WellBeing_-_December_2019

mind KINDNESS Let kindness in *Naresh Jariwala* By making simple yet deliberate changes to the way you interact with the world around you, you have an Photography Getty Images opportunity to help, inspire, support and delight others in kind and thoughtful ways. Words KIM FORRESTER In September 2018, Jacinda Ardern, the and uplifting these experiences can be. young and dynamic Prime Minister of However, beyond the anecdotal feel-good New Zealand, stood before an almost- stories, researchers have begun to explore empty United Nations General Assembly the empirical facts behind benevolence, hall and called for a new kind of leadership. compassion and other pro-social acts, and Specifically, one centred on kindness. have unearthed an inherent desire in us to elevate and celebrate kindness. Months later, in the wake of the tragic Christchurch mosque shootings, For instance, a National Broadcasting Ardern made headlines around the Company (NBC) survey revealed that 70 world for personifying the kind and per cent of employees would forgo empathetic leadership she had publicly a generous raise for a kinder boss. Other touted. A few weeks later, a viral social studies show that lovers prefer kindness media post highlighted the depths over intelligence in their partners, and both to which this compassionate leader teachers and parents would prefer children embraced her ethos — revealing that she to exhibit kindness rather than achieve had quietly paid for the groceries of good grades. In addition, studies conducted a beleaguered mother who, on a trip to the around the world have provided evidence supermarket with two screaming toddlers, that a kind disposition enhances your had forgotten to bring her wallet. physical attractiveness. Despite a societal paradigm, which asserts that kindness In a modern world that applauds is a weakness, humans actually harbour aggressiveness and enables ruthlessness, an unconscious fondness for those who it has become common to regard kindness exhibit altruism and compassion. as unnecessary, inhibiting or — worse still — a debilitating weakness. However, Furthermore, research shows that this as humankind progresses deeper into inherent yearning for compassion begins the 21st century and seeks solutions to at a young age. For example, when asked the world’s most pressing challenges, what they would change about the world if perhaps one of the most important things given the power to do so, more than half of you can do is acknowledge that kindness all children partaking in a recent State of is a powerful and desirable trait in the Kid survey indicated they would make yourself, in leaders and in society.  the world a kinder place. Just about every human on the planet Unsurprisingly, research has also has benefited from some form of kindness, revealed that kindness is not just a societal and most will attest to how delightful ideal — something that you admire in 100 | wellbeing.com.au

*Naresh Jariwala* wellbeing.com.au | 101

mind KINDNESS The scientific truth is that kindness, whether you are offering it,*Naresh Jariwala* practice — it is a simple and effective receiving it or merely witnessing it, can trigger life-enhancing tool that consistently and progressively Photography Getty Images enhances your wellbeing, outlook on life activity in your brain and your body. and your communities. others — but that it feels good, too. The is known as the “love hormone” and aids Heart-centred living scientific truth is that kindness, whether with social and familial connection as well you are offering it, receiving it or merely as optimism. Astonishingly, researchers have “I’m not a scientist but I know how witnessing it, can trigger life-enhancing determined that this injection of goodness I feel when I’m kind, and I know how activity in your brain and your body. into your bloodstream occurs when you give I feel when someone is kind to me.” Leon kindness, when you receive kindness and Logothetis is a motivational speaker, What kindness does to when you simply witness such an act. philanthropist and creator and host of the your brain Netflix series, The Kindness Diaries. For With so many physical and physiological him, kindness is the perfect antidote to Historically, as a species, you have relied benefits, it is perhaps unsurprising that pervasive competitiveness, materialism considerably on social connection and a life of kindness can stimulate long-term and disconnection. cooperation for your survival. Therefore, it health and wellbeing. For instance, a survey is somewhat inevitable that biology would conducted by Harvard Business School “As a broker in London, I was totally evolve to reward you for pro-social behaviour revealed that those who are more altruistic uninspired and chronically depressed. such as altruism, compassion and kindness. also tend to be happier. Studies have also Sitting behind that desk there was no What may be surprising for many, however, shown that those who perform regular acts connection to a person’s heart; it was all is the extent to which kindness enhances of compassion — such as volunteering or about the mind, numbers, success and your psychology and physiology. donating to charity — often live longer, feel competition,” he explains. “When you put more energised and optimistic, and enjoy making money ahead of everything else, One of the more recognisable benefits greater emotional and physical health. you lose your humanity,” he adds. of kindness is the “helper’s high”, which is a term used to describe the wave of Fortunately, researchers have The 2004 biopic, The Motorcycle Diaries, satisfaction that you experience when you do discovered that kindness can be trained changed Logothetis’ perspective of life and a good deed. Research conducted at Emory and strengthened with concerted eventually propelled him on a purposeful University in Atlanta, Georgia, has linked this practice, and that habitual altruism and journey into adventure, connection and elevating sensation to the brain’s pleasure compassion create a self-perpetuating kindness. For more than a decade he has and reward centres. The researchers feedback loop. The more you practise been travelling, storytelling and exploring the determined that when you perform an act of kindness, the better you feel about true breadth of human connection. Its impact kindness, these reward centres light up as if yourself and your life. The better you feel, on his life, he says, has been profound. you are the recipient of the good deed. the more happiness and connectedness you experience. The more content and “I’ve started to live beyond the mind. Physiologically, you benefit from connected you are, the more inclined you I live in a sphere that is heart-centred a boost of two mood-enhancing substances are to extend acts of kindness to others. and that is about connecting with with each act of altruism or kindness: humanity. It’s a higher vibration than just serotonin and oxytocin. Serotonin is the Although only several decades old, the making money, or success, or how you neurotransmitter best known for its research literature on kindness is clear: look, or winning. I’ve decided I want to happiness-enhancing properties. Oxytocin kindness is not just a pleasurable social come from the heart. I want to see you and I want you to see me,” he says. 102 | wellbeing.com.au

*Naresh Jariwala*

mind KINDNESS According to Logothetis, kindness is one Kindness is most effective when it is unexpected, so of the most powerful ways to ignite human actively look for ways to delightfully surprise people you connection and “heart-centred living”. know, and people you don’t. “Kindness changes our whole aura; *Naresh Jariwala* our whole being. It’s a beautiful way to hope of being kinder. Not resolve to being more conscious reactions. You may need be”, he remarks. “When you’re kind to Photography Getty Imageskinder or claim you are kinder. In order to correct a wrong, but you can do so someone, you can feel that magic of human to live in a kinder world, people need to kindly. You may need to set boundaries connection and we’ve kind of forgotten that. actually make the decision in singular or assert your position, but you can use We think we’re super connected with our moments to spread and amplify kindness. gentle words. You may even find, in phones and the internet. But unless you’re a moment of kind empathy, that you can in nature, or you’re connected with other Thankfully, this is not as difficult as it forgive a transgression completely and human beings, you’re not truly connected.” may seem. By harnessing the power of every move on without a word being said. moment, there are four simple steps you can Although commonly dubbed “the take to spread more kindness throughout 4. Natural connection kindness guy”, Logothetis is hesitant to your home, workplace and communities: Kindness is a universal quality, and its associate himself with the concept of effects need not be limited to the human random acts of kindness. “I actually don’t 1. Awareness race. If you are feeling a little jaded with like the term ‘random acts of kindness’,” he Throughout the day, practise being more humanity or are looking to amplify goodness remarks. “To me, it’s not about randomly aware of others around you. Lift your eyes in other ways, there are a multitude of ways being kind; it’s about being kind as often as from your phone, draw your thoughts back to extend kindness to the animals around you can, wherever you are. Just be kind.” to the present moment and become aware you and the earth you live on. Install a bird of the people around you. What are they feeder in your front yard, leave water out for He does concede, however, that everyday doing? What are they trying to accomplish? wildlife on hot sunny days, foster a homeless kindness can be a challenge and he is Is there something you can do to make pet, plant a tree or decline disposable pragmatic in his approach towards consistent their lives a little easier in that moment? cutlery with your take-out meal. Look for compassion. “On some levels, kindness is ways to be kind to the environment and the easy. On some levels, when you’re having 2. Spontaneity creatures that share the earth with us. a bad day, it’s very hard. That’s when it A kind world is so much more attainable becomes like a muscle,” Logothetis explains. when you learn to step out of your personal Kindness is a vital human characteristic “You build that muscle of kindness by being bubble. Follow impulses to smile at that most people are yearning for in their kind, even when you don’t feel like being kind. strangers, offer to carry heavy bags, pay lives. When you stop to acknowledge the for the coffee order behind you. Kindness health-boosting benefits that you gain from “For me, kindness is a win-win. When is most effective when it is unexpected, so partaking in simple acts of compassion and I’m kind to you, you win and I win. And it’s actively look for ways to delightfully surprise altruism, it is clear that kindness ought important to realise that every single one people you know, and people you don’t. to be prioritised in your day-to-day life. By of us has the opportunity to be kind. We get making simple yet deliberate changes to to choose how we show up,” he concludes. 3. Applied empathy the way you interact with the world around There are more than 7 billion life stories on you, you have an opportunity to lift, help, Creating a kinder world this planet that don’t resemble your own. inspire, support, surprise and delight Understanding this can help you embrace others in kind and thoughtful ways. A kinder world is not just desirable, it’s also kindness in otherwise tense situations. within your power to pursue and eventualise. Make one of your daily mantras “What’s A kind world is yours to create. All However, the first step is to acknowledge and their story?” A waiter makes a minor you need to do is take responsibility for understand that, as much as you may wish mistake on your order; what’s going on in the part you play in this tapestry of life for it to be so, kindness is not going to sweep their life that made them forget? A driver is and make kindness a wondrous, life- over the globe like an inevitable sunrise. It’s wildly cutting through traffic; what stresses enhancing daily habit. going to take effort and persistence. are they under to be in such a hurry? Kim Forrester is an award-winning author, Put simply, a kind world is the result of By applying empathy, you allow educator and holistic wellbeing advocate. billions of individual acts of kindnesses. yourself a greater opportunity to choose W: kimforrester.net Therefore, in order for the world to be kinder, what people have to do — as Logothetis has done — is become kinder individuals. Not think of being kinder. Not 104 | wellbeing.com.au

