KANGAROO MINDS

The stereotypical person many of us would first think of when asked to picture someone with an Eating Disorder is more often than not an adolescent girl or young woman with Anorexia Nervosa. Additionally this image would typically involve someone either standing in front of a mirror or on a weighing scale. However, in truth, such presumptions are erroneous and only fuel stereotypes about Eating Disorders - and these could not be further away from the truth. When it comes to s

Gratitude has become very trendy for several years and has started cropping up in almost every corner we look, and more so through the times we live in now - the Covid-19 pandemic. We’ve been bombarded with ideas like gratitude prompts, tips for practicing gratitude, reminders to feel for challenges and failures, keeping a gratitude journal - and that’s only a few! However, without caution, Gratitude can become problematic too there have been several instances especially thro

If December is a month which is associated with the decorations and merriness of the Holidays and Christmas, February is certainly a month which is dedicated to celebrating Love - and no date is more illustrative of that celebration than February 14th, Valentine’s Day. Even if someone was living under a rock, they would get the association of this day with all the love and fluff around because a glance at a store window will give you the idea of things around you being filled

Children can have big feelings too & it's important to accept them, look out for them and provide them the support they need to make sense of and cope with their feelings. Supporting children through rough times can understandably tug at all of the heartstrings and flood the minds of parents and caregivers with worries such as ‘Am I doing enough’ or ‘Am I failing my child’. Though parents and caregivers often wish they could, they can’t wave a magic wand and make the child’s

How many times this week have you told yourself you should be grateful? We have heard about body shaming, food shaming, and several other kinds of shaming, but have we heard of Gratitude Shaming? Gratitude, as with anything, can be a powerful thing, if wielded with care. But, as they say, with great power comes great responsibility, and often the Gratitude movement can actually make us feel worse and eventually lead to what is known as, Gratitude Shaming. Gratitude is everywh

If we had a dollar for every time we came across ‘New Year, New Me’ around the start of a year, we would be laughing our way to the bank very early in the year each year! “New Year, New Me” - but as the calendar changes and the clock hits midnight, do we miraculously transform into a different person? Or do we wake up on New Year’s day as someone completely different? This phrase is often heard at the start of every new year as people vow to start fresh and become new people.

It’s that time of the year again when everyone is making bucket lists and looking at making New Year’s resolutions. Given how turbulent 2020 has already been, this year it’s time we rethink our resolutions. This New Year probably looked like other New Years: we got tired trying to stay up past midnight, we probably wear something sparkly (glitter make-up with your tracks counts), and probably made a list of resolutions. We reflected on the lessons learned from the past year a

Vladmir Lenin’s words “There are decades when nothing happens and weeks when decades happen” seem to perfectly encapsulate the 2020 experience. A year marked with profound grief, disappointments, loss and uncertainty has also led to several learnings which can stand us in good stead going ahead. There is a lot that 2020 has taught us about ourselves, our relationships, our passions and our values. As we made our 2019 New Year’s resolutions we had nothing but hope for not just

When we talk about abuse, we often wonder why the victims don’t leave those toxic environments? The reality is that it is not as easy as it seems. We think that no one would want to stay in an abusive household and should just pick their bags and walk out the door. The truth is it is never so black and white. While some people will throw around fancy sounding words like "Stockholm syndrome" or "battered spouse syndrome" etc to explain it, a simple Google search itself on "why

We have these preconceived notions that the Holidays are happy, merry, bright and filled with lots of cheer and festivities, but that isn’t always the case for everyone and as we step into the holiday season it’s about time we address this issue. The holidays can bring warm feelings with treasured memories, connection with loved ones, and meaningful traditions. Christmas is quickly approaching and as someone dealing with grief or their Mental Health declining can be are tough

Have you ever seen someone getting beaten up? Have you ever seen someone get harassed, ridiculed, ‘punked’, or humiliated? Of course you have! We’ve all seen it! At some point in our lives, we’ve witnessed bullying. For some of us, we’re the victims themselves. If you’re a human being, you’ve probably committed an act of hostility or aggression at some point in your life. That doesn’t make you a bully. Bullying may be defined as any hostile act which annoys, intimidates, coer

There’s a lot of information out there dedicated to protecting our kids from bullying and enforcing policies to ensure it doesn’t happen, but the real key to stopping this problem is understanding it. Bullies are definitely people like the rest of us, so what’s so different about them that their social skills are so drastically different? Bullies do not fit into a neat little box. They come from all walks of lives, all ages, all genders, all races, and all cultures. When we u

Bullying can affect everyone - those who are bullied, those who bully, and those who witness bullying. There is plenty of research which suggests that bullying is linked to many negative outcomes including impacts on mental health, substance use, self harm and even suicide. Bullying creates a culture of fear and has a negative impact on everyone involved. Being bullied can seriously affect a person’s physical, emotional, academic and social well-being. Many sufferers of bully

We’ve been grappling with the realities of lockdown and the Covid-19 pandemic for over 7 months now and unlike a lot of things, with time for many of us this isn’t getting any easier. While the initial euphoria of baking banana bread, making Dolgona coffee and at home work outs seems to be dying, we are now left staring at the anxieties unleashed by prolonger periods of uncertainty, the loneliness of isolation, disappointment of cancelling plans, longing for seeing our loved

October brings along Baby Loss Awareness Week, which as the name itself suggests, the week focuses on having conversations around child loss and grief. It is a time for bereaved parents, and their families and friends to unite and commemorate their babies' lives. The week also raises awareness of how pregnancy and baby loss affects thousands of families each year. Grief is all the feelings you have when someone close to you dies. You may find it hard to believe that your baby

Every year when 10th October comes around, Social Media is abuzz with conversations about Mental Health with hashtags trending, influencers putting out messages, survey releases and a lot of events all over the world. Unfortunately when the day comes to an end, so does the buzz around Mental Health. What we need to realise is that Mental Health needs to be spoken about everyday, because those who are struggling don’t have their struggles limited to 1 day so neither should the

You wake up and scroll through Twitter, reading up on the political events that unfolded overnight, the number of Covid19 cases and possibly another violent crime. Maybe the news plays as you eat breakfast, taking in the latest natural disasters from around the world as you sip your morning tea. Your phone pings with information on your friend’s relationship fallout after which your colleagues call you with a work crisis. It’s barely 9 a.m., and already you’re emotionally exh

In the midst of the pandemic, Mental Health is likely to be an epidemic which is going to erupt soon - we need to take these concerns seriously and not be dismissive of those struggling. TW: This article will make references to the current #Coronavirus outbreak (also known as #COVID19) - If this is a topic area which is unsettling for you or makes you anxious, it is advisable to not read ahead. Social distancing, state run quarantines, restaurant closures - the world we curre