Tag Archives: Life

The Most Ridiculous Questions And Requests People Have Faced In Job Interviews

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You’re reading Life-Work Balance, a series aiming to redirect our total devotion to work into prioritising our personal lives.

“How would you fit a giraffe into a fridge?” An asinine question in most settings, but especially peculiar during a job interview.

And yet, these kinds of ‘quirky’ and arbitrary lines of questioning seem to be commonplace during the interview process.

In an attempt to make people think ‘outside the box’ or on their feet, hiring managers are coming up with increasingly difficult (and frustrating) tasks and questions for interviewees.

And to make matters worse, many are leaving the applicants hanging once it comes to feedback or finding out the results of the conversation.

So, what does it say about their work culture when recruiting staff act like this when imbued with such powers?

For starters, if you’re being put in a difficult and tricky situation at the earliest stage of the job, then it might not be the best indication of the company’s treatment of employees. And it also means they have no regard to the preparation that applicants may have completed in anticipation of a more traditional interview.

After all, how does anyone answer how they’d put a giraffe in the fridge, or what words they’d have on their tombstone, or how they’d fare if locked in a room and asked to complete a challenge (all real requests)?

Here are some of the most ridiculous requests people have received:

It’s understandable that companies would try get creative with their asks, and indeed some are known for tough brainteasers that showcase the best of people, but most of us can agree that some questions are just a bit bizarre and show nothing about the person.

That’s what Hannah Langford, 31, from the North West, felt when she went for a job in law in Manchester.

She tells HuffPost: “I had a training contract interview at a law firm about 10 years ago and was asked two bizarre questions: ‘Why don’t polar bears eat penguins?’ and ‘How much water does it take to fill St Paul’s Cathedral?’.

“These questions made me doubt myself and I felt confused as to what answer was expected (i.e., was I expected to give an actual answer to the water question or was my thought process what they were interested in?).”

Langford ended up pivoting to a different sector altogether, deciding to work in charity.

Ramla*, 26, from London, can relate to navigating random questions that don’t relate to the job. “A charity that had many interview stages (and didn’t even give feedback after despite saying it would) had some interesting questions,” she recalls.

“One was about who’s your most problematic friend and why you are still friends with them. Another was about the last time you lost your temper.

“I’m not sure how far these questions really test someone’s values. No matter what you say, they’d have to take it with a pinch of salt because it’s an interview, not a chat with your best friend.

“These questions felt a bit like an interrogation. Surely what I’ve achieved and the places in which I’ve created transformative change should speak for itself – or at the very least, they could ask me directly about that?”

Unfortunately, eccentric questioning seems to be commonplace in the job interview space, when that time could be far better utilised talking about the things that bring us joy, what we’re passionate about, what we look forward to.

Because, truly, no one knows how to fit a giraffe into a fridge. And nor should they.

Life-Work Balance questions the status quo of work culture, its mental and physical impacts, and radically reimagines how we can change it to work for us.

HuffPost UK/ Isabella Carapella

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The Pandemic Warped Our Sense Of Time. Here’s How To Gain It Back.

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At this point of the pandemic, it still feels like we’re stuck in a bit of a time warp.

Yes, offices are opening back up and many people are carrying on with their events and travel plans. But there’s still a layer of uncertainty about what might happen next with Covid and when the pandemic will truly end — especially as more variants pop up.

Life doesn’t exactly feel normal yet, and as a result, time drags by. Here’s why, and how you can “gain” some of it back:

1. We lost our routines.

According to Ruth Ogden, an experimental psychologist at Liverpool John Moores University who studies how humans process time, this sensation that time is warped has been a global phenomenon. Through her research, she’s found that people across the globe have experienced distorted time during the pandemic.

The biggest culprit of the time warp: the loss of our routines.

“All the things in our day that helped us know what time it was ― they were gone. That meant it became easy for time to slip and slide around,” Ogden said.

During the pandemic, time stood still for many of us. We canceled our activities and we distanced from friends. People did everything — sleep, eat, work, socialise, parent, exercise — from their homes.

“We’re all heavily routinised creatures, but this routine is important because it keeps us in time,” Ogden said.

Our day-to-day activities help us perceive time — if we are commuting, we know it’s morning, if we’re running out for lunch, it’s midday, and so on and so forth. Without daily routines, which act as markers of time, it becomes easy to get lost in time. The things that made your Saturday a Saturday, or your Tuesday a Tuesday, may no longer be there.

Research also suggests that emotions significantly impact our perception of time. When we’re happy and physiologically aroused, time feels like it’s flying by; conversely, depression can make time feel sluggish.

Furthermore, our expectations of how things will occur (i.e., the pandemic is over!) versus the reality of how things play out (there’s a new variant coming for us) can make time feel faster or slower, depending on if the actual outcome was better or worse than our predictions.

2. Memories help us process time, and our memories are different from the last few years.

Think back to the beginning of the pandemic, when news of Covid spreading around China first leaked. How long ago does that feel to you? Months? Years? It’s probably hard to tell.

Ogden and her research team have been studying how people feel about the length of the pandemic and have discovered that the brain processes length of time through memories.

“If we’ve got loads of memories, then it says, ‘Oh, it must have been a long time,’ but if it has very few memories, then we think it must have been a short period of time,” Ogden said.