Dermatonics® is an Australian-made, clinic-exclusive skin care range packed with ultra-pure natural active ingredients and without harsh chemicals. We focus on result-driven products and help our clinics address their clients skin concerns. Dermatonics Clearskin® is our natural breakout cream that helps address blind pimples and active breakouts without drying the skin and promotes repair of the skin barrier. Packed with multiple natural actives that work in synergy to promote a clear complexion. *Naresh Jariwala* KEY FEATURES: Interested in Dermatonics for Ultra-pure Natural Actives your practice? No Animal Products Vegan-Friendly [email protected] No Harsh Chemicals Hydrating and Repairing 02 9188 8819 Head to our website to ƴnd a clinic partner near you: www.dermatonics.com.au FOLLOW US dermatonics_skincare dermatonics

relationships LOVE Falling in love ... again Why is it that once new love fades in a romantic relationship, it can sometimes feel like you are sleeping with the enemy? We explore how couples can renew their relationships, clear out the clutter of unresolved hurt and work through communication breakdowns. *Naresh Jariwala* Word CARROL BAKER Martin Luther King Jr Photography Getty Imagesin tandem to release euphoria-inducing Choose love famously said, “Love is chemicals such as dopamine, oxytocin and the only force capable of adrenaline, a heady love drug. What was it about your partner that won transforming an enemy your heart? Their kindness and inner into a friend.” Why is it then in romantic For many, the erosion of love can take strength? Their quick wit? A quirky sense relationships that once the blossom of a lot longer. Kate Lloyd, a relationships of humour? An adventurous spirit? There new love fades, it can sometimes feel like counsellor at Relationships Australia, says are many reasons why humans pick each you’re sleeping with the enemy? that when love fades for many couples, it’s other as life partners. more like a subtle disconnect that grows Think back to how you and your partner to an ever-widening chasm of discontent. Joanne Wilson, a neuropsychotherapist first met. Perhaps your eyes met across “There just isn’t the same sense of and relationships counsellor at a crowded room. After a few dates, you’re intimacy you once shared, and it’s from TheConfidante Counselling, says it’s finishing each other’s sentences. You get that place of discontentment that negative a process that’s both complex and each other and just know you’ve found the narratives begin to unfold,” she says. intriguing. “It’s fascinating how and why one. Fast-forward a few years and with we pair up with someone, and what we find a mortgage, children, work stressors and Among the madness and attractive in another person,” she says. bills to pay, the magic has turned into mayhem of life, it’s possible monotony and those blissful carefree days Just as selecting a partner is a choice, may seem like a distant memory. to not only rekindle your so too is staying together. “Cultivating romance, but to build an even a relationship is a choice and remaining You might now be a divorce deeper relationship than the committed and attentive to your partner daydreamer, or you may even imagine is a choice — that’s what keeps love what life would be like if your spouse died, one you shared before. alive,” says Wilson. like Alisa Bowman, the author of Project: Happily Ever After: Saving Your Marriage It’s you, not me … or is it? I love you even though you’re When The Fairytale Falters. And no, she driving me crazy didn’t bump off her bloke in the end. If you’re feeling dissatisfied with your spouse, do some soul searching. Being loving even when your partner is Many couples just plod along together What is it you aren’t getting out of the annoying you is an effort, but it builds over the years, far from the analogy of feeling relationship? More intimacy, more respect, trust and intimacy. Forgive past like a pair of warm comfy slippers; they’re freedom, more support? A little positive mistakes or errors in judgement. Deal more like a pair of old boots that pinch your introspection can shake things up a bit. with them and move on. And nix any toes and don’t quite fit properly any more. Lloyd suggests asking the question: how nagging; it just doesn’t work. does my behaviour impact my needs if When the fairy tale fades, real life they are being met? “People resist looking Of course, there will always be times takes its place. But, take heart. Among the inward and sharing responsibility, because when you don’t see eye-to-eye in a madness and mayhem of life, it’s possible they want their partner to change,” she relationship. Conflict is part of life and, if to not only rekindle your romance, but to says. “But if you start to modify your you have issues to work through, pick a build an even deeper relationship than the own behaviour, that can often kick start time when you’re feeling calm and rested. one you shared before. changes in the other person.” Also choose your battles with care; try not to sweat the small stuff. Get set for a wild ride Think about what you could do differently so you both get what you want Wilson says when negotiating Did you know falling in love can take a mind- out of the relationship. It’s a great way to conflict in relationships, people often blowing one-fifth of a second? According to start a conversation. From there you can inadvertently find themselves treading the Syracuse University professor, Stephanie negotiate and work on helpful ways to light same old worn-and-tired path and that Ortigue, not only does it happen quickly, she that spark and fan those flames again. loops back to dissatisfaction. likens the effect to a hit of cocaine. Results from Ortigue’s team revealed when a person “One partner might find it hard to ask falls in love, 12 areas of the brain work for what they want, another is averse to feedback (or criticism). They can stop talking and that establishes a conflict cycle,” she 106 | wellbeing.com.au

*Naresh Jariwala* wellbeing.com.au | 107

relationships LOVE says. “It becomes a bit of a conflict dance —*Naresh Jariwala*to view your partner through a different- “Cultivating a relationship a different topic with the same moves.” coloured lens. Instead of “you drive me is a choice and remaining Photography Getty Imagescrazy when …” try saying, “I love it when …committed and attentive to If you find yourself locked in ongoing you make me a cuppa in bed.” your partner is a choice — battles, it can help to speak to a counsellor that’s what keeps love alive.” to help break free from conflict patterns. Love doesn’t have to be a series of grand gestures. Often, it’s the sum of about what you do, not what you say. When resolving issues with your those little things that connect people “Everyone expresses love in different spouse, watch your words. Often, the and nurture relationships. According ways. Appreciate the other person’s ways tone most use with their partner is a lot to Lloyd, acting lovingly is often more of expressing their love for you — often harsher than they’d use with their friends. that gets missed,” she says. Minding your manners and treating your spouse with courtesy and respect when For some, it’s making their partner’s you speak to them is important. favourite breakfast on the weekend and for others, it’s refusing to rise to the bait when Understand the a difficult in-law slings a few barbs their way. languages of love Let your partner know they’re valued, For more than 40 years, psychology that you appreciate the things they do professor and author John Gottman has for you. Appreciation can be a powerful studied marriage. He says there are catalyst for positive change that will four things that toll the death knell in strengthen the bond you share. any marriage: stonewalling, criticism, contempt and defensiveness. Looking at the bigger picture, champion your partner’s efforts at work, on the Instead of finding fault, practise sporting field or in other areas of their life, gratitude. Gottman suggests simply trying and celebrate their accomplishments. They might not always win at what they do, but they need to know you are unfailingly in their corner cheering them on. Love and laughter Find ways to tickle each other’s funny bones. Have a giggle over your favourite movie or check out some comedy shows. Dig a little deeper and change up how you react to situations together. Laughter keeps you happy and heathier as it boosts heart health and is a known stress buster. In Berkeley psychology professor Dacher Keltner’s book, Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life, he discusses the absence of laughter in intimate relationships and its impact on a marriage crumbling. “In the early stages of a marriage, anger and contempt are highly toxic,” he writes. “In the later phases of intimate relationships, it’s the death of laughter that leads individuals to part ways.” If you want to go the distance with your partner, work to be a little playful in how you communicate. Life will always throw you curveballs, from time to time. Learn to laugh together at minor mishaps instead of stressing about them. 108 | wellbeing.com.au

*Naresh Jariwala*

relationships LOVE To rekindle your romance, make time to listen, especially if your partner had a bad day. Have regular date nights *Naresh Jariwala* Wilson also suggests researching It also turns out taking a bit of a walk books and literature to glean tips from on the wild side by trying new pursuits Cast your mind back to the sweet blossom Photography Getty Imagesothers and to track down mentors to can spice up your love life. Have you ever of your new romance with your partner. share their story. “Talk to a couple you thought about catching a flight to a far- The heady feeling of anticipation before respect that have been together for many flung exotic destination, or perhaps yoga seeing each other, the loved-up feelings of years and ask them how they have gone or a shared cooking class are more your contentment when they slipped their hand the distance,” she says. jam? Amy Muise at York University and in yours, the way you’d stay up talking until her colleagues showed self-expanding the sun came up. Let him wear the superhero cape activities boosts sexual desire for your partner and increases the likelihood that Rekindling the romance begins with Despite the age of equality, some experts you will have rewarding sex and, moreover, building intimacy. Wilson says having one- believe time-honoured traditional roles can that this is particularly the case for people on-one time with your partner needs to be benefit the emotional needs of spouses and in long-term relationships. a priority. “Dedicating time to cultivating improve relationships. Wilson says men your relationship is important, and one thrive on respect and women want to be Learn to love listening way to do that is to take turns in arranging cherished. “He has a deep emotional need regular dates,” she says. for his woman to show admiration — I agree When you first met, chances are you hung with the notion of the hero instinct,” she on every word. You offered support and Decide beforehand any hot topics that says. “Men need someone to rescue and encouragement to continue, because you you won’t discuss. Take time to dress in women thrive on being nurtured and loved.” wanted to find out more about this amazing something you feel good in. Be playful with person. With the competing work and each other. Flirt a little. Enjoy each other’s Make time for sex family demands of today, when was the last company and really listen to each other. time you truly listened to your partner and Cuddle to connect with each other. encouraged them to share their thoughts While spending time together is Snuggling up to your partner before you and opinions about what mattered to important, so too is giving each other space go to sleep helps to build intimacy in your them? To rekindle your romance, make to grow. Take time to nurture and honour relationship. Of course, physical intimacy time to listen, especially if your partner your own needs, to do what you love and are is important in relationships, too. It might had a bad day. According to researchers passionate about. Don’t compromise your seem like a lifetime ago that you could it will make you both happier in your sense of self. If you’re less stressed, you’ll be hardly keep your hands off each other, and relationship. American, Swiss and German bringing your best self into the relationship. with increasingly busy lives, it’s often not a researchers interviewed 365 heterosexual priority in relationships — but it should be. couples in 2018 and found that attentive Make the most of moments Andrea Meltzer of Florida State University listening when one partner recounted and fellow researchers showed sexual a stressful story showed significantly Take the special elements you share on afterglow lasts up to 48 hours — and that higher relationship satisfaction. date nights and make them part of your afterglow promotes bonding of partners and daily dialogue. Wilson says in day-to-day life intimacy in relationships in the long-term. Carrol Baker is a freelance journalist who there are countless opportunities to rekindle Numerous studies have also shown sex is writes for lifestyle and health magazines your romance. “Eating together, cooking great for exercise, lowers blood pressure across Australia and New Zealand. together, going to bed without screens, and can also lessen pain and stress. warmly saying ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’ to each other,” she says. “All of these moments in time can be used to build intimacy.” 110 | wellbeing.com.au

