Believe it or not, we're already careening towards end of summer. And if you've noticed that you're feeling a little more anxious than usual this season, you're not alone. The summer season can be a harbinger of fun, and that's exactly why it can make some of us a little more distressed.

Lindsay Henderson, PsyD, a psychologist who treats patients via telehealth app, LiveHealth Online, says that the expectations we all have about summer can actually contribute to feelings of anxiety and depression.

"The pressure to participate in everything is a real factor in our moods," she says. "This idea of FOMO and seeing the fun other people are having on social media, that just makes all of that worse. You think, I should have had so much fun by now, because there’s only so much left of summer."

But beyond that social factor, the heat of summer definitely impacts your mental health, too. Just like the cold winter weather can make people feel more withdrawn, summer weather can also disrupt your mood and make you crankier.

"In the winter you might go hibernate and your energy is dampened and the volume gets turned down on everything," Dr. Henderson says. "The heat can really ramp up the volume so it can be unsettling and agitating to people, it makes people really cranky."

More than that, if you're someone who frequently experiences anxiety and panic attacks, you might find that the summer heat has the same effect as some symptoms of panic.

"Symptoms like sweating, feeling faint or shaky, feeling nauseous, having heart palpitations — all these things can happen both due to heat and panic or anxiety," Dr. Henderson says. "For someone who might have a history of struggling with panic and anxiety, if you’re all of a sudden sweating because it’s 95 degrees outside, those physical symptoms can trigger really intense anxiety memories and heighten your anxiety and panic in the moment."

The heat can really ramp up the volume so it can be unsettling and agitating to people, it makes people really cranky.

Plus, the extended amount of sunlight can mess with your sleep cycle and overall schedule. Dr. Henderson says that if you're sensitive to light, the sun being up for earlier and longer can make you wake up earlier, throwing off your rhythm.

There are plenty of reasons you might be feeling more anxious than usual this season — and if you're trying to get rid of some summer anxiety, she suggests trying to pinpoint what it is that's putting you on edge (and talking it out with a friend or therapist if you need to).

"Maybe it’s a little bit of everything but pinpointing what it is that disrupts your mood is an important part of making changes," Dr. Henderson says, adding that if the heat is what's getting you down, you might need to just stay inside one day with the shades drawn, Netflix on, and the air conditioner blasting.

"We often feel guilty about being inside when it’s nice out, but sometimes that’s what our bodies and minds need," she says.

If you are experiencing anxiety and are in need of crisis support, please contact Samaritans on 116 123. All calls are free and will be answered in confidence.

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

From Doing Coke In Yoga Class To Helping People Like You Learn To Meditate

How To Talk About Your Depression To People Who Don’t Get It

Bebe Rexha Tweets: “I’m Bipolar & I’m Not Ashamed Anymore”

Sometimes it feels like astrology only exists to bring you bad, anxiety-inducing news. We swear, the cosmos can be nice sometimes — just not right now or next week, for that matter, and it's mostly due to Mars. If there's one retrograde that's defined this summer of retrogrades, it's the backspin that the red planet of anger, action, and altercation, entered back on June 26.

Since then, you may have found it especially difficult to make much progress on your plans. You might even be struggling to express your anger without totally blowing up at an innocent party. Such is the way of Mars retrograde: It shows up to remind us that forging ahead, regardless of what's in our way, isn't always the best move. Ideally, we emerge from these periods knowing a little more about our tempers, impulses — and, most importantly, how to rein them in. The end of this period may be in sight (Mars goes direct on August 27), but we're not finished yet. In fact, the hardest part may only lie ahead.

On Monday, August 13, Mars will move from Aquarius into Capricorn while still retrograde. Where you felt challenged in how you relate and work with others under the retrograde in Aquarius, you'll feel Mars' effects more intensely in your life at work when it switches over to the sign of the Goat. Astrologer Sharita Star writes that this movement may also throw your ambitions and responsibilities into sharper relief, with little regard to whether all this celestial attention stresses you out.

In other words, if you thought you were tense in the last month, that may have been merely a warmup for next week. Capricorn emphasises the importance of making progress and Mars retrograde is all about stalling progress — it's no wonder this would make for an unhappy union. If you find yourself getting frustrated, just remember what astrologer Kimberly Peta Dewhirst told us in June: "Don't push ahead, don't force or forge forwards." Instead, lean into those end-of-summer vibes and try to go with the flow.

The upside here is that Mars will still be in Capricorn when it goes direct on the 27th. And if you've been trying to make major moves, especially in your career or community at large, this will be a very advantageous placement. This planet-sign duo is pretty darn unstoppable, if not a little crafty, when it comes to getting what it wants. See, like we said — sometimes astrology news is good news.

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

This Is The Reason Why People Celebrate Easter

How Did Good Friday Get Its Name?

What The First Black Hole Photo Means For Astrology

Ahead of his upcoming film, The Old Man & The Gun, Casey Affleck spoke with the Associated Press about his work on the film, and also addressed the #MeToo movement that’s gripped Hollywood and beyond following last fall’s allegations of sexual misconduct against producer Harvey Weinstein and other prominent men.

Specifically, the Manchester By the Sea actor was asked about his decision to not present the Best Actress award at the 2018 Oscars (it’s traditional for the previous year’s Best Actor winner to hand out the honour), and told the AP that it was “the right thing to do just given everything that was going on in our culture at the moment.”

It’s also thought that Affleck’s decision to abstain from presenting was due to two 2010 sexual harassment lawsuits filed by two women on the set of I’m Still Here, which Affleck produced. Affleck has denied the allegations in the lawsuits, and both were settled out of court for an undisclosed amount of money, according to Time.

