Month: June 2023

A post on Reddit’s AITA subforum brought up a compelling debate about how people approach the mental health of others. As friends, coworkers and family members of people with mental health issues, how far is too far when it comes to accommodating their unique needs and requests?

It all started when a person with the username GlumDemand, 30, went with his girlfriend Alex, 27, to a friend’s pool party and barbecue. Also attending that party was their friend, Christine, 37, who had recently had a child and was struggling with postpartum depression. She hoped that attending the party would help to “lighten her mood.”

Postpartum depression happens to some women after giving birth and can cause mood swings, a loss of appetite, low energy and feelings of inadequacy. In severe cases, it can lead to major depression or postpartum psychosis.

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In Christine’s situation, the depression led to a bad case of body dysmorphia. People with body dysmorphia become obsessed with the perceived flaws in their bodies and it can cause unbearable feelings of insecurity. This can happen to women after they give birth because of the tremendous changes in their bodies.

All this came to a head at the party when Christina became triggered after seeing Alex’s body in a swimsuit.

“My girlfriend Alex … is a model/influencer, and as you can imagine she’s very beautiful, this is important,” GlumDemand wrote. “Everyone at the party is wearing some form of swimming gear, all of the guys are wearing trunks and tank tops or Hawaiian shirts, and the women are wearing bikinis or swimsuits. Alex stole the show. However, she didn’t wear anything too revealing or inappropriate, but it did turn heads.”

A mutual friend told GlumDemand that Christine was getting “upset” by Alex’s appearance and wanted to know if he could ask her to cover up a bit because it triggered her body dysmorphia.

“I was confused but I said okay, I talked to Alex and she said that while she understood she didn’t understand why she had to cover up for the sake of someone else’s feelings,” GlumDemand wrote. “Needless to say she didn’t do it.”

Two hours later, Christine left the party.

GlumDemand reached out to the Reddit AITA community to ask if he and Alex were in the wrong because she didn’t want to cover up. The responders overwhelmingly took their side in the situation.

“Having had PPD and BD, I sympathize. But I just avoided situations like this prior to therapy, and now have had enough therapy to deal. My mental health issues aren’t my fault, but they’re my responsibility,” Relevant-Ad6288 wrote.

“I love that line ‘my mental health issues aren’t my fault, but they’re my responsibility’ amazing, I hope it’s ok to use it?” QuietlyFierce wrote in agreement.

A Reddit user by the name of a Colo-rectal surgeon posed a hypothetical. “If this were an issue where someone was uncomfortable because they found the appearance of someone else’s body very unappealing, then asking them to cover up would be out of the question,” they wrote. “Someone shouldn’t have to cover up because they look ‘too good.’”

Some thought that Christine was downright rude to put Alex in that position.

“It’s already not ok for Christine to ask someone to change their clothes for her comfort; it’s doubly wrong to make Alex feel like her body is the problem,” wrote lefrench75.

Few people thought the original poster and Alex were in the wrong. But those who did questioned whether they were good friends. “Would it have been that hard to cover up to help someone out?” Lord_Buff74 asked. “You don’t have to, and you can choose to be vain and selfish.”

“I would never try to do anything that would upset someone I consider a friend. If you said ‘a stranger at a party,’ I would be like yeah, it’s a little different, but a ‘close friend’? You might think it’s okay, but you probably lost a friend over this,” Kyouji added.

It seems most people agree that even though body dysmorphia isn’t Christine’s fault, it’s her responsibility to manage her issues. It’s also unreasonable for her to ask others to change their appearance. Even though some questioned whether Alex was being considerate of Christine’s feelings, it’s also fair to say that Christine put her in a very uncomfortable position.

Situations surrounding mental illness can be uncomfortable. The problem probably could have been resolved more compassionately if Christine and Alex had the space to discuss their issues so that everyone’s feelings were considered.

No parent is perfect, even though some social media stars and mommy bloggers want us to think they have it all figured out. In the real world, parenting isn’t that easy. Every parent is beautifully imperfect, and every kid is delightfully quirky. So, as long as we do our best, it’s more than enough.

A Reddit user who goes by brookeaat wanted to feel better about how she has fallen short of parental perfection. So she asked the followers of the BreakingMom subforum to “share their mom secrets so that I don’t feel so bad about myself.”