*Naresh Jariwala* Learning for Life - No.1 since 1973 NEED INSPIRATION TO START ON YOUR HEALTH & WELLNESS JOURNEY? SEE HOW LIFE CAN BE LIVED AT NATURE CARE COLLEGE Lee Holmes Author: Supercharged Food “For anyone passionate about a career in health and wellness, Nature Care College provides a firm foundation to springboard into your chosen field. Their tangible approach and holistic courses are not only inspiring and refreshing but also contribute to making the world a happier and healthier place.” It’s never too late to be who you want to be! TRANSITION INTO A CAREER YOU LOVE Western Herbal Medicine / Ayurvedic Medicine Meditation Facilitation / Reiki / Nutritional Medicine Naturopathy / Food Coaching / Energetic Health Positive Psychology / Wellness Coaching 5HưH[RORJ\\/ Aromatherapy BOOK NOW and JOIN US FOR OUR NATURAL HEALTH DISCOVERY DAY on SATURDAY 1st FEBRUARY 2020 02 8423 8333 | [email protected] naturecare.com.au

mind COURAGE Building courage Psychological courage involves facing a deep-seated fear of acknowledging and accepting your faults and vulnerabilities. We look at how you can confront the truth of your behaviours and elicit change. Words NIKKI DAVIES When we hear the word *Naresh Jariwala*courage, there is a general agreement hypocrisy and is the kind of courage most courage, we most commonly that courage involves persistence in the often represented in stories and fables. It visualise scenarios around Photography Getty Imagesface of danger or hardship and that werelies on us risking our social standing and defending ourselves or draw on courage to affect some kind of the support of our peers but is embedded in others from attack — physical, verbal, change. There is also agreement that our values and sense of right and wrong. emotional or psychological. Yet our personal we tap into different types of courage in courage ranges deeper than just fight various contexts to manage the specific The main focus for this article, however, or flight and, when triggered, can have demands of that particular situation. These is psychological courage. Psychological significant positive benefits for our health include physical, moral and, more recently, courage refers to the strength we have to and wellbeing, opportunities for success psychological courage. confront the truth of ourselves and our and our ability to move forward from crisis. behaviours and to act where required to elicit Physical courage is perhaps the easiest change. This kind of courage involves facing The concept of courage has been that comes to mind and is generally defined our deep-seated fear of acknowledging and a subject of much discussion for as the kind of courage we draw upon when accepting our faults and vulnerabilities. It is philosophers across millennia and is facing a physical threat. It relies on us to about confronting the fact that we all behave a source of interest and investigation within put our physical selves at risk to protect self badly at times, have blind spots as well as a range of research interests, including or others from some kind of bodily harm or dysfunctional or unproductive habits that not psychology, sociology, leadership and assault. Moral courage, on the other hand, only impact on our physical wellbeing, but education. While there is some debate is the type of courage we need when we our emotional and psychological wellbeing, around the mechanisms that make up must stand up to a social wrong or social too. It is the kind of courage required to 112 | wellbeing.com.au

*Naresh Jariwala* acknowledge and accept the dissonance or in play to draw on courage? Is fear the only That is, about taking responsibility for how gap that may exist between who we think catalyst for courage to be engaged? While you think and feel and what you do. While it we are and who we actually are. That is, the some psychologists believe fear must be is not about seeking perfection — because differences that often exist between our ideal in play for courage to be triggered, others such a thing cannot exist — it is about and actual selves. suggest that other prompts can be just as rooting out the things about us that stop useful in galvanising it. us from achieving our goals and actively Strengths of courage managing or changing those things. While These theorists suggest that in everyday this might, at first glance, look contrary In positive psychology, psychological circumstances it is perhaps more a sense to the idea of integrity, integrity has an courage allows us to overcome our of discomfort or disquiet that can trigger adaptive component to it, allowing us to personal limitations in order to pursue the use of courage. That is, the feeling of modify our behaviour so that we can be a fuller life. Being courageous in this conflict between the life we’re living and the more effective in living an authentic life.  context helps us to maximise our chances life we want to live. This theory suggests that of growing and evolving throughout life to psychological courage is a necessary part of The desire to live an authentic life is become the best version of ourselves that an ongoing process: the first part is about universal and has been a topic of instruction we can be. It is about choosing to risk being recognising the need for self-reflection, the in religion and philosophy for millennia, vulnerable in order to pursue our greatest second is about using courage to practise yet we still struggle to understand what aspirations. To achieve this, positive self-reflection and the third requires us to it means and to apply it to our daily psychologists have aligned the idea of engage our psychological courage to do lives. Arguably, all that we really need to psychological courage with four strengths: something about it. And this is where the understand is that at the core of most ideas integrity (acting with authenticity), bravery four strengths associated with courage can around integrity and authenticity is that we (expressing moral courage in the face of be used to help us to learn how to engage not only need to know ourselves, but we opposition), persistence and vitality (being with the mechanism of courage in order to need to be ourselves as well. And this is wholehearted in your approach to life). initiate the kind of change that will reduce where the strength of bravery is enacted. our disquiet. At the heart of any definition of courage Bravery generally is the idea that there needs to Integrity be some kind of catalyst and risk. Whether Bravery, in the context of psychological this catalyst is always fear is up for debate. The first strength, integrity, is about acting courage, is expressing moral courage Discussion around the role of fear in the with authenticity; being true to yourself in in the face of opposition — that is, concept of courage is ongoing and the basic terms of your values and ethics but also opposition from others and the innate questions are these: Do we need fear to be about being honest about who you are. opposition we tend to hold around wellbeing.com.au | 113

mind COURAGE truly knowing and accepting ourselves. *Naresh Jariwala*from your social network, not only because Persistence is an important The difficulty attached to developing it requires us to outwardly admit that strength because it reinforces psychological courage is that it can really Photography Getty Imagessomething needs to change but because only be drawn upon within moments of it also requires us to act with an audience the fact that this kind of trouble or disquiet. It relies on us being who may help to keep us accountable. courage isn’t about one on the edge of some kind of precipice, moment in time, but instead where something has to give. It relies It should be remembered though, many moments — in the on us being at the point where, to be that there is a very big difference face of many obstacles both able to move forward, we must take between asking for support and being internal and external. a deep breath and choose a different proactive, and asking for support and path or accept a difficult truth. In being passive. The first requires bravery Persistence essence, it requires change. and action: asking for what we need and using that help actively. The second Persistence is an important strength While bravery requires us to see the passes on action and responsibility to attached to psychological courage truth of something and act upon it, it others — that is, we rely on someone because it reinforces the fact that this doesn’t necessarily mean acting alone. else to “fix” what needs changing, rather kind of courage isn’t about one moment Indeed, it can require just as much (if not than acting to elicit change ourselves. in time, but instead many moments — in more) bravery to ask for help than it does This difference between action and the face of many obstacles both internal to act in isolation. While it might not seem passivity is where the third strength of and external. As such, psychological like it, there is bravery in drawing strength persistence comes in. courage must be thoughtful for it isn’t about being frivolous or throwing caution to the wind. Instead, it is about planning and understanding the challenges you will face and how you might manage them as the change process is enacted. This means drawing on, or building from, our ability to self-regulate so that when we enter the zone between the now and the achievement of our goals, we can maintain our courage to work through risk, fear and uncertainty. It means being realistic about timeframes, about the hurdles we may expect to encounter and having multiple strategies to deal with these, including drawing on our social supports. It is, therefore, all about taking action. Action inevitably takes courage and is intrinsically linked to risk. When we find the source(s) of our dissatisfaction, we need to act to change what needs to and can be changed as well as to manage what needs to be managed. This process, like the process of discovery, takes time, conscious effort and commitment; it also requires that we accept risk and all that it entails. When we do this, we exhibit the final strength linked to psychological courage: vitality. Vitality Vitality is being wholehearted in your approach to life. It is about launching yourself into each and every day prepared to succeed and prepared to fail. Our psychological courage prepares us for all that may come, the good and the bad, the dreams that come true and the hopes that are dashed. Psychological courage in this context is accepting that with life comes pain and disappointment but that this fact shouldn’t diminish our sense of hope, wonderment or determination to keep moving forward. Taking back control While all of these strengths help us to define psychological courage, at the heart of it is a need to take ownership 114 | wellbeing.com.au

*Naresh Jariwala*

*Naresh Jariwala*

Take the health of your breasts into your own hands *Naresh Jariwala* UPCWO2ME0LI%NLBOGEFOIFNFGFERS Happy Breast Balm and the Ultimate Breast ww1E26nwtthtWhWe.b–r–BB2Cr1VCe40oahtatluehrhsipnsFtDttomeibnnebaeacCrs2elu2m0om0adr.byeceoartm Care Routine are designed to inspire and encourage women to get in touch with their The pewrofemcet ngiyftofuolroavlel the breasts. By spending a couple of minutes regularly dry skin brushing and massaging We are creating a paradigm shift away with the balm, you can: from fear and taboos around breasts, empowering women to really love, • Stimulate the lymphatic system to heal and care for themselves clear and detox the many lymph www.breastbalm.com vessels within your breast tissue. • Massage your breasts to improve blood flow and nourish them with the balm. • Really get to know and love your breasts, where attention goes, energy flows. • Affirm daily your health, well-being and gratitude for life.