In theory, most of us should remember the pandemic as being short — because we didn’t do a lot, Ogden said. But she’s found the opposite: most people feel like we’ve been stuck in the pandemic for much longer than we have been.

The reason, it seems, is that while we didn’t necessarily form a ton of fun, new memories for a period of time, we still formed memories. We learned how to bake bread, we got into puzzles and crafts and packed our days with Zoom meetings. We navigated life through restrictions, masking and distancing; we developed new skills and fell into new routines. Time moved forward.

A loss of routine is the main reason why time seems to drag by.

Delmaine Donson via Getty Images

A loss of routine is the main reason why time seems to drag by.

3. People process time differently.

Just how distorted time feels varies from person to person. It ultimately depends each person’s personal experience with Covid and how much the pandemic has influenced or changed their daily activities, said Nicole Dudukovic, the director of the neuroscience major at the University of Oregon.

Ogden’s research, for example, has found that social satisfaction is one of the biggest factors behind how people process time.

“The more socially satisfied you were, the ‘quicker’ the pandemic went,” Ogden said, noting that this didn’t just involve being around people, like family in your household, but seeking out and enjoying social connections.

People who have engaged in “normal life” again, and are traveling and commuting to the office and engaged in activities, are probably going to have a more normal sense of time right now. People who are at-risk and are hunkering down, along with those who are stressed about returning to pre-pandemic activities, may continue to feel disoriented about time.

“For some people, this experience will continue for a long time and that will continue to cause distortion to their experience of time,” Ogden said.

4. We’re more aware of time now.

Ultimately, the pandemic has made people much more aware of time. We’ve had more time on our hands, which has caused us to become hyper aware of time and how it’s passing, Ogden said.

At the same time, we often don’t remember time accurately. It’s very hard for people to remember how we felt about things, like time, in the past — it’s largely influenced by how we feel about things now. Memories of how time once passed can be very inaccurate, according to Dudukovic. While it may feel like time is passing differently now, it’s totally plausible that we’re just misremembering how time felt pre-pandemic.

“It’s possible that if you’d asked me in 2019 about how fast time was going that maybe it would be not that different from how I’m feeling about it now,” Dudukovic said.

Here’s how to overcome the time warp.

Ogden said it’s important to recognise that we are not going to return to life before the pandemic.

“So much in the world has changed as a result of the pandemic,” she said. We’ve carried on and adapted to new ways of work and socialising.

One of the best ways to mitigate the feeling that we’re stuck in a time warp is to create new routines.

“There’s a lot of evidence to suggest that your routine, and also the number of activities that you’re engaged in, that that’s going to influence how you’re perceiving time,” Dudukovic said.

Changing your environments — stepping out of the house, going on walks, or even switching up the room you work in — can trick your brain into thinking more is happening, so that time passes more regularly.

If your days blend together, save certain activities and routines for specific days of the week.

“Make your Tuesday a Tuesday because of the things you do in it,” Ogden said.

Finally, try to keep busy. The busier we are, the less we tend to focus on how time is passing.

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How To Stop Obsessing Over A Mistake At Work

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Making mistakes happens to all of us in our careers. But some of us hold on to these mistakes longer than others.

Maybe you lie awake at night still feeling queasy and anxious over the way you frustrated a client by accidentally giving them the wrong information. Maybe you are avoiding co-workers on your team because you feel like they are all judging you for that error, even though it happened last week. If either of these scenarios sounds familiar, you may be prone to obsessing over mistakes.

What fuels these constant worries is the shame of feeling completely inadequate and fear of others discovering your lack of capabilities, says Tanisha Ranger, a Nevada-based clinical psychologist. Once you start obsessing over mistakes because of your shame, it can steamroll into bigger problems like perfectionism.

“Shame often gives way to perfectionism, and perfectionism makes mistakes feel monumental. Essentially, ‘If I don’t do everything perfectly right then I am a failure and everyone will see my defectiveness,’” she says. “I’ve had many clients who struggled with obsessing over mistakes at work. [They lay] awake at night ruminating and beating themselves up over a mistake, not an intentional or careless mess-up, but a mistake.”

There’s a better way to acknowledge a mistake while still letting it go. Here’s how:

1. Put the mistake in perspective

After you make an obvious mistake at work, you may want the ground to swallow you up to save you from the embarrassment, shame and anxiety of facing your co-workers again.

If these worries are keeping you up at night, challenge those thoughts by getting more realistic with your thinking, suggests Shannon Garcia, a psychotherapist at States of Wellness Counselling.

“Will the world end? Nope,” she says. “Will you get fired? Highly unlikely. Will you receive constructive feedback from your boss? Maybe. Will owning up to your mistake be uncomfortable? Probably. Have you survived past mistakes? Seems like it, if you’re reading this. Will you survive this one? Yes!”

Sometimes accidental oversights do hurt your job performance, but it’s important to not catastrophise what happened.

“Sure, it caused a delay. Yes, it may have cost the company some money. OK, it negatively impacted job performance. But is it actually the end of your career? Really? Likely not,” says Ranger. “Shrinking things down to their right size, not ignoring/suppressing and also not overblowing or exaggerating, is an important part of letting things go.”

