Health + Wellness
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Rebuilding My Routine: A Journey to Mental Well-Being in a New City
In the months leading up to my arrival in Toronto, I had been experiencing some trouble with my mental health. There was too much uncertainty, and I was questioning every single one of my choices.
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Love Letter From a Commuter: Why the Don Valley Should Be Protected
Dear Don Valley, It is 9:39 a.m. on Tuesday, September 6, 2022, and I am driving down the Don Valley Parkway, heading to Centennial College for my first day of school. Up until today, I have never been a commuter; I have always lived close to school, so driving every day from my small hometown north of the city is rather new to me. Already I find the bumper-to-bumper traffic along the DVP to be as tedious and exhausting as the constant exhaust fumes that are spewing out of engines all around me. But there is one silver lining: as I take the exit at Don Mills Road and the…
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Green is the New Black
The amount of disposable products (especially plastics) is a problem that, as a society, we have been trying to solve for several years. Unfortunately, when the pandemic came, health care and sanitation became our first priority and we put aside other problems; the use of plastic containers, disposable bags, and other articles returned to be part of our day-to-day lives. However, our reality is now different from what it was two years ago, and many establishments are again proposing small actions that we can do day by day to achieve a positive impact on our environment and community. Here on the Danforth, some establishments have opted for a sustainable model:…
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Green Merchant Cannabis Boutique: Cultivating a Sense of Community Through Cannabis
Ever since the overdue legalization of cannabis in Canada, cannabis dispensaries have become a ubiquitous and unignorable aspect of every neighbourhood in Toronto. Although each area of the city varies in its quirks, a commonality between them is their abundance of dispensaries. Not even the Danforth community—in all its unique and eclectic glory—is exempt from the influx of dispensaries Toronto is experiencing. If you’re walking along the Danforth, it’s almost a guarantee that you’ll come across at least one, if not multiple. With such a plenitude of dispensaries, it’s easy to assume that they’re all monotonous businesses that only sell cannabis. However, Green Merchant Cannabis Boutique, located at 294 Danforth…
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Let’s Get Personal: Mutual Aid on the Danforth
“I’m iffy about billionaire romantic heroes,” says Jackie Olynyk, local romance author. She wants to write characters that she likes, and not someone “that’s a big, capitalist mogul.” Olynyk describes her writing as a mix between “cozy comfort and fierce rebellion,” which represents her evident desire to embrace anti-capitalism not only in her creative writing, but also in her community on the Danforth. Olynyk brings this energy into her volunteer work for local mutual aid organization The Personal Care Bank (TPCB). “I love our community, I love Toronto,” she says. “It’s easy to shut everything else [out] and focus on yourself, [… but] I really want to see us all…
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Pink is Back on the Danforth
In February of 2020, life in Toronto was business as usual. Natalie Borch, founder of The Pink Studio in Toronto, was teaching a variety of classes at her studio: dance, yoga, barre, and pilates. On March 17, 2020, Premier Doug Ford issued a state of emergency, and by April 1, 2020, the Government of Ontario sent the entire province into lockdown, plunging businesses into an indefinite closure that would have profound ramifications for the fitness industry. In what would end up being one of the world’s longest lockdowns, the industry would suffer immensely, and for businesses to survive, they would need to innovate quickly, which is exactly what Natalie and…
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What Makes “Clean Beauty” Clean? An Interview with The Big Carrot’s Resident Makeup Expert
Beauty should be good for you, right? But what really goes into the makeup we use? The truth is that most products contain a laundry list of ingredients that we can’t even pronounce, let alone make sense of. It’s estimated that around 80% of the ingredients in makeup have never been tested for health and safety standards — and yes, to my great chagrin, this is still totally legal. While we would like to think that the beauty companies we know and love always have our best interest at heart, the truth seems a little less clear. And since the average person uses twelve different beauty products every single day,…
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What’s in a Routine? The Emotional, Mental, and Physical Benefits of Skin Care
Not knowing what to do tomorrow is scary. No matter how boring, or how mundane a routine is, it’s better to have one than nothing at all. A routine keeps you grounded, and it keeps you in control. You feel like you have control over the circumstances of your life, and even the tiniest amount of control can make you feel strong and empowered. But when the lockdown was officially active, I lost my routine. I lost my feeling of control; I lost myself. I didn’t know what to do next. When I had my routine, I always knew what would happen next, or the next thing to do. I…
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Self-Care Tips for Coping with Anxiety During Uncertain Times
The arrival of the pandemic came as a surprise. The world changed overnight. People were suddenly becoming fatally ill due to a virus that no one had ever heard of. One day we’re living our normal daily lives, and the next, we’re locked away at home. It’s hard enough going through isolation, but it’s even harder when you’re dealing with mental health issues. The Kaiser Family Foundation Tracking Poll conducted a study in the middle of June, that showed in the US alone, 53% of adults reported their mental health has suffered due to stress toward the coronavirus. Now imagine the number when we think about the whole world. Dealing…
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Switchel: The Ancient Health Drink You’ve Likely Never Heard Of
Throughout the years, we’ve seen a rise in the popularity of kombucha due to a societal shift towards healthier lifestyles. Despite the popularity of this probiotic drink, few have heard of its cousin, switchel (also known as swizzle, haymakers-punch, or shrub in its condensed form). Much like kombucha, switchel contains quite a few health benefits (even electrolytes), and has a long history of being used as a drink to sustain oneself during laborious tasks. Switchel dates back hundreds of years, and its origin is somewhat dubious. Early versions of the drink have been traced back to the Caribbean, Rome, and England, as well as the United States during Colonial times.…