mind COURAGE and control over self. Typically, we seek *Naresh Jariwala*Bringing more psychological courage to life can bring all external explanations for our discontent kinds of opportunities leading you towards the life you want or failings. We see the failings of others as Photography Getty Images influencing our own: a romantic partner to live and the person you want to be. who doesn’t “get” us, a boss who isn’t fair, family members who expect too much. We same mistakes, reacting the same way in a job necessarily require a complete often look everywhere else except at our in certain situations and playing out the change of career. Instead, it could own actions when trying to sort out what same scenes with partners, employers, simply be a matter of recognising is wrong, yet bringing a mirror to our own colleagues, friends and family. that our ways of seeing life mean thoughts, feelings and behaviours is really that we focus on problems and not the most valid place to look. Moving from a place that isn’t what we problem-solving. It could be a matter want or where we want to be requires us of improving our communication skills, In the end, we cannot control others to find the courage to face our role in it. learning to understand our triggers or but we can control ourselves — what we It begins by getting a clear picture about sensitivities and developing strategies to think, what we feel and how we respond what it is that we most want from every better manage them. It could be about to what is happening around us. Yet we part of our lives. It’s about unpacking learning to appreciate our strengths often abdicate this control when we look the parts of life that aren’t satisfactory and successes, expanding our skill set to others to make us happy, to provide and then identifying the fears, habits, at work, becoming more assertive or a smooth path to our goals, to give us behaviours and choices we’ve made and selfish, or understanding the patterns the life we think we deserve and to take continue to make that may be inadvertently that exist in our lives. responsibility when things go wrong. holding us back from having it. All of these outcomes rely on To counteract this instinctive desire It isn’t a pretty process and it’s not psychological courage and the leap we to keep our egos safe from the truth, something you can come to overnight. must take to engage it. Bringing more we need to remember that we create It is a process of slowly but surely psychological courage to life can bring all the world we live in: with our choices, uncovering and taking ownership of the kinds of opportunities leading us towards with the way we interpret the events that things that don’t feel right and finding the life we want to live and the person we happen to us and the people we give solutions to them. Sometimes these want to be. our power to. We may suddenly realise solutions aren’t going to require huge we’re not sure how we got where we shifts in life but instead more subtle Nikki Davies has a background in are; how on earth we ended up in this changes. For example, discontent in communication, psychology and education place, this job or this relationship. Other a relationship doesn’t necessarily mean in the areas of wellbeing and mental health.  times our habits keep us making the divorce or a split, nor does discontent 116 | wellbeing.com.au

*Naresh Jariwala*

planet TECHNOLOGY The trouble with tech *Naresh Jariwala* A massive technological revolution is underway. We explore whether the technology revolution is taking us in a good Photography Getty Images direction and how we can ensure that it does. Words MARTIN OLIVER The early 1990s were heady days figure perhaps best known for his quote, consumption. Scarily, critical thinking in the world of computers. Early “The medium is the message.” By this, he skills are being lost, and populations are adopters were communicating was saying that all new technologies bring ripe for manipulation. with one another through changes to human society, and that the • Screens stunting emotional development networks whose role was soon taken means of delivery is more impactful than in young children, resulting in lowered over in 1993 by arrival of the Internet. any content being broadcast. emotional intelligence and less empathy. A sense of novelty and techno-optimism For children in general, a loss of outdoor was in the air. One such tech-head was McLuhan’s ideas shared similarities with play due to spending too much time Douglas Rushkoff. Active in the cyberpunk the work of a more neglected figure from indoors on screens. movement, he maintained friendships the same era, the French writer Jacques • Loss of face-to-face connection, in favour with a range of counterculture figures Ellul. In Ellul’s view, the technological world of online or virtual substitutes that are including Timothy Leary, Robert Anton inevitably has disruptive consequences. less fulfilling and lack physical contact. Wilson and Terence McKenna. Pessimistically but prophetically, he • A blurring of reality and fantasy. For people foresaw leisure time being “stuffed” who become addicted to spending time Being a fan of the “open source” with technology, and the “convergence” in virtual environments, there are mental approach, by the end of the decade of multiple technologies leading to an health implications. Deepfake video and Rushkoff had become disillusioned as “operational totalitarianism” characterised audio is now nearly indistinguishable from a result of seeing corporate greed take by a centralisation of power and control. the real thing, as are some lifelike 3D over, and shifted his perspective. Today he hologram projections. Augmented reality has reinvented himself as a media theorist Back when television was the dominant allows for the real world to be crowded unafraid to share some pointed criticism. communication medium, it was largely out by digital additions, and presents risks Technology is inevitably a double-edged possible to ignore the effects of TV on from misjudging real dangers such as sword, a reality that he was formerly society. In the smartphone and social oncoming cars. inoculated against noticing but now fully media era, the wider social, political, • Changes in language. In particular, acknowledges. He believes that current environmental and health ramifications the Oxford Junior Dictionary received trends are taking us in entirely the wrong are demanding urgent attention. criticism, starting in the late 2000s, direction, but has proposed a solution. Concerns about technology’s impact In Rushkoff’s view, technology fosters on society include: such undesirable trends as individualism, • Atrophying of skills. The ability to carry corporate exploitation and radicalisation. His 2019 book Team Human is a type of out arithmetic on a sheet of paper manifesto for combating social atomisation, was largely lost with the arrival of the with the challenge for humanity being calculator. Today, map reading is at risk to resist these negative dynamics and of disappearing as GPS and smartphone cooperate together as a society. navigation become ubiquitous. Fully automated “smart homes” could leave The medium is the message a generation unfamiliar with basic activities such as adjusting a thermostat. Twentieth century Canadian philosopher • A shift underway from a literary book- Marshall McLuhan was an influential reading culture to a post-literate visual one characterised by meme and video 118 | wellbeing.com.au

*Naresh Jariwala* [There is] a shift underway from a literary book-reading When it looked inevitable that culture to a post-literate visual one characterised by meme smartphones would take over the mobile phone marketplace, a new idea is making and video consumption. the rounds that might be the salvation of the dumb phone. Tying in with the Marie for removing nature words (such as health sites, while Wikipedia is strongly Kondo idea of removing unnecessary almond, blackberry and crocus), and biased against natural therapies. stuff from your life, this new trend is to replacing them with technology words • An embrace of mechanistic values, go minimal. Treating unnecessary phone and terms (analogue, broadband and and their application to the human apps as clutter leading to wasted time, the cut and paste.) population, which stands in opposition goals are simplicity, avoiding distractions • Addiction, especially to smartphones, to a broader holistic reality. In the and perhaps going lower-tech. Phone de- social media and gaming. One solution words of program officer David Sasaki: cluttering can be achieved by deleting apps is for adults to set time limits on their “There is a real risk that as our lives off your phone, or by switching to a simple children’s tech use. become more automated we become un-smart phone designed for just calling • Government and corporate surveillance, more like automatons.” and texting. In New Zealand, a start-up privacy threats and the sale of data. with the wonderful name of BoringPhone This extends to biometrics in the form Getting your life back is currently crowdfunding for the of analysing faces, pupils, fingerprints development of its minimalist smartphone, and voices. Popular culture is fond of smartphone using the slogan “Get Your Life Back”. • Job losses as a result of a fast growth zombie cartoons, reflecting the hold of in the use of robots and automation. phones over much of the population. Betting on tech • Business ties between the Increased smartphone use has been linked pharmaceutical sector and Google. to greater anxiety and depression, and Techno-futurism has been around a long As a key player in the delivery of poor sleep quality, primarily among young time, and covers a range of scenarios, information, Google has recently been people. This addiction is real, to the extent including 1960s Jetsons flying cars and directing traffic away from key natural that withdrawal can cause increased heart Elon Musk’s plans to ensure the survival rate and raised blood pressure. of humanity by colonising Mars. Another wellbeing.com.au | 119

planet TECHNOLOGY Phone de-cluttering can be achieved by deleting apps off your*Naresh Jariwala* settings. Unfortunately, Alexa units have phone, or by switching to a simple un-smart phone designed been known to turn weird, with numerous Photography Getty Imagesreports of creepy laughter occurring for just calling and texting. around the same time in early 2018. group from the early 20th century was also and trillions of dollars are at stake. Globally, Smart home options include Google known as Futurism. Its Italian founder, there are expected to be tens of billions of Nest, Apple’s HomeKit and a wide range Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, was a fast connected devices in use by 2020. of offerings from smaller companies. and dangerous driver with a messianic These smartphone-controlled automation devotion to morality-free technological Appliances range all the way from systems can operate a range of functions, progress, and a supporter of fascism. The the useful to a fork that vibrates and including the lighting, thermostats, extreme notion that technologies must be lights up when you are eating too fast, security cameras, locks and entertainment. deployed regardless of their consequences and a smart litter box for cats. Getting finds echoes in the contemporary world, involved is sometimes not an option. In Among the possible benefits from IoT where tech critics are sometimes faced most Australian states and territories, are a few risks and issues: with accusations of superstition, irrational all new electricity meters are required Surveillance capitalism fear, and wanting to turn back the clock to be smart meters, although wireless Smart devices tend to generate a lot of and live in the past. deactivation is an option. valuable data, often quite personal. Hacking Economically, the world is betting Central to the IoT are voice assistants, Smart products are notorious in the heavily on a high-tech future. With or smart speakers, such as Alexa (Amazon industry for frequently having weak a slowdown in global growth, the prospect Echo), Siri (Apple) and Google Home. In security. At a larger scale, as vital of a recession is now being seriously the US, more than a quarter of adults national infrastructure goes smart, it discussed. The digital economy, or fourth now own one. Some private information becomes more vulnerable to attack. Industrial Revolution as it is often known, is transmitted back to the company, and Ukraine has so far experienced two is being held up as a key future growth it is recommended to review the default cyberattacks on its electricity grid. sector, and perhaps even a lifeline to struggling economies. Where a technologically dominated future is presented to the population as inevitable, and the message is passively absorbed, then, like a lot of propaganda, it has a tendency to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. The Internet of Things Plans are well underway to create a society dominated by gadgets and devices, known as the Internet of Things (IoT). This “smart grid” will involve numerous appliances and objects communicating with one another, 120 | wellbeing.com.au