She started the conversation by leading with her dark secret. “Sometimes I give my 5-month-old a little bit of water (like a capful from a plastic water bottle),” she wrote. “She loves it so much, and since it’s such a tiny amount, I don’t mind, but I know most other moms would judge the sh** out of me if I said that.”

For those who didn’t know, pediatricians say that you shouldn’t feed a baby water until they are 6 months old. “It’s because babies’ bodies aren’t suited for water until several months after birth. Tiny tummies and developing kidneys put them at risk for both nutrient loss and water intoxication,” Healthline reports in a medically-reviewed article.

Many of the responses centered around screen time, and many moms admitted to allowing their kids to have as much as they like. That opposes the recommendations that children under 2 years old should have zero screen time and those over 2 years old no more than two hours a day.

Many moms also admitted that they have given up trying to feed their children consistently healthy meals, and they have given in to their kids’ desire to each chicken and french fries for every meal.

Here are 18 of the most revealing “deep dark” mom secrets the mothers admitted to on the Reddit post.

1.

“Sometimes I just seriously want everyone in my house to leave me the f**k alone.” — transponster99

2.

“My 2.5yo had two slices of cheese and an ice cream sandwich for dinner.” — GroundbreakingTale24

3.

“Oh man… I don’t care what my child eats. I mean, I CARE. I TRY. But it’s so draining for me to fight him about food. He turned 3 in April and you know what? He gets almost all of the important vitamins/nutrients from smoothies. I hide zucchini and carrots in banana bread. Spinach is tasteless in smoothies. Eats pasta. Refuses veggies most of the time. Will eat chicken if fried or in nugget form but no other meat and no other way. If my child is gonna sit there and eat a whole loaf of bread, I really do not care anymore. I DO care about his sugar consumption. That’s all lol.” — Inner-Membership-175

4.

“Screen time is ongoing at my place. I’m 37 weeks pregnant and I don’t think I could do toddlering without Blues Clues. When this baby comes, I def will continue the screen time. Survival.” — MaleficentMouse666

5.

“I’m tired of being nice to my kid all the time. She is like, the nicest lil 6 year old ever. Nice to toddlers. Popular with all ages. Sticks up for others. Would literally give me her last bite of ice cream if I asked. But, oh, man, I want to scream I DONT F****** CARE!!! the next time she says ‘Mom, look at me…’ do whatever inane thing she’s already done 10000x. I want to scream SHUT UP FOR ONE DAMN MINUTE every time she runs out of her limitless words and begins just making stupid noises to entertain herself. I want to say OMG I DO EVERYTHING FOR YOU the next time she hits me with a weaponized ‘you’re weeelllcooom’ when she does the barest minimum of anything and I’m supposed to fall over myself with gratitude. I want to ignore her every time she narrates her every friggin action to me, oh hey, she’s telling me a riddle right now that makes no sense, oh god it’s still going and I’m smiling and pretending to get it. Ha ha, that’s a good one.
Seriously. The best kid ever. Teacher’s favorite. Emotional intelligence far beyond her years. I’m a monster. I would never actually say any of this. But my poor brain, just let it hear itself think. Just let me be still. Let me stop having to react all the time.” — throneofthornes

6.

“I regret having my oldest child. He has ruined my life and I’m stuck in a hellscape I never wanted for myself. My literal only hope some days is that he leaves at 18.” — redtonks

7.

“My 11yo doesn’t have a bedtime or screen time restrictions (he has site/app restrictions).” — Its_Me_Jess

8.

“I rarely wash my kiddo’s hair. I brush it and she takes baths daily, but I can’t justify her screaming every night.” — Weekly Pie

9.

“I don’t usually bother to put anything more than a diaper on my one-year-old while we’re at home unless it’s cold or she’s going to bed. She eats in her pjs and they get covered in oatmeal, so I take them off and she just stays like that, not worth the fight and distress of the manhandling that she hates just so I can do even more laundry. Also, it’s interesting how even given the choice to watch as much TV and screens as she wants because I don’t limit it she watches only pretty much an hour a day.” — PeachGotcha

10.