Affleck told the outlet he “had never had any complaints like that made about me before in my life and it was really embarrassing and I didn’t know how to handle it and I didn’t agree with everything, the way I was being described, and the things that were said about me, but I wanted to try to make it right, so we made it right in the way that was asked at the time.” Out of respect to the women’s privacy, he says he now wants to close the door on that chapter.

As for the #MeToo movement, the actor said he “learned a lot” from the public conversation, and it changed his perspective on the allegations.

“I kind of moved from a place of being defensive to one of a more mature point of view, trying to find my own culpability,” he explained. “And once I did that I discovered there was a lot to learn. I was a boss. I was one of the producers on the set...The cast was the crew and the crew was kind of the cast and it was an unprofessional environment and, you know, the buck had to stop with me being one of the producers and I have to accept responsibility for that and that was a mistake. And I contributed to that unprofessional environment and I tolerated that kind of behaviour from other people and I wish that I hadn’t.”

Affleck admitted his behaviour allowed for an unprofessional environment for which he apologised, and now he’s ready to make changes moving forward — ones that will hopefully help the entire industry.

“In this business women have been underrepresented and underpaid and objectified and diminished and humiliated and belittled in a bazillion ways and just generally had a mountain of grief thrown at them forever,” he said. “And no one was really making too much of a fuss about it, myself included, until a few women with the kind of courage and wisdom to stand up and say, ‘You know what? Enough is enough.’”

While he cedes the majority of the conversation to the women who are already leading it with organisations like Time’s Up, Affleck stresses he’s here to help.

“I know just enough to know that in general I need to keep my mouth shut and listen and try to figure out what’s going on,” he added. “And be a supporter and a follower in the little, teeny tiny ways that I can.”

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

Disney Is Launching A New Streaming Service & Here's The Lowdown

Felicity Huffman & 13 More Plead Guilty In College Cheating Scandal — Read Her Emotional Statement

The Murder Of Jill Dando: Will The High-Profile Killing Ever Be Solved?

Welcome to Style Obituary, in which we look back affectionately on beloved brands of the '90s and '00s and wonder: 'What the hell were we thinking?'

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a Punkyfish gal never dies. Strong of spirit, true of mind, you were the gal every other gal wanted to be. Yes, we may have ostracised you because you said that Ashleigh couldn’t dance (even though she couldn’t) after that Year 9 show where we all did an inappropriately sexual jazz routine to "Walk on Water" by Milk Inc.; yes, we may have bitched behind your back that time you dyed your hair black-in-some-light-blue-in-others because it was totally at odds with your impressively matte complexion. But in truth, Leonie, you harnessed a style, a power, an attitude, a sense of self for which the rest of us hungered desperately late at night in our bedrooms as we raged with the stench of existential oblivion and So…? Kiss Me. While everyone thought we loved Lancôme Juicy Tubes, secretly we pined to see Blink 182 in Manchester, like you had, and wished we had the guts to pierce our ears with an unsterilised safety pin and an apple, like you did.

It was the best of times, it was the savagest of times. While we were busy getting nicotine rushes off a Berkeley Superkings Menthol behind the drama block and assuming a deep and meaningful connection with eight other people based solely on being mean about the bushiness of our classmates' eyebrows (while we overplucked our own), you did not care for high school fripperies. You did well in maths, you did well in English, you did well in geography, for God’s sake. You had the aplomb to come to the Year 9 disco in a top which had a diagonal zip across the boobs and a fishnet mesh sleeve, paired with a mini-fucking-backpack and a dinky necklace from which dangled, unfathomably, an enamel fish with a septum piercing.

In the beginning, God created heaven and Punkyfish. And you were a punky fish: misunderstood with a deep understanding of what was actually cool. You, like aforementioned fish, had freaky piercings before Maria Tash made freaky piercings the ultimate signifier of the rich white woman. You wore black to prom. You took those garments — those garments teeming with a cacophony of complex political and subcultural references — and made them look like a second skin. You encompassed punk, rave, nu-rave, the '90s E-years, BDSM, grunge, goth and myriad references we (me) wouldn’t discover until we moved to London and got bummed in a Vauxhall alleyway by a leather daddy who would turn out to be our gateway drug into coffee table books full of all these subcultures which you, dear punky fish, had embraced at the age of 12.

It was a bright, cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen (are these literary references working still? I googled 'best book openings ever' but it isn’t really adding much at this point). But where did you get these garments? Had you been cool enough to go to Camden? Had you been savvy enough to order over the phone? Did you have a debit card already? Or did you use your mum’s?

The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there. And in truth, if I could go back, I would do things differently, too. Instead of stalking your MySpace yet never telling you how incredible you looked in those black elephant jeans with white stitching, I would have uplifted you as a cultural soothsayer who was keyed into the future, the past and the fourth dimension. It’s no surprise that you’re now the coolest person I follow on Instagram. It’s no surprise that you’re making waves in the fields of coding, tech, science, medicine, fashion, art, journalism, tattooing. It’s no surprise that you run a pole dancing class for female-identifying goths. You, Leonie, were always an inspiration. We were all thinking it, we were just too stifled by our own lack of individuality ever to say it.

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

Take A Hike: The Sandal Trend That Will Be Everywhere This Summer

From Hiking Sandals To Oversized Sunnies, These Are Spring's Best Accessories

Sculptural Heels Are The Work-Of-Art Shoe Trend You Need For Spring

Narcissism is a word we’ve been seeing a lot of recently.

It’s been coming up in politics, with people pointing fingers at Donald Trump (this from-afar diagnosis was going on way before his presidency, btw), in social media ("omg that girl’s posted so many selfies she’s such a narcissist") and of course, in dating – how many times have I chucked the term "classic narcissist" out there to make a friend feel better about a bad date? Answer: a lot.

But are we actually using the term in the correct way? Or has it, like "gaslighting", "anxiety " and many other very-serious-indeed terms, become such a ubiquitous part of popular parlance that we're at risk of forgetting the gravity of its meaning altogether?

