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An inquiry has been set up into NZ mental health and addiction services.  The inquiry panel want to engage with EVERYONE including service users and their family/whanau.  They would like to hear all ideas – big and small, specific or broad, innovative or building on what’s already happening.  HAVE YOUR SAY…..

The panel intend to hold meetings, forums, hui and fono across the country.  They would like to directly reach out to everyone including Maori, Pasifika, young people, people with disabilities, LGBTIQA+ groups, rural people, elderly, veterans, minorities, immigrants and refugee populations, victims of violence and people in correctional facilities.

WAYS TO MAKE YOUR VIEWS KNOWN:

Email:                            mentalhealthinquiry@dia.govt.nz

Inquiry website:          www.mentalhealth.inquiry.govt.nz

Online form: https://www.dia.govt.nz/Government-Inquiry-into-Mental-Health-and-Addiction

Future steps:

An 0800 line will be set up

Look out for social media forums

Nāū te mahi nāku te mahi ka ora ai te iwi

There are over quarter of a million people in Aotearoa diagnosed with diabetes (mostly type 2 diabetes) and perhaps another 100,000 with diabetes who don’t know it yet (Ministry of Health, NZ).  Diabetes is about 3 x more prevalent in Maaori and Pasifika people and is also strong in South Asian populations.

You can still live a great life with diabetes if you take control of the things you can control. read more »

Thinking about suicide is a common thing to do.  It can be very hard to talk about emotional feelings but it’s really important to talk about this with someone.  Whatever is going on for you that has led to how you’re feeling right now is unique to you – but having suicidal thoughts is not. You are not alone, lots of people have thought about killing themselves and have found a way through.

Here is a list of free talk lines in New Zealand read more »

We all know Barbie is a little out of proportion with her 175cm height, 91 cm bust, 45 cm waist, 83 cm hips and 22 cm neck!  If she were a real woman she would be anorexic, unable to lift her head or menstruate, have a smaller waist than her head, only have room for half an intestine and liver and have to crawl to support her massively disproportionate body.  An infographic shows the difference between Barbie and the Lammilly doll.  Now it’s time to welcome the Lammilly doll, a more realistic version of Barbie.  A doll which was rapidly crowd funded in the US to the tune of over half a million dollars, and is challenging the body image ideals perpetuated by the children’s toy industry.  It comes with acne, cellulite and stretch mark accessories.  Refreshingly real…..representing the average, healthy 19 year old girl, and not just white girls! 

At the University of Sussex, a study by Helga Dittmar, found that young girls showed decreased self-esteem after being exposed to images of Barbie dolls read more »