Give the Gift of Kindess........

Christmas was the season of fabulous dresses, getting your nails done, slapping on the false tan,  letting your loved ones lavish you in gifts and spending all your money right? Well it sort of is…. As fabulous as opening presents, eating fancy foods, getting more trussed up than the Tofeukey and having first world problems such as a broken nail can be -  the true meaning of Christmas giving can sometimes be lost amid the flurry of wrapping paper. Now don’t get me wrong I love the glamour of Christmas as much as the next person, my LBD is hung up ready for the big day and I have decked every hall with boughs of holly but sometimes we have to see past ourselves and remember Christmas isn’t that amazing for everyone. Part of being vegan (to me at least) means to also be a humanitarian. I truly believe life is a balancing act so alongside all the merriment I have tried to give back to those who need it most at this time of year and complied a little list of some of the small ways you may be able to help someone out -

Reverse Advent Calendar

This is the first year we have done this and we have LOVED it! So simple, so much fun and minimal hassle to do. Simply fill a box with 24 (as in there are 24 days of advent) food items and donate them to your local food bank so they can be distributed to families in your area who need them over Christmas. It is an easy accumulator as you can put just a few items extra in the weekly shop and before you know it the box is full and ready for donation. Double check what food items your local food bank needs before you start and that there is a drop off point you can get to.

Mission Christmas

You can't go shopping anywhere from the day after Halloween until Christmas without noticing an over flow of toys everywhere. But sadly not every child will have a gift to open on Christmas day. Statistics are scary – 1 in 5 children in the area I live are in poverty meaning the chances are high they will have nothing on the big day. This is why projects such as Mission Christmas are so important. The concept is simple – select one gift for a child in need, then take it to the local drop off point where volunteers work with local services to ensure the most needy children get a gift on Christmas day.

Give before receiving

Before Christmas morning, make room for new gifts by donating old or no-longer-used items in your home to charity / homeless shelter etc. While it might be tough at first for you to give away your old things, think of the happiness that may bring to people who need them.

Salute the brave

If you aren't already aware of the daily sacrifices the members of our military make, instill it in yourself right along with Christmas charity. Give 2 the Troops collects Christmas cards holiday books and movies, decorations, spiritual items and more, compiling care packages for members of the Armed Forces. While it may be hard for you personally to understand the concept of the military, it will likely be able to relate to missing home if you were far away.

Reach out to another generation

Spread cheer at local nursing home or hospitals by dropping off some cookies or fruit. Many residents of nursing homes don't have regular visitors — or any visitors at all. Call ahead first to determine if there are any dietary restrictions for the residents. Chances are, they'll be thrilled to have the company of new people – another option is creating a gift box to an elderly lonely person and this can be done through Help The Aged.

 

As you can see there are lots of small ways you can give before you received that take minimal time and money. If you really have no money (and I have been there) there are lots of free ways to give back – finding time for coffee with a friend, offering to wrap presents for an older person who is struggling to manage or just dropping a text to someone to see how they are. Christmas can be lonely and a simple text can make a big difference. Where ever you are and whoever you spend it with I hope it is all you want it to be and more– Merry Christmas!

House work, rollers, mad mogs & an enforced techo detox..........

On Sunday the seemingly unthinkable happened. Something that had you told me was going to happen, I would have sworn my arms would have fallen off, the world would end and tears would have been inevitable. Yet when this incident happened none of things happened. Not a single one. I truly believe if you listen, the universe tells you all you need to know and this, my friends, I am sure is a sign. Let me set the scene –

On Sunday I was running around doing house work, juggling 3 tasks at once, my hair was setting in rollers, keys between my teeth, trying to film for my new You Tube channel, edit pictures for Instagram and had cats running my ankles meowing like they had never been fed (they had in fact been fed just before) when I dropped my IPhone in the kitchen sink which was full of water, bubbles and dirty pots. In the silence that followed I realised my first thoughts were not of panic and munity as I predicted but of total calm and acceptance. The universe had spoken loudly – I needed to slow down. Admittedly I did go to a local repair shop to try and revive it with no success. It was declared that a smashed screen and water damaged sent my little mate to techo heaven but most importantly it taught me some important lessons (not to just get insurance and ensure you’ve backed everything up!)

