Bebe Rexha Among Many to Join the Getting Better Together Campaign

 

It’s mental health month, and the Child Mind Institute has launched its Getting Better Together campaign. It features “inspiring, homemade videos from celebrities,” who share their own struggles with mental health in the hope of ending stigma and encouraging kids to ask for help.

The campaign has three separate focuses. For kids, it’s managing emotions and building confidence. For teens it’s knowing how to ask for help, and learning to better express their feelings. And for parents, the focus is on self care; the idea being that the better you’re able to care for yourself, the more present you can be for your kids.

Some of the celebrities who have shared their story include Tan France, Zoe Saldana, Bebe Rexha, and Emma Stone.

Bebe Rexha, for example, talks about her struggles with anxiety and depression. “I’ve dealt with anxiety and depression and mental illness since I was super young and it’s something I’m very vocal about,” she explains in her video. She goes on to describe the things that help her cope: therapy, conversations with friends and family, and — perhaps obviously — music.

 

 

Emma Stone is a member of the Child Mind Institute’s board of directors, and in her video she cautions viewers to take things slow, saying, “This year was very scary and hard. Now going back out into the world can bring up a lot of feelings.” She continues: “Whether that change is staying home or the change is going out into the world, everyone has some of those feelings inside… keep talking about how you feel and sharing it with people you feel safe with. We are all going to be okay.”

 

 

Cambridge Veterinarian Saves a Tiger’s Eye

 

A veterinarian in England performed a ‘world-first’ surgery to heal an ulcerated cornea on the eye of a tiger.

The 17-year-old Sumatran tiger Ratna is now fully recovered at her home in Shepreth Wildlife Park, after an operation on her left eye that successfully restored her eyesight. The surgery was performed by Dr. David Williams, from Queen’s Veterinary School Hospital at the University of Cambridge.

Back in 2017, Ratna had a cataract removed from her left eye, but then developed a corneal ulcer. Williams suggested that the ulcer could have been caused by something as innocent as Ratna poking her eye against a stick of bamboo. But whatever the cause, Ratna’s eye “was a horrendous mess,” and her trainers observed that it had affected her coordination.

The operation performed on Ratna is commonly performed on domestic cats and dogs, and Williams completed it the same way he would have on smaller animals. But being a bigger cat, Ratna needed “a lot more anaesthetic.”

 


It is believed to be the world’s first hood graft procedure on a big cat. The operation involves covering the cornea with a flap of the conjunctiva — the pink part of the eye. Covering the cornea allows it to heal.

Two months after the surgery, Ratna is doing well. Williams says that between the earlier cataract surgery and the more recent corneal ulcer, the tiger will never fully regain the vision in her left eye. But her coordination has returned, the pain of the ulcer is gone, and Williams told the BBC that Ratna is “absolutely fine; you’d never know anything had been wrong.”

 

Breathing Exercises, Yoga Can Help Kids with ADHD Stay Focused

 

A new study conducted by scientists in Russia discovered that breathing exercises and yoga have a positive effect on children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Psychologists from Ural Federal University studied 16 children with ADHD between the ages of six and seven. Those children were taught breathing exercises based on a concept called diaphragmatic rhythmic deep breathing. It was discovered that these exercises decrease hyperactivity, improve attention, boost sustained energy levels, and allow children to engage in complex activities for longer periods of time.

In a university release, the study’s author — head of the Laboratory of Brain Neurocognitive Development, Sergey Kiselev — says, “For children with ADHD, as a rule, the part of the brain that is responsible for the regulation of brain activity – the reticular formation – is deficient.”

According to Kiselev, the deep breathing technique they taught the children “helps to better supply the brain with oxygen and helps the reticular formation to cope with its role. When the reticular formation receives enough oxygen, it begins to better regulate the child’s state of activity.”

In addition to the breathing exercises, researchers taught the children body-oriented techniques like “tension-relaxation.” Kiselev explained: “As part of the training, each child attended yoga sessions three times per week over the course of three months. On top of having immediate benefits, exercising also has a long-term positive effect on regulation and control functions in children with ADHD.”

As with the deep breathing technique, Kiselev explained that the yoga is about supplying the brain with more oxygen. Yoga helps to automate what he calls “correct breathing,” providing a more adequate supply of oxygen over a longer period of time. That supply of oxygen “has a beneficial effect on the behaviour and psyche of a child with ADHD.”