*Naresh Jariwala*plant power yœÜÃ̜ÞœÕ #feelyourpower pukkaherbs.com.au

planet TECHNOLOGY Domestic abuse, stalking and harassment *Naresh Jariwala*“There is a real risk that as our lives become more Networked homes unfortunately provide automated we become more like automatons.” opportunities for this. Photography Getty Images Accelerated product obsolescence, and its up to 23 times less energy-efficient than among his predictions two in particular consequent environmental impacts Wi-Fi as a means of data transfer. have come true. One involves surveillance One of LockState’s smart locks was cameras with facial recognition capabilities “bricked” as a result of software update Man merges with machine that are increasingly used in Australia, issues, while the Revolv smart home system New Zealand and elsewhere. The second is was bought out by Google, which later shut If technology were to take over the world, the use of technology by an elite to control down the company’s support infrastructure. the human body would be the final frontier. society, using the intimidating slogan Technical glitches While knee replacements, stents and heart “Big brother is watching you”. This closely These can be platform interface issues, pacemakers already exist, some techno- resembles areas of modern China, where or outages such as the one that occurred futurists have far more ambitious goals. a network of facial recognition cameras in June 2019, affecting Google’s cloud monitor citizens; points are deducted services, and causing the malfunctioning Transhumanists welcome the or added based on their behaviour and of smart locks and air conditioners. invasion, or enhancement, depending obedience, and restrictions are applied to Invasion of privacy on your perspective of the human body those whose scores are low. • Greater power for governments and by synthetic parts, even when medically unnecessary. Over time, man and machine However, Aldous Huxley’s future vision for spy agencies, which have already would merge into one in a “singularity”, in Brave New World is closer to aspects of indicated that they intend to use smart becoming a cyborg. Futurist Ray Kurzweil today’s world. It presents a picture of an devices for snooping. was an early transhuman advocate, and anaesthetised society where the truth, or • Giving corporations increased scope to is now employed by Google as director of at least what is important to pay attention track their workers. engineering. He has predicted that this to, is lost in a sea of entertainment, • Amazon has received a couple of patents singularity will occur before 2045. distraction and consumerism. on a smart wristband that tracks an employee’s location, and whether or not Douglas Rushkoff, who takes a dim view All technologies have dark sides, and they are active. of transhumanism, has traced its values people are quickly waking up to this fact. Environmental effects back to Gnosticism, an ancient religious Will “team humanity” have any say over how • The environmental impact of movement that sees the human body as future technologies are applied to society? manufacturing a growing quantity innately sinful and corrupt. Leaving behind While previous experience suggests that this of electronic components, and the its flesh and blood weakness for the is unlikely, there is a value in being proactive, associated e-waste disposal issues. purported purity of a transhuman future sharing concerns with decision-makers and • The extra energy needed to run 5G ties in with its ideas. demanding the choice to opt out. compared to 4G, which has been estimated at a 150–170 per cent increase in network Having a say in the future Martin Oliver is a writer and researcher energy consumption by 2026. 4G is itself based in Lismore In his dystopian novel 1984, George Orwell imagined a totalitarian future society, and 122 | wellbeing.com.au

*Naresh Jariwala* CLEAR OUT THE CHEMICALS WITH A sparkling clean home doesn’t require harsh chemicals and toxic ingredients. In fact, with so many under-regulated and misleading household cleaning products containing toxic ingredients on the market, knowing what is safe and what isn’t can be overwhelming. Young Living is committed to keeping your home safe from toxic chemicals with our line of naturally derived Thieves® household cleaning and personal care products. Whenever you use these products, you’ll feel great knowing they’re safe to use around everyone in the family, including kids and pets. For more information about safe cleaning solutions, listen to our podcast on the topic: Visit http://bit.ly/ThievesPodcast Call 1300 289 536 Visit www.youngliving.com.au #ThievesNaturalCleaning

travel NEW SOUTH WALES *Naresh Jariwala* Altitude changers: Lofty places to feel alive Looking for places that are high and breezy over the summer months with lots to do? Take an inspiring inland route south to visit Guy Fawkes National Park, Dorrigo, Coolah Tops and Kosciuszko. Words CATHERINE LAWSON Photography DAVID BRISTOW Gingerly I inch towards the Rugged and remote and unaltered by glimpses of Guy Fawkes River through the abyss: a yawning chasm that human intervention, the faraway gorge that billowing clouds at my dangling feet. disappears deep into the earth. rises high above the river harbours great There’s no guardrail holding me swathes of “declared wilderness” and is all Only the parrots hanging out over the back, no warning signs, just the forested the more precious for it. abyss break the silence, and I linger until ridgelines of a thousand flattop peaks the clouds eventually steal away my view. beckoning me to the edge. Giddy, I lean From Majors Point, the river plunges Back in camp this silence pervades and as out just far enough to glimpse the Clyde 90 metres over what the Gumbaynggirr darkness falls, I plot a course south, joining River carving its crooked path to the sea, people called “Martiam” — the Great Falls four more mountainous destinations that and though there might be solace here, my — but I’ve set my sights beyond this easy- promise to keep my spirits high. quickening heartbeat pulses loudly. to-reach crowd-puller. Sky-high in Dorrigo I’ve ventured inland, against the Rumbling north along rutted, dusty summertime flow of beach-bound holiday roads, I reach an unassuming creek-side It might be the wettest place in the state traffic, to gain some much-needed camp and pitch my tent in the shade of but I catch Dorrigo on a rare day of isolation in some of New South Wales’ gums and stringybarks within walking sunshine, following the Bellinger River to loftiest havens. High on the Great Dividing distance of Chaelundi Falls. There’s its source past waterfalls that rain down Range, I wander beneath wild waterfalls nothing but the croak of tree frogs for roadside. When I finally pierce through and rocky crags, and discover — teetering company, and as the early morning mist the clouds, I’m high on the eroded basalt atop plunging escarpment cliffs — that big begins to lift, I set out for the falls, spooked terraces of the Ebor Volcano’s 18 million- sky views are only the beginning. en route by an enormous sleeping python year-old flow. curled up trackside. Far from the sea there are rainforest Here, where the Gondwana Rainforests pathways to explore and deeply relaxing Soon, the creek lurches suddenly away, of Australia World Heritage Area protects river gorges, breathtaking high country and free falling in great droplets that disappear Dorrigo’s ancient canopies, crystal clear secluded bush campsites to share only with into a swirling mass of clouds at my feet. waterholes gather beneath shimmering wildlife. These are places to feel alive this The irresistibly named Lucifer’s Thumb falls, and treetop gardens stud great summer: uncrowded and cool and blissful lures me further, following the raucous canopies of strangler figs and buttressed enough to lure beach-babies off the sand. call of king parrots through forest oaks to booyong trees. Chaelundi Bluff. Chaelundi Falls As I wander, red-necked pademelons Brush-tailed rock wallabies climb graze trackside and birdsong rings On the eastern edge of the New England nimbly up the steep cliffs to greet me, and out overhead, leading me through an Tableland, Guy Fawkes River winds through I find a precariously positioned rock ledge incongruous jungle of prickly palms and untouchable ranges and old growth forests. among them — a “seat of God” my climbing soft carpets of bracken ferns. Finally, mates would say — to snatch momentary I brave the Skywalk. 124 | wellbeing.com.au

Opposite page: With rare poetic flare, *Naresh Jariwala*of rain that falls annually on Dorrigo, falls moved the wallabies on, and as I stoke Captain James Cook named high points in on me too — an amazing 20cm in 24 hours. a campfire and crank up some smooth the Budawang’s sandstone wilderness. To lift my spirits, I pack up my sodden gear tunes, fairy wrens flit past, wombats waddle Top: Wildlife congregates in NSW's high and make for drier, higher ground, 275km by and sulphur-crested cockatoos and altitude havens; Coolah Tops National Park. inland of Newcastle. crimson rosellas screech from the treetops. Above: Time-out on the Rainforest Trail in Morton National Park. Coolah Tops It’s a sublime night, the kind that all Above right: Taking the high ground in great camps since are measured by. At Morton National Park. Covering a vast, high altitude wilderness dawn, I take my breakfast to the edge of of silvertop stringybark forests and crystal the escarpment again, dangling feet and Suspended over the edge of plunging cascades that pour off the Warung Plateau, sipping tea as I wait for the sun. When escarpment cliffs, the Skywalk shoots Coolah Tops National Park is where the I do manage to shake off my Coolah Tops into the blue, holding me 700 metres Warrumbungle and Liverpool Ranges meet. inertia, I stay far inland as I push south, above a great, looming void. Treetops safeguarding my solitude by giving Sydney far beneath my feet crowd a vertigo- Here, I’m told, bushwalkers, mountain a wide berth. It’s only a promised vista of inducing view and, beyond, wildly forested bikers and solitude-seekers converge well the imaginatively named Shrouded Gods ridgelines stretch all the way to the sea. off the beaten track to exhaust themselves Mountain that lures me back to the South The scene is extraordinary and I have it all on rugged trails and slumber beneath the Coast and into Morton National Park. to myself, rugged up against the blustery stars. To reach the park means a long, slow, wind and feeling euphoric. airy drive up the range above the tiny town of Mount Bushwalker Coolah, but it’s worth the slog. Once there, Later, lured by the aroma of coffee, Bundella Lookout offers a glistening sunset In a rare moment of poetic flare, Captain I sate my ravenous appetite at the Dorrigo panorama across the Liverpool Plains and James Cook handed out dreamy names Rainforest Centre’s Canopy Cafe where the Warrumbungles’ distant volcanic peaks. when he cast his eyes upon Shrouded good food and incredible storytelling Gods Mountain, the Castle, and Pigeon through art and installations waylay me for Standing on a knife-edge of volcanic House Mountain back in April 1770. Since hours. There’s no camping allowed in the rock watching wedge-tailed eagles ride then, this mountainous vista has lured national park, so I head for Platypus Flats the thermals, I scan cliffs pockmarked walkers along an often-sodden track in neighbouring Nymboi-Binderay National with tunnelling caves that push 60 metres through flowering heathlands on the Park to set up camp on the Nymboida River. deep, and later, spook wild goats on my flanks of Mount Bushwalker to the edge meandering stroll to Rocky Creek Falls. of the Clyde River gorge. Nymboida’s stunning river gorge with Setting up camp at The Barracks means towering granite cliffs is known by its clearing some space among the red- Through a promenade of banksias, Gumbaynggirr Aboriginal name, and famed necked wallabies that nonchalantly return I leapfrog across muddy bogs and past for the rampaging rapids that thrill rafters to their grazing once my tent is in place. wombat burrows, along a colourful path with wild, white-water rides. But where the littered with blooms to the edge of Little river reaches the scenic Platypus Flat, deep, Coolah offers a bewildering choice Forest Plateau where a breathtaking scene dark pools tame its flow and on a serene of trails to test, and because the awaits. Over its edge, a gaping abyss stretch of riverbank at dusk, campers gather temperatures are so cool, exploring, even stretches across the Clyde River gorge on the water’s edge watching platypus and in summer, is no sweat. I bike the Coxs to the forested ridgelines of a thousand river turtles bubble to the surface. Creek fire trail (3km one-way), walk to flattop peaks carved into the Budawang’s a vast stand of 100-year-old giant grass sandstone wilderness. There are toilets and picnic tables and trees, and take on 250 steps to eyeball campfires are allowed. I get mine crackling Norfolk Falls’ 35-metre high drop. Sitting in silence here, I spot distant but as the sun disappears through the promontories where rare Indigenous stone brush box trees, some of the two metres When I finally collapse back in camp, arrangements have been discovered and, I find that eastern grey kangaroos have wellbeing.com.au | 125

