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Readers response: What have you had to cut out of your life to cope with cost of living pressures?

As the cost of living continues to rise, many people have had to cut things out of their day to day spending to cope with the financial struggles. We asked our readers what they have had to cut out of their budgets to cope with cost of living pressures, and the response was overwhelming. Here's what they said. Wendy Oliver - We don’t eat out often at all… I spend too much in the supermarket. Christine Brooks - I've cut out steak, good nutritional foods, TV streaming, entertainment, haircuts, new clothes, pets, pool cleaning, and more. Kerrie Dare - I limit steak meals. I've stopped my haircuts to every 4 months. Internet is getting chopped. I can only afford exercise classes twice a week. I don't eat as much fruit as I used too. I only buy groceries when on special. One bottle of wine per fortnight. One slice of sourdough in the morning, which means the loaf lasts a week. I turn on my washing machine around every 10 days & I have quick showers. No eating out or take away. Maybe one cup of coffee per week with a friend. Movies once every 6 weeks as a social group. No concerts or clubs. I drive only locally, so a tank of petrol lasts 1 month. No weekends away. Jane Dawes - No coffees, beauty treatments, hairdresser, eating out, takeouts etc. The trouble is not affording to spend on certain items has a flow on effect for businesses. Everyone is suffering. Lois E. Fisk - Going out to eat or see movies in the cinema or live plays or new clothes. I shop at the least expensive grocery stores as much as possible, and good cuts of meat rarely happen. Janice Stenning - Don't go to the hairdressers as often and don't buy as many clothes. Debra Dugar - Thinking about dropping my extras cover of my insurance. By the time I pay for it, I can't afford the gap you have to pay. Robyn Lee - Living in my own house. I now live with my family. Rhondda Hughes - Well, petrol is expensive so I have to really think if I can afford to visit anyone. I can’t eat meat much and even vegetables can be expensive. We have three chickens so they give us eggs but good quality eggs and healthy chickens require money too. Fortunately I live in Perth so, in comparison to other states, it isn’t as cold however the cost of heating is a significant consideration and therefore I just tend to go to bed. <div style="font-family: inherit;">Felicity Jill Murphy - Stopped going out to shopping centres. That's where I spend money unnecessarily.</div> <div style="font-family: inherit;">Image credits: Shutterstock </div>

Money & Banking

Despair after four years of pressure: how do Olympians deal with disappointment?

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/christopher-mesagno-1252903">Christopher Mesagno</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/victoria-university-1175">Victoria University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/courtney-c-walton-1236295">Courtney C Walton</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a> Australia’s soccer team entered Paris with high hopes of notching their first Olympic medal but those aspirations came crashing down with <a href="https://olympics.com/en/news/paris-2024-olympics-australia-vs-usa-football-women-group-match-3">defeat to the United States</a>. Even without star striker Sam Kerr, the Matildas – who enjoyed <a href="https://theconversation.com/connection-camaraderie-and-belonging-why-the-matildas-could-be-making-you-a-sports-fan-for-the-very-first-time-211526">a famous run</a> to finish fourth at the 2023 FIFA World Cup – were considered medal fancies but couldn’t progress past the group stage. It was a devastating loss – but how do these athletes (and others who don’t achieve their goals in Paris) rebound from the disappointment? <h2>The pressure of performing</h2> Every four years, <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/news/olympic-games-tokyo-2020-watched-by-more-than-3-billion-people">billions of viewers</a> around the world unite in awe of the skill and perseverance of Olympians and Paralympians. The athletes fortunate enough to compete in Paris 2024 will have done their best to put years of dedicated preparation into their performances. Many will have performed well and some achieved their goal of claiming a medal. Others, though, will finish the games with the feeling they did not fully realise their potential when it counted most. This leaves many athletes finishing the games with crushing disappointment. Famously, legendary swimmer (and now retired) Cate Campbell experienced this after her results at the Rio Olympics, which led to awful abuse and <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-31/olympian-cate-campbell-pens-letter-to-trolls-qld/10186576">harassment from a portion of the Australian public</a>. <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.685322/full">Research has shown</a> that many athletes report lower wellbeing after returning from the Olympics, including <a href="https://theconversation.com/when-you-get-home-its-really-lonely-new-research-shows-how-athletes-cope-with-post-olympic-life-163576">a sense of loneliness</a>, disappointment, and lack of direction. One of the reasons Olympic disappointment is so difficult is the deep ways in which an athlete’s identity gets wrapped up in their performance. That is, after years of being seen as “an athlete”, many begin to feel who they are as a person is dependent on how they perform. <h2>Athlete mental health and the role of self-criticism</h2> The mental health challenges faced by many athletes are now well recognised. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-020-01266-z">Research here in Australia</a> has found elite athletes show rates of mental ill-health at similar, if not greater, numbers than the general public. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/JSM.0b013e318287b870">Major performance disappointments</a> are well known contributors to this. Perhaps adding salt to the wound, one of the ways that elite athletes deal with disappointment is through self-criticism. This can include hostile ways of relating to oneself, which can lead to feelings of worthlessness and inferiority. Being self-critical is seen in many pursuits as the only way to get ahead, in an attempt to remove weakness and demand self-improvement. However, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165032718312254">research repeatedly shows</a> that most forms of self-criticism are associated with symptoms of mental ill-health. Moreover, harsh forms of internal judgement are <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0146167211410246">far less effective</a> at motivating growth and development than we might think. Athletes, like the rest of us, need to find another way to handle the inevitable setbacks and disappointments as they arise. <h2>A role for compassion</h2> A growing body of research and practice has suggested self-compassion might fit the bill. <a href="https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjc.12043">Compassion can be defined</a> as the sensitivity to suffering in self and others, with a commitment to try to reduce or prevent the suffering. It can be directed to others, received from others, or directed internally (self-compassion). For an athlete experiencing post-Olympic distress, showing self-compassion involves turning towards that distress rather than avoiding, judging, or criticising, and then identifying what they need to address it. This is harder than it may seem. One of the reasons self-compassion is so difficult is because it goes against many of the ways in which we have learned to self-motivate. Indeed, many athletes will report a common worry: that being self-compassionate might lower their standards. That’s just not the case. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0146167212445599">Research has shown</a> self-compassion can motivate self-improvement and athletes with higher levels of self-compassion show positive performance outcomes in sport. This is in contrast to self-criticism. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2022.2161064">Research has also shown</a> athletes who engage in more self-compassion tend to report a range of benefits including better mental health, and more helpful responses to disappointment. For this reason, there is a growing focus within clinical and sport psychology to help <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00050067.2022.2033952">develop self-compassion among athletes</a> as a resource for resilience. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wmMXGipifKA?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption>Two-time Olympian Laurence Halsted says self-compassion helped improve his performance.</figcaption></figure> <h2>Building self-compassion</h2> So, how can athletes (and the rest of us) build an ability to be self-compassionate? <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-be-kind-to-yourself-without-going-to-a-day-spa-223194">There are lots of ways</a>. A great start is using our inner wisdom to recognise how we would offer compassion to another person we care for, and then directing it inwards. Perhaps ask yourself: “how would I respond to a close friend in this situation?” Other strategies aim to trigger a soothing response in our bodies which can affect <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12671-017-0745-7">both our psychology and physiology</a>. For example we can actively change the tone of our inner thoughts <a href="https://soundcloud.com/jamesn-kirby/cft-posture-facial-expressions-and-voice-tone?si=89b19f29fc56462fad532c19bb44899b&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing">and outward facial expression</a> to be friendly rather than neutral or hostile. Additional practices involve mental imagery (or visualisation) to <a href="https://soundcloud.com/courtney-walton-449877725/sets/exercises-to-promote-self">develop our “compassionate self</a>”, which we can then learn to step into. These practices make up some of the key ingredients to compassionate mind training and compassion-focused therapy, which have been <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2024-33588-001.html">shown to reduce depression and self-criticism</a>. In this way, athletes can offer themselves the support they need to get through the difficulties of Olympic and Paralympic disappointment. <h2>More than self-compassion</h2> Just as important as an athlete’s self-compassion is the receiving of <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.586161">compassion</a> from others. After her Rio disappointment, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-31/olympian-cate-campbell-pens-letter-to-trolls-qld/10186576">Cate Campbell said</a> <blockquote> Australians love winners — I felt like the only way I could endear myself to the Australian public was to come back with one of those shiny gold medals. </blockquote> So during and after these Olympic and Paralympic Games, let’s come together and support our athletes, no matter their result. For more on this topic, check out <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/psychtalks/what-do-athletes-need-for-good-mental-health">episode one of PsychTalks</a>, a podcast by the University of Melbourne’s School of Psychological Sciences.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/227904/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/christopher-mesagno-1252903">Christopher Mesagno</a>, Senior Lecturer - Sport and Exercise Psychology, Research Fellow - Institute for Health and Sport, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/victoria-university-1175">Victoria University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/courtney-c-walton-1236295">Courtney C Walton</a>, Academic Fellow & Psychologist, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/despair-after-four-years-of-pressure-how-do-olympians-deal-with-disappointment-227904">original article</a>. </div>