Writer Marianne Vicelich’s new book should go some way to helping us gain a proper understanding of the term. Destruction: Free Yourself From The Narcissist is an easy-to-read, self-help text, all about identifying and dealing with narcissists in your life. Hell, there’s even a quiz in there to figure out if you’re a narcissist. I’m not (much) by the way, but thanks for asking.

"The thing that people tend to get wrong about narcissism is that they think that anyone who has confidence or is self-assured is a narcissist. But it’s actually the opposite," Marianne tells me. A narcissist, she says, is actually someone lacking in self-esteem.

"The key point about narcissism is that this person has no sense of self, and so they look to the external world for validation, every day of their life," Marianne says. "They are always very charming, we find them attractive, and they drive the fancy cars because they’re looking for that validation to prop themselves up." But, she warns, though they may be alluring, they lack empathy and compassion, and that’s what causes the issues.

Many of us may suspect that we are already dealing with people with narcissistic traits in our everyday lives, and it can be tough going spending time around someone who, for lack of a better description, regularly acts like a 4-year-old.

Here, Marianne gives her advice on how to identify and tackle a narcissist, no matter what area of your life they're in.

If it’s your boss

"You can detect a narcissistic boss by the way they treat you," Marianne says. "If they undermine you, if it's all about them, if they don't show leadership, if they put you down, are constantly criticising you…"

Once you’ve identified a narcissistic boss though, she says it can be hard to know how to move forward; having it out with your boss in the middle of the office isn’t really a great situation for anyone.

"It's really just having healthy boundaries," Marianne says, and advises trying to understand what they’re about and back off when necessary. "It's almost like you need to feed their ego, it's the only way you can identify with a boss like that. Challenging them is the worst thing to do because that highlights their fragile ego."

"When you’re dealing with someone [like this], they will do anything to undermine you, to make you feel unworthy."

If, like me, the idea of indulging a narcissist who has the unfortunate luxury of being in charge of you makes you want to turn to drink and hide under a very big rock, then it’s probably time to start looking for a new job.

If it’s someone you’re dating

First things first: "If there is emotional abuse involved then walk away, it never gets easier," Marianne says. "If he lacks empathy and compassion, that will never change, so walk away."

Dating a narcissist doesn't seem advisable to me but if you are, Marianne says that setting boundaries and remaining in control of the situation is key. "But if you argue with them and they tend to retaliate, then it's a very toxic relationship." Again, you need to walk away.

Unfortunately, many of us are easily attracted to narcissists. "If you have a need for validation, you're going to attract someone who needs control so it's really about your own self-esteem," she says. "Once you raise your confidence and are in control [of your own sense of self], you're going to repel someone like that; they won’t even come into your life because they can’t see your weaknesses, your vulnerabilities, and that's what they like."

"They like someone they can manipulate," she says firmly.

Long story short? For your own good, if you’re dating a narcissist, GTFO.

If it’s your friend

"Jealousy is always a good indicator," Marianne says about identifying a narcissistic friend. "If you're in a friendship and she's jealous of you, that's always a very good sign. Because [narcissists] are always comparing themselves, they are always looking for validation. In a healthy friendship, she would be able to say, 'Wow, you're doing so well, that's so great'. Narcissists are not capable of doing that." They may try to put you down, she continues, or undermine you, copy you or have no compassion. "They might pick up the phone and all they want to do is talk about them," Marianne says. "Like, the whole conversation revolves around them."

Talking to them about this behaviour probably won’t prove hugely successful either, she says. "Because their whole world revolves around them, if you do that they will see it as 'Oh that person is being mean to me,' and so they'll retaliate."

So again, Marianne says, you have to ask yourself, "What are you getting back out of the friendship?"

If it’s a family member

Dealing with narcissistic family members is incredibly tough, Marianne says. The best approach is to, “form very strong boundaries and don’t allow them into your inner core. When you see them, meet them at a superficial level to eliminate personal attack or hurt." Successfully emotionally detaching yourself, she says, is most effective way to lessen the affect they can have on you.

Family members, for many complicated reasons, aren’t always people you can easily disentangle yourself from; just cutting them out isn't always an option."They can always do things that hurt you but if you're taking yourself out of that emotional fray then you're not going to get affected. You have to prepare yourself and be mindful of keeping those strong boundaries at all times."

Destruction: Free Yourself From The Narcissist by Marianne Vicelich is out now.

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

If Sex Isn't Good At First, Is Your Relationship Doomed? (Spoiler: No.)

I Asked My Ex 29 Questions About Our Relationship

What To Expect From Postpartum Sex

The style set descends on Denmark once again for Copenhagen Fashion Week, where we'll be seeing a host of collections for SS19 from our favourite Scandinavian designers.

The most-anticipated shows? Ganni, of course, the brand that's dominated our Instagram feeds for the past few years with floral wrap dresses, cosy rainbow knits and puff-sleeved blouses. By Malene Birger will be presenting its signature grown-up staples – think work-appropriate co-ords, structured blazers and poplin shirts. Cecilie Bahnsen's froufrou dresses and smocks will sate our hunger for hyper femininity, while Saks Potts will have us wrapped up in colour-pop fuzzy coats.

It's not all about the show schedule, though. A flock of influencers and editors – Jeanette Madsen, Emili Sindlev and Stephanie Broek, to name a few – will be gracing the front row, bringing us styling tips in abundance thanks to their enviable sartorial flair.

Click through to see the best looks spotted at Copenhagen Fashion Week.

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

Naomi Campbell Says Some Countries Won’t Run Her Ads Because She’s Black

When Did Going To Court Become A Fashion Show?