If it helps, try putting yourself in the shoes of co-workers who have also made mistakes. Once you see the compassion and sympathy you hold for their slip-ups, you may be more inclined to be compassionate about your own.

“When a co-worker has made a mistake in the past, is it something you’ve judged them immensely for? Did you spend your day thinking endlessly about their mistake? No. People at work are likely reacting the same way,” Garcia says. “No one is thinking about this more than you are.”

2. Learn that you don’t have to beat yourself up as penance

To move past a mistake, you also need to rethink what it means to learn from a mistake. If you think turning over every angle of how an interaction with your boss could have gone better, for example, take a deep breath. Give yourself permission to release those thoughts, says organisational psychologist Laura Gallaher of the consulting firm Gallaher Edge.

People ruminate because they believe there are payoffs to worrying so much; they think “A conscientious person would worry about this,” Gallaher says.

“When you know that you can simultaneously be a conscientious person, and also forgive yourself to move forward, it will be easier to do so.”

What Garcia tells her clients the most is “be nice to yourself,” she says. Reframe your worries in a more positive light.

“The fact that you are anxious about it means you care. That’s what your boss, co-workers and customers care about the most,” Garcia says. “Try not to beat yourself up over it. Create an affirmation to repeat to yourself whenever those negative self-talk thoughts pop up: ‘I accept my mistake, I choose to learn from it, and I am moving forward.’”

If you are stuck in the world of “could’ve/should’ve” in regards to your error, be honest with yourself about what you did not know.

Ranger says she works with some clients by asking them to consider why they supposedly “should have known better.” “It’s always so enticing to impose our current knowledge and wisdom on a past version of ourselves that could not have known to make that decision with the information we had at that time,” she says.

3. Don’t hide the mistake. Own what happened, but don’t take on other people’s judgement, too

When you make a big blunder at work, you may instinctually want to shut down, repress it, and forget it ever happened.

If you feel the urge to withdraw, challenge yourself to do the opposite. Be the one to bring it up in conversation with co-workers or your boss.

“If it was something that inconvenienced them, apologise for it,” Garcia says. “Then it’s a conversation happening where you are involved, people are likely to be gracious, and everyone can move on from there.”

It may sound counterintuitive, but being transparent about your mistake and its impact can be healing. “It can feel like a cold shower – before you do it, you fear it and feel uneasy or anxious,” Gallaher explains. “In the moment of being open, it can feel unpleasant at first, but once it’s over, you actually feel more refreshed 99% of the time. Taking accountability without blaming anybody is the most healing.“

Once you model being open and accountable, it may encourage others to do so as well. “Most of the time, when you lead with self-accountability, that vulnerability is courageous, and courage is contagious: People usually respond with their own self-accountability as well,” Gallaher says.

Of course, sometimes being honest about a mistake can also inspire eye-rolling judgement and harsh criticism from mean-spirited colleagues. You should hold yourself accountable for your mistake, but the judgement of your peers is not something you need to take on, too.

“Let them know what you intend to do differently to try to prevent something like this from happening in the future, and then accept that they may move on or they may not. It is outside of your control,” Ranger advises. “Taking on other people’s emotions is detrimental to yourself and makes it difficult for you to treat yourself with the kindness and compassion you deserve from you.”

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What Eastenders’ Male Breast Cancer Storyline Means To Real-Life Patients

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If you’re watching EastEnders, you’ll see that Stuart Highway has been struggling with breast cancer.

Creators of the long-standing TV show wanted to shine a spotlight on male breast cancer and actor Ricky Champ, who plays Stuart, has been consulting with real-life victims to gain insight into the role.

Before the storyline kicked off, Champ met with Doug Harper, 61, from London, who was diagnosed with the condition in 2011.

Just before Christmas, Harper felt a lump on his left nipple which he presumed was a cyst and continued to ignore ‘as blokes do’, he says.

After showing the nipple to a GP, they sent him to hospital and ran tests on Harper, sadly confirming that it was cancer.

“As soon as I showed the nipple to the GP, their demeanour changed immediately and they booked an urgent appointment at the hospital for it to be checked out,” Harper tells HuffPost UK.

“Being told I had breast cancer was a scary and confusing time, not only for me, but also for my friends and family. But everyone was so supportive, some even made light hearted comments about the news to lift the gloom, something they knew I would appreciate.“

Just like Stuart on the soap, one of the reasons Harper felt confused was because he didn’t think it could be breast cancer as it’s not spoken about as much in men as women.

When the oncologist told him he had cancer he says he doesn’t remember anything else apart from asking if he was going to die – he was told hopefully that wouldn’t be the case.

Since having chemotherapy treatment, Harper has become passionate about raising awareness of the condition and informing people that it can happen to anyone, regardless of gender. He is also part of a male cancer support group that he attends monthly.

So when EastEnders came to him to ask about his experience, Harper was glad for the opportunity.

Doug has been consulting Eastenders actor Ricky Champ for the storyline

Doug Harper

Doug has been consulting Eastenders actor Ricky Champ for the storyline

He tells HuffPost: “Ricky was brilliant. While he’s been playing the part, he’s identified the problems that men with breast cancer can get, he just really embraced it. He came along to our group support meeting, and it was uplifting because we need more publicity for men with breast cancer.

