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Between work, college and relationships, women in their 20s are constantly on the go, and our health and wellbeing definitely pay the price for it.

And while some are pros at reading the signs and tending to their body's needs, model and businesswoman, Pippa O'Connor definitely wasn't one of them… until now.

"I wouldn't have in my 20s. Not in my 20s; not on my radar. Never!" Pippa told us while chatting exclusively with SHEmazing! today.

 

Happy birthday to you @niamhdoherty #vgorge #vglam #icant

A photo posted by Pippa O'Connor Ormond (@pipsy_pie) on

As ambassador for Sona’s Future Proof Your Health campaignPippa, who suffers from low iron levels, is keen to remind young women how important it is to take care of their health in their youth instead of dismissing the need to protect their future selves.

"You can’t do everything you do and not feel well.  If you’re not feeling well, you’re no good to anyone else,” she said. 

"It’s all about how you feel inside. You need to feel good and strong," she insisted. "We all have such busy lives. It is so important to look after yourself."

 

And while the uber-popular blogger swears by a healthier approach nowadays, she knows she wasn't as mindful during the height of her modelling career – something she is trying to make up for now.

"I have to feel well. I’m on the go, so it’s really important for me to take my multivitamin because life is busy. Take one with your breakfast, and you’re done.”

Pippa, who recently gave birth to her second child, acknowledges that her past mind-set is by no means unique to her, and is eager for young women to take care of their health now as protection against the future.

"Do it, get in the habit and if you forget, start again.”

You heard her, ladies.

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She may be part of one of the biggest girl bands in the world right now, but Jade Thirlwall of Little Mix fame fought her fair share of demons before establishing herself as a bonafide popstar.

Opening up about her issues in the band's autobiography, Jade explains that a number of events led to the development of an eating disorder which saw her weight plummet to just six stone.

From navigating problems at home and school to dealing with the loss of a family member, a 13-year-old Jade attempted to gain control by monitoring her diet in a move which eventually resulted in her hospitalisation.

"Anorexia is a self-destructive thing and you become stubborn, so when people are trying to tell you something you get it into your head that they're against you and you're not going to listen," she wrote.

 

truly terrifying. hats off to me mam for producing the omen. #mothersday

A photo posted by jadeameliabadwi (@jadeameliabadwi) on

Revealing the extent of the problem, Jade explained: "My periods stopped and things were getting out of control but I don't think I really cared about what was happening to me."

"I felt so depressed at the time that I just wanted to waste away and disappear." she admitted.

The singer pinpoints her meeting with medical professionals as a turning point in her battle against the illness, writing: "It took going to hospital to make me realise that it wasn't a game, it was something really serious."

"They sat me down in the clinic and were quite tough at first, spelling it out: 'You're destroying your body and if you keep doing this you will die'" she remembers.

Thankfully, Jade received the help she needed and slowly returned to a healthy weight during her teens,

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If you were the type to keep a diary back in the day, you'll know how easy it can be to find yourself questioning your past thoughts and actions.

But with the benefit of hindsight and experience, most of us now feel more than capable of dealing with the trials and tribulations our teenage selves went through, but what about the trials and tribulations our future selves will ultimately face?

In a project which has given everyone in SHEmazing! HQ serious feels this afternoon, Alice Kiernan and Megan Daly invited 14 students of NUI Maynooth to speak to their future selves, and the result is a bit of a tearjerker.

As part of mental health campaign Note To Self, Dear Future Me taps into the fears we all face about our future, and reminds us to acknowledge how far we've come… no matter how short that distance might seem at the time.

Take a moment for this one, ladies.

 

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Amanda Seyfried recently made the decision to openly discuss her reliance on anti-depressant medication during an interview with Allure magazine in a move which is bound to resonate with fans suffering from the same condition as the much-loved Hollywood star.

While explaining that she chose not to install a stove in her guest house, she reasoned that it was likely due to her need for control – something which she feels stems from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Explaining that she manages the condition with the help of medication, Amanda insists she had no intention of weaning herself off it.

"I'm on Lexapro, and I'll never get off of it," she explained. "I've been on it since I was 19, so 11 years."