“I let my 2-year-old sleep on my butt most nights. He has a beautiful, woodland-themed bedroom complete with a large Montessori bed, camper-shaped tent, and Hatch machine.But he’d rather sleep to cat videos on the couch with my butt as a pillow.” — Choice-Examination

11.

“Kids wear the same clothes for school and sleep 2 days straight because we bath every other day and I’m too lazy to change their clothes other than after bathing or if very dirty.

I only brush their teeth once a day.

I ditched safe sleep because my first had a horrible flat head, my second slept so much better in his stomach, and my third I didn’t even try safe sleep and I don’t feel guilty at all.

I also sometimes drink too much while watching the kids. That I feel guilty about.” — babystay

12.

“I’d half charge the iPad and when the battery died, they were out of screen time for the day. Now they can turn on computers and the Xbox so they don’t use the iPad anymore, but it always bought me enough time in the mornings to have some coffee and get ready.” — CrimeBrulee_

13.

“My husband cleans the house while I breastfeed my kid to sleep. I almost always lay next to her for a bit longer and scroll on my phone and enjoy her presence until I can hear him finished, so that I don’t have to help.” — HollyBethQ

14.

“My son slept in our bed until he was like 13 years old. Sometimes when he visits (he’s 23 now and turned out fine!) he will still get in my bed with me and read or watch videos. He also camps out in our bed (on my side) when I’m not there, so I think he just likes our bed.” — Apprehensive_Set_151

15.

“I honestly can’t stand to be around my 8-year-old son anymore; I don’t like who he is. His behavior is awful and he does things purposely to shock and irritate me. He got mad and threw a toy at me the other night when I sent him to his room for time-out; he threw it so hard that it hit the floor and it bounced up and cut my leg. I feel like an awful mother/human being for feeling this way and it breaks my heart. I just don’t know what to do with him anymore. He’s in counseling and takes medication, but it only does so much.” — NorwegianMuse

16.

“I let my 15-year-old drink. Sometimes. With family and food. If I, or my mother, has- cooked full, fancy, meal, and we’re all sitting down to with either a full bottle or a split, he can have a up to a glass with his meal.” — [deleted]

17.

“I really don’t think I should have ever been a mom, I regret it a lot and wish I could do my life over. I do love my child with all my heart and try to do as best as I can and I will never let them know how I feel.” — purplejanuary14

18.

“I just wanna say….I love all you ladies so much. This thread is hella refreshing!” — Bob-Bhlabla-esq

If you’re looking for career advice, there are few better people to ask than former President Barack Obama. After all, he got the most prestigious job in the world after only spending four years in the U.S. Senate and seven in the Illinois State Senate.

Obama clearly knows how to work his way up in the world.

Now, he’s investigating what it means to have “good” work in his new Netflix show, “Working: What We Do All Day.” According to Netflix, the show explores compelling ideas and issues about labor and work, while focusing on the lives of individuals in various professions.

Obama sat down with LinkedIn Editor-in-Chief Daniel Roth to talk about employment-related topics, including the role of work in our lives, disruptions in the workplace in the new Millenium, and the coming AI revolution. During the 15-minute conversation, Obama shared his most important career advice for young people, and it was simple, especially for such a thoughtful, well-spoken man. The former president said, “Get stuff done. Just learn how to get stuff done.”

He then unpacked what he meant by his simple motto.

“I’ve seen at every level people who are very good at describing problems, people who are very sophisticated in explaining why something went wrong or why something can’t get fixed, but what I’m always looking for is, no matter how small the problem or how big it is, somebody who says, ‘Let me take care of that,’” Obama said.

“If you project an attitude of, whatever it is that’s needed, I can handle it and I can do it, then whoever is running that organization will notice. I promise.”

Obama is spot-on with his analysis. You can talk about things all day, but what really matters is taking action and making things happen. Maybe that’s why his campaign slogan in 2008 was a simple three-word phrase about taking care of business, “Yes, we can.”

“The best way to get attention is, whatever is assigned to you, you are just nailing. You’re killing it. Because people will notice, that’s someone who can get something done,” Obama continued.

As someone who has managed people at the top levels of government, Obama has a rare understanding of the importance of relying on people to carry out essential orders and knowing who to trust to get it done efficiently and correctly. When you’re president of the United States, you must have complete trust in the people you delegate work to because thousands or even millions of lives could be at risk.