“The storyline was really subtle, Stuart’s experience of first getting diagnosed was very similar to ours, being in denial, not thinking it was happening and the shock that comes with it.”

Harper mentions that the soap accurately showed how alienating the condition can be as Stuart is handed two leaflets of support for breast cancer patients – but in both, women are pictured.

Doug has set up a male group support for cancer patients
Doug has set up a male group support for cancer patients

Harper, who has since had chemotherapy, is in a band called Steve White & the Protest Family and has written a song about encouraging people to ‘check their moobs’.

He hopes more men will check themselves, saying: “Just know that men can get it. So, check your nipples, check under your arms. And if anything looks different, it could be a cyst or what looks like a cyst on your nipple, it could be a rash, an inverted nipple, or something else under your arms, if you see it, go straight to your doctor.”

He has also been working with Macmillan Cancer support. The charity’s strategic advisor for treatment, Dany Bell, who has more than 30 years’ experience working as a cancer nurse, added: “Nearly 400 men are diagnosed with breast cancer every year in the UK. But we know it’s still not something that is widely recognised or known by many people.

“Storylines like Stuart’s in TV shows like EastEnders play such a vital role in helping to raise awareness and to make more people aware of the signs of breast cancer in both men and women. Early diagnosis can improve – and even save lives – and we hope this important plot will get more men regularly check their own chests and reaching out for help, if needed.”

If you’re living with cancer and need to speak to people, about the big things and small things, you can contact Macmillan Cancer Support.

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‘How Can I Move Out Of The Friend Zone With The Guy From My Running Group?’

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You’re reading Love Stuck, where trained therapists answer your dating, sex and relationship dilemmas. You can submit a question here.

There’s a reason why the friend to lover trope is so popular in film and TV. You’re friends with someone for years, you date other people and then you realise the person you’ve been looking for has been right in front of you.

Having a solid friendship with someone can be a great foundation for a relationship. But the movies we watch don’t tell us how awkward it can be to tell your friend you fancy them. What if they aren’t attracted to us? What if it ruins the friendship?

This is what this week’s reader, Carol, is worried about. “There’s a man that I like and we have been friends for about five years. We are in the same running and wild swimming group and get on well. How can I move out of the ‘friend zone’?” she asked.

Though the term “friend zone” has been debated, there’s nothing wrong with exploring the potential of a relationship with a friend – as long as you’re fully prepared to accept that they may not reciprocate your feelings.

Though it can be scary to shift the dynamic, Counselling Directory member Simona Bajenaru says we should be honest and authentic.

“Speaking your feelings might be as rewarding as perhaps the hesitation to do so. Whether reciprocated or not, once the initial fear and shame subside, your sense of confidence and pride might blossom,” Bajenaru says.

How can we get out of the friend zone?

Bajenaru first invites anyone in this situation to ask yourself five questions:

  • Why now?

  • What drives your desire to move out of the “friend zone”?

  • What are your expectations, moving out of it?

  • Would you say he completes or complements you where you are at now?

  • What feelings come up when you envisage your future together?

Bajenaru emphasis that “although answering these questions logically is important, digging deeper into your feelings will help clarify whether your desire to advance this relationship is genuine or acting on a temporary need to be fulfilled (company, intimacy) or fear to be satisfied (loneliness, low self-esteem).”

In a situation like Carol’s – where you usually see the other person in an activity group – asking them if they’d like to meet up one on one for a coffee or drink is probably a good first step.

Why do people struggle to move from friendship to romantic?

“Coming out of the ‘friend zone’ is terribly scary for most of us,” Bajenaru says. “Hesitation is a natural reaction to such prospects since a non-reciprocation of your feelings blurs your treasured friendship’s way forward.

“Best case scenario, his feelings are mutual and knowing each other well enough provides a beautiful and safe space to nurture the next stage of your relationship.

“The less fortunate scenario may be a slow distancing leading to potentially losing a valued friend, a perhaps abrupt end to his reliable, consistent presence in your life. Should this be the case, please know you have not done anything wrong.”

How can we continue a friendship with someone if they don’t reciprocate feelings for us?

There is an overall risk of awkwardness between yourselves for a while after feelings are shared.

“Sometimes the response is not even immediate: your friend may choose to process his own feelings first. A beautiful placeholder to receive might be ’I am flattered, I need to process it,” Bajenaru says.

“However, they may choose to never respond nor engage, avoiding difficult conversations with you and themselves.

Bajenaru adds that “continuing the friendship would require an honest conversation about the attempt to have more than a friendship and setting some boundaries and perhaps ‘ground rules’ until some new kind of ‘normality’ is established.”

Love Stuck is for those who’ve hit a romantic wall, whether you’re single or have been coupled up for decades. With the help of trained sex and relationship therapists, HuffPost UK will help answer your dilemmas. Submit a question here.

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How Alcohol Affects Your Body When You’re On A Flight

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Ordering beer, wine or a cocktail while flying is a common move. For some, having an alcoholic beverage on the plane is a travel day essential to relax, take the edge off, celebrate a vacation or even to fall asleep on a long flight.