Mind

Evidence that human evolution driven by major environmental pressures discovered

The genes of ancient humans might have changed substantially due to environmental pressures and change, say an international team of researchers. A widely held belief related to human evolution is that our ancient ancestors’ ability to fashion tools, shelter, and use advanced communication skills may have helped to shield them from large environmental impacts such as changing climate, disease and exposure to other events affecting mortality. But research led out of Australian Centre for Ancient DNA at the University of Adelaide suggests that beneficial genes may have played a more important role in preserving our ancestors. Until now, the sudden increase in frequency of these genes in human groups was masked by the exchange of DNA between people during reproduction. Now, analyses of more than one thousand ancient genomes dating as far back as 45,000 years ago have found historic signals showing genetic adaptation was more common than previously thought. The study of evolutionary events, says the study’s co-lead author Dr Yassine Souilmi, has increased substantially in recent years, as these are the points where human genetics take historic turns. “Evolutionary events [are] exactly what shape our genetic diversity today,” Souilmi tells Cosmos. “That’s what makes us vulnerable to certain diseases [and] resistant to others. “Having a good understanding of evolution, we can have a better understanding of who we are.” Previous research by the Centre has uncovered a range of evolutionary trends, from historic climate change causing the demise of ancestral lions and bears, to the first interactions between humans and coronaviruses 20,000 years ago. And the broader field of research into ancient DNA has shed light on important moments in human history. Only recently did analyses of ancient genes uncover locations on the human genome associated with surviving Yersinia pestis – the bacterium that causes the bubonic plague. <h2>Single events probably triggered selection</h2> This study, published in Nature Ecology and Evolution, has similarly found environmental events might have been more influential on evolution among Eurasian groups. Such events might lead to a point of natural selection. Take, for instance, the emergence of a pathogen. If such a disease could kill people, those who managed to survive and continue reproducing would pass down favourable traits to subsequent generations. “Natural selection acts in two different mechanisms,” says Souilmi. “It only cares about whether you’re procreating successfully… when it acts, it’s either killing a lot of people, [preventing] some people from reproducing successfully, or some people are just not finding mates because they have some sort of ailment that’s not allowing them to mate successfully, or might make them undesirable. “What we’re finding is that the signal of natural selection we detected in this [research] was likely a single event, because the signal is clustered in time in a very early migration out of Africa. “Not all of the [events] we detected occurred at the same time, but the bulk of them did.” <h2>A mirror to the present</h2> This ‘agnostic’ study did not seek to identify the external pressures leading to the selection events indicated in these ancient genes, but future research by the team will seek to uncover that information. Studies like this, or those into specific pressures like the influence of the Black Death or coronaviruses on humans, show the impact of environmental change on our genetics. Souilmi says this is both insightful and cautionary, as environmental change in the present could be studied by humans in the future. He speculates that changes in the Earth’s climate, or the emergence of new pathogens, likely imposed selection pressures on ancient groups, whether through forcing shortages or changes to food supply or imposing physiological stressors. “Very likely, it’s the environment, the temperature, the weather patterns, that would have somewhat impacted the dietary regime of our ancestors out of Africa, and pathogens would have driven this [genetic] adaptation, which has shaped our genetic diversity now,” Souilmi says. “The direct lesson, socially, now, is that if we’re ever faced with events that are similar to that, we are not as immune to extreme episodes of adaptation where a lot of people might die, or be unable to reproduce. “Unless we do something to counteract the environmental changes, or viruses, bacterial or other pandemics, it could be a bad thing.” This article originally appeared on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/human-evolution-driven-by-environment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Matthew Agius. Image: Shutterstock

