Wellbeing

How to get horny for yourself again
In pre-pandemic times, I had a ritual of checking myself out in the mirror before heading out the door. Damn, I’d think. I look good. Other than the occasional bad self-esteem day, I can honestly say that I was feeling myself. Fast-forward to 2021 —…
By Melissa Pandika
Whatever happened to the vaping crisis?
By Melissa Pandika
It can be hard to recall the news cycle Before Corona, but as summer gave way to fall in 2019, another public health problem dominated the headlines: the vaping crisis. At the time, the country was seeing a steep rise in hospitalizations for…
The CDC just announced the mask era is coming to an end (sort of)
By Rafi Schwartz
As vaccination rates continue to climb around the country, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued new guidance, bringing the prospect of a return to a fully mask-less existence one step closer to reality. "If you are fully…
Neopronouns are the next step in the gender revolution
By Tracey Anne Duncan
“Hi, my name is Tangerine, I live on Abenaki land, and I use gho/ghost pronouns,” someone said recently at queer online meet-up. Wait, what? Look, people using colors as names and acknowledging the native people of the land they live is totally…
The struggle is real, but so is queer Black joy
By Joseph Lamour
It’s still oddly challenging, as a person of color, to find stories about us that focus on joy versus struggle. Of course, literature about the quest for emotional and financial freedom, rights, and our continued stride toward justice are crucial…
A new study raises the possibility of COVID-19 being a literal boner killer
By Melissa Pandika
Last year, I wrote about the panny being a boner killer, as in, it's done a huge number on many people's sex lives. But new research raises the possibility that COVID-19 could quite literally kill your boner. Based on a small University of Miami…
The pandemic changed how we date. These apps get that
By Tracey Anne Duncan
Summer ‘21 is approaching swiftly and with it comes the promise of long days in the sun, free from the shadow of Cheeto’s antics; actual vacations; and — fingers crossed — some hot vaccinated fun. Some of us may need a little help meeting new…
These are the wildest vaccine conspiracy theories, debunked
By Melissa Pandika
Earlier this month, we awoke to a sobering New York Times headline about how the U.S. probably won’t reach herd immunity, that long-awaited milestone when enough of us would be immune to the virus that we could return to normal, or something like…
I just got vaxxed. When can I get a tattoo?
By Melissa Pandika
Like many people, I’ve kept a mental list of all the things I want to do once I’ve been fully vaxxed. Near the top of said list — alongside the haircut to help me ditch the wooly mammoth look I’ve been sporting since last March — is getting a…
Why do people react to the same temperature differently?
By Tracey Anne Duncan
I am always cold. Like if it's below 70 degrees, I'm wearing a hoodie and gloves. My ex, on the other hand, would walk around Vancouver in winter without a proper jacket if I didn’t pester her. This seemed like a cute, innocuous difference between…
Why doctors are still struggling to treat young trans people
By Stef M. Shuster
Last month, the Arkansas Senate passed legislation prohibiting medical providers from offering gender-affirming hormones or surgeries to trans youth. If you were to read the bill — titled the Save Adolescents From Experimentation Act — you might…
How to get horny for yourself again
By Melissa Pandika
In pre-pandemic times, I had a ritual of checking myself out in the mirror before heading out the door. Damn, I’d think. I look good. Other than the occasional bad self-esteem day, I can honestly say that I was feeling myself. Fast-forward to 2021 —…
Sorry, but natural weight loss supplements are mostly BS
By Tracey Anne Duncan
Bikini season is creeping into my newsfeed. And while I am of the opinion that every body is a bikini body, 'tis the season for weight loss schemes and six-pack dreams. The holistic weight loss supplement industry is a behemoth that rakes in literal…
Scientists are getting better at catching COVID-19 variants before they wreak havoc
By Darwin Bandoy and Bart C. Weimer
Genomic surveillance programs have let scientists track the coronavirus over the course of the pandemic. By testing patient samples, researchers are able to diagnose COVID-19. But they’re also able to use genetic changes in the virus to recreate its…
A “life audit” helped me pay off nearly 70k in loans
By Marianne Eloise
For most of us, debt is a necessary evil. Paying it off can be one of the most freeing, empowering accomplishments in the world, worthy of celebration. Mic's new series Paid in Full tells the stories of these triumphs, and just might help you figure…
Sometimes saying "no" is the best career move you can make
By Melissa Pandika
Early in my freelance writing career, I busted my ass trying to land bylines anywhere I could. Heightening my visibility would attract more assignments, I reasoned — all the better if my work appeared in well-known publications, even if they didn’t…
The best skincare routine is sobriety
By Tawny Lara
I’m a former party girl who frequently passed out in a full face of makeup, waking up with mascara flaked onto my puffy under-eye circles and flaky cheeks. This lifestyle — and the alcohol — took a toll on my skin. Serums, toners, and sheet masks…
This new coronavirus-repelling mask has a shady chemical in it. Is it worth it?
By C. Michael White
As a COVID-19 and medical device researcher, I understand the importance of face masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. So I am intrigued that some mask manufacturers have begun adding graphene coatings to their face masks to inactivate the…
"Tweeting for oxygen and dying": Young people in India are turning to social media to save lives
By Urmi Bhattacheryya
Most nights during the past couple of weeks, I’ve woken up twice. Once, to listen for discomfort from the neighboring room where my COVID-positive septuagenarian parents are asleep. The second time, to physically walk over with the black-and-white,…
Didn’t get enough sleep? Here's how to survive the day, according to doctors
By Tracey Anne Duncan
Everyone has had problems sleeping this year. It makes sense, what with the global pandemic, the election, and our collectively growing awareness of police brutality and all. There’s tons of advice out there about how to get to sleep, but what do…
Experts are worried COVID-19 "escape mutants" could undo all our vaccine progress
By Melissa Pandika
Many of us are all too eager for Hot Vax Summer, that supposed sunny, balmy paradise when the fully vaccinated among us can finally bask in some semblance of normal. But as Insider points out, much still hangs in the balance. Less than 10% of the…