1.   Social media is addictive.

Studies show that 63% of people log on to Facebook daily, and 40% log on multiple times each day. People use the site for myriad reasons; however, it usually serves, on some level, the same basic purposes: distraction and boredom relief. “Likes” and comments are positive reinforcement for posting information, making it difficult for a person to stop. Researchers have found this so common that they created a scale to measure this addiction: The Berge Facebook Addiction Scale. Just think of all the productive things you can be doing instead of admiring other people’s lives through a screen!

2.   Social media makes us compare our lives with others’.

Posts on social media many times present an idealized version of what’s happening, what something looks like, or how things are going. This can lead users to constantly compare themselves to others and think less of their own lives. If things are going particularly well for people in your newsfeed and you’re having a rough day, of course this will likely negatively affect your mood. In fact, in 2012 a team of researchers in the UK surveyed users, 53% of whom said social media had changed their behaviour; 51% said it was negative behaviour because of decline in confidence they felt due to unfair comparisons to others.

3.   Social media makes us restless.

Out of the same sample as the above example, two-thirds admitted to having difficultly relaxing when unable to use their social media accounts. For most of my life I have struggled with insomnia yet for the past year I have banned all mobiles / tablets etc from the bedroom and it is no coincidence my sleep has improved dramatically.

4.   Social media gives rise to cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying is an enormous concern. An organization that aims for internet safety, called Enough is Enough, conducted a survey that found 33% of people who use social media have been victims of a cyber-bully at some time. This happened to me a few years ago when I was targeted by an ex-boyfriends new girlfriend – she put both myself, my family and friends through hell with her cruel comments, copying, stalking and downright nasty behaviour. The impact on my mental and physical health at the time was extremely detrimental.

5.   Social media can make us unhappy.

A study collected data about Facebook users and how it correlated with their moods. Simply put, they found that the more avid users were overall more unhappy than those who used the site less. Over more time, avid users also reported lower satisfaction in their lives overall.

6.   Social media can lead to fear of missing out, aka FOMO.

Fear of missing out is a phenomenon that occurs when you feel pressure to be doing what everyone else is doing, attend every event, and share every life experience. It can evoke anxiety and cause social media users to question why everyone is “having fun without them.” Surveys have even found that people feel insecure after using Pinterest because they feel that they aren’t crafty or creative enough. Facebook and Twitter can make people feel like they aren’t successful or smart enough which in turn can increase cyber bulling if people become jealous.

7.   Social media often leads to multitasking.

How many tabs do you have open right now? How are you even concentrating on one thing? The thing is, you’re probably not – especially if one of those tabs is a social media site. Research has shown that our brains don’t have the capacity to fully focus our attention on two things at once, and instead multitasking causes our brain to quickly switch from one task to another. This hinders information processing and productivity. Closing out your Twitter feed can seriously help you get some work done. Not multi-tasking can also help to ensure you do not drop your phone in the sink!

 BUUUT…………

Social media isn’t all about selfie-taking narcissists, cyberbullies, and killing productivity. When used in moderation with the right intentions, it really can achieve what it was first set out to do: connect people. Which brings us to…

 Social media enhances our connectivity.

 A paper linking social media usage to the Freudian ideas of the id, ego, and super-ego cites many examples of positive psychological effects of social media. Perhaps one of the most important points is that social media doesn’t necessarily take us out of the real world. It can instead be used to revive and preserve relationships with other people. Even more exciting about this technological world is that there is an incredible number of like-minded people who can connect in just one click. From makeup to travel to veganism to yoga I have had the privilege to connect with some of the most amazing people through social media and continue to do so. With living so far from home and travelling a lot it keeps me in touch with the people I care about the most and more importantly share in the highlights in their lives. But like everything in life there needs to be a balance. So yes I have ordered a new IPhone but for now I am loving the benefits of a full techo detox – thank you universe.