travel NEW SOUTH WALES Treetops far beneath my feet crowd a vertigo-inducing view, and beyond, wildly forested ridgelines stretch all the way to the sea. beneath their rocky summits, caves that *Naresh Jariwala*and bathe in its thermal pool. Across Above: Dorrigo's Skywalk overhangs were once campsites, bearing artworks the Treeless Plains, rough tracks lure plunging escarpment cliffs. and axe-grinding grooves. The remote adventurers to the Blue Waterholes on reaches of the Budawang Wilderness horseback, mountain bikes and in 4WDs. once tethered catches of wild brumbies and protect all of this and more. stoked campfires on the riverbanks. But with airy vistas and brumbies now When the mist finally rolls in I retrace on my mind, I follow the Snowy River south And when there’s no more high my steps, distracted by honeyeaters and along an historical route pioneered by the country to climb and nothing but a slow, silver eyes flitting wildly through the stockmen who rounded up wild brumbies downhill border run to the sea, my final, scrub, striking in its summertime bloom. along the Pinch River and drove cattle to remarkable vista from the top of Jacobs There are rarer inhabitants too: ground market the hard way. Ladder endures as a high point of the trip, parrots and striated field wrens, eastern in every possible way. bristlebirds and the nocturnal broad- Below Jindabyne where the Snowy headed snake — one of the few snakes to River runs wild again, I take in one last Captivated by wild places and passionate give birth to life young. Thankfully I’m off stupendous view over a deep valley that about their preservation, Catherine Lawson the trail before darkness falls. dips between the remote Byadbo and Pilot and David Bristow run wildtravelstory.com, Wilderness Areas and chase the Snowy a website dedicated to inspiring travellers At dawn there is more of Morton’s down the steep, twisting road known as to journey further and deeper and tackle mind-blowing 200,000 hectares to Jacobs Ladder. adventures they never thought possible. explore and I take the high trail, following Road testing every adventure is the couple’s fragrant summertime blooms of boronia Ahead of me stretches a week’s worth of eight-year-old daughter, Maya, who is world- and banksia to Granite Falls where Snowy River camping and just-out-of-bed schooled along the way. Wandandian Creek lurches 63 metres over chilly swims, dwarfed by pine-clad ridges and the edge of a vast stone amphitheatre. rough mountainous terrain where horseman generators). Pack: Mountain bikes and hiking boots. Don’t miss: Norfolk Falls. Contact: Close by, beneath George Boyd Lookout’s Escape Routes nationalparks.nsw.gov.au flaking escarpment face, the Rainforest Trail leads me to rock overhangs and chiselled, Guy Fawkes River National Park Morton National Park lichen-covered cliffs and an impossibly pretty fairy garden of glossy ferns (30–40 minutes Go: Head 60kms northwest of Dorrigo, off Go: Access the park west of the Princes return). When the rainforest finally closes the Grafton to Armidale road. Stay: Book The Highway between Ulladulla and Nowra. in, I cross the Great Dividing Range one Chalet in nearby New England National Park Stay: Choose coastal accommodation to suit last time for an unexpected summertime (from $123/night midweek) or set up camp at your budget or pitch a tent at Blue Gum Flat adventure in Kosciuszko National Park. Chaelundi Falls ($6 adults, $3.50 kids). Pack: (free). Pack: Hiking boots. Don’t miss: The Hiking boots. Don’t miss: Practising sunrise view from Bushwalker Mountain. Contact: Snowy River country yoga at Ebor Falls. Contact: nationalparks. nationalparks.nsw.gov.au nsw.gov.au From the lofty slopes of Mount Kosciuszko, Kosciuszko National Park Australia’s most nostalgic river gathers Dorrigo force, carving a path across rugged alpine Go: The Snowy Mountains Highway links terrain that Banjo Paterson immortalised Go: Dorrigo National Park is located 60km Blowering Reservoir, Yarrangobilly Caves, best. There was an impossible horseback west of Coffs Harbour via Bellingen. Stay: Long Plain and Kiandra. From Jindabyne ride, a prized colt running free and Dorrigo Mountain Resort or camp at Platypus follow the Barry Way 72km south to Paterson’s unlikely hero — “the Man Flat in Nymboi-Binderay National Park Willis on the Victorian border. Stay: from Snowy River” — turning the mob ($12/night for two). Pack: Hiking boots and Book Lyrebird Cottage at Yarrangobilly around and stealing the colt back from rain gear. Don’t miss: World Heritage Day (from $300/night, sleeps four) or free the brumbies that controversially return to celebrations in April. Contact: nationalparks. camp at Blowering Dam, Long Plains Hut Kosciuszko’s high country each summer. nsw.gov.au and the Pinch River. Pack: Mountain bikes, hiking boots and fishing rods. I yearn to meet them high on the Coolah Tops Don’t miss: A swim at Blue Waterholes. Treeless Plains among historic, 100-year- Contact: nationalparks.nsw.gov.au; old cattlemen’s huts and, when I arrive, Go: Head 275km from Newcastle to Coolah and snowymountains.com.au find Kosciuszko National Park utterly continue 30km east to the park. Stay: Book the unrecognisable in its summertime guise. national park’s historical Brackens Hut ($40/ Gone are the powdery white slopes and night, sleeps five) or camp for free (no pets or frosted pines, the snowboarders and après skiers and the convoy of chain-clad 4WDs. Instead, I find the brumbies grazing on lush green meadows peppered with sunny everlasting daisies: beautiful, out-of-place and no less magical a sight for the havoc their hooves reek on the fragile high country. Elsewhere in Kosciuszko, trout hunters fish on Blowering Dam and thrill-seekers escape underground to Yarrangobilly Caves 126 | wellbeing.com.au

*Naresh Jariwala*Remember to BUGGRRR OFF on your getaways this summer RNIe1pan0ets0leule%crntatl WSAHFOELEFOFRAMTIHLEY The only Australian Insect Repellent with the only natural active ingredient that is recommended by the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) to repel mosquitoes. www.buggrrroff.com.au DEET FREE | SAFE TO USE WHEN PREGNANT | AUSTRALIAN OWNED & MADE | VEGAN

*Naresh Jariwala*MEDITERRANEAN JOURNEY BY SEA Rome, Naples, Corfu, Crete, Mykonos, Athens, Santorini, Kotor, Sicily, Sorrento, Barcelona You’re invited on an epicurean journey amid glorious scenery through the Mediterranean. Indulge in authentic eating experiences and all the delicious delicacies of the region while learning about the many enriching and healing benefits of the revered Mediterranean cuisine. This experience is limited to just 30 guests. SEPTEMBER 9-27, 2020 HIGHLIGHTED EXPERIENCES • Two-night stay in the heart of Rome in deluxe 4-star accommodation • 15 days/14 nights on the luxurious Enchanted Princess • Gourmet Italian cooking classes in Rome and Naples • Seaside Greek coffee tasting experience in Corfu • Olive oil plantation visit in Crete to savour Greece’s liquid gold • Interactive Greek working-farm tour in Mykonos • Winery tour through the rolling hills of Montenegro • Market visits in Sicily and Barcelona to sample local delicacies • Information sessions with wellbeing expert author and media commentator Gerald Quigley • Must-see sightseeing tours in nearly every port • Fully escorted by Travelrite International tour manager • All meals on-board Enchanted Princess, taxes, port & handling and ship gratuities www.travelrite.com.au