Obama also added that young people shouldn’t focus on a specific job title but on things that interest them. “The people that I find are the most successful are the people who say, ‘I’m really interested in computers and figuring this stuff out,’ and they end up being a Bill Gates,” he said.

People will be happier with careers that are rooted in their interests because they’re doing what they love. We only get 24 hours in a day. Most people sleep eight, work eight and enjoy eight for themselves. Everyone loves sleeping and time off, but you can be happy 24 hours a day when you love your job.

With the cost of living skyrocketing, people are looking for clever ways to make an additional buck. The good news is there are many ways to make extra money, whether driving for Lyft, freelancing on Fiverr, babysitting through Care.com, running errands with Task Rabbit or renting your pool out with Swimply.

Joe Gorham, 54, of Brighton, England, told The Mirror that renting out the three parking spaces in front of his home was a low-key way to rake in some passive income with little effort.

He said that renting out the spaces brings in an additional £8,000 ($10,000) annually. The money comes in extra handy because he is a full-time caregiver for his partner.

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Joe came up with the idea after paying around £200 ($250) per week to park his car in Southampton when he and his partner went out on cruises. His friend told him about an app called YourParkingSpace, which saved him money when he was out at sea. So, he figured, why not rent out the spaces in front of his house?

‘I make an extra £8,000 each year by renting out my driveway – how you can too’https://t.co/iEzyETM8i0 pic.twitter.com/rV8G5hC3y8

— Mirror Money Saving (@MirrorMoney) June 9, 2023

“I started doing it because we had the spaces spare, and we also had some issues with the house that needed to be sorted, we had to get a new roof because of a leak, and we also had to get the windows and the garage doors sorted, too,” he told The Mirror.

“It was initially for this but with all the price hikes going on, it’s really helped us keep going,” he added.

One reason why Gorham has been so successful is that he lives in an area where parking is prohibitively expensive for tourists and people who work at the local hospital. He lives near the Brighton Seafront, a popular tourist destination known for its pier, railway, aquarium and fishing.

But he doesn’t do it just for the money; he posts his spots because he believes it’s good for the local community and prevents people from being ripped off.

“I don’t do it specifically for an income–I do it because I think that the council in Brighton just charges so much money for parking, and it doesn’t encourage people to come and spend in the city,” he said according to MSN.

“If you parked on Brighton Seafront, you are only allowed to park for 11 hours, and that will cost you £33 ($42); if you go to the NCP car park it will cost you £48 ($60) for the day,” he said.

Gorham charges people an affordable £12.50 to park in a spot for the day ($15.75), and they can also use the car charger that cost him £350. He says the number of people using his charger is rising as more people adopt electric vehicles.

Renting out your parking space could bring in some easy extra money, especially if you live near a tourist destination, hospital, university or sports stadium. Also, those who live in heavily populated areas with fewer parking spaces or stringent parking restrictions can also make some good money, too.

In the UK, Gorham uses the YourParkingSpace app to rent out his space, for those of you who live in the United States, Spacer, Pavemint, and ParkStash offer similar services.

The wait is nearly over. In May, fans of Lil Uzi Vert were treated to updates on the status of his highly anticipated album, The Pink Tape. The product’s producer Lyle Leduff told supporters that over 1,500 songs had been recorded. Leduff let it be known that the only thing holding back its release was picking the perfect track for the project.

Now, in an Instagram live stream with popular streamer Kai Cenat, Lil Uzi Vert personally shared details about the forthcoming release. During the broadcast, Uzi revealed that all songs for the album had been chosen. According to the musician, The Pink Tape will feature 24 tracks, including their smash single “Just Wanna Rock.”

In addition to those songs, fans will be treated to two bonus tracks that, in their words, “A lot of people love but didn’t really get to hear.”

The updates didn’t end there. Lil Uzi Vert announced that the official cover for the album and full tracklist would be posted in the coming week. Although they weren’t as direct, in conversation with Kai, the entertainer hinted that Playboi Carti might make an appearance on the project, saying, “Not that many features but the features that everybody thinks I should have… basically, where I started at is where imma finish.”