Michelle Obama Wore A Local Danish Designer In Copenhagen, As Great First Ladies Do

Evidence of antisemitic views within the Labour Party have barely left the headlines in recent weeks, with leader Jeremy Corbyn being forced to apologise numerous times for what he calls the "pockets of antisemitism" within his party. Just this week, leaked papers revealed the shocking extent of the problem and the lengths the party needs to go to overcome it, while Jewish groups have dismissed Corbyn's stance on the issue as weak and insincere.

But such bigoted attitudes aren't just a blight on the political left or in politics as a whole. While the battle against antisemitic attitudes is ongoing, reports of antisemitic abuse in the UK have increased drastically in recent years. The Community Security Trust (CST), a charity that works with Jewish community organisations and police forces, recorded 1,382 such incidents last year – the highest total ever – which included 145 incidents classed as "assaults," up from 108 in 2016. Verbal abuse in the street is common place, the charity says, while almost one in five incidents in 2017 involved social media.

“Hatred is rising and Jewish people are suffering as a result," said the charity's chief executive, David Delew. "This should concern everybody because it shows anger and division that threaten all of society. We have the support of government and police, but prosecutions need to be more visible and more frequent; while too many others act in ways that encourage antisemites and isolate Jews.”

With the Brexit referendum contributing to a rise in hate crime in the UK, any examples of discrimination or abuse based on factors like religion, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, disability status or anything else, should concern progressives countrywide.

Refinery29 UK asked five women to tell us what it's really like being Jewish in the UK today, here's what they told us...

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

How Instagram's Rules About Sex Are Penalising Women Online

Lapsed Vegans: The Women Who Gave Up & Went Back To Eating Meat

I'm The 64-Year-Old Granny Who Was Arrested At The Climate Change Protests

While wandering the streets of Denmark's capital between shows at Copenhagen Fashion Week, we were surrounded by stylists, influencers, models and editors, all providing ample sartorial inspiration. Some key takeouts: Pea green will be your new ultra flattering colour of choice, and bias-cut silk is still a reigning favourite.

The most surprising trend to emerge, though? Flip-flops are, apparently, fashion. You read that right – according to the likes of Jeanette Madsen and Thora Valdimars, it's time to put your Birkenstocks in storage and hunt down your old Havaianas.

At first, we were sceptical. We saw an unusual number of men wearing flip-flops to the pub during the World Cup (beer-soaked feet, nice) and we mostly associate the foam sandal with protecting our feet from poolside nasties. But could they work with your wardrobe's best pieces this summer?

As the street style set proved this week, yessiree. Egg yolk yellow flip-flops were coordinated with rainbow-bright sequin bags, neutral-hued pairs were worn to allow outfits to pop, and some women colour drenched from head to toe, starting with their earrings and ending with their foam footwear. Among all those colours and fabrics, the humble flip-flop somehow...works?

Of course, those on the streets outside the shows weren't the first to don the sandal. Back at New York Fashion Week last September, Kendall Jenner hit the runway in black flip-flops at Michael Kors, while Riri debuted a heeled take on the shoe, and Marc Jacobs gave us embellished platform versions.

While we won't be dedicating our entire summer wardrobe to our Havaianas (yellow and blue, bought in Portugal in 2004, still going strong), we will be trying the trend. Our get-up of choice includes a slogan T-shirt, kick flare denim, lots of shell jewellery, and fuchsia flip-flops. There you have it, holiday dressing is wearable back home.

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

Take A Hike: The Sandal Trend That Will Be Everywhere This Summer

From Hiking Sandals To Oversized Sunnies, These Are Spring's Best Accessories

Sculptural Heels Are The Work-Of-Art Shoe Trend You Need For Spring

Thanks to a rush of Instagram-worthy new trends including jelly nails, bedazzled nails and mismatched nails, the demand for nail enhancements, including acrylics and gels, has shot up recently.

But their rise in popularity is proving to be a cause for concern for dermatologists, who have this week issued a warning that (meth)acrylate chemicals, the key ingredients in acrylic nails, gel nails and gel polish nail varnish, are causing an 'allergy epidemic' in the UK and Ireland, which is "overwhelmingly affecting women."

The 2017 study, conducted by the British Association of Dermatologists, found that allergic reactions are likely to happen when uncured (still wet) substances touch the skin, and that they can involve "the nails loosening, or a severe red, itchy rash, not just on the fingertips, but potentially anywhere on the body that has come into contact with the nails, including the eyelids, face, neck and genital region".

The study took three types of nail enhancements into consideration: gel nails, acrylic nails, and gel polish. It involved 4931 people from 13 UK and Irish dermatology units and tested them for (meth)acrylate allergy. It found that 1.5% tested positive to 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (2-HEMA), the most common (meth)acrylate to cause allergic sensitisation, and 2.4% tested positive to at least one type of (meth)acrylate. It also concluded that women made up 93% of those affected.

Out of 742 people, 19% of those had "experienced adverse effects from acrylic nails applied in salons, and 16% from gel polish nails applied in salons.

The findings might seem negligible, but they are backed up by a separate survey conducted by the British Association of Dermatologists, with the help of Stylfile. The research concluded that out of 742 people, 19% of those had "experienced adverse effects from acrylic nails applied in salons, and 16% from gel polish nails applied in salons". According to the survey, the reactions included "nail damage and allergic dermatitis - itching and swelling on hands, eyelids, cheeks and neck". Although very rare, the study pinpointed breathing problems as an issue, too.

“It is really important that people know they can develop allergies from artificial nails," explained Dr David Orton, of the British Association of Dermatologists. "The truth is that there will be many women out there with these allergies who remain undiagnosed, because they may not link their symptoms to their nails, especially if the symptoms occur elsewhere on the body. It is important that they get a diagnosis so that they can avoid the allergen, but also because developing an allergy to these chemicals can have lifelong consequences for dental treatments and surgeries where devices containing these allergens are in common use."