But is this really the best option? Alcohol can leave you groggy and dehydrated. When consumed in excess, it may lower inhibitions and lead to unruly behavior, which we saw a lot of when people reacted negatively to federal mask mandates.

We reached out to some experts in medicine and nutrition, and asked if alcoholic beverages were a good idea while flying. Here’s what we found out about how alcohol affects your body while you’re up in the air.

Is it a bad idea to order alcohol on a flight?

There’s no easy answer to this question, experts say. Ordering a beer or wine while flying is a personal decision that might work for one person and not for the person sitting next to them. “If a person is on edge due to flying in general — and doesn’t become more so with alcohol — sometimes having a beverage might relax them or make the process feel a little bit more pleasant or more ordinary,” said Wendy Bazilian, a registered dietitian nutritionist.

But while some may grab a drink as a celebratory kickoff for a long-awaited trip, others may experience side effects while drinking on a plane.

You may not sleep well.

It’s tempting to order a drink in hopes that it will help you fall asleep and get some much-needed rest on an overnight flight. But this isn’t necessarily the greatest idea, according to the experts we spoke to. “Even though you think it relaxes you, your sleep will be disrupted and you likely will not get into REM sleep, the type of sleep that is restorative,” said Amy Shapiro, a registered dietitian at Real Nutrition.

You may doze off after a glass of wine, but your sleep won't be as restful.

Jaromir Chalabala/EyeEm via Getty Images

You may doze off after a glass of wine, but your sleep won’t be as restful.

Drinking on a flight doesn’t promote restorative sleep but can help some people fall asleep, Bazilian points out. “If in moderation … if she or he believes it helps a little to ease into sleep, then that can be fine.”

You may become dehydrated.

Alcohol is a diuretic, which means your body will increase its output of urine. If you don’t drink additional water to make up for this fluid loss, you may quickly become dehydrated, Shapiro said.

You may become intoxicated without even realizing.

“There is usually very little food available on most flights — or it is not particularly appetizing — and it would be easy to drink too much on a relatively empty stomach,” said Dr. Karen Jubanyik, an associate professor of emergency medicine at Yale University School of Medicine. It would be very easy to drink the same amount you drink at home, but without adequate food intake, this amount might be too much, she said.

There’s also the fact that most people are pretty sedentary on a flight, rarely leaving their seat. When you do get up, you may find you’re feeling the effects of alcohol more than expected.

You could become disruptive.

We all know that drinking alcohol can lower inhibitions. This could cause an individual to become loud and disrespectful to the flight crew and fellow passengers. People with lowered inhibitions may have a harder time staying calm when annoyed by small inconveniences and actions of people nearby, like a fully reclined seat back. “If someone has lowered inhibitions, they may speak their mind or start a confrontation with another passenger over relatively small things, which can also land them in trouble,” Jubanyik said.

You may have trouble moving around the plane.

“Progressive intoxication can lead to slurred speech, trouble with coordination and trouble walking,” Jubanyik said. “Just walking to and using the bathroom or exiting the plane could be difficult.”

The good news? You can drink on a flight if you keep some recommendations in mind.

Sipping a cocktail while commuting home from a work trip or while en route to a vacation doesn’t carry a ton of benefits, but you can still enjoy a drink while flying if it’s a behavior that works for you.

“It can be helpful in relaxing you or easing anxiety in the beginning, and since many people are anxious flyers, this can help,” Shapiro said, while also pointing out that drinking too much can lead to increased anxiety and have a boomerang effect, so it is important to know your limit.

Sometimes you may just want to order a drink simply because you feel like having one (many of us regularly do so after work or on the weekends), and this is fine when done in moderation and with a few tips in mind.

Don’t drink on an empty stomach.

If you plan to drink alcohol on a flight, pack some snacks and make sure to eat a meal before boarding if you know there won’t be any in-flight food service.

“Eating food alongside alcohol can help maintain energy and steady blood sugar while your body processes the alcohol,” Bazilian said.

Stay hydrated.

The experts we spoke to recommend alternating each alcoholic drink with at least one or two glasses of water. “This will help you to remain hydrated and to feel the negative effects less,” Shapiro said. Electrolyte drinks can also help, and if you have the chance, fill up your water bottle in the airport before takeoff. Water and other nonalcoholic drinks aren’t always readily available throughout the flight, so sometimes it’s just easier to carry your own.

Don’t drink if you’re going to be renting a car upon arrival.

“It is particularly a bad idea to drink alcohol if you will be renting a car and will need to drive upon arriving at your destination,” Jubanyik said. “Even if not technically drunk, driving in an unfamiliar location will likely require additional attention and reaction time than one needs in their local environment.”

Pace yourself.

It’s easy to drink quickly on a flight or to grab another drink simply as a way to pass time. Along with staying hydrated and taking a breather between drinks, Bazilian recommends paying close attention to how much alcohol you’re consuming. “One of those little alcohol bottles on a plane is typically 1.5 or 1.7 ounces, not a 1-ounce pour, and the mini-bottles of wine may be more than a 3-ounce pour. Just be aware that one drink [on a flight] may be more than you count as one when you’re on the ground.”

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Exercising With Long Covid Is Tough. This Gentle 5-Minute Workout Can Ease You In

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You’re reading Move, the nudge we need to get active, however makes us happiest and healthiest.

