Happiful May 2020

More documents

Recommendations

Info

What is skin positivty? There’s a growing social movement that’s championing skin in all its blemished nakedness. It’s encouraging people to rethink and cut out the shame that can come from having less-than-perfect skin Writing | Becky Wright In a social media-driven world that prioritises perfection on screen, many of us can feel pressured to hold ourselves to conventional beauty standards. Thanks to the powers that be – makeup, lighting and photo-editing tools – it’s possible to erase any visible sign of ‘imperfection’. However, for people struggling with skin conditions, this culture leaves little room for their sense of selfworth. It can, understandably, affect the way you feel about how you look. THE LINK BETWEEN APPEARANCE AND MENTAL HEALTH Each year, 13 million people in the UK visit their GP with a skin complaint. Yet, despite the huge number of people affected, there’s a culture of shame around skin conditions, particularly acne. Although teenagers can (and do) face stigma of their own, there are different social factors at play when you have skin problems later in life. The impact on our wellbeing is vastly underestimated. In a recent survey by the British Skin Foundation, nine out of 10 dermatologists agreed that not enough importance is placed on the psychological effects of skin conditions. However, thanks to a growing social media movement, there’s an alternative outlet that can help you to feel comfortable and confident in your own skin. Step forward skin positivity. The movement took off in 2015 when vlogger Em Ford posted a video called You Look Disgusting online. It revealed all the daily trolling comments she received about her acne. Five years later, the video has had more than 32 million views. The movement has gained so much traction that it’s now going beyond acne. It’s sticking two fingers up to the stigma, abuse, and embarrassment that can stem from a myriad of skin conditions – rosacea, eczema and dermatitis, to name a few. To find out more, I spoke to Sarah Perkins, a skin positivity vlogger and creator of Skinstory – a journal that helps you to track patterns between your skin, and potential triggers. “It’s almost impossible to go through life without experiencing some form of skin condition,” says Sarah. “And, thanks to the shame that comes with a visible skin condition, it’s more than just a physical condition. It affects your emotional wellbeing and confidence, too. “Social media plays a huge part in this movement, and the more people that post their bare-faced selfies, the wider this message is spread.” And it really is a growing movement – at the time of writing, there are more than 50,000 posts tagged with #skinpositivity on Instagram. MORE THAN A HASHTAG Scrolling through these posts, I’m blown away by the amount of support that’s present. It’s more than just a hashtag, it’s a community. “Social media allows you to connect with others going through a similar time with their skin,” says Sarah. “It’s taught me that my old insecurities about my skin are shared by so many.” One frequent topic in the captions and comments is acne medication. It seems that this is also a place for people to learn from one another. When I ask Sarah about this, she tells me that, for a while, there seemed to be two camps: those who only believed in the natural approach, and those that went for medication. There was something of a divide in the community. 14 • happiful.com • May 2020
Image | Instagram @ Brielamour89 “But, from speaking to thousands of others online, it’s clear that no two people have the same experience with their skin. And, for me, a combination of the two (and a serious dose of self-love) has been a game-changer,” says Sarah. I think that’s the crux of the movement: self-love. Skin positivity isn’t about changing the appearance of your skin, it’s about changing the way you see your skin. Because your happiness shouldn’t rely on how good your skin is looking each day. This isn’t a movement reserved for the realms of social media, though. Nor is it solely for people living with skin conditions. “To me, skin positivity is for anyone. Our attitude towards others with skin conditions needs to change, and that can be done by everyone,” says Sarah. Perhaps the biggest influencer of skin positivity is the beauty industry – brands that can choose imagery showing ‘real’, unedited skin. Certainly, in the last few years, real skin has become more visible in advertising campaigns. Brands such as Urban Decay and ASOS have committed to using unretouched images to promote their products and, this year, Mattel unveiled a new Barbie doll with vitiligo, in a bid to broaden the diversity of its range. But there’s still a long way to go. #SkinPositivity Feel inspired by following: Skin positivity artist Brie Lamour @BrieLamour89 (pictured) Skin positivity vlogger Sarah Perkins (quoted): @Sarah_Skinstory Mindset expert Lea Alexandra: @SkinWithLea Until the rest of the world catches up with these trailblazers, the onus is on us to champion examples of skin positivity. So, try to buy from brands that promote diversity, and call-out those that aren’t doing enough. And, if there’s one thing I’ve learnt from this movement that I want you to take away, it’s this: to love yourself, no matter what your skin is doing today. The most important thing is that your self-worth is not at the mercy of your skin. May 2020 • happiful.com • 15
Page 1 and 2: THE MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO MENTAL HEAL
Page 3 and 4: Here for you In unprecedented times
Page 5 and 6: Our team EDITORIAL Rebecca Thair |
Page 7 and 8: Find help CRISIS SUPPORT If you are
Page 9: Spitzer the very socialable cat PET
Page 12 and 13: Take 5 1 S 18 26 26 E R 20 14 23 12
Page 16 and 17: Sleep scenarios and how to put them
Page 18 and 19: Eat your way to a better night’s
Page 20 and 21: Science-backed methods to send you
Page 22 and 23: Reignite your passion for work...wi
Page 24 and 25: HAPPIFUL TOP 10 May Make the month
Page 26 and 27: “ Sometimes you will never know t
Page 28 and 29: In the spotlight: 4th The tricky fo
Page 30 and 31: GET OUT AND ABOUT Venturing to baby
Page 32 and 33: 16 seconds to de-stress Psychothera
Page 34 and 35: Self-care quiz Answer the following
Page 36 and 37: “ Let us make our future now, and
Page 38 and 39: There were times when I looked at m
Page 40 and 41: Ask the experts Hypnotherapist John
Page 42 and 43: How to make meditating easy Do you
Page 45 and 46: WORKING IT OUT Energy and personali
Page 47 and 48: For more information about Wellfest
Page 49 and 50: Photography | Ocean Taylor Sharing
Page 51 and 52: BREAKING THE HABIT It’s easy to f
Page 53 and 54: track’ with their new behaviours,
Page 55 and 56: Try this at home Scents can have an
Page 57 and 58: Strong Mentality From truly traumat
Page 59 and 60: Dan on ‘SAS: Who Dares Wins’ in
Page 61 and 62: All the issues from my waking day w
Page 63 and 64: However you are feeling is valid, a
Page 65 and 66:
ten Writing | Jenna Farmer 10 energ
Page 67 and 68:
We need carbs to provide energy, bu
Page 69 and 70:
nightmare to dreaming that your tee
Page 71 and 72:
I’ve been harbouring hatred for t
Page 73 and 74:
“ You look so well.” I remember
Page 75 and 76:
We’ve all been hoodwinked by this
Page 77 and 78:
Whether you live to work or work to
Page 79 and 80:
Panic attacks: KNOW YOUR TRIGGERS P
Page 81 and 82:
COPING STRATEGIES: Feel a panic att
Page 83 and 84:
As Nature Intended As we all adopt
Page 85 and 86:
There are some brilliant gardening
Page 87 and 88:
TRUE LIFE From confidence crisis to
Page 89 and 90:
Hayley is an NLP life transformatio
Page 91 and 92:
“ Some people look for a beautifu
show all

Happiful May 2020

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?