Dr Deirdre Buckley, from the Royal United Hospital Bath, President of the British Society of Cutaneous Allergy and the consultant dermatologist leading the initial study added, “Although the rate of allergy to (meth)acrylates is continuing to increase, many doctors are unaware of the issue, and these chemicals are not routinely included in patch tests. We are now recommending that all dermatologists patch test for (meth)acrylates routinely."

The findings include at-home kits too. "We would particularly urge people to be careful when using home kits," continued Dr. Buckley. "If you do use one, make sure that you use the recommended UV lamp for curing, and read the instructions carefully. Using the wrong lamp may mean that the gel polish does not cure properly, and this means an increased chance of allergy. Also, avoid any direct skin contact with the (meth)acrylate nail product.”

If you're worried or experiencing any of the above allergy symptoms, book an appointment with your GP or an experienced dermatologist, who can advise you further.

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

Kim Kardashian & Kylie Jenner Are Putting Their Perfume Launch On Hold

The Best Afro Hair Products On The High Street, Tried & Tested

8 Easy-To-Copy Makeup Looks That'll Please Everyone In The Bridal Party

On the surface, Charlottesville, VA, is hopeful. The new mayor, Nikuyah Walker, is a progressive woman of colour known for protesting the city's establishment. Thomas Jefferson's historic estate Monticello is finally done ignoring the lives of Sally Hemings and other slaves. Every other storefront is plastered with teal "C-ville" hearts and purple "Heather" hearts to remember Heather Heyer, the activist killed by a white supremacist who plowed through a crowd of counter-protestors in a car during the rally one year ago.

But a year after white supremacists terrorized the small Virginia city on August 11 and 12, 2017, the city is still grieving, trying to find its footing with a major shakeup of local government. The University of Virginia has been undergoing its own reckoning, contending with a past of racism and slavery that goes all the way back to its founder Thomas Jefferson.

On Friday, August 3, security guards ushered hundreds of people through metal detectors into a youth-led town hall at Westminster Presbyterian Church, a small brick building that sits among fraternity and sorority houses a short walk from UVA's Rotunda. The crowd filled the pews and all the standing room to listen to nine students discuss voting, violence, and activism as part of the national Road to Change tour, an effort to register voters and raise awareness for sensible gun policy that originally grew out of the February mass shooting in Parkland, FL. While two of the students were from Parkland, most of the panel speakers were from local schools.

Natalie Romero, a UVA student who suffered a fractured skull from the car attack and says she still has post-traumatic stress disorder, didn't hold back when listing how school administrators have failed students. She spoke about being uncomfortable as the only woman of colour in rooms with older, white administrators — but also about how she's learned to lean in to that discomfort.

"You can tell us all the time, 'You should be having conversations with administrators,'" she said to the crowd. "That's exactly what we do, and we are given false promises." She added, "I work for the university, so I'm told I can't say certain things in spaces such as this — I'll probably get a phone call tomorrow."

On the night of August 11, Jason Kessler and his band of neo-Nazis marched to the statue of Thomas Jefferson near the Rotunda, and surrounded a group of students and community members, chanting slogans like "Jews will not replace us" and attacking them with pepper spray. The university didn't have a plan for protecting the counter-protestors. The year since has seen various administrative shakeups and a new free speech policy for groups unaffiliated with the university, but some students, like Romero, say the school's response has been inadequate. Phrases like "massive institutional failure" come to mind.

It's students who have made the biggest changes on campus since the deadly rally, said Romero. "Jason Kessler being banned was not because UVA decided or the community decided or the city decided, it was because students pushed and pushed...and pushed!" she said, referring to the university issuing a no-trespass warning to Kessler in April. He appeared at the school twice after students and faculty sought to keep him away, citing threats and harassment. Now he's banned from the Grounds for four years. He is, however, still the only white supremacist leader to receive such a notice from the school.

"They silence us by saying we're not respectable or civil enough," continued Romero. "Like, 'Don't talk bad about Thomas Jefferson!'"

In conclusion, Romero said to loud cheering from the crowd, "Respectability politics is trash."

Respectability politics is trash.

Samyuktha Mahadevan, a student at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA, who grew up near Charlottesville, encouraged students not only to vote — which is a must — but also to become civically engaged if they want to see change in their communities. Wearing an orange Students Demand Action shirt, she said she volunteers for Leslie Cockburn, the Democratic nominee for Virginia's 5th district in the U.S. House of Representatives.

"It's really crucial that [local political] meetings are not dominated by one demographic," she said, looking out into a mostly white audience that skewed older but also included pockets of students. "Nothing's going to happen if you don't come join and bring diversity to the room, and you'll find more people will do it if you take that first step."

Naomi Wadler, the 11-year-old activist who spoke up for Black girls in her memorable March for Our Lives speech, recalled her own experience getting pushback for organising her Alexandria, VA, school's National School Walkout in March. "I told [the superintendent] we didn't need adult supervision to be shot in our own classrooms," Wadler said. "Start small and in your own community."

Wadler brought some in the audience to tears as she spoke about the rally in Charlottesville.

"When people were marching with tiki torches and guns and screaming anti-Semitic, anti-Black things... What are you accomplishing there? Other than scaring people, other than not being able to accept other people? What is hating someone going to do for you?"

"Like, I'm sorry you don't like me because I'm Black," she continued, pausing for a beat to take in the absurdity of the statement. "If you don't like me and you think I'm less than because I'm brown and female — sit down and have a conversation with me. Listen to my point of view so we can understand each other."

