenon that has boomed in the last five years among young people; Instagram alone has nearly 175 million pictures tagged with the term "#selfie". The majority of us have proven guilty to taking a snap of ourselves at various events and moments of boredom and sharing it to our followers waiting to double-click and like.
                However many of us have developed a dislike towards selfies. The front-camera antics have lead to annoying trends such as the duck-face and the snapback squint which have clogged up news feeds for incessant amounts of time. Others feel that it is a from of narcissism and is just a discrete way of seeking attention and pleading to be liked by the vast audience of the internet. But a few of us step forward and defend the selfie, including PBS Idea Channel who made a video entitled "Why Do People Hate Selfies?" discussing how they interpret the selfie into a snapshot of the present, possibly showing the world who we are and what is going on in our lives: a visual of depiction and explanation.
               Ezra Koenig, the lead vocalist of Vampire Weekend, protected the selfie in an interview with Rolling Stone where he said, "There's all this bullshit about 'the younger kids today are more self-absorbed'" and also stated that, "I think that anybody who's anti-selfie is really just a hater. Because, truthfully, why shouldn't people take pictures of themselves?...I could Google image search 'the sky' and I would probably see beautiful images to knock my socks off. But I can't Google, you know, 'What does my friend look like today?' For you to be able to take a picture of yourself that you feel good enough about to share with the world – I think that's a great thing." Which I feel is a valid point, at the end Koenig touches on feeling "good enough" to share a picture of yourself on the worldwide web. Do the selfie takers have a confidence issue which they are addressing? 

                Statistics have arisen saying that 7 in 10 school girls feel that they are not good enough in various aspects in life including appearance and that only 5% of high school graduates are said to have high self esteem. These statistics should be seen as shocking and should influence us to work towards improving these figures as low self esteem can lead to mental health problems such as depression and paranoia as well as a general negativity in ourselves in society. I feel that we shouldn't shame people for having the confidence to snap a picture of themselves and post it to the world saying "this is me and you better like it": it promotes healthy self image and supports positivity towards one another. Even though we may look ridiculous at times, we shouldn't feel the need to hide away from it. I think that we should embrace how absurd we are and stick a fantastic filter on top while we're at it.
Sources:
www.themarysue.com/pbs-idea-channel-selfie/
www.rollingstone.com/music/news/ezra-koenig-believe-in-your-selfie-20131122#ixzz3EcagcQQq
www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-teens-and-self-esteem
thejnpproject.com/hot-topics/kids-statistics/

Welcome to my blog!

I'm Fozz and these are my thoughts. Simple as. I'm going to be publishing a new post each week on this blog about various topics and my opinions on them; anything from whether I am Pro-Selfie to  the complexity of comic book heroes. For a taste of what to expect here is a post I wrote as a guest blogger for a friend: http://t33nagerism.weebly.com/jamess-blog/guest-blogger-fozzy-on-feminism