Taryn Brumfitt has some great ideas on how to embrace your body. It was written for Valentine's Day but it's important all year round. I love these ones in particular:

• Add some colour to your life
• Wear clothes you love
• Exercise because you love your body, not because you hate it
• Dedicate an entire day to self-care
• Dance

You can read the whole lise on the Body Image Movement blog.

I finally got around to watching Beauty and the Beast and I absolutely loved it!  I'm such a Disney tragic. I loved the themes of inner beauty, transformation and salvation.  But perhaps the film should come with a warning. Boys and men don't generally change. If your boyfriend is abusive, violent, unfaithful or disrespectful towards you, he is not likely to change (even if he promises to). Unlike the Beast, he is not under the spell of an enchantress - he just has issues. It is not impossible for him to change, but it is highly unlikely. He will not be able to do it without professional help either. For the sake of your safety and sanity you need to get out of that relationship. "Between 80 and 100 Australian women die at the hands of their male partners every year – and a  woman in Australia is more likely to be killed in her own home by her male partner than anywhere else or by anyone else.”  (*The ABS Personal Safety Survey 2006).

These guys will be at the Curtin Open Day in Perth on Sunday 6th August.

We tell ourselves all kinds of unhelpful things every day. For example, I'm ugly, I'm never going to pass that exam, and I'm useless. Paradigm has a useful article on how to change negative self-talk. They suggest keeping a thought journal and write down your negative thoughts about yourself. I would also suggest that you replace them with a positive statement about yourself. For example, I'm beautiful in my own way, I will work hard to pass this exam, and I am capable. It takes a lot of practice replacing negative self-talk with positive self-talk but it is well worth the effort.

Perth father, Rod Bridge, is on a mission to educate young people about the dangers of synthetic drugs.  In 2014, his 16 year old son, Preston, was celebrating after his school formal. He took a $2 synthetic LSD tablet purchased online. Under its hallucinogenic effects, he jumped from a balcony and two days later, died.  Rod has started a drug education program called Side Effect. Don't put your parents through what the Bridges had to suffer - no high is worth the risk. These drugs are incredibly powerful and dangerous and you never know what is in them. You can read more here.