Backstage before the panel, March for Our Lives activists — including Jaclyn Corin, Emma González, and David Hogg — met with Susan Bro, Heather Heyer's mother. Bro, a former government employee, told them about the work she's been doing since Heyer's death, saying she wants to "make it count" in honour of her daughter. She spoke about cofounding the Heather Heyer Foundation, dedicated to scholarships for those who are passionate about promoting positive social change.

The students talked about sometimes feeling overwhelmed by all the adults trying to guide their agenda. "All of a sudden, the entire world knows us and thinks we have to listen to them," said González.

As someone who has also recently experienced newfound public attention, not all of it positive, Bro advised them. "Pace yourselves, take time for yourselves," she said. "You have a fresh perspective. The future is yours to invent."

As for Charlottesville's future, it's still being decided. Courts are busy determining criminal cases related to the devastating event, including 30 federal hate crimes against 21-year-old James Fields Jr., the driver who killed Heyer and injured others.

The city and local businesses won a legal settlement that alleges the white supremacists violated state law against private militias — though that has not prevented hate groups from marching in other cities, like Portland, OR, and planning a rally in D.C. this week.

And there's no reason to think they won't come back to Charlottesville, despite the measures to keep them out.

We reached out to the University of Virginia and will update this story when we hear back.

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

How Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Instagram Is Changing The Game

This Game Of Thrones Poll Says A Lot About The US 2020 Election

Lori Loughlin & Mossimo Giannulli Plead Not Guilty In College Admissions Scandal

When I was seven my dad took me to a magical place where I was rich.

I had always imagined what it might be like to be able to buy anything I wanted. And so it was in a pound store that I walked up and down fluorescent-lit aisles, sauntering through different gems, picking up and putting down, and choosing without having to look at a price tag. The dull, heavy pound coin (before its rebrand) in the centre of my palm allowed me this luxury and I remember the aisles and the dim smell of disinfectant and the new paper in the stationary aisle that thrilled me. The pound shop was the best place on earth.

My dad worked at a Poundstretcher on Southall High Street in the '80s – his first job when he arrived in this country armed with broken English from a village in Punjab, and so began a slow integration into British life. It wasn’t at the tills (that honour would come later) but as a cleaner that he began work life in this country, and I always wonder what kind of things he must have thought mopping those aisles. Coming from a village in India where a faulty electricity generator was the height of luxury, to watching parents come and buy heavy loads of crayons, batteries, party streamers and hanging baskets all for a pound – surely the epitome of British excess.

Though my dad worked there, I wasn’t alone with my early love affair with the pound shop. The concept was one that took off (by the '90s, shops like Poundland and Everything’s £1 were thriving) and this week, as Poundworld announced that it was closing its 355 shops across the UK, with an estimated loss of 5000 jobs, there was a collective slump – not just for those who rely on a pack of multipack Walkers for a quid, but for the nostalgic magic of how far a pound would once go. The demise of the pound shop is also the demise of the pound – it used to signify economic sovereign strength, with the Queen’s head regally appointed to remind you that you were royal-adjacent every time you presented it at the till. It was sterling, it was gold! The pound as an object alone was designed to invoke a sense of beauty – one that has faded as we’ve moved towards a cashless society, as it’s lost value, and as we hurtle towards a political climate where British heritage nostalgia has given rise to sinister right-wing political ideologies.

But the glamour didn’t sustain. While my early wonder was of tasting the high life and a brief, tantalising respite from penny counting, the demonisation of the pound shop as a representation of working class consumer habits prevailed, seen as mass producing plastic crap that was terrible for the environment, and cheap. They were a by-word for something you didn’t really want to be associated with. This week, when David Lammy described Boris Johnson as a “pound shop Trump” the underlying message was clear – a pound shop version of anything is a cheap imitation.

In 2018, the pound shop takes on two functions; one, for thrillingly tacky treats: unofficial Bieber calendars, phone chargers that last a period of two weeks before dying, and party packs of hats and Harry and Meghan masks for your last-minute ironic party. Their other function is more crucial. In a country where food banks gave out a record 1.3m food parcels to an estimated 666,000 people in 2017-18, they are a lifeline for those in low-income families where buying a multipack of crisps for a pound makes the difference (the jury’s still out about whether or not pound shops are actually even cheaper than supermarkets but it’s what they represent that really counts here). They provide crucial quick fixes for stressed single mums like mine who, after my parents divorced, shopped in them, picking up bread, shampoos, family essentials – cupboards stocked thanks to the ability to make that pound work hard.

The demise of the pound shop and places like Poundworld was perhaps always going to lose a battle against perceived quality (read: taste and class). Even geographically speaking, the existence of a high number of pound shops became a hallmark of 'impoverished' areas - along with betting shops and off licences. Gentrification has put pressure on that, but something else too – the idea that quick, mass produced products are out of vogue in a world where we want to feel like individuals. Real taste is about catering to the individual, making you feel special through the idea of craft and care. Perhaps fragile consumer egos need to feel considered, while low income families are happy to forfeit it to ensure they get what they need.

For my dad, having his first look at an alien country through the lens of a pound shop, you can see the possibility, the opportunity. The sheer abundance of choice and accessibility, that you could give your daughter options with a pound must have been intoxicating. While the world outside the fluorescent lights of Poundstretcher was more unforgiving, inside them, there was a dizzying promise. For most immigrants, unaware of the class politics of high and low culture, yet to learn how the places you love and frequent will inevitably become subject to ridicule by the mainstream, these little shops really were magic. What says 'making it' more than buying a pack of 10 plastic cars, water guns and felt-tips and sending them back to India in worn, brown suitcases?

For me, the pound shop, still a representation of working class spending, will always have a special place in my heart. For their simplicity; for their forgotten magic. And for my dad, they represented his naive, wide-eyed immigrant dream before he knew better. You could build anything you wanted in Britain, one pound at a time. Bless him.