START END Barcelona Rome Kotor Naples Corfu Athens Sicily Crete Mykonos MEDITERRANEAN SEA Santorini Enchanted Princess encompasses spectacular style and luxury and introduces some unique new attractions. Get ready for exquisite, one-of-a-kind dining experiences. The most pools and whirlpool hot tubs ever. World-class entertainment venues hosting dazzling performances. Revitalise and refresh body, mind and soul with Princess, from rejuvenating spa treatments and the tranquillity of a top-deck retreat reserved just for adults to state-of-the-art fitness centres. You’ll find all the elements to come back feeling new. *Naresh Jariwala* Only available through Travelrite International GERALD QUIGLEY Toll 1800 630 343 Gerald is well known for his unique view Free of health from a holistic perspective and is a popular personality on the Travelrite International national House of Wellness radio and E: [email protected] www.travelrite.com.au TV shows. He is a practising Community Pharmacist and an accredited Herbalist who enjoys sharing his knowledge in an easy-to-understand way.

travel THAILAND Where wild elephants roam *Naresh Jariwala* Just over an hour’s drive away from the Hilton Hua Hin, Thailand’s biggest herd of wild elephants roams free, safe in a little-visited sanctuary that has become the country’s best conservation story. Words CATHERINE LAWSON Photography DAVID BRISTOW After decades of conflict Five hours later at Hua Hin we throw Chinese temple of Wat Khao Lat whose between farmers and down our bags in the best of Agoda’s slim resident monkeys are not to be trusted. wandering elephants along weekend pickings and make a beeline for the Thai-Myanmar border, the beach. We float in the sea, watching Despite our own modest poolside digs, Thailand’s most beloved former leader girls riding colourful ponies along the it’s apparently clear that Hua Hin is no — King Bhumibol the Great — conjured sand and five-star tourists sipping budget-backpacker hangout. Since King up a daring new plan. Throwing a border cocktails well before sunset. Beach life Rama VI built his summer residence on around the wild lands of the country’s fills the afternoon and the sun slips away Hua Hin’s sweeping, white-sand shores, last big herd, he turned those once in a tremendous splash of colour, but we 100 years of Thai royalty have followed angry farmers into tour guides and the are only marking time until we meet Kui suit. Today, this holiday hotspot draws elephant’s greatest champions. Now they Buri’s elephants. a well-heeled crowd. lead Thailand’s single-best wildlife safari, and the beasts that once trampled their Unearthing Hua Hin What attracts them all is difficult to farmlands have become their livelihood. define. There’s the irresistible pairing of The national park’s afternoon-only safaris waterfront dining and squeaky white sand, Today, Kui Buri National Park protects leave us plenty of time to explore. We shake lively night markets and local cafes where a rare patch of green — one of the largest off the sand and hit the streets to find Hua travellers splurge on seafood barbecues sweeps of intact forest in all of south- Hin aglow under a canopy of lights. The before retreating to high-rise bastions of east Asia — and is home to an elephant town is abuzz with great throngs of tourists five-star beachfront luxury. population of 320 and rising. This is easily and we follow them to the night markets the most reliable place in Thailand to where touts spruik their sizzling seafood In truth, there’s not much for hard-core encounter wild elephants, and despite the barbecues: fresh lobster and prawns and travellers to unearth, except for the hipster park’s close proximity to Hua Hin’s bustling spicy mussel omelettes. None of it tempts menus that reinvent rustic Thai classics beach holiday strip, Kui Buri’s wild safaris our vegetarian tastebuds, but a quiet block (hot and sour chicken-feet soup, anyone?). remain a well-kept secret. away, a local family cooks up a storm, But what Hua Hin does well is serve up an filling our plates with soy-fried greens and accessible, upmarket slice of Thailand with The prospect of encountering elephants delicious mushroom omelettes. just enough authenticity to soothe just- in what’s left of Thailand’s ever-shrinking arrived foreigners and appease Bangkok’s wilderness is all I need to coax my family At dawn, we follow the intoxicating weary, weekend escapees. onto a Bangkok-bound flight. We jump aroma of Chinese five spice to a traditional aboard a slow train rumbling south, riding teak coffee house in Hua Hin’s backstreets On safari the rails far beyond the city’s endless and order gah faa boh rahn — rich Thai urban sprawl until the concrete jungle coffee poured the old way over a thick layer Thailand’s national parks cover almost 20 disappears, replaced by greener scenes of of sweetened condensed milk. I leave the per cent of the country, and the who’s who of rice paddies and palm trees and tiny towns rich concoction unstirred and sip the coffee wild things includes some big-ticket species. studded with lofty gilded temples. off the top and, afterwards, slurp spicy But the mythical tigers, rhinoceros and noodle soup and map out our day. sun bears that once thrived are very rarely A cool breeze blowing through the train encountered, if at all. One hundred years of keeps the stifling humidity at bay, and With an entire morning free we stroll deforestation, illegal logging and population at every stop, fruit sellers jump aboard south past seafood restaurants that growth has carved up Thailand’s once tempting us with icy juices and bags of hang out over the sand. On the horizon, a ubiquitous forests, severing wildlife corridors crisp green mango dunked in a distinctly resplendent Buddha crowns Khao Takiab Thai combination of chilli, salt and sugar. — Chopstick Mountain — and the Thai- Top: The elephants emerge. Right: Simply hypnotising. 130 | wellbeing.com.au

*Naresh Jariwala* I feel as if I could linger for hours, but this all-too-brief afternoon encounter gives me much more than I’ve expected. In 20 years of exploring Thailand’s wild lands on leech-plagued, day-long walking adventures, I’ve never witnessed wildlife of the likes that Kui Buri offers. wellbeing.com.au | 131

travel *Naresh Jariwala*Left: Our $45 elephant safari is one of Thailand's best deals. THAILAND Below left: An hour’s drive from Hua Hin's bustling beachfront, Thailand’s There’s a sudden loud trumpeting from the forest and another biggest herd of wild elephants roams free. female and her baby emerges. I start to tally the elephants as Below Hua Hin's athentic slice of Thai life more and more enter the scene and reach 25 before a pair of is difficult to resist. babies gambolling nearby pulls my attention and I lose count. She leads us inside to pay our national and restricting large, roaming species to park entrance fees and the cost of our guided desperately unsustainable patches. jeep safari and the tally is surprisingly cheap — around AU$45 for three. In no time we are Very little wilderness remains intact, but ushered onto the back of a jeep, rumbling off despite all this, tourism in Thai national towards the Tenasserim Hills. parks is flourishing. Campgrounds, commercial operations, roads and walking For the first hour the jungle reveals trails continue to encroach and, as the none of its inhabitants. We scan the animals retreat, guided day-long walking grasslands determined, jumping out at tours reveal little more than distant every opportunity to climb grassy knolls gibbons and green vipers. and stroll across salt licks, wandering to the edge of dried-up marshes and tall I’m expecting much more from Kui grass clearings in the sweltering heat. Our Buri, which links a great swathe of guide remains hopeful but it’s simply too wilderness from Kaeng Krachan National hot; the sun is still too high. Park to the Myanmar border. Our hotel arranges a driver and within minutes we A ranger outpost deep inside the park leave Hua Hin’s tourism touchstones in provides an astounding distraction: a tiny our wake: hotels and convenience stores temple piled high with elephant bones and English street signage. Soon we are and one enormous, hefty skull. Below the whizzing past pineapple farms and forests shrine, overlooking a waterhole popular towards the spartan Huai Leuk ranger with elephants, a modest timber bungalow station where our female guide is waiting. awaits self-sufficient tourists and strikes us 132 | wellbeing.com.au as the perfect place to enjoy dusk and dawn viewing, despite the no-frills experience. At AU$80-a-night, the hut offers little more than beds and views, but the chance to spot wildlife out of park hours may well tempt hard-core watchers away from Hua Hin’s five-star comforts. We marvel at the enormous elephant skulls until our guide gets the call: elephants have been spotted up ahead, so we jump back in the jeep and push eagerly on up the track. The elephants emerge Standing on a lofty escarpment edge, we gaze over distant pastures where wild ox known as gaur graze, the largest bovines in the world. Then suddenly,

*Naresh Jariwala*

travel THAILAND *Naresh Jariwala* Top Hua Hin's authentic slice of Thai life is We hike to another viewpoint just above I feel as if I could linger for hours, but difficult to resist. the elephants and sit on the grassy slope this all-too-brief afternoon encounter Above: Strolling in search of cheap eats at with a cool, downwind breeze that tempts gives me much more than I’ve expected. Hua Hin's night market. the elephants to within 50 metres of us. In 20 years of exploring Thailand’s wild Above right: On Hua Hin's soft white sand I don’t need binoculars to ogle the dark, lands on leech-plagued, day-long walking beach there are cocktails to sip and ponies bristly infants, ushered underfoot by pale adventures, I’ve never witnessed wildlife of to ride. grey, leathery matriarchs, or to spot the the likes that Kui Buri offers. Opposite page: Heady aromas draw hungry quick gait of frisky juveniles, treading their travellers to Hua Hin's night market. own paths and darting daringly ahead. This national park alone provides one of the most accessible, affordable wildlife the elephants slowly amble into view, We’re so close that I can hear the safaris you are likely to find in south-east converging onto this wondrous, crowded elephants ripping grass from the Asia and that it’s within easy reach of Hua scene. Completing Kui Buri’s own “Big 5” meadows: ears flapping, tails swishing. Hin’s beachfront five-star luxury makes it are leopards, golden jackals and deer, but There’s a sudden loud trumpeting from all the more remarkable. none of these makes an appearance, and the forest and another female and her nobody minds one bit. baby emerge. I start to tally the elephants Captivated by wild places and passionate about as more and more enter the scene and their preservation, Catherine Lawson and David Instead, we stare on mesmerised as reach 25 before a pair of babies gambolling Bristow run wildtravelstory.com, a website a great stream of elephants joins the nearby pulls my attention and I lose count. dedicated to inspiring travellers to journey throng, closing the gap between us until further and deeper and tackle adventures they they stand close by in clear, captivating The quiet hours pass by all too soon and, never thought possible. Road testing every view. The elephants easily outnumber as the sun dips low, our reverie is broken by adventure is the couple’s eight-year-old daughter, their watchers, hypnotising our small jeep engines starting up and guides coaxing Maya, who is world-schooled along the way. gathering of just five jeeps. reluctant travellers back to their seats. 134 | wellbeing.com.au