The results of the study can be found in the journal Biological Psychiatry.

Manchester United Player Becomes Youngest Person on Sunday Times Giving List

 

English soccer player and Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford has appeared at the top of the Sunday Times Giving List. The list, from the UK’s biggest newspaper, is an annual measure of the generosity of those who are best-equipped to make a difference.

Rashford, 23, is the youngest person to rank on the Giving List, which ranks wealthy Brits based on the amount they donated to (or raised for) charity against their net worth in the Rich List.

Rashford doesn’t appear on the paper’s Rich List, but he did appear for the first time on the Young Rich List, with a net worth of 16 million pounds. As an acting ambassador for FareShare, a charity network aiming to relieve food poverty and reduce food waste in the UK, Rashford was able to fund an estimated 20 million pounds of additional donations to the charity. It helped earn him a Giving Index of 125, or 125% of his net worth.

FareShare chief executive Lindsay Boswell told The Times, “We are delighted he’s been honoured in this way. Marcus’ support for FareShare over the last year and his commitment to tackling child hunger has simply been incredible.”

But Rashford’s efforts go beyond his work with FareShare. He’s twice forced Boris Johnson’s government into U-turns over the provision of meals during school holidays, ensuring children in need received free meals throughout those breaks. And last year he helped form a child poverty task force, forging partnerships with supermarkets and food brands in a bid to increase access to food for poorer children.

Better Leader, Better Parent? Absolutely, These Authors Say

 

Though the pandemic has definitely blurred the line between work and home for millions of people, many of us still believe in maintaining a healthy work/life balance.

And while that can mean something different for everyone – no email after 6pm, for instance, or no work until the kids are in bed – one thing that seems pretty obvious is to not treat your family like you treat your employees.

Unless… maybe we should?

“People know what good leadership looks like: it’s clarifying your values, it’s having conversations with stakeholders about what’s important, it’s having a vision,” says Alyssa Westring, co-author of Parents Who Lead. “All of that stuff makes a good parent, and there’s no reason to leave it in the workplace.”

Westring and her co-author Stewart Friedman argue that many of us spend a lot of time thinking about how to be a good leader at work, and not enough time thinking about how to be good leaders of our family.

But as they recently explained to the Harvard Business Review, the good news is that the two types of leadership actually involve many of the same strategies:

 

Chinese-American TEDx Speaker Demolishes Racial Bias “I am not your Asian stereotype”

 

In the wake of recent violence against Asian Americans, the world has a renewed – and long overdue – interest in not only protecting racialized individuals, but examining the way we view and treat them.

But while the pandemic has brought the issue into a stark light, the truth is that Asian Americans have faced forms of bias, racism and discrimination for years—and it doesn’t take a gunman to make their safety and sense of self feel threatened.

“As a child, I quickly began to realize that I had two options in front of me,” explains TEDx speaker Canwen Xu, who immigrated to America from China at the age of two. “Conform to the stereotype that was expected of me, or conform to the whiteness that surrounded me. There was no in between.”

Five years before a gunman killed six Asian women (and two other people) in a shooting rampage in Atlanta, Xu gave an emotional and revealing TEDx talk that revealed the struggles she faced as a Chinese immigrant to the United States, and the inspiring way she learned to embrace her background’s disparate parts.

 

Tyler Perry’s Oscar Acceptance Speech Is Like a Masterclass in Humanity

 

At this point Tyler Perry’s professional credentials almost speak for themselves – Forbes listed him as the highest-paid man in entertainment a decade ago, and his power and influence have only grown since – but his humanitarian bonafides are almost as impressive.

The mega-producer, director, actor and writer was awarded the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Oscars on Sunday for his many contributions to others, including small but impactful acts like buying groceries for senior citizens and providing financial assistance to the families of Black people killed by police.

In explaining his philosophy toward helping others in his Oscars acceptance speech, Perry not only brought the room to tears, but reminded us of the importance of reserving judgment, refusing to resort to hate, and the amazing power of small acts of kindness.

 

 

 

 

The 11 Most Inspirational Videos on TikTok

 

Most people have a love/hate relationship with social media, and with good reason.