Body

Big study shows that lowering blood pressure lowers risk of dementia

A study across 20 countries has strengthened a link between lowering blood pressure, and reducing the risk of dementia. The meta-analysis, published in the European Heart Journal, draws on clinical trial data from 28,008 participants, to show the strongest link to date between medication that lowers blood pressure, and reduced dementia risk. “We know that high blood pressure is a risk factor for dementia – especially high blood pressure in midlife, so say 40 to 65 years of age,” says lead author Dr Ruth Peters, an associate professor at the University of New South Wales and program lead for dementia in the George Institute’s Global Brain Health Initiative. “But there has been some uncertainty about whether lowering blood pressure, especially in older adults, would reduce risk of dementia. “What we’ve done is take five really high-quality clinical trials and combine them into one dataset, which gave us the ability to really look at this question and look at the relationship between blood pressure-lowering tablets – antihypertensives – and dementia.” The five studies were all double-blind, randomised clinical trials – the ‘gold standard’ in medical research – with participants hailing from 20 different countries. The average age of the participants was 69, and participants were followed up an average of four years after doing the trial. Participants who took antihypertensives had a significantly lower chance of being diagnosed with dementia than those who took placebos. Dementia affects 50 million people worldwide: a number projected to triple by 2050. According to The Lancet’s 2020 Commission on dementia, treatment for hypertension (high blood pressure) is “the only known effective preventive medication for dementia,” all other methods of reducing your risk come from lifestyle and environment. “The strength of this study is the use of individual patient data in a meta-analysis of data drawn from randomised controlled trials of blood pressure medication. This is the first time such data has been meta-analysed,” says Professor Kaarin Anstey, a senior principal research scientist at Neuroscience Research Australia and the UNSW. “This is important for informing clinical practice,” adds Anstey, who was not involved with the study. Professor Nicolas Cherbuin, head of the Australian National University’s Centre for Research on Ageing, Health and Wellbeing, says that the study is “well-designed”, and reflects research by his team showing that higher blood pressure is linked to lower brain volumes and poorer brain health. “The diagnostic procedure and criteria used are well-established, the sample size is large, those with dementia at baseline were excluded,” says Cherbuin. But he points out that the study didn’t find an effect of blood pressure medication on cognitive decline, and nor did it include participants with mild cognitive impairment, who would be “more likely to convert”. Anstey points out that “inevitably” the participants in the cohort are now quite old, and thus may be different to populations developing dementia now. “Clinical trials involve highly selected samples and often exclude diverse ethnic groups,” she adds. “I hope that this reinforces the importance of blood pressure control for brain health,” says Peters. But she emphasises that, while this is useful news for preventing dementia in mid-life, people of all ages can improve their brain health by other means. “It’s not just blood pressure lowering – it has to be taken in the context of a healthy lifestyle.” This article originally appeared on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/dementia-blood-pressure-meta/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Ellen Phiddian. Image: Shutterstock

Body

Grace under pressure: Princess Kate heckled in Ireland

Princess Kate was the subject of a heckler in Northern Ireland, where she was greeting crowds after visiting a suicide prevention charity. Footage has emerged of the Princess of Wales shaking hands with the heckler, who filmed herself telling the royal that “Ireland belongs to the Irish”. “Nice to meet you but it would be better if it was when you were in your own country,” the woman said. The princess laughed off the comments before letting go of the woman’s hand and continuing to greet other members of the crowd. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> This woman reefing the arm off Kate Middleton and telling her 'Ireland belongs to the Irish'.... <a href="https://t.co/KK2gAqZ0Kv">pic.twitter.com/KK2gAqZ0Kv</a> — Caolán Mc Aree (@Caolanmcaree) <a href="https://twitter.com/Caolanmcaree/status/1578095529233641472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2022</a></blockquote> Northern Ireland has been a hotly contested region since 1922, when the southern part of the country become gained independence and became the Republic of Ireland while Northern Island remained in the United Kingdom. Despite the tense interaction, Princess Kate’s time in Belfast seemed quite successful, as she and her husband Prince William visited several cross-community support organisations. Earlier in the day, the royal was spotted making and enjoying a cheeky drink with her husband after the couple travelled to the city centre to view the new outdoor street food and retail market. <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/10/kate-belfast.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> Kate Middleton was spotted trying her hand at cocktail making during her visit to Belfast, Northern Island. Image: Getty Images The market, which opened in July, was designed as a place for the community to come together to enjoy artisanal food and local products. The pair also met with workers from PIPS, a suicide prevention charity, and spoke to them about their work helping people at risk of suicide and self-harm. During their visit, the charity arranged for William and Kate to take part in an art therapy session, which saw them paint pumpkins with children whom PIPS has supported. Images: The Sun, Getty Images

Travel Trouble

How often should I check my blood pressure?

A new study investigating the role of hypertension in a person’s risk of severe COVID-19 symptoms suggests that the condition may worsen symptoms due to its association with one particular factor. Hypertension, commonly known as high blood pressure, affects 1 in 3 Australian adults and 1 in 5 New Zealanders, according to the<a href="https://www.health.gov.au/ministers/the-hon-greg-hunt-mp/media/taking-the-pressure-off-high-blood-pressure" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Australian Institute of Health and Welfare</a> and <a href="https://www.southerncross.co.nz/group/medical-library/high-blood-pressure-hypertension#:~:text=Known%20medically%20as%20hypertension%2C%20high,attack%20have%20high%20blood%20pressure." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Southern Cross NZ</a>, with men being more likely to have the condition. The study, published in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s40292-022-00506-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PubMed</a>, concluded that hypertension doesn’t play an independent role in the severity of Covid symptoms from current evidence, but that systolic blood pressure, one the measurements used to determine blood pressure, could be a contributing factor. In light of these findings, the theme for this year’s World Hypertension Day, held on May 17, is Measure Your Blood Pressure Accurately, Control It, Live Longer in a bid to raise awareness of the condition, which can have no immediate symptoms. Andria Aird, a hypertension expert and Blooms the Chemist pharmacist, tells OverSixty that this absence of symptoms - except for headaches in severe cases - is why raising awareness is crucial, and why Blooms the Chemist is promoting free blood pressure checks this month. <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/05/andria-aird.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> Andria Aird says getting our blood pressure checked is key to detecting high blood pressure. Image: Supplied “Current surveys estimate that 32 percent of men and 27 percent of women in Australia have hypertension,” she says. “Left untreated, hypertension can increase your risk of life-threatening conditions like diabetes, heart attack and stroke.” This condition is particularly common among older adults, which Aird says is to do with the changes that occur in our blood vessels. “The walls of our arteries become stiffer and we are more at risk of high blood pressure,” she explains. “More mature people are also more at risk of other health conditions which often go hand in hand with hypertension.” Could I have hypertension and not know it? With no obvious symptoms, we can have hypertension without realising - and getting a blood pressure check is one of the ways to determine if we do. “Sometimes people come into our pharmacy to have their blood pressure tested and shown a systolic reading of up to 200 mmHg without even knowing it.” According to <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/symptoms-causes/syc-20373410#:~:text=High%20blood%20pressure%20(hypertension)%20is,problems%2C%20such%20as%20heart%20disease." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mayo Clinic</a>, high blood pressure is determined by the amount of blood your heart pumps and the amount of resistance to blood flow (or width) in your arteries. Blood pressure readings, given in millimetres of mercury (mmHg), consist of two numbers: systolic pressure (the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats) and diastolic pressure (the pressure in your arteries in-between beats). A healthy reading is considered to be a systolic pressure of 140 mmHg or less, and a diastolic pressure of less than 90 mmHg, according to the <a href="https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/high-blood-pressure-and-older-adults#:~:text=Normal%20blood%20pressure%20for%20most,pressure%20of%20less%20than%2080" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Institute of Ageing</a>. As for how often we should be getting checked, Aird suggests over -50s rolling up their sleeves every 3-6 months. “At Blooms the Chemist we recommend all Australian adults have their blood pressure checked,” she says. “The Heart Foundation recommends at least every two years from 18 years, although my conservative recommendation for people over 50 would be at least 3 – 6 monthly. “Hypertension is not only a disease of the elderly, however those over 60 are at a higher risk.” But you don’t always have to go to the GP or chemist to get checked. “Reliable home blood pressure monitors are relatively affordable and easy to use. At Blooms The Chemist we can offer advice to recommend a monitor to suit your needs,” Aird says. As well as getting checked, Aird says there are some things we can do in our day-to-day lives to reduce our chances of developing hypertension. “Fortunately, there are lifestyle options we can take to reduce our risk of high blood pressure, even if there is a family history of the condition,” she says. “It is vital to quit if you are a smoker. A healthy diet, weight control and regular exercise all substantially reduce your risk. Other tips include reducing salt in your diet, managing stress and reducing alcohol intake.” Image: Getty Images

