Mind Full of Everything

Reflection: Altruism Gone Wrong

It’s safe to say that we have entered into an “altruistic generation”, one that imposes the need to be immersed in charitable causes on all individuals, attacking those that fail to do so. However, if we were to look around, beyond social media and into reality, can we genuinely see any major change? A significant reduction in suffering? In fact, without sounding too pessimistic, pain and suffering has exponentially risen, world issues continue to be amplified, so really, are we in an altruistic generation?

In this reflection episode, I answer all of these questions by looking at the major flaws in modern-day altruism that has emphasised on documenting acts of selflessness instead of understanding the root cause of social issues to bring about sustainable change. This episode is a call to action for redefining altruism by ensuring the communities/individuals asking for support are prioritised over the altruist.

Fighting Period Poverty One Conversation At A Time with Victoria Abrahams

We very quickly synonymise stigmatised issues, particularly those concerning the female body, to developing countries' problems. This only belittles the painful experiences of women living in western countries that aren't able to get access to basic needs like period products. 

Period poverty is a massive issue in the UK, where 40% of women use materials like toilet paper as makeshift pads and 1 in 4 teenage girls don't know what to do on their first periods. Freedom4Girls helps to tackle the issue of period poverty through making reusable sanitary products available to vulnerable menstruating females free of cost, aswell as removing period stigma through education of the menstrual cycle in the UK, Kenya and Uganda.

When talking to Victoria Abrahams, the operations manager and lead for the Uganda project, it is evident that women still view periods in a negative light, often punishing themselves for undergoing a completely normal and non-preventable process. Until we don't normalise periods, desexualise the female body and encourage women to openly discuss their sexual health, issues like period poverty will continue to persist.

Indigenous Activism Through The Lens of Journalism with Desiree Kane

Native American communities have faced brutalisation by US constitutions for more than 500 years, yet nothing has changed, in fact things worsen every day. Genocide, rape and incarceration of the Indigenous constantly happen but all that mainstream media will cover is the environmental issues aspect of their struggles, often diluting the intensity of the problem.

The Indigenous communities can't keep fighting on their own, they need the allegiance and support of allies to ensure that future generations don't face the same torture that previous generations have experienced. Black Americans, facing extreme levels of racism and hate crimes too, have always stood by natives, so now it's everyone else's duty to join the fight for justice and peace. Silence only enables white supremacy that affects all ethnic minorities.

REMINDER: You can now buy 100% recycled acrylic pin badges from my website, an eco-friendly alternative to enamel badges. This will help to fund Mind Full of Everything and ensure the podcast continues delivering content you want to hear for longer!

Overcoming Trauma Through Creativity with Amy Oestreicher

Amy had always wanted to pursue a musical theatre career and ending up at Broadway some day. So when Amy experienced the pain of sexual abuse and the trauma of entering coma and having her entire digestive system removed due to a blood clot, achieving her dream seemed impossible.

Despite having 30 surgeries, being unable to eat, drink or even walk properly for years, Amy is now a playwright and actress for her own one-woman theatre shows, a Tedx speaker, teaching artist and PTSD specialist. Amy is the true definition of "never giving up", who not only overcame her trauma but has used her creative talent to encourage other trauma survivors to tell their stories and allow their pain to transform into hope and resilience.

New Season!

This episode gives a review of the last season and what listeners can expect to hear in Season 2 (spoiler alert: it's going to get deeper).

BeautifulPlanet: The True Stewards

This episode finishes off the Beautiful Planet series by putting an emphasis on the importance and success of indigenous stewardship as a form of conservation. Despite making up less than 5% of the human population, indigenous communities support up to 80% of the world's biodiversity through powerful techniques that have been used across generations. However, their conservational efforts have been largely dismissed, resulting in the indigenous being evicted from their own ancestral lands, mostly through lethal force by governments.

Listen to this episode to explore the ways in which the indigenous boost environmental value of landscapes and why protection of indigenous rights means protection of the vitality of planet Earth, especially during the climate crisis.

BeautifulPlanet: Healing Power of Nature

Nature, the entire planet in fact, provides us with an exceptional amount of resources and ecosystem services that we fully depend on to survive. Everything we consume and utilise is of natural origin, so when we talk about the healing powers of nature, it should not surprise us when we see the variety of ways nature supports our wellbeing/health.

This episode discusses the medicinal, economic, social and mental health benefits nature brings to us all, with an emphasis on the importance of protecting the "free" services and products that we have so taken granted for.

Deconstructing Racism

The death of George Floyd has sparked a revolution of change, as the whole world fights for elimination of systemic racism in the US and beyond. What began as a protest has now become a movement to challenge those systems that allow for innocent black people to be killed and brutalised, just for the colour of their skin.

As a woman of colour myself, I am very familiar with racism, but never to the extent to which the black community experience it every day. Therefore, this episode aims to discuss not just how systemic racism can be eliminated but also being able to overcome differences within yourself. The Black Lives Matter movement is NOT a trend, therefore Mind Full of Everything pledges to make all future episodes more inclusive and diverse than they already are. 

BeautifulPlanet: The Migrating World

Migration for many organisms is a vital aspect of their lives, yet one phenomenon that continues to perplex scientists, in terms of the magnitude, duration and intensity. Whilst most reduce these annual migrations to just a survival strategy, there is perhaps a deeper meaning and purpose behind the treacherous journeys so many organisms take. Listen to this episode that discusses the beauty and enigma of these mass movements taking place across kingdoms!

BeautifulPlanet: Lessons from the Elephants

Elephants have and continue to be glorified in the animal kingdom. However, it's not just their majestic, unique and strong build that makes them beautiful. These animals, although probably having no idea of their positive benefit on the planet, have a lot to teach us all in many ways. Listen to this second episode of the BeautifulPlanet series on how we can all be more human by adopting the elephant way of living.