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

How Instagram's Rules About Sex Are Penalising Women Online

Lapsed Vegans: The Women Who Gave Up & Went Back To Eating Meat

I'm The 64-Year-Old Granny Who Was Arrested At The Climate Change Protests

Though we're often told there's a link between regular exercise and better mental health, we should be careful not to exaggerate it. If you're dealing with a serious condition like a depressive episode, a few laps around the local park aren't going to cure you.

But at the same time, there is growing evidence to suggest that a programme of regular physical exercise can be beneficial to a person's mental wellbeing.

A new study conducted by Yale University and the University of Oxford, published in the Lancet Psychiatry Journal, has examined what kinds of exercise – and how much of it – are likely to help your mental health.

The study, which analysed data from 1.2 million American adults collected between 2011 and 2015, found that people who exercise experience 1.5 fewer days of poor mental health each month than people who don't.

The study found people who exercise experience 1.5 fewer days of poor mental health each month than people who don't.

Interestingly, the forms of exercise most likely to improve a person's mental health were found to be team sports, cycling, aerobics and going to the gym. This suggests exercise can be helpful whether a person does it alone or as part of a group activity.

However, the study found that exercising more frequently and for longer doesn't necessarily lead to a greater mental health benefit. Taking around 45 minutes of exercise between three and five times a week was found to be ideal.

The new study follows research published in May that found weight training in particular can have a positive impact on mental health.

"I’ve been a habitual exercise avoider for many years - mainly due to gym fear and let’s be honest, laziness," Becky from south London tells Refinery29 UK. "Recently I’ve been suffering with anxiety and everything I read on it said exercise helps, so I bit the bullet and got a trainer.

"I sat down with her and went through my goals, what I do and don't like doing, and she came up with a personalised plan which works for me – it’s mainly weight training because I hate cardio. We do varied exercises to keep it interesting."

Becky now works out twice a week with her trainer, and once or twice alone on top of this, and says: "I have seen a marked improvement in my mental health and feel stronger and more body confident too."

If you are suffering from a mental health illness, it is important that you seek medical help. For some, exercise alone may bring about a huge improvement. For others, it may help in conjunction with therapy and/or medication. Every person is different, and you need to find what works for you.

If you are struggling at the moment and want someone to talk to, contact your GP or mental health charity Mind for more information on what to do next.

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

Save These Quotes To Your Phone Background For Daily Motivation

Sophie Turner Speaks Out About How Social Media Impacted Her Mental Health

From Doing Coke In Yoga Class To Helping People Like You Learn To Meditate

In her emotional documentary for Apple Music, Rainbow: The Film (out Friday, August 10), Kesha reveals that she fought for permission to write and play music while in rehab for an eating disorder. That time ultimately led to the creation of her most personal album to date.

"[The people in rehab] said I wasn't allowed to work, and since I'm a musician, they said I couldn't even have a keyboard," Kesha states in the documentary over stylised footage of herself wandering, lost, through a twisted forest dreamscape. "But I pleaded: [Making music] isn't work."

The "dream" version of Kesha ultimately finds that very keyboard in this dark forest... and starts playing.

"I knew I had to change and learn how to take care of and love myself... Rainbow was the beginning," Kesha's voiceover proclaims.

It's just one of the many raw, personal moments Kesha shares with fans in the half-hour documentary, which chronicles the star's musical and emotional journey through the release of Rainbow.

In one particularly disturbing sequence (set to Rainbow 's first song, "Bastards") Kesha attempts to save another version of herself from a "doctor" who has left her bound, gagged, and catatonic. The metaphor is not lost on anyone who has followed Kesha's story.

When Kesha burst onto the music scene in 2009 with her Jack Daniels-celebrating song "Tik Tok," her image was pure party. The fun-loving wild child routine became integral to Kesha's brand, allowing her to later release danceable, high-energy tracks like "Crazy Kids," "C'Mon," and "Die Young" off of her 2012 album Warrior. Yet, in 2014, the party, and Kesha's career, screeched to a halt when She entered rehab for an eating disorder.

That same year, Kesha filed a lawsuit against her longtime producer Dr. Luke (real name Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald) for sexual assault and battery. She also said that he would regularly fat-shame her, which she claimed led to her warped image of her body. (Dr. Luke has vehemently denied all assault accusations, and the two have since engaged in a messy legal battle.)

After years of fighting to make music without Dr. Luke, Kesha released the 2017 album Rainbow. Its hit single, "Praying" was not a bass-pounding pop track, but a haunting ballad about self-love and forgiveness. Kesha was invited to sing "Praying" at the Grammys and did so, arm in arm with many of music's biggest hitmakers. It is this moment that is the chosen conclusion to Rainbow: The Film — a way for the documentary to highlight how Kesha won this battle against her demons.

Knowing that Rainbow was first concepted and worked on while Kesha was struggling to find her sense of self in rehab adds an extra layer of importance to the moment. After the storm comes a rainbow — and while the storm was strong, Kesha proved she was stronger.

You can watch Rainbow: The Film on Apple Music August 10.

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

In Homecoming, Beyoncé Transforms From Superstar To Sister-Friend

Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus & 26 Other Celebs Collaborated On New Song "Earth"

Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande & Lady Gaga Were All Honoured In The Time 100

Mitski "Two Slow Dancers"

If you're looking for a little summertime sadness, here it is. Mitski will drop her new album next Friday, August 17, and you can get a taste in advance with her latest song. This jam is for the woman who is weary, tired, and kind of over it — whatever that "it" may be in her life. "Two Slow Dancers" reminds me of the sad end of a school dance, when you've stayed too long and your crush never asked you to dance. The dissonant chords in the bridge after the chorus are haunting and slightly horrifying, with a few minor chord orchestrations that add an edge of creepiness. Hmmm, sounds like the fear of dying alone. That's an absolutely appalling thing to capture in a pop song. Only Mitski could think of such a thing.

