Health + Wellness
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Things to Do If Your Child Tells You They Have Anxiety
So, your child has opened up to you about feelings of anxiousness and you’re wondering where to go from here. You want to be understanding and compassionate to your child, but you don’t want to reinforce their fears and continue the anxious cycle. While every child is different and the specific cause of their anxiety might alter the way it is dealt with, this list is a good starting point for parents that have little to no experience with anxiety in children. Thank Them for Trusting You While parents and children should constantly practice being both grateful and apologetic to each other when necessary, thanking your child is never more…
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Tai Chi: Finding Balance through Movement
Breathe in, breathe out. Concentrate on your moves. Detach yourself from the stress of everyday life. There is only you, your balance, and your next movement in the routine. The rest of the world fades away. Tai Chi (or, as some say, Taiji) and Qigong were born in Ancient China, but are by no means limited to that geographical boundary. Today, Tai Chi is one of the most popular martial arts, one with a deep philosophical approach towards energy, life force, and inner peace. The circulation of Chi (or life force) in the body can help mind and body’s health. It can also create balance in thoughts and movements. Some…
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What Do Safe Streets Look Like?
Forty-two. That is how many Torontonians died in the 2003 SARS outbreak, and it is also how many pedestrians and cyclists died on the streets of Toronto in 2019. If the City of Toronto treated pedestrian and cyclist safety as seriously as it is treating the current coronavirus scare perhaps that number would not have been so high. But, as the Toronto Star reported last December, Toronto police issued 140,000 fewer speeding tickets in 2018 than they had a decade earlier, and nearly fifty per cent fewer careless driving charges. There is a clear causal relationship between the reduction in the number of tickets that are issued and the increase…
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Why Starving Your Way to a Size Zero is Not Helping You
“Maybe, if I don’t eat for one month straight, I could totally rock that bodycon dress at the party”. We’ve all been there, haven’t we? Starving our way to a perfect fit every now and then, believing that not eating for long hours is the fastest way to lose that extra inch. Well, sure–it might be. But it is also the fastest way to disturb your body’s metabolism–which could lead to something worse. Nourishment is a complex mechanism, which involves much more than just eating food. It is a combination of your psychological state, situational conditions, and biochemical signals being sent from your brain to your body and vice versa.…
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Bell Let’s Talk is Cheap
Bell Let’s Talk is an annual campaign wherein the telecommunications giant, Bell Canada, donates five cents for every text, wireless and long-distance call by customers, and any social media post that includes #BellLetsTalk. On surface level, the campaign is a success–having donated over $100 million to “mental health programs” in Canada over the last nine years. The campaign has also broadened its reach since it first began in 2011; going on to reserve funding specifically for child and youth programming, military family services, and Indigenous mental health initiatives nationally. However, as the campaign has gained esteem, impulsively becoming the pinnacle of a mental health movement in Canada, it has also…
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Reading through Recovery
**Content Warning: mentions of suicide attempt, abuse, self-harm, borderline personality disorder, and PTSD** The first time I learned how to love, I quickly tied its meaning to manipulation and abuse. From an early age, already too familiar with the world’s indifference to suffering, I externalized the pain that was physically too much for my mind. My behaviour was outed by the very person who drove me to the edge, one pill away from fading to black. And as I sat in a white room, awaiting the psychiatrist who would misdiagnose me, I felt undeniably lost. I went on to receive treatment for months to come. But even when they got…
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Find Out What Your Blood Type Personality Is
While people can be complex beings, there are many personality tests created with the intention of revealing a person’s nature. One fun, predictive tool is the blood type personality test which is based off the belief that an individual’s blood type influences the dominant characteristics that they posses. Don’t know your blood type? No worries! Take this quick quiz to determine what your blood type is and what it may mean for you.
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Let’s talk about trauma: Building strength and resilience through safe spaces
Trauma is an experience that differs from individual to individual, affecting lives in diverse ways. While some may be more open to discussing it, others may not wish to bring it up at all, as it can stem from the most upsetting, scarring, or challenging moments in our lives. Around one year ago, both the Danforth neighbourhood and the city of Toronto as a whole experienced trauma as a community—and, for many of us, the scars of these events remain. So, how can we practice the best self-care when we face trauma? How can we offer support to loved ones going through this trying experience? And what can we do,…
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Spa Spaces: The Danforth’s Best Beauty Destinations
Manis. Facials. Waxing. For a beauty lover, these aren’t just routine services—they’re acts of self-care. To that end, we have narrowed down the very best manicure, facial, and waxing spaces on the Danforth. These quality places will be sure to leave you satisfied. BEST MANICURE: THE TEN SPOT Kristen Gale created The Ten Spot back in 2006 after she noticed the need for a space that combined the quality standards of high-end spas with the efficiency of low-end nail salons. Her first “anti-spa” on Queen Street West quickly gained a cult-like following. The Ten Spot now has ten locations across the GTA, including one at 409 Danforth Avenue. Franchise partner…
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Mountains into Molehills: A Fearless Guide for First-Time Rock Climbers
South of the Danforth, in an industrial building that houses art studios, fashion labels, and commercial bakeries, I cling to fake rocks a few metres off the ground. I inch my right foot around a plastic outcropping. Then my left foot slips and I slide down the artificial rock face, skinning a couple of calluses from my hands in the process. Back on the ground, I am unable to wipe the smile off my face. The Rock Oasis is an apt name for one of the best and biggest climbing gyms in Toronto. When you push open the door, The Rock Oasis appears like a mirage: a two-story expanse of…