"I'm on the lowest dose. I don't see the point of getting off of it. Whether it's placebo or not, I don't want to risk it."

 

Thirty years together

A photo posted by Amanda Seyfried (@mingey) on

Acknowledging the stigma attached to mental conditions, Amanda insists she refuses to feel shame for controlling symptoms with medication, saying: "And what are you fighting against? Just the stigma of using a tool?"

"A mental illness is a thing that people cast in a different category from other illnesses, but I don't think it is. It should be taken as seriously as anything else."

"You don't see the mental illness: It's not a mass; it's not a cyst," she continued. "But it's there. Why do you need to prove it? If you can treat it, you treat it."

 

 

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Having recently been linked to depression, often associated with weight gain and commonly blamed for breakouts, it’s safe to say the contraceptive pill has a bit of a bad rep.

But thankfully for its users, there could be one unusual benefit to taking progesterone only and combined pills – and no it’s not just the prevention of unplanned pregnancies.

Research conducted at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health suggests that the pill could help prevent common illnesses like the flu.

Taking female mice as participants, the study found that animals with higher levels of progesterone in their bodies had better functioning immune systems than those in possession of lower doses of the hormone.

Because progesterone is found in the majority of pills, those who’ve been prescribed the contraceptive could have boosted immune systems and therefore be better able to fight Winter ailments.

While it is still very early days, if the study’s findings are found to be applicable to humans, it would mean that the pill could have real benefits for parts of the body beyond the reproductive system.

Feat image: iStock

GIFs: Giphy

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In a move which has captured the attention of more than half a million people today, one Instagram user has uploaded a video which seeks to highlight the pressure placed on young women in today's society.

Karolina Maria, a 20-year-old makeup artist from Norway, begins her message by showing herself scrolling through a social media feed before becoming disillusioned by the images beamed back at her.

Seeking to alter her appearance in an attempt to meet the ideal depicted on countless social media accounts, a fresh-faced Karolina begins applying make up, but after overhauling her appearance with the help of cosmetics decides she's still not up to par.

Explaining the motivation behind the video in the accompanying message, Karoline wrote: "I think it's just so crazy how plastic surgery and fillers have become so normal."

"Don't you ever compare yourself to someone else and think you are less, because only YOU are you, and you are BEAUTIFUL just the way you are."

Karolina's post has been inundated with support from Instagram users, with one writing: "Such a powerful video I hope this reaches women everywhere."

"Love the message of this video! Nowadays it's so impossible to fit the beauty standards," added another.

Check it out.

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If you – like us – struggle to maintain a kale-obsessed, protein-fuelled diet because… well… snore, then this incredible little device is about to become your best friend.

Aimed at people who would rather opt for cake over cucumber, scientists have come up with an ingenious little gadget which TRICKS your mouth into thinking you're a kale kinda girl.

The Taste Buddy, which is placed inside the mouth before eating a less than desirable foodstuff, has been designed to emit thermal and electric signals which stimulate the taste buds and trick the individual into enjoying the food.

As it stands, the current model only offers a sweet or salty mode, but researchers behind the tool are confident that they will soon be in a position to transform the taste of all food.

"What started out as a fun engineering experiment has now led to something much more exciting with the potential to have a positive social impact," Adrian Cheok  – creator of the device – explained.

The device, which is a 2cm tab is heat-activated tool, will be available for the public to try for the first time at The Big Bang UK Young Scientists and Engineers Fair early next year.

We'll take 'em all.

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Let's be honest, Instagram has less to do with documenting your actual life, and more to do with projecting an image of the life you want, right?

And following Instagram personalities because you desperately want to live the life they purport to is standard procedure for many of us, but how many times have we been duped?

Well, if you were a fan of Louise Delage's Insta account, you've been duped at least once.

 

Thinking

A photo posted by Louise Delage (@louise.delage) on

Louise's Instagram which shows a young woman living the high life attracted more than 50,000 followers, and while many coveted her lifestyle, the vast majority were unaware they were actually part of an experiment to raise awareness of alcoholism among young people.

French ad agency BETC explained that the campaign is on behalf of charity Addict Aide and served to highlight how easy it is to miss signs of addiction even with a close friend or family member.