Body

Toxic positivity: societal pressure to feel good could have the opposite effect

<div class="copy"> <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-04262-z" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">A multi-national study</a> of 40 countries has found that the societal pressure to feel good is linked to poorer wellbeing in individuals. In almost all countries, experiencing pressure to be happy and not sad was related to more and stronger negative feelings, and stronger symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. Interestingly, this relationship was almost twice as strong in countries with higher national happiness, compared to those with lower national happiness – suggesting it may have downsides for some members of society. “The level of happiness individuals feel pressured to achieve may be unattainable and reveal differences between an individual’s emotional life and the emotions society approves of,” says lead author Dr Egon Dejonckheere from the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at KU Leuven, Belgium, and assistant professor in the Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology at Tilburg University in the Netherlands. “This discrepancy between an individual and society may create a perceived failure that can trigger negative emotions,” he explains. “In countries where all citizens appear to be happy, deviations from the expected norm are likely more apparent, which makes it more distressing.” The international team of scientists, including Australian researchers from the University of Melbourne, investigated how the perceived societal pressure to be happy predicts emotional, cognitive, and clinical indicators of wellbeing in a survey of nearly 7,500 people. Published in Springer Nature, the study then went a step further to evaluate the role of the nations’ global happiness levels on the relationship between societal pressure and wellbeing, using their World Happiness Index (WHI) scores. This score is taken from the <a href="https://worldhappiness.report/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">World Happiness Report</a> and is a measure of the average self-reported life satisfaction displayed by inhabitants of a particular country. Countries included in the study that were rated as having higher happiness in the World Happiness Index included The Netherlands and Canada, while countries rated with lower happiness included Uganda and Senegal. As a <a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-cross-sectional-study-2794978#:~:text=A%20cross%2Dsectional%20study%20involves,one%20specific%20point%20in%20time.&text=This%20method%20is%20often%20used,support%20further%20research%20and%20experimentation." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cross-sectional study</a>, the researchers acknowledge that while these findings can highlight a correlation between these factors, it cannot prove causality. Nonetheless, they do suggest that changing societal discourse from promoting a one-sided embrace of emotions to one where people learn to appreciate the full scope of their emotional lives (both positive and negative), could have beneficial effects for people’s psychological well-being in the long run. Image credits: Getty Images <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=182523&title=Toxic+positivity%3A+societal+pressure+to+feel+good+could+have+the+opposite+effect" width="1" height="1" data-spai-target="src" data-spai-orig="" data-spai-exclude="nocdn" /></div> <div id="contributors"> This article was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/body-and-mind/toxic-positivity-societal-pressure-to-feel-good-could-have-the-opposite-effect/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Imma Perfetto. </div>

Mind

Peer pressure driving sustainable diets

Image: Getty <div> <div class="copy"> People find it notoriously difficult to change eating habits to improve their own health, let alone the planet’s. Now European researchers who explored factors that might motivate shifts to more sustainable diets are suggesting that social norms and self-efficacy are the most important. The work by Sibel Eker and Michael Obersteiner, from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria, and Gerhard Reese, from Germany’s University of Koblenz-Landau, supports evidence that peer group values are more powerful than scientific facts in shaping people’s beliefs and actions about climate change. Their findings are presented in a paper in the journal Nature Sustainability. The study was motivated by increasing calls for people to adopt plant-based diets as part of radical shifts needed to address the destructive impact of current farming practices on the environment. A key target is red meat, which vastly exceeds other food sources in terms of its land use, irrigation and greenhouse gas emissions, and is unsustainable in the face of population growth and climate change. Red meat also has been associated with chronic health conditions, including diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. On this front alone, calculations suggest that if, on average, the world adopted a flexitarian diet (one portion of red meat per week), it could potentially prevent more than 10 million deaths each year. Eker wondered if such “ambitious scenarios” were attainable. “I was observing my social network and society,” she says, “like more and more people being meat-reducers, new vegetarian restaurants in urban areas, and it made me curious about where these dynamics could lead.” Although many people are reducing their meat intake in several countries, widespread resistance means that global levels needed to translate into environmental gains are still beyond reach. To explore how pervasive behavioural changes in meat consumption might be achieved, Eker and colleagues used an integrated assessment model to simulate population dynamics. Based on prominent psychological theories on environmental action, combined with models from management science, it includes income, social norms, climate risk perception, health risk perception, self-efficacy and response efficacy (belief that one’s actions can make a difference), as well as age, gender and education level. They simulated the model 10,000 times to find the optimal outcome. “This was an exploratory modelling study,” explains Eker, “meaning that we used the model as a platform to experiment with different scenarios to find the most important drivers of diet shifts.” Although she expected concern about health risks to be more important, Eker was not surprised that social norms – unwritten rules of behaviour considered acceptable in a group or society – were a leading motivator of diet change, because they create a strong, positive feedback loop, she says. Put differently, “As there are more vegetarians around, visibility of the phenomenon increases, therefore adoption increases”. The other key driver was self-efficacy, particularly in females, referring to perceived control over one’s behaviour and ability to change. Results showed that this model would yield the most rapid behaviour changes for people aged 15 to 44 years, even when their adoption of vegetarian diets is low. But even if 40% of the population became vegetarian, the model predicted that the environmental benefits may not be fully realised if everyone else continues their current meat consumption, suggesting that change requires a population-wide shift in eating patterns. The researchers conclude that their findings demonstrate the importance of factoring human behaviour into climate change mitigation efforts and suggest that future research also account for variations in cultural attitudes and world views. “We can use models to explore the social and behavioural aspects of climate change and sustainability problems in the same way as we explore the economic and environmental dimensions of our world,” says Eker. This could provide a better understanding of how to motivate the lifestyle changes that are essential to address the predicaments facing the planet. <div class="newsletter-box"> <div id="wpcf7-f6-p26085-o1" class="wpcf7">  </div> </div>  <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=26085&title=Peer+pressure+driving+sustainable+diets" alt="" width="1" height="1" /> </div> <div id="contributors"> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/nutrition/peer-pressure-could-nudge-people-towards-sustainable-diets/">This article</a> was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com">Cosmos Magazine</a> and was written by <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/natalie-parletta">Natalie Parletta</a>. </div> </div>

Food & Wine

Confusion, financial pressure, discomfort: older people can struggle with sustainable living, despite its obvious benefits