Re-establishing your fitness routine after having Covid can have major benefits for your physical and mental health, but it needs to be approached cautiously if you’re still experiencing long Covid symptoms.

The NHS advises those experiencing long Covid to ease themselves back into exercise slowly. “Exercise is very important for regaining your muscle strength and endurance but this needs to be safe and managed alongside other long Covid symptoms,” it says. You can read further information about exercising after Covid infection on the NHS website.

Jeannie Di Bon, founder of the Moovlite app, is a movement therapist specialising in working with people experiencing chronic fatigue and chronic pain. More recently, she’s been designing workouts for those experiencing long Covid.

“You may find that your energy levels have dropped post-Covid and you may experience fatigue and post-exertion malaise (PEM),” she explains. “With this in mind, I recommend taking it gently and slowly. We need to keep the nervous system calm to allow the body to repair and we need to start moving without causing a fatigue flare-up.

“Listen to your body and try not to push yourself to pre-Covid fitness too soon. The more you fight the impact of long Covid, the harder it may be to recover.”

Below, Di Bon has shared a gentle, five-minute workout created for those who feel ready to start moving again.

But remember, always speak to a healthcare professional about resuming physical activity if you’re experiencing chest pain or severe breathlessness, or if physical activity is worsening your long Covid symptoms.

Exercise 1: Belly breathing

Jeannie Di Bon

Start with some gentle belly breathing, allowing the lower ribs to expand. For many people, Covid causes a cough and cold so we want to start moving the lung tissue in the right way. Try to breathe quietly in through the nose and out through the nose. Lying on your back does not require strong inhales so take it very gently, allowing the breath to come to you.

Exercise 2: Arm rolls

Jeannie Di Bon

Staying supine (lying on your back) is a good way to start moving – especially as some people experience dizziness with long Covid. You may find you don’t want to be standing for too long or doing exercises that involve inversions or squats. Keep it simple. This arm roll exercise can help stretch into the thorax and open the chest.

Start with your arms by your side. Try to keep the back heavy as you move the arms above your head and gently stretch. Let your breath settle the spine into the floor and allow the tissues to relax. You can add arm circles to this for a beautiful stretch across the chest.

Exercise 3: Ankle roll

Jeannie Di Bon

To help with the dizziness that can happen, some simple leg exercises like calf pumps or ankle circles are recommended. You can do these lying on your back: hold on to one leg and try to circle to the ankle without the rest of the leg moving. Gently lower it back to the ground and repeat on the other leg.

Exercise 4: Resistance training

Jeannie Di Bon

To build leg strength further, you can add a band for resistance work that is also gentle. This is another great exercise for circulation and helps prevent dizziness. Take a band and place it around your foot with the knee bent. Focus on gentle rolling the back of the thigh along the mat until the leg straightens.

Try not to lock the knee or hang into the band. Keep the energy flowing down the leg into the band. The back stays heavy into the mat – if your back is arching, raise the leg higher. Once the leg is straight, press the balls of the feet into the band and start to point and flex the foot. This is a brilliant way to utilise the calf pump.

Exercise 5: Seated twist

Jeannie Di Bon

Jeannie Di Bon

Jeannie Di Bon

A seated twist is great to help circulation and digestion. Many people do experience stomach cramps and pain with Covid. Find a comfortable seated position and cross one leg over the other straight leg. Use your arms to guide yourself around to look over the opposite shoulder. Try to lift the spine up as you twist, rather than compress the spine. It’s also important to go gentle and not force into the twist. Stay in the position and breathe softly allowing tight muscles to release. You can then repeat on the other side.

Move celebrates exercise in all its forms, with accessible features encouraging you to add movement into your day – because it’s not just good for the body, but the mind, too. We get it: workouts can be a bit of a slog, but there are ways you can move more without dreading it. Whether you love hikes, bike rides, YouTube workouts or hula hoop routines, exercise should be something to enjoy.

HuffPost UK / Rebecca Zisser

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People Are Muting Their Favourite Influencers. They Tell Us Why

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Instagram and influencers – it’s difficult to imagine one without the other. I’ve happily followed fashion influencers on Instagram since I first downloaded the app in 2014. And there’s no doubt the limited representation of Black women in mainstream media made me feel connected to Black influencers specifically.

These were the people I ran to for makeup recommendations, to ogle their clothing choices and tap up their lifestyle content, from food to travel. I’ve kept up with everything my favourite influencers are wearing and buying for years.

That is, until the pandemic.

It was during lockdown when I started feeling less inclined to scroll influencer content. This was partly because my own life, like many others at the time, wasn’t where I wanted it to be. I was job-hunting, while freelancing through a pandemic. It was difficult and I wanted social media to be a form of escapism.

But the content I’d once found aspirational began to feel out of touch. Seeing people the same age as me buying things I couldn’t afford didn’t want to make me want to work harder – it made me feel like I was doing something wrong.

I knew the influencers weren’t really the problem, but I had to control how they were leaving me feeling. As someone who spends a lot of time on social media, it was up to me to decide which content I wanted to consume.

So I started to unfollow or mute some of their accounts.

Like me, Toju, a 21-year old student from Glasgow, also noticed a shift during the Covid lockdowns in how she felt about the influencers she followed.