On the one hand, experts like Tristan Harris and the makers of The Social Dilemma have been warning us for years about the harmful effects of spending too much time in the silos that social media tends to create for us.

On the other hand, sometimes those silos can be full of helpful, motivating and inspirational content that drives us to become better versions of ourselves and achieve more than we otherwise might have.

We believe that social media, like pretty much everything else, is best in moderation, and want to make sure that when you do turn to your channel of your choice, you’re seeing the type of content that can lead to positive change.

Below we’ve rounded up some of the most motivational and inspiring videos on TikTok that will make you want to get up off your duff to do – and achieve – more.

@josh.canningLove this scene! Go follow my Instagram ##fyp ##fy ##foru ##sports ##movie ##inspirational ##motivation ##nevergiveup♬ Night Trouble By Petit Biscuit – Tyler

@wrotosnort##glowup ##glowups ##foryou ##viral ##wow ##resrect ##inspirational ##loganpaul♬ original sound – Tik Toker

@dhar.mannPT 2 (swipe for PT 3) One persons trash is another person’s treasure. ##dharmann ##dharmannfam ##fyp ##inspirational♬ original sound – Dhar Mann

@braydonroyThis brought tears to my eyes ????(IG:Braydon.roy) ##truestory ##touchingstory ##inspirational♬ XXXTENTACION-无文案 ( Remix) – Squidward

@resistfittSpeech by Rudy Francisco ##motivation ##inspire ##life ##hardtimes ##inspirational ##speech♬ original sound – Resist Fitt | Motivation

@dhar.mannPT 2 (swipe for PT 3) Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. ##dharmann ##dharmannfam ##fyp ##inspirational♬ original sound – Dhar Mann

@dhar.mannPT 3 (swipe for PT 4) Always be honest. ##dharmann ##dharmannfam ##fyp ##inspirational♬ original sound – Dhar Mann

You Won’t Have an Excuse to Skip the Gym Again After Seeing this Baby Train with Rocky

 

Though it’s true that you can – and absolutely should – embark on a fitness journey no matter what age you are, it’s also true that the earlier you start, the better off you’re going to be.

And we know of at least one toddler who’s on pace to have a six-pack before his first day of kindergarten.

Story.IMG shared the hilarious – and absolutely inspiring – video above of a diaper-clad baby watching the iconic training scene from Rocky II, in which Sylvester Stallone does everything from one-handed push-ups and chin-ups to sledgehammer slams and log carries to prepare for his rematch with Apollo Creed.

Inspired by Rocky’s dedication and undeterred by the (extremely) high potential for HIIT-related diaper chafe, the baby follows right along with The Italian Stallion’s workouts, adorably mimicking his push-ups, sledgehammer swings, and other moves as best as his little body will allow.

It’s adorable, hilarious, and incredibly inspirational, especially to those of us who have spent a year claiming that we can’t work out because we simply don’t have the proper equipment at home.

If a shag carpet and a TV screen are good enough for Baby Rocky, they’re good enough for you.

In the words of Rocky’s iconic trainer Mickey, “What are waiting for… tickets?!?!”

 

 

Novak Djokovic (Hilariously) Shows Us How to Be More Generous

 

What does tennis star Novak Djokovic have in common with ’90s alt-rock band The New Radicals?

They apparently both agree on one of the most fundamental principles of living a good life: you only get what you give.

At the 2014 French Open at Roland Garros, Djokovic was taking a break from play and enjoying a brief respite from the pouring rain, thanks to a ball boy who dutifully held an umbrella over Djokovic’s head, keeping the tennis legend dry.

But it turns out even one of the best athletes of all time doesn’t like to be doted on when he could be the one doing the doting.

Much to the shock of the ball boy, Djokovic first invited him to come around and sit on the bench – normally reserved for players only – with him so he wouldn’t have to stand.

Then he went a step further and swapped instruments with the ball boy: Djokovic took the umbrella and held it over the two of them, and gave the ball boy his racket, much to the delight of the French Open crowd.

While it was a small gesture for Djokovic, it was no doubt a lifelong memory for the young ball boy, and a great reminder that small acts of generosity and kindness can go a long way. (And, in the right circumstances, even make the crowd go wild.)