Improving the sustainability of Australia’s housing stock is <a href="https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=building+sector+australia+emissions+the+conversation&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8">crucial</a> to meeting national emissions reduction goals. But for older adults, such changes can bring both benefits and challenges. My <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360132321007344">recent research</a> examined the literature on environmental sustainability measures at residences for older adults. These included private homes, retirement villages and nursing homes. I found that while sustainability measures can bring multiple benefits to older people, they also bring challenges. For example, people living in sustainable dwellings may use less energy and water which leads to lower bills. But older people may suffer cognitive decline and struggle to use sustainable technology devices. The full effects of environmentally sustainable features must be better understood if we’re to provide seniors with high-quality residential environments. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441440/original/file-20220119-15-60lcsc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="Older man walks down corridor" /> Sustainability measures can bring benefits and challenges to older people. Shutterstock <h2>Sustainability and ageing: a complex mix</h2> Forecasts suggest that by 2056, <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports-data/population-groups/older-people/overview">22% of Australians</a> – or 8.7 million people – will be aged 65 or older. High-quality residential environments are important to maintaining the welfare of these people as they age. Environmental sustainability is playing an ever greater role in residential development across the board, including retirement villages. And <a href="https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jar/2014/919054/">previous research</a> suggests most retirement village residents want to lead more sustainable lifestyles. As climate change worsens, the dwellings of older adults should allow them to adapt to these changing conditions. The reduced ability of elderly people to regulate their body temperature means global warming is a profound threat to this group. Improving the sustainability of a residential environment may include: <ul> <li>reducing waste</li> <li>using low carbon or recycled building materials</li> <li>solar passive design</li> <li>efficient heating and cooling</li> <li>using renewable energy such as rooftop solar.</li> </ul> <a href="https://new.gbca.org.au/case-studies/building/stockland-takes-sustainability-retirement-living/">Some residential projects</a> for the elderly already include environmental sustainability. A <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/F-08-2011-0060/full/html">case study</a> of a not-for-profit retirement village in South Australia revealed practices such as innovative floor plans, thermally efficient building materials, good window orientation and a water harvesting system. And my previous research <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959652619341605">found</a> a range of sustainability features at eight private and not-for-profit retirement villages in Queensland. However, while many retirement village developers prioritise “social sustainability” features such as care provision and social interaction, environmental sustainability is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959652617313963">largely ignored</a>. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441450/original/file-20220119-25-1qtv5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="elderly woman holds hands of carer" /> Forecasts suggest that by 2056, 22% of Australians will be aged 65 or older. Shutterstock <h2>On the plus side</h2> The benefits of environmentally sustainable features in in older adults’ residential environment include: - reduced resource consumption: sustainable dwellings usually require less water and energy use, which lowers living costs. This is especially important for older adults who often have reduced financial capacity after retirement. Older people also use energy <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301421597000402">more intensively</a> than other groups because they have fewer household members, greater heating requirements and spend more time at home. - reduced health risks: environmentally sustainable measures can lead to healthier indoor environments. For example, good ventilation and high-quality air conditioning often lead to improved indoor air quality and more comfortable ambient temperatures. - alleviated environmental challenges: many older people want their homes to be more environmentally friendly. Doing their bit to alleviate global problems such as greenhouse gas emissions can provide them with peace of mind. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441438/original/file-20220119-15-124namg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="elderly person's hands on heater" /> Sustainable dwellings usually require less water and energy use, Shutterstock <h2>The potential downsides</h2> The challenges of environmentally sustainable home features for older adults include: - financial pressure: the income of many older adults is substantially reduced after retirement. This <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301421511005222">can conflict</a> with the high initial investment of developing an sustainable housing and the cost of replacing existing systems with sustainable ones. - reducing energy consumption: in some cases, sustainability measures can involve tolerating slightly higher or cooler temperatures. For example, moving from a gas-heating system to a more sustainable type may <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421515001172">delay</a> the arrival of heat in a room and leave older people uncomfortable for a short time. This may conflict with older people’s <a href="https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v84y2015icp250-256.html">increased sensitivity</a> to ambient temperatures. - confusion and complexity: Older adults can have <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bmb/article/92/1/135/332828">reduced cognitive capabilities</a> affecting memory and information processing speed. As a result they may struggle to use sustainable technologies such as smart thermostats. Research has <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301421514006259">suggested</a> ways of overcoming this, such as better recognising the diversity of older adults to achieve a better “person-technology fit”. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441437/original/file-20220119-25-fkfanl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="Four older women shelter from the sun under umbrella" /> Older people may have increased sensitivity to hot or cold temperatures. Paul Miller/AAP <h2>Next steps</h2> Older adults have unique needs which their homes <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360132321007344">must satisfy</a>, even when sustainability features are being adopted. Ageing should be seen as a dynamic process with physical, psychological and social dimensions. And the complex interrelationships of ageing, environmental sustainability and the residential environment also need to be recognised. Best practices and lessons learned in creating sustainable living environments for older adults should be <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959652618325241">shared</a>. Finally, developers making sustainability decisions should consult other stakeholders. These include contractors, occupational therapists, researchers and most importantly, older adults themselves.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/174535/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/xin-hu-685656">Xin Hu</a>, Lecturer, School of Architecture and Built Environment, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/deakin-university-757">Deakin University</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/confusion-financial-pressure-discomfort-older-people-can-struggle-with-sustainable-living-despite-its-obvious-benefits-174535">original article</a>. Image: Shutterstock

Retirement Income

"Poise under pressure": Woman snaps selfie as car sinks in ice

Image: Twitter A woman In Canada has been criticised for appearing to take a selfie from the roof of her submerged car as it sunk in a frozen lake. The woman’s car became submerged after breaking through ice on the Rideau River in Ottawa on Sunday afternoon, requiring her to be rescued. Ottawa Police tweeted that local residents had come to her aid using “a kayak and quick thinking”. Video obtained by 580 CFRA shows people rushing towards the woman with a kayak as she stands on top of her yellow car. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> NEW: Neighbours use kayaks to rescue driver after car crashes through ice in Manotick <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ottnews?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ottnews</a> <a href="https://t.co/dhANorovWK">https://t.co/dhANorovWK</a> — CTV Ottawa (@ctvottawa) <a href="https://twitter.com/ctvottawa/status/1482873513782525952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2022</a></blockquote> Resident Zachary King told CTV News Ottawa he and his neighbour Rob Crober were the ones who rescued the woman. "It’s like everything worked out perfectly,” he told the station. “Got her on the kayak, pulled her in. And as soon as we pulled her in, the car went under. Fully." Video shot by resident Sacha Gera appears to show the woman driving on the ice at speed ahead of the rescue. It was reported that nobody was injured. Police said it served as an example that people should not drive across ice even when it looks safe. It seems the woman spent her time waiting to be rescued snapping a selfie while on the roof of her car. “She captured the moment with a selfie while people hurried and worried to help her,” Lynda Douglas tweeted, along with a photo. “Any time you are in a dangerous situation, you should not be taking selfies or doing anything distracting. You should be 100 per cent focused on being safe,” another man tweeted. However, others were far less critical. “She's waiting to be rescued. What the hell else is she supposed to do?” one man tweeted. “I appreciate her poise under pressure.” Regardless, the drive on the ice has proven costly for the woman, with her car being written off. Police have also charged her with an offence.