Outside of the album, fans should begin to save up their music as Lil Uzi Vert announced, “Right after the summer,” that they would be hitting the road for a robust world tour.

Lil Uzi Vert is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Bradley Beal is headed to the Phoenix Suns in the first blockbuster trade of the summer, but the exact framework of the trade that sees him exit the Wizards is still being sorted out.

We know Chris Paul and Landry Shamet are the players Phoenix is dealing away, but it’s possible that Paul will not be headed to Washington. Shortly after word of the initial deal being agreed to was reported, a number of reporters broke word that the Wizards will be willing to work with Paul on adding a third team to the deal to get him to a contender.

That led to plenty wondering what contender would be willing to add Paul on his current salary, rather than hoping to end up with him on the buyout market. According to Chris Haynes, one of the teams interested in just such a deal is one of his former squads, the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Clippers never have any problems shoveling money at their team, as Steve Ballmer is seemingly happy to pay the tax to keep L.A. in the conversation. While the expectation has been the Clippers would look to bring Russell Westbrook back this summer as a free agent, they may see Paul as an upgrade over Westbrook and a chance to add a steadier hand to the mix. We’ll see if they can make that happen, but they certainly have more than a few big contracts on the wing that they’d be happy to move on from to sort out their logjam and create some better roster balance.

Bradley Beal is now a member of the Suns, as the Wizards finally traded their longtime star guard to Phoenix for Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, pick swaps, and a handful of second rounders.

That deal kickstarts a Draft week that could see some significant movement throughout the league, with just about every team picking after the Spurs seemingly being willing to part with their pick for the right price. Charlotte seems more likely to make the pick at No. 2 than not, as they’d need to be bowled over by an offer to drop out of that position, but Portland has plenty of motivation to move out of the No. 3 pick. The problem for the Blazers is they need to find a team willing to part with an impact veteran for that pick, and the right offer being out there will likely be dependent on whether Scoot Henderson is available.

Should they be unable to find a trade for that No. 3 pick and fail to land the kind of help they need to become a contender, it is possible that Damian Lillard joins Beal in finally asking for a trade. That is apparently what the Miami Heat are banking on, as they were the other reported finalist for Beal but somewhat oddly chose not to try and beat the offer the Suns made, which didn’t even include an actual first round pick going back to Washington. According to Chris Haynes, Miami refusing to budge off of a relatively low offer was because they have “genuine belief” Lillard may come available.

Now, we have heard of teams wishcasting Lillard onto the trade market for years, but any time a report about Lillard comes from Haynes in particular, it is noteworthy. Haynes is extremely close to Lillard — like, in each others weddings close — and even if this is a report about the Heat’s interest in the star, it’s hard not to feel like Haynes has unique insight into how Lillard is feeling privately. Publicly, Lillard continues to push back on the idea he’ll ask out, but others close to him, like CJ McCollum, seem to believe it’s a more real chance this summer than ever before.

While Miami would be near the top of Lillard’s wishlist, the Blazers would not have to send him to his absolute preferred destination if there’s a better haul out there to be had. Washington was at the mercy of Beal and his no trade clause, but Lillard doesn’t possess the same amount of power to totally dictate where he goes, even as Portland would likely look to work out a deal amicable to all parties. As such, there would be a big hurdle for Miami to clear in making an offer strong enough to get Lillard, who would command considerably more than what Washington got for Beal.

We’ll find out Thursday exactly what direction the Blazers are going in and whether the league will suddenly be on Dame Watch or not.

Stan Lee spent his final years as the purported father of Marvel. The comics legend died in 2018 at age 85, and he lived long enough to see many of the characters he co-created dominate the multiplex, and he filed cameos in many of those films. Jack Kirby, one of his collaborators, died in 1994, well before the brand he helped pioneer got a good shot in the arm. There’s a new documentary about Stan Lee on Disney+, and according to Kirby’s son, it paints a distorted view of what his dad and Lee created.

As per Deadline, Jillian Kirby, the comic legend’s granddaughter, posted a lengthy message from her father Neal, in which he takes umbrage with how the doc, entitled simply Stan Lee, shortchanges his father’s contributions to Marvel. Neal acknowledges that a doc about Stan Lee, which uses his voice on the narration track, is going to offer a skewed perspective on history. Still, Neal feels, it goes too far.