Escape Routes *Naresh Jariwala*$150/night, baanlaksasubha. com) or the town’s original Getting there seaside address, Centara Grand Resort (from $380/night, Fly to Bangkok (free 30-day visas centarahotelsresorts.com). on arrival) and book a car and driver to deliver you two hours Where to eat south to Hua Hin. The slow train from Bangkok’s Hua Lamphong Monsoon Valley Vineyard station takes around five hours. tempts travellers 45km from Kui Buri National Park is a town with wine tasting, meals further hour away by car (90km). and vineyard tours (biking tours available). Hua Hin’s Night When to go Market is a central place to eat, but head north of the pier to Visit during the dry season from Th Naebkehardt for the most December to April. The national fashionable food (try Ratama park’s Huai Leuk ranger station and Eighteen Below Ice Cream). runs safaris from 2–6pm daily. South of town, the weekend Park entry costs about AU$9 Cicada Market serves up cheap for adults (kids half price) and and authentic night feasts with private, four hour-long safaris live music, too. cost around AU$37 (English- speaking guide included). Don’t miss Where to stay Hua Hin Wellness and Yoga Festival (February), Hua Hin Close to the action, Kui Buri’s Food Festival (August) or the three-bedroom national park chance to kiteboard Hua Hin, bungalow suits hard-core one of Thailand’s best boarding wilderness watchers (fans, locations (January to May). toilet, $80/night). For absolute Hua Hin beachfront, choose More information the Baan Bayan for luxurious colonial charm (from $165/ thainationalparks.com, night, baanbayan.com), villas theculturetrip.com, at Baan Laksasubha (from wildtravelstory.com wellbeing.com.au | 135

travel SELF-ACCEPTANCE Transformative travel There’s something quite liberating about packing your bags, jumping on a plane and arriving in a new country. As it seems, travel can also serve as a way to help you love and accept your body — just the way it is. Words ELENA IACOVOU *Naresh Jariwala* At age 40, Roxanne was caught goals,” she says. “At the same time, putting up in a stressful cycle of playing some distance between me and my family Mum and Dad to her two kids, and the daily worries and responsibilities ages six and nine, as her husband gave me the space to think; it reminded me frequently travelled for work, all while how to look after myself, prioritise ‘me’ time carrying around an excess weight of 20 kilos. and also to get up and be physical again.” “I had gone up and down with my weight Upon her return to Australia, Roxanne since I had kids and, at that point in my life, equally brought back with her the relaxed I was overweight. I wasn’t feeling good about nature she had become so fond of seeing in myself,” says Roxanne. “I didn’t find myself the Balinese people. “I came back making attractive, I avoided looking at myself in the fresh salads and eating fragrant-flavoured mirror and I even stopped working and going foods and instead of prioritising things like to social events,” she shares. house cleaning and going hard to please It’s an all-too-common feeling among everyone, I would instead take myself to women. Based on The Dove Global Beauty see a movie.” As a result, she dropped 20 and Confidence Report, the kilograms in three months 2016 data revealed that 89 “Combining this and went back to work in per cent of Australian women with a mindfulness her family business feeling are opting to cancel plans, job retreat or a cooking happy, energetic and interviews or other important motivated. “Even though I’ve engagements because of how holiday enables us got scars and stretch marks they view their appearance. from giving birth, just being According to Sarah McMahon, to learn and develop in a normal weight zone has a psychologist and director a new skill which made me more confident and of BodyMatters Australasia, I love myself and the way my in everyday life people are helps us inhibit and body looks,” says Roxanne. almost trained to do so much appreciate our bodies “One of the main things self-surveillance that they’re in different ways.” that travel does is provide looking at their bodies and us with an opportunity to imagining how they look — to step outside our normal themselves and to others — and that has world and environment but also outside really dominated a big part of their lives. “It’s the mundane routine of everyday life, for a real tragedy that so many of us would not a sensory experience of different cultures,” participate in things we actually really enjoy explains McMahon. “Combining this with and would like to do simply because we don’t a mindfulness retreat or a cooking holiday like the way we look,” McMahon adds. enables us to learn and develop a new skill Roxanne realised that in order to make which helps us inhabit and appreciate our a change, she would have to remove herself bodies in different ways. At the end of the from her daily world and put herself first. day, our body is an instrument — not an When the opportunity came up to do just ornament. Travelling experiences can help that, she took it. “I really needed to be alone us realise that,” she says. and remind myself how to practise self-love, What influences our body image? so going to Bali and immersing myself in a different culture for a 10-day retreat Body image can be described as a focused around wellbeing and healthy combination of your personal perceptions, cooking really kick-started my weight-loss thoughts, attitudes and feelings about 136 | wellbeing.com.au

*Naresh Jariwala* wellbeing.com.au | 137

travel SELF-ACCEPTANCE your general appearance. In turn, these While travelling, I noticed more women embracing their bodies can have a trickle-down effect on how in bikinis no matter their body shape, which inspired me you feel about yourself, the state of your because I realised I didn’t have to be chiselled or have mental and physical health as well as be a beautiful model figure to be proud of my own body. a reflection of your self-worth, including how well you take care of yourself. *Naresh Jariwala*likely to binge-eat, purge food, restrict motivate followers to get up off the couch, food intake to the point of not getting exercise and eat well as a way to achieve While a larger, fuller body size was Photography Getty Imagesrequired nutrients, suffer from anorexiatheir health objectives. once considered just as beautiful as and over-exercise. New research a slim body shape, nowadays in western by the University of Missouri found Lead researcher of the study from the societies, cultural prejudice is in favour negative body image to be associated Centre for Emotional Health at Macquarie of a slender body type. This has become with increased tobacco and alcohol University, Jasmine Fardouly, explains the shape to aspire towards. A significant abuse among teenagers. Body-image while this shift from extreme thinness body of research confirms that the dissatisfaction can also have a negative to health and fitness may, at first, sound greatest influencer of this stereotype is effect on psychological functioning, healthy, these images are still driven the media, which includes commercial mental health including depression as from a culture that says women need to advertisements, television and magazines. well as lead to a poor quality of life. The look a particular way. Unfortunately, the tendency to compare your body to other trend still matches society’s beauty ideal, Such media-supported norms have bodies — which includes wishful thinking making it just as damaging for body image. associated thinness and beauty as a highly to look like a swimsuit model — can valuable source of happiness, success lead to emotional distress, feelings of Subsequent research found that the most and youthfulness. On the flipside, being powerlessness and shame and even to vulnerable social media users are those that overweight is perceived as physically the development of an eating disorder seek approval for their looks online but also unattractive, lazy and lacking in willpower. like bulimia. those who compare themselves to others. Consequently, this can have an impact on For wellness coach, Hollie Azzopardi (28), your behaviour and influence you in trying The social media mirror following all the #fitspo women online with to change your weight and body shape, the six packs, thigh gaps and bikini bodies which may even turn into an obsession Social media platforms such as Instagram, did, at first, act as motivation to push herself where you undergo plastic surgery in order Facebook and Snapchat play a major role harder in the gym and influenced what to look like your ideal personal image. in creating the current perception of an she ate. “When I was at the most intense “ideal” body image. stage with my body, I worked out twice a day “Culture tells women from a very young starting at 5am before work, followed by age that their self-worth is wrapped up in Recent research published in New a session right after work and I even took part how they look and, if you’re not achieving Media & Society found that spending in a 12-week online fitness program at the cultural standard of beauty, some time looking at fitness influencers and a time when I didn’t need to lose weight,” women can take it as a problem they need models on Instagram, and specifically says Azzopardi. “Most of the time I would to fix as opposed to blaming culture for “fitspiration” images, has a negative feel good about my body but then I would having an unrealistic and unreasonable effect on self-esteem and is likely to make jump onto Instagram and see these amazing standard of beauty,” explains Dr Meredith followers feel unhappy with their own bodies and compare myself to them and this Nash, a senior lecturer in sociology at the bodies. Researchers called this “self- would make me feel crap about myself again, University of Tasmania. “In our times, there objectification”, which can be a predictor so I pushed myself even harder,” she shares. is a moral panic around obesity and fatness, of other mental health problems such as meaning you are seen as a moral person depression and disordered eating. “People tend to post the most glamorous if you have a body that is very toned and and attractive images of themselves strong,” says Dr Nash. “Overall, for women, With more than 65 million posts on including presenting the ideal life version self-worth is completely wrapped up in Instagram, #fitspo (short for “fitspiration”) of themselves on social media which, in beauty and aesthetics,” she continues. images can be used to support strong reality, is not their true representation,” and fit as the new skinny and intend to explains Fardouly. “Even so, this still gives Based on a report by Better Health people a lot of opportunities to compare Channel, women who diet frequently their appearance to others and most of the because of poor body image are more time women think other people look more attractive than them on social media,” she says. In a 2014 study for Beauty Heaven Australia, the findings reveal that 57 per cent of women regularly edit themselves to look better online and 60 per cent admit having untagged themselves if they feel they don’t look good enough. Additional research conducted by Fardouly found that after making comparisons on social media, women were more likely to restrict food intake, exercise for weight loss or to change their appearance. She also found that these behaviours were all linked with eating disorders but were not the cause of them. Additionally, her research also concludes that browsing Facebook for even 10 minutes puts women in a more negative mood. 138 | wellbeing.com.au

*Naresh Jariwala* Australian Natural Therapists Association ANTA has been established since 1955 and is the largest national democratic Association in Australia. ANTA prides itself on three key factors: • Highest number of Members with applicable Health Fund provider registration • QŁĴļěƛƧƒƯðŗŁǠČðƧŁŭŢƛƧðŢēðƓēƛijŭƓsěŠċěƓƛ • Supporting all Natural Therapists in business ANTA is the Association for supporting and campaigning for Statutory Registration. ANTA is committed to representing all disciplines accredited by the Association and to continuous quality improvement with the highest possible standards. Looking to become a FREE student member or a FULLY accredited member? Apply TODAY! Visit anta.com.au or call 1800 817 577 for more information.