Travel Trouble

The perils of perfectionism during lockdown

Trying to find ways to make the most of time in lockdown has motivated many people to learn new skills, polish up old ones, and tackle old to-do lists. Social media and the news present an abundance of stories about the amazing things people are accomplishing during lockdown. There are tips on how to be the perfect parent, have the perfect at-home workout routine, and even bake the <a href="https://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/6-steps-making-perfect-loaf-10035234">perfect loaf of bread</a>. It’s easy to think that this would help people’s mental health by giving them a sense of purpose and distraction. But for those prone to perfectionism, this information can fuel feelings of insecurity and self-doubt. Striving to measure up to the examples on social media can take a further <a href="https://guilfordjournals.com/doi/abs/10.1521/jscp.2018.37.7.514">toll on mental health</a> when projects fail because you don’t have the resources needed. Perfectionism can make you more vulnerable <a href="https://www.springer.com/gb/book/9783319185811">to poor wellbeing</a> during lockdown. Unrealistic standards and self-criticism Perfectionism isn’t simply about <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1745691618797940">striving to do your best</a>. Instead it involves a tendency to have frequent thoughts about achieving ideal standards coupled with relentless striving to reach goals that are unrealistic. Personality science has revealed that perfectionism comes in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2027080">two main forms</a>. One is characterised by overly critical and negative views of your own behaviour, and an excessive preoccupation with other people’s expectations of your performance. These self-critical perfectionists get little satisfaction even when they do bake a lovely loaf of sourdough bread. To them, it will never be as good as the loaf their friend baked. The other form of perfectionism is more similar to the common idea of a perfectionist – someone who strives to meet very high standards. But there’s a catch. Although these striving perfectionists tend to set their own standards and care less about what others think, they too have difficulty savouring successes and tend to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886913002432">take on too much.</a> Chances are that if you are secretly wishing that the lockdown goes on longer so that you can get through your to-do list or achieve all your self-improvement goals, you’re probably this type of perfectionist. Social comparisons It’s natural for people to compare themselves to others to get direction when they experience uncertainty. These <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/basics/social-comparison-theory">social comparisons</a> help us evaluate our performance and motivate self-improvement. But for self-critical perfectionists, checking social media and the news for how others are dealing with lockdown can be a reminder that they are not accomplishing enough, not being the best parent, and falling short of what is expected. This can lead to <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/dont-delay/201004/the-pernicious-perils-perfectionism">worry and repetitive negative thoughts</a> about not being perfect, which can increase <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10608-007-9173-7">risk for depression and distress</a>. Feelings of not being perfect in the eyes of others provide another reason why perfectionists are at <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2018-39651-011">risk for poor mental health</a> during lockdown. Reaching out for help means admitting you’re not perfect. This is one reason why perfectionists are more prone to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886908001682">social disconnection</a> and loneliness. Health With regular exercise routines disrupted, people are turning to online fitness classes and videos to stay fit during lockdown. You might expect that perfectionism would give an advantage when it comes to staying healthy. But exposure to the “perfect” exercise routine promoted by ultra-fit exercise gurus can trigger feelings of inadequacy. Self-critical perfectionists may respond by simply abandoning any attempt to stay fit. My research has shown that this form of perfectionism is linked to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/per.2098">procrastination</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092656616302173">poorer health</a>. Striving perfectionists, on the other hand, can go <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886910000929?casa_token=BIVlMTNK3yUAAAAA:7-xuaXmqHXRPGPy9xj9dRp22eknr3JvFRgQ6SXbyD9jpV9qemR711tMdzrp-n_lKY1hbVITI0JQ">into exercise overdrive</a> to try to become as ultra-fit as the online instructors, pushing themselves too much and increasing risk for exhaustion and injury. Neither extreme is healthy. Embrace imperfections So how can perfectionists manage their wellbeing during lockdown? Learning to accept personal limitations and imperfections is crucial, but may be easier said than done. Once a perfectionist is reminded that they are not perfect, it is difficult for them to respond with <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15298868.2019.1669695?casa_token=cMuF6hfZGDYAAAAA%3AcJ7PiM7Q9nu2-RHCs7wT9-uo-d0EOFfyNIQal5DKzvBgkaAv5giralYxYmGXZ2pD0VeTUDQ3Gaxi4w">acceptance and compassion</a> towards their shortcomings – self-criticism is the default response. This is why it’s important to limit exposure to social media that promotes perfectionism. Keeping things in perspective can also help. For example, is it really the end of the world if your sourdough starter failed? More importantly, reminding ourselves that we are all imperfect and that we all struggle with failures and shortcomings is essential for practicing self-compassion. Showing ourselves the same kindness and acceptance that we would for a close friend who is struggling during lockdown is one way to <a href="https://self-compassion.org/category/exercises/#exercises">cultivate this self-compassion</a>. Implying that people are lazy or unmotivated if they aren't knocking out masterpieces daily isn't inspiration, it's a form of shaming. If endless distraction cured depression, no rich person or workaholic would ever have killed themselves. Sadness and anxiety aren't weaknesses /1 As she aptly noted, learning to accept our feelings and distress is “a better route back to good mental health than beating ourselves up for not being superhuman”. Embracing our imperfections can help us be more aware of our mental health and feel more connected to others during lockdown. This is an important first step towards reaching out and getting help when we need it. Written by Fuschia Sirois. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-perils-of-perfectionism-during-lockdown-135748">The Conversation.</a>

Beauty & Style

Duchesses Meghan and Kate under pressure to “save the Royal Family”

The pressure is mounting on Duchess Kate and Duchess Meghan to “save the Royal Family” according to royal commentator Katie Nicholl. With Her Majesty turning 95 in 18 months – the same age at which her husband Prince Philip stepped back from his public duties – there are rumours circulating that she may use the milestone to hand over her day-to-day control of the monarchy to Charles. Katie has suggested the Queen’s move towards retirement will “force” the Duchess of Sussex, 38, and the Duchess of Cambridge, 37, to work closely with each other. “I think after a festive break, both Kate and Meghan will know that joint ventures to support the Queen are not only part of their duty, but also good for the public image,” said Katie, speaking to Closer magazine. “[Kate] knows the pressure is on her and Meghan to save the royal family, to an extent.” With Prince Andrew being forced to step down from his royal duties, the commentator believed that his charities may be passed on to other members of the family, which could result in the Cambridge’s and Sussex’s to put on a “united front.” “The Queen turns 94 this year and there’s a plan in place to relieve her of her pressures, which is why she’s calling on the four to step up,” explained Katie. “Although the Cambridges and Sussexes have their own charities, I think the Queen’s move towards retirement will force them to work closely with each other.”