“It’s not any big secret that there has always been controversy over the parts that were played in the creation and success of Marvel’s characters,” Neal wrote. “Stan Lee had the fortunate circumstance to have access to the corporate megaphone and media, and he uses these to create his own mythos as to the creation of the Marvel character pantheon. He made himself the voice of Marvel.”

Neal argues that Lee simply couldn’t have been the sole inventor of some of the richest characters, which didn’t spring out of nowhere.

“It should be noted and is generally accepted that Stan Lee had a limited knowledge of history, mythology, or science,” Neal wrote. “On the other hand, my father’s knowledge of these subjects, to which I and many others can personally attest, was extensive. Einstein summed it up better; ‘More the knowledge, lesser the ego. Lesser the knowledge, more the ego.’”

He continues:

“Are we to assume Lee had a hand in creating every Marvel character? Are we to assume that it was never the other cocreator that walked into Lee’s office and said, ‘Stan I have a great idea for a character!’ According to Lee, it was always his idea. Lee spends a fair amount of time talking about how and why he created the Fantastic Four, with only one fleeting reference to my father.”

You can read Neal Kirby’s full statement in the embedded tweet above.

(Via Deadline)

After weeks of online discourse, Doja Cat released her pure rap single, “Attention.” Despite one popular naysayer, the song has received rave reviews online from hip-hop heads and Doja Cat’s fans alike. As a reward for the positive remarks, it seems that the entertainer wanted to treat supporters to what is coming down the pipeline.

During an Instagram live stream, Doja Cat joyfully leaked her upcoming single, “Balut.” In the comment section of the session, fans’ reactions were overwhelmingly uplifting. One fan wrote, “This is amazing.” Another added, “She’s like should I leak this or not?”

Although Doja Cat has been highly indecisive regarding her future musical drops, the rapper’s fan page echoed that the track played during the session does have a tentative name. “Doja has confirmed the title to be ‘Balut,’” wrote the fan page.

Both tracks, “Attention” and “Balut,” are expected to appear on the musician’s forthcoming album. At this time, the album is rumored to be titled Scarlet. In the past, Doja Cat announced that the project would be named Hellmouth. However, just as the classified green of the album has changed over time, so has the album’s title. Therefore, only time will tell what the song’s actual name will be.

Bradley Beal is officially on his way out of Washington. According to Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania, Beal is headed to Phoenix in a blockbuster deal that sees the Wizards get Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, and some pick swaps in exchange for the former All-Star guard.

Shortly before this, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the Wizards were deep into talks with a pair of finalists, the Heat and the Suns, on a deal that would receive Beal’s blessing — Beal is the only player in the NBA who has a full no-trade clause, and would be able to veto any decision that the Wizards made if he wanted.

The news of a potential Beal trade began circulating in recent days in the lead-up to the 2023 NBA Draft, as it was reported that Washington and Beal’s representation would work together in the event the team decided to rebuild. One of the most productive players in franchise history, Beal was selected third overall by the Wizards in the 2012 NBA Draft, and has spent his entire professional career in the nation’s capital. Over the course of his career, Beal has averaged 22.1 points, 4.3 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.1 steals in 34.7 minutes per game and has earned three All-Star nods. He is about to enter the second year of a 5-year, $251 million maximum extension that he signed last offseason.

Beal’s agent confirmed to Woj the deal had been agreed to in principle.

He now joins a Suns team that has as much top-level talent as any in the league, and by moving Chris Paul it would seem they are fully embracing Booker as their nominal point guard with the starting unit — with Beal and Kevin Durant as more than competent secondary ball-handlers. The question, of course, for Phoenix is how they’ll build a team around their stars. Ayton is still a potential trade candidate, but they’d need to turn him into multiple positive role players, which isn’t a guarantee given his value is a question mark. For now, Suns fans can dream of the offensive firepower of their group and will wait to see how they round out the roster around their trio of All-Stars.

As for the Wizards, they now figure to be open for business, with Kristaps Porzingis’ player option decision looming, Kyle Kuzma entering free agency, and a rebuild apparently underway in the nation’s capital under a new front office. Chris Paul figures to be very available via trade going into the Draft, but also may end up just getting bought out prior to his guarantee date in late June.