These were the weeks and months when it was easy to think other people had more space, more time, were being more productive or having more fun than you, despite the challenges we were all facing. Remember when it seemed like every past Love Island contestant ever was in Dubai over Christmas 2021?

“During that time, a lot of influencers were travelling or just living very different lives to me,” she says. “I’ve also recently felt a shift again this year as more influencers have moved towards luxury or designer items in their content.”

More influencers that ever seem to be publishing elevated content, from showcasing their designer clothes and bags to eating out at expensive restaurants and generally living a life of luxury.

Of course, this content can be seen variously as aspirational or a form of escapism. It can also make you feel wholly inadequate in the here and now.

The cost of living crisis is playing out in real time. It’s hardly surprising Toju and many other social media users no longer feel inspired by influencer accounts.

“I can’t even be ‘influenced’ because these items are simply entirely out of my reach and budget, so I gain nothing but feelings of inadequacy from them,” she says.

“I’m seeing more things that would like to have but can’t afford on a daily basis, something I probably wouldn’t see if I wasn’t on social media.”

But the answer isn’t necessarily coming off social media entirely. It could just be changing who you do follow or which platforms you use and for what.

Data analyst, Hena J. Bryan, 25, a content creator herself, says that she’s put many of the influencers she used to follow on mute for over a year now.

“They just don’t align with a lot of the things I find important,” she says. “I think relatability, for me anyways, goes beyond finances, especially as I can afford the things they’re advertising. I want to discover more influencers who offer more than pretty pictures, and I’ve found a few who speak to my interests.”

Bryan creates content about the books she is reading and enjoys engaging with others doing the same. She adds: “I think people should curate their feed. You literally have to be militant and protect your digital footprint/experience.”

If you want to follow influencers, seek out those who genuinely speak to your interests.

SDI Productions via Getty Images

If you want to follow influencers, seek out those who genuinely speak to your interests.

It’s also worth being aware that how you engage with social media shifts over time. Akachi Priscilla Mbakwe, 32, a marketer from south London has lived online since her early teens. “I’ve been following influencers since I was on Tumblr,” she tells HuffPost UK. “People like Justine Skye who at the time were influencers, but the term wasn’t invented yet.”

When she was younger, Mbakwe says she followed people “for aspirational reasons”, and for their fashion and make-up content.

“I started to feel different in the pandemic especially during the resurgence of Black Lives Matter. I saw influencers uploading pictures of themselves whist the caption was about George Floyd – they just looked silly to me.”

There’s self-preservation at play here, too. “I started to unfollow influencers because I realised subconsciously that I was constantly comparing myself to them,” says Mbakwe. “Now I have such a better relationship with myself and how I look and I don’t want to compromise.

“I still look at them from time to time but not like I used to. Also, now I feel that most influencers make the same content. They’re all following the same formula. If you follow one it feels like you follow all of them.”

So, where does ultimate responsibility lie: with the followed or their followers?

Though the life of an influencer looks perfect, influencers themselves will tell you that sometimes it’s far from that. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes and many posters rely on rented or gifted products to project the image they do, some earning little more than the followers who aspire to their lifestyle.

“I don’t feel like influencers should change their content to suit us,” weighs in Mbakwe. “I think we (the consumers) should curate and have better boundaries with our feed if the content you’re viewing is making you feel bad.”

Bryan echoes this: “I believe we should all have social responsibility, but we shouldn’t have to force influencers to do/say things they don’t want to. You’re responsible for what you consume and I think TikTok has created a wave of new influencers who don’t lend themselves to perfectionism and are more relatable.”

With living costs only set to increase, it might be time for be more conscious about the content we choose to see. Arguably Influencers aren’t the ones to blame, just a byproduct of a capitalist society that rewards people for flaunting their wealth.

You have the power to choose who and what you engage with, so be honest about how your Instagram feed leaves you feeling – and make the changes you need.

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When Is Wayfair’s Way Day Sale And What Are The Best Deals?

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​​We hope you love the products we recommend! All of them were independently selected by our editors. Just so you know, HuffPost UK may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page if you decide to shop from them. Oh, and FYI — prices are accurate and items in stock as of time of publication.

So, you pride yourself on being a savvy shopper when it comes to deals and discounts. You’re a Prime Day pro, you can bosh Black Friday, and you’re all over the hidden savings to be found in Ebay’s refurbished section.

But you’re missing a trick if you’re not also mining Way Day – Wayfair’s annual 48-hour sale, a great time to nab some big savings on even bigger ticket items for your home and garden.

When Is Way Day 2022?

Wayfair’s biggest sale of the year is actually a two-day affair, running from 12am the morning of Wednesday April 27 through to midnight on Thursday April 28.

That adds up to 48 hours of discounts on a huge range of items across Wayfair.co.uk, with free delivery on orders over £40 to most UK addresses.

What are the best Way Day deals?

Way Day is a great time to pick up those tick list items you’ve been wanting for your home and garden, whether that’s kitting out your bedroom, sitting room, home office, nursery or outdoor space. And there’s also a wealth of soft furnishings and accessories to be snapped up on site.

Among this year’s deals, the home retailer is selling beds for at little as £99.99, garden furniture sets under £200, and sofas for a bargainous £249.99. The discounts have even started early with 70% already off some items.