Beauty & Style

"They threatened us": ABC "quashed" story about Jeffrey Epstein due to pressure from British Royal family

In a leaked footage released Tuesday, US anchor Amy Robach said her network “quashed” a story about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein due to threats from the British royal family. Robach, reporter and anchor for ABC America, is seen in the clip speaking about her frustration that the network did not air her 2015 interview with one of Epstein’s alleged victims, Virginia Giuffre (formerly Virginia Roberts). <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> WE NEED YOU <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VeritasArmy?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#VeritasArmy</a>! Sign the petition, DEMAND ANSWERS: <a href="https://t.co/hGPzzXgbnT">https://t.co/hGPzzXgbnT</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EpsteinCoverup?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EpsteinCoverup</a> <a href="https://t.co/qKGA8mst7b">pic.twitter.com/qKGA8mst7b</a> — Project Veritas (@Project_Veritas) <a href="https://twitter.com/Project_Veritas/status/1191746719714811904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 5, 2019</a></blockquote> In the video, Robach said she was told, “Who’s Jeffrey Epstein? No one knows who that is. This is a stupid story.” Robach also said the British Royal Palace pressured ABC not to air her interview with Giuffre. “The Palace found out that we had her whole allegations about Prince Andrew and threatened us a million different ways,” she said. She suggested the network feared that airing the interview would hurt the network’s ability to gain an interview with Prince William and Duchess Kate. “We were so afraid that we wouldn’t be able to interview Kate and Will. That also quashed the story.” Robach said Giuffre had given her news crew “everything”, including photographic evidence. “She was in hiding for 12 years, we convinced her to come out, we convinced her to talk to us. It was unbelievable what we had,” Robach said. “I tried for three years to get it on to no avail and now it’s all coming out and it’s like these new revelations and I freaking had all of it. “Brad Edwards [Giuffre’s lawyer], the attorney, three years ago saying, ‘There will come a day, when we will realise Jeffrey Epstein was the most prolific paedophile this country had ever known.’ I had it all three years ago.” Project Veritas, a conservative organisation which released the clip, said it came from an “ABC insider”. Following the video’s release, ABC denied that outside pressure influenced the network’s decision to reject the 2015 story. “At the time, not all of our reporting met our standards to air, but we have never stopped investigating the story,” ABC News said in a statement Tuesday. “As a journalist, as the Epstein story continued to unfold last summer, I was caught in a private moment of frustration,” Robach said. “I was upset that an important interview I had conducted with Virginia [Giuffre] didn’t air because we could not obtain sufficient corroborating evidence to meet ABC’s editorial standards about her allegations. My comments about Prince Andrew and her allegation that she had seen Bill Clinton on Epstein’s private island were in reference to what Virginia [Giuffre] said in that interview in 2015.” In an interview published by <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.npr.org/2019/08/22/753390385/a-dead-cat-a-lawyers-call-and-a-5-figure-donation-how-media-fell-short-on-epstei" target="_blank">NPR</a> in August, Giuffre said she “viewed the ABC interview as a potential game-changer”. “Appearing on ABC with its wide viewership would have been the first time for me to speak out against the government for basically looking the other way and to describe the anger and betrayal victims felt.” Epstein was arrested in July on sex trafficking charges and died in prison the following month. Epstein had been associated with Prince Andrew and former US president Bill Clinton. Both the prince and Clinton have <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/prince-andrew-finally-breaks-silence-on-friendship-with-jeffrey-epstein" target="_blank">denied</a> any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and illicit activities.

News

New studies reveal dogs are good for our heart health

A new study in the US has proven the link between dogs being good for your heart. The study examined the link between dog ownership and a lowered risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. The results showed that dog owners had a 24 per cent lower chance of dying from the disease and it monitored 3.8 million people across the globe. The <a href="https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.119.005554">study</a> also showed that dogs also helped those who suffered from a heart attack or a stroke as participants who experience one of the two diseases had a 34 per cent chance of not dying from the disease. The study considered the reasons as to why this was the case, but for dog owners, it’s straightforward. Dogs need exercise and in order to keep our furry friends happy, we indulge them by taking them on walks. Humans getting more exercise is good for heart health, so both parties benefit from this. A <a href="https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.118.005342">Swedish study</a> looked at 300,000 people and found that there are huge benefits for dog owners who live alone, as it lowered the rates of depression in dog owners. The study also found that even those who come near a dog experience benefits, as those with hypertension experienced lower blood pressure. Go out and pat a dog, it’s good for your blood pressure.

Family & Pets

How one Michelin starred chef deals with the enormous pressure

NYC’s The Langham Hotel had a Michelin star and was a well-known favourite of celebrities, such as Sarah Jessica Parker and Leonardo DiCaprio before 32-year-old chef Scott Schneider took over as head chef. The restaurant, Ai Fiori, opened in 2010, with Schneider joining as a line cook in 2011 and he never thought he’d become head chef, let alone obtain the sought-after position in such a short timeline. Schneider has retained the Michelin star status of the restaurant as he has been the head chef for a number of years. He spoke to <a href="https://kitchen.nine.com.au/2019/04/05/13/17/chef-scott-schneider-michelin-starred-chef-ai-fiori-the-langham-hotel-new-york-city">9Honey Kitchen</a> about what to look out for in the reviewers who are in charge of handing out the stars. "We don’t really know when the [Michelin guide reviewers] come in," Schneider explained. However, there are a few details to look out for. "Most of the time it's a French couple. They will usually order the tasting menu and they're usually looking at every little detail; under the tables, all the food, the menu, every tiny thing." As Schneider was born in Ohio, went to a vocational culinary school and fell in love with food, he realised he needed a change of scenery. "I just I figured if I wanted to work in some great kitchens, then this was where I needed to be. They don’t really have that where I'm from in Ohio," he chuckles. "It's kind of surreal. I have family and friends that come from Ohio and they dine here and they're just blown away and say things like; 'you're the chef in this restaurant? Wow.' – sometimes you forget how wonderful it all is, and it helps you not to take it for granted." However, Schneider doesn’t let the pressure get to him. The variety of his work keeps him engaged, and the people he works with aren’t bad either. "This [Ai Fiori] is home. We have a good team, you know. We're evolving the menu and food all the time and you can't get bored in the kitchen. If you get bored, then there's a problem." Each dish that goes out is a team effort, which Schneider is proud of. "A lot of research goes into each dish, we taste and play around with flavours and ideas," he says, adding that this is really "the fun bit,” he explained. "When we get to a point where we're happy with it, we'll have our peers taste it, all the sous chefs will talk about it, maybe it needs more acid or a different herb or whatever. Then once we all agree, that's when the dish happens. It's not just me. It’s a team."