 

#latergram Bretagne

A photo posted by Louise Delage (@louise.delage) on

Each and every one of Louise's uploads – from beach trips and country walks to days spent shopping and chilling out – all featured an alcoholic drink, and it was BETC's intention to highlight how easy it is to normalise excessive drinking.

"Sometimes it seems like in this era, the more people stage their ideal life on social media, the more that serves to hide a not-so-ideal reality," Stéphane Xiberras Paris told AdWeek.

 

Quand je pose en soirée

A photo posted by Louise Delage (@louise.delage) on

Since revealing the purpose behind Louise Delage's Instagram account, Addict Aide charity have reported that their page has seen five times more traffic than usual.

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We're all for being the designated driver when our mates are on the pints, but the designated ugly friend when our mates are on the pull? Not so much.

Unfortunately for us – and you – many of us are guilty of using our less attractive friends to make ourselves look better in the eyes of strangers.

While it may read like the screenplay of a high school movie, the 'ugly friend' phenomenon is as old as the hills, and according to a recent study published in Psychological Science is as real as the fear you are feeling right now.

In an effort to highlight the 'ugly friend' effect, researchers showed participants images of individuals and asked them to rate them on attractiveness.

Soon after they discovered that when the same images were shown alongside 'less attractive' individuals, the ratings for the original face soared.

Commenting on the findings, Dr. Nicholas Furl said: "We found that the presence of a distractor face makes differences between attractive people more obvious and that observers start to pull apart these differences, making them even more particular in their judgement."

And it seems the vast majority of us are – on some level – aware of this, and tend to opt for a less attractive wing woman or distractor face when on the pull.

Oh, and if you – like us – have found yourself thinking you don't actually have any ugly friends, it might be…well… don't make us say it…

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Much like we thought hovering a buttercup beneath our chin as children would indicate our affinity for the dairy product, we were also brought up to believe that those small white marks on our nails suggested a lack of calcium.

But it turns out – like the buttercup fiasco of the 90s- one has absolutely no bearing on the other.

According to the good folk from the world of science, the small white marks which most of us ignore by painting over are, in most cases, a result of minor trauma – so minor it's likely we didn't even notice it happening.

With the help of a handy science lesson on YouTube, we soon learned that these marks – which are actually known as punctate leokonychia – have very little to do with how much milk you drink.

Check this out!

 

 

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Very few people make it out of their teenage years without getting a few breakouts.

And while the vast majority of us became accustomed to concealing a blemish or two, countless teenagers were forced to deal with full-blown acne at the onset of puberty.

Thankfully, however, it sounds like there may be one serious advantage to enduring years of bad skin as scientists recently discovered.

According to a study published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, the cells of individuals who suffer from acne have built-in protection against ageing.

Using 1,200 twins as part of their research –  a quarter of which had acne – scientists discovered that those with acne had protective caps at the end of their chromosomes.

These 'caps' indicate strong elasticity and mean that oily skin is less likely to thin and develop wrinkles as the individual matures.

That's right, ladies. You may have been the only one with acne in your group but you'll still be getting carded well into your forties.

Win!

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We’re a complicated bunch, us Irish.

We might still bless ourselves while passing a church, but can’t remember the last time we stepped foot inside one.

We may have discovered a new-found love for avocado, chia seed and matcha lattes, but feel compelled to whisper ‘notions’ about countless other people

And we may have a real grá for de-cluttering our homes, but, ironically, have wardrobes full to bursting with barely worn clothes.

According to a BT Ireland survey, we find de-cluttering our homes hugely therapeutic –  with 60 per cent indulging at least twice a year and 89 per cent insisting it makes them feel ‘brilliant’ – and yet our wardrobes remain stuffed.

The findings established that 49 per cent of Irish people surveyed wear only half their clothes on the regular while 28 per cent wear just a quarter frequently.

Encouraging the public to both donate to charity shops and pick up bargains along the way, 10 employees will take over nine Irish Cancer Society charity shops in Dublin, Galway and Cork on October 13th as part of BT Shop for Change in aid of the Irish Cancer Society.

And with one in two people affected by cancer, the money raised will help the Society fund innovative cancer research projects and provide support for patients and their families

Ladies, it’s time to get sorting… and shopping!

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