Categories on sale will include:

We’ll be rounding up the best savings to be made on home and outdoor ware in this year’s sale right here on HuffPost Shopping as Way Day progresses.

Stay tuned as we update our shopping guides on this page and you can also sign up for alerts on a range of homeware categories on the Wayfair site.

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The Most Important Phrases You Should Teach Your Kid From A Young Age

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As parents, we want to raise good kids — ones who are curious, confident, empathetic, resilient and respectful.

What we say to (or in front of) our children, the way we say it and the behavior we model help shape the people they’ll become.

We asked experts to share some of the most important phrases we can teach our kids from a young age. Many of them are simple yet make a “surprisingly big impact on children’s abilities to thrive,” said educational psychologist Michele Borba, author of “Thrivers: The Surprising Reasons Why Some Kids Struggle and Others Shine.”

1. “There’s no such thing as a stupid question.”

Little kids love asking questions — sometimes nonstop from the moment they open their eyes in the morning to the time their head hits the pillow at night. All that curiosity is great, but it can also be exhausting for parents and caregivers.

“Sometimes we inadvertently deflect our children’s curiosity because it can be overwhelming,” psychotherapist Mercedes Samudio, author of “Shame-Proof Parenting,” told HuffPost. “But teaching our children that there is nothing wrong with being curious and even teaching them how to seek out answers from others can be a helpful trait to cultivate in children from a young age.”

Encouraging their inquisitiveness and helping them feel confident enough to speak up when they’re unsure about something will serve them well for years to come.

2. “I got this!”

We want our kids to adopt a “growth mindset,” a term coined by Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, which describes the belief that talent can be developed with hard work, determination and help from others. Those with a fixed mindset, however, believe their intelligence and skills are innate and therefore unlikely to be improved upon.

“When kids (or adults) are in a fixed mindset, difficulty makes them feel inadequate — their fixed ability feels deficient — and their confidence becomes shaky,” Dweck told Stanford News. “But when they are in a growth mindset, difficulty is a natural part of learning, so they are more likely to take it in stride and find new strategies that work better.”

Phrases like “I got this!” can help kids feel more confident as they attempt new and difficult things.

Maskot via Getty Images

Phrases like “I got this!” can help kids feel more confident as they attempt new and difficult things.

Borba recommends encouraging your child to use phrases like “I got this” or “I can do this” to bolster their belief in themselves when challenges arise.

“Our children must develop growth mindsets — a sense of personal efficacy or agency — especially in today’s uncertain world,” she said. “Resilient children are tenacious — they don’t stop! And they don’t wait to be rescued.”

3. “Hi, my name is X. What’s yours?”

Between schools being closed and many activities and events being canceled, the coronavirus pandemic limited kids’ opportunities to socialize with their peers. Now that things are opening up again, we can encourage kids to get back out there and introduce themselves to new people and, hey, maybe even make a new friend.

“Two years of physical distancing has caused a lot of children to be socially anxious,” she said. “They haven’t exercised their social skills — and they’re easy to learn if we model them.”

4. “It’s OK to make mistakes. Just be honest about it.”

Making mistakes is an inevitable part of life. When we teach our kids this, we send a message that messing up is only human. It’s how we handle those blunders that matters.

“Honesty is a trait many parents want to cultivate in their children, and the best way to do that is to make sure that it’s OK to make mistakes in your family,” Samudio said. “From a young age, we can teach children that the best way to develop honesty is to be supported through mistakes — which moves children away from lying to get out of trouble, because mistakes don’t bring punitive responses.”

5. “Thank you.”

Gratitude is a learned behavior. As parents, it’s our duty to help instill in our children the importance of being thankful for what we have — and expressing it. Research has shown that practicing gratitude is strongly and consistently linked with greater happiness, as well as better health and relationships.

Saying thank you often increases gratitude — “a known and simple happiness booster,” Borba said.

You might model this to your child by expressing to them how grateful you are for their thoughtful or helpful acts, said Amy McCready, founder of Positive Parenting Solutions.

“Be specific about how they made a difference for you: ‘Thank you for playing with the dog while I had my conference call. I really appreciate how you kept him occupied so I could concentrate on the meeting.’” she previously told HuffPost. “Being the recipient of gratitude will encourage your kids to want to pass it on.”

Let them also see you share your appreciation for others in your day-to-day life.

“From the cashier at the grocery store, to the dry cleaner to their teachers,” said McCready. “Your kids are watching and listening.”

6. “It’ll be OK.”

Helping our kids learn to stay optimistic through difficult times can put them in a better position to weather life’s challenges.

Language like “It’ll be OK,” “I’ll get through it” and “Things will get better” can be powerful in achieving this.

“Let’s teach kids simple statements to keep hope alive and pessimism down,” Borba said.

According to Aha! Parenting, “Research shows that optimists, who believe they can achieve success, are in fact more able to do so. They are less likely to get depressed, get fewer illnesses, have longer relationships, and live longer.”

Teach your child that they have the power to perceive setbacks any way they choose. When they’re catastrophizing, remind them that many problems are temporary and often within their power to fix — or at least improve.

This is part of a HuffPost Parents series called Enjoy the Ride. Read more here.

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