Food & Wine

The worrying link between blood pressure medication and lung cancer

A new study has found that popular blood pressure pills taken by millions over the world could increase the risk of lung cancer. The research has shone a spotlight on how ACE inhibitors are more likely to develop cancer than other types of drugs. The study, conducted by researchers at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, said the risk of the medication increased the longer patients were taking it. Those taking the drug for five years were 22 per cent more likely to get lung cancer, while those who had been on it for 10 years were 31 per cent more likely. Scientists believe the drug causes the accumulation of chemicals called bradykinin on the lung, which can cause cancer. However, other experts have cast doubt on the shock findings, saying that the lung cancer could instead be caused by patients smoking at the same time as the drugs. Up to five million patients in the UK take ACE inhibitors, with most patients being prescribed the medication for high blood pressure or following a heart attack. It is branded as Tritace in the UK but sold as Altace in the US. Other common names for the drug include captopril, cilazapril, ramipril and enalapril. <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7821634/image_.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/22c827b8509a4ceca6b6dc849dd73dcf" /> The medication works by reducing the activity of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE). After this enzyme is blocked, the blood vessels relax and widen, thus lowering the blood pressure. The study was published in the BMJ and analysed data from 992,000 adults who were prescribed blood pressure drugs in the UK between 1995 and 2015. Patients were either taking ACE inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers, which lower blood pressure in a different way. Compared to patients on angiotensin, those on ACE inhibitors were 14 per cent more likely to be diagnosed with lung cancer over a six-year period. The researchers have called for “additional studies, with long term follow-up, to investigate the effects of these drugs on incidence of lung cancer”. Although a 14 per cent increased risk might not appear to be much, “small relative effects could translate into large absolute numbers of patients at risk for lung cancer”. The researchers added: “Given the potential impact of our findings, they need to be replicated in other settings, particularly among patients exposed for longer durations.” However, Professor Stephen Evans, an expert on the effects of drugs at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said it was unlikely the drugs were causing lung cancer. “Drawing strong conclusions and talking about public health impact in this situation seems premature,” he said. Do you take blood pressure tablets? Let us know in the comments below.

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Common blood pressure pills recalled worldwide

A popular blood pressure drug has been recalled worldwide after it was contaminated with a cancer-causing chemical. The drug Valsartan, made in a factory in China, was first recalled in 22 countries – including the UK and the US earlier this month – but the warning has now been issued worldwide. A cancer-causing chemical used in rocket fuel, N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), contaminated the drug’s production at Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical. Production of Valsartan has stopped, and experts believe the contamination could date back to 2012, when the company changed its manufacturing process. The drug, which has been commonly prescribed for 15 years, was recalled in the UK and then in the US two weeks later. Valsartan was first developed by Novartis and the Swiss company marketed it as Diovan, but it is now off patent and is used in various generic medicines supplied by numerous companies. Valsartan is prescribed to patients to treat high blood pressure and heart failure. <img width="497" height="330" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7819906/1_497x330.jpg" alt="1 (175)"/> Zhejiang Huahai, which was one of the first Chinese companies to get drugs approved in the US market, also makes medicines to treat heart problems, depression, allergies and HIV, according to its website. The European Medicines Agency (EMA), which first issued the warning over Valsartan, said it was working to find out how long and at what levels patients might have been exposed to NDMA. The agency said: “It is still too early to provide information on the longer term risk NDMA may have posed for patients.” “EMA has made this aspect of the review a priority and will update the public as soon as new information becomes available," reported the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk" target="_blank">Daily Mail</a>. The EMA said all medicines containing Valsartan from Zhejiang Huahai should be recalled and no longer available in pharmacies. The EMA believes the unexpected impurity, which was not detected by routine tests, may have been produced from manufacturing processes that were introduced in 2012. The EMA has informed patients that only some Valsartan medicines have been affected and recommended speaking to a pharmacist or doctor who can tell you if your medicine is being recalled. “You should not stop taking your Valsartan medicine unless you have been told to do so by your doctor or pharmacist,” the agency said in a <a href="http://www.ema.europa.eu/docs/en_GB/document_library/Press_release/2018/07/WC500251498.pdf" target="_blank">press release.</a>

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How to improve your blood pressure naturally

Tracy Adshead is a yoga teacher specialising in yoga for seniors. She is passionate about bringing healing and healthy ageing to the community. Health surprises can arrive in many different ways. For the <a href="https://www.healthnavigator.org.nz/health-a-z/b/blood-pressure-high/" target="_blank">1 in 5 New Zealanders</a> that have high blood pressure it was hearing that new guidelines around which levels of blood pressure constituted a health risk suddenly meant that they were now considered having stage 1 hypertension. Blood pressure that’s high over a long time is one of the main risk factors for heart disease and the chances of having persistently high blood pressure increase with age. The good news is that the new recommendations emphasise lifestyle changes and not medication – such as diet, stress management and exercise. <a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/health/body/2016/11/introduction-to-chair-yoga/" target="_blank">Chair yoga</a> targets two out of three of these objectives – physical activity and stress management. Over time the practice allows us to become fitter and calmer, not just in class but in everyday life as well. There’s another method that is drug-free and easy to do, a number of my senior yoga students have tried this with great results – squeezing a stress ball for 2 minutes, 4 times in a row (with a 2-minute rest in-between each squeeze) 3 times a week. <a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/squeezing-your-way-to-lower-blood-pressure" target="_blank">Several studies</a> show that an average of 16 per cent drop in blood pressure can be achieved with this method, the practice is thought to strengthen and widen the arteries. The main thing to keep in mind when doing hand grip exercises is not to use your full strength as this could raise your blood pressure, go for a low to moderate resistance. Aim to use about 30 per cent of your full strength, a good way to gauge this is to grip your stress ball as hard as you can briefly and then reduce your grip to about one third intensity. With patience and a little bit of time each day it is possible to control blood pressure naturally and set yourself up to live a longer healthier life. For more, follow Tracy on Facebook <a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/%20https:/www.facebook.com/TracyChairYoga/?hc_ref=SEARCH&fref=nf" target="_blank">here</a>.

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Why Meghan Markle was pressured to lie about her age

Prince Harry’s bride-to-be Meghan Markle has revealed to The Sun that she was pressured to lie about her age in order to get more acting roles. Her agents advised her to gloss over her real age if she wanted to avoid being rejected by producers for being over 30. The Sun has uncovered an interview from 2015, where Ms Markle is reported as saying that, “I think that as women actors, the industry can assume they have a shelf life. “I’m always told, ‘Don’t say your age’. I’m 33 and I’m really comfortable with that. I think if anyone has a problem then it’s their problem, not mine. “I think in television, you are seeing a shift of women who are not in their 20s who play strong women.” Ms Markle, now 36, was best known for her starring role in the US TV drama Suits before becoming engaged to Prince Harry in November this year. They plan to marry on May 19, 2018. Have you ever lied about your age or felt pressured to? We would love to hear your story in the comments.

Prince William speaks out about the pressure on young people

Prince William has spoken out about the pressure facing young people growing up in today’s world, with the royal family member criticising social media. The father of two, speaking at a gala dinner on Monday, said the pressure was, “Almost certainly more than even for my generation not so long ago.” “Children are tested more than ever before and are being prepared to enter a highly competitive work market,” he continued. “On top of this, there is a sense of being ‘on call’ 24/7 through social media, and the subsequent strains this can have on relationships, home life and, ultimately, a child’s sense of their own self-worth. It can all take its toll.” The Duke of Edinburgh said he believed it was important to give children the tools of “courage, discipline and resilience” while they are young. “If you are not taught these skills at a young age, it is very, very difficult to learn them as an adult,” he added. “It is the mark of a civilised and loving society that everyone is given the chance to do their best." What are your thoughts? Do you think there’s too much pressure on young people these days? Hero image credit: Twitter / People

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