Elle King "Shame"

Elle King's first single from her forthcoming album is, obviously, a jam. If you thought the Black Keys had cornered the market on blues-based stompers, she's here to change your mind. The video continues the reversing of gender constructs; in it King plays a cult leader with a proclivity for dressing like a '70s pimp. Her followers are outfitted in track suits (like the Heaven's Gate cult, eep) and ski masks, while she runs around in gorgeous wide-leg trousers, feathers, sequins, and smokes a cigar. She leaves with suitcases full of money, either ill-gotten from her followers or from some crimes she made them commit. In a word: badass.

Sabrina Claudio "Numb"

And now, for something much lighter: Sabrina Claudio, with whom I have a growing obsession, drops a lovely, light, repetitive track called "Numb." This is one of those songs where it almost doesn't matter what the lyrics are — they could be in another language — and the song would be just as enjoyable. That is 100% thanks to Claudio's vocal acrobatics. There are major Mariah Carey vibes here. Unpacking the lyrics, you might find something reflecting the 24-hour news cycle: "my body and mind finally went numb / and I'm finally done / all I feel is numb." The beat pulsates so peacefully that you might miss the bleak message at the heart of this song, but only barely.

Chynna "leo season"

Chynna, a Philadelphia rapper, Ford model, and friend of the A$AP Mob, drops a tribute to Leos that will take your breath away. Even the art is full Leo, featuring an amazing shot of Coco Chanel and Salvador Dali, a pair of Leos with whom she shares a birthday (August 19). Her monotone delivery lets her words become the star of the track, showing off one hell of a sense of humour and the kind of spark that celebrates, well, Leo season.

Kate Teague "Good to You"

If "Stand By Your Man " needs a modern update, this could be a contender. Teague's unique vocal delivery is in the spirit of Tammy Wynette's original, but it's filtered through a '90s singer-songwriter filter. And the lyrics get a major update, with Teague crafting the story of a little romance that's a hell of a lot more empowered. The power pop hooks in the chorus propel this easy listener to an all-day type of song.

After my first job at MTV working as a music programmer, I can't stop trying to matchmake people with music they might like. So, I wrote a book calledRecord Collecting for Girls and started interviewing musicians. The Music Concierge is a column where I share music I'm listening to that you might enjoy, with a little context. Follow me on Twitter or Facebook, or leave me a comment below and tell me what you're listening to this week.

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

In Homecoming, Beyoncé Transforms From Superstar To Sister-Friend

Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus & 26 Other Celebs Collaborated On New Song "Earth"

Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande & Lady Gaga Were All Honoured In The Time 100

You're engaged – congratulations! Now all you need to do is figure out how to deal with the small matter of providing dinner and drinks for 100 of your nearest and dearest friends and family using what minimal funds are in your typically millennial bank account.

Weddings are expensive. We know this. In fact, according to one study earlier this year, the average wedding in the UK now comes in at a mind-altering £30,335. Which, when you consider that the chances of a 25-34-year-old owning a house have "collapsed " in recent years, is bordering on downright criminal.

Luckily, the economic masterminds in our Money Diaries Facebook group (if you haven't joined yet, what are you waiting for?) have weighed in with their help on how to keep the costs of a wedding down. From planning a (free!) alcohol-buying trip to Calais to ditching the things people will be too drunk on the day to care about (thank the above booze cruise), here are some of our favourite ideas on how to spend less, and have more fun.

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

Quick! Soak Up The Sun At London's Best Rooftop Bars

Kim Kardashian West Finally Shows How Her Ultra-Minimalist Bathroom Sink Works

Confessions Of A...Cam Girl

All summer long, Refinery29 will be examining cults from every angle: pop culture, fashion, food, beauty, and their controversial origins. Let’s dig into the fascination behind this fervour with "Cult Fridays."

Music is a powerful tool that can inspire intense, usually pleasurable feelings. It does something chemically to our brains when we hear and perform it. Think about the ways humans use music: we make playlists to seduce and set a rhythm during both sex and exercise; stores pipe it in to make customers spend more; restaurants select it to enhance the palette. The manipulative power of music has has a negative side, too: We make playlists to soundtrack our sadness; movies use it to scare us by tapping into a primal fear that minor chords cause in the brain; the CIA has weaponised it to torture detainees,

And cult leaders have exploited the negative potential of music to influence their followers. Colleen Russell, licensed marriage and family therapist and expert in cult recovery and education, is the survivor of what she calls a “high demand group ” whose name she does not reveal. The group leader, Russell explains, used chanting to relax the mind and focus the group’s energy. “But it was misused, as I now realise because the focus during chanting was on the image of the cult leader...We were instructed to chant if we felt upset, for instance. The same if we were having a hard time.” This led to an inability to critically think through problems, a core life skill, as well as an inability to process and sift through emotions. It also created a sense of euphoria when thinking of their leader, positioning him as the answer to all of their problems.

Cult leaders, who are known for isolating their followers and seeking inappropriate loyalty, can take the emotions and feelings of togetherness that group singing and dancing provide and use it as a form of mind control. It is common in cults to use music in religious ceremonies, in order to direct emotional and psychological attention to a specific ideology or person. That’s dangerous, because it re-wires how your brain works, further isolating you from the world outside of the cult.

“Music does activate our biological rewards system, along with food, sex, drugs, and money,” explains music psychologist and professional pianist Marina Korsakova-Kreyn. There are clear biological motivations for the importance of food, sex, and drugs that science can explain — but explaining why a non-necessity like music gives us a chemical shot of pleasure is “difficult to rationalise.”

Lisa Kohn, author of the memoir To the Moon and Back: A Childhood Under the Influence, remembers her time in the Unification Church, which her mother brought her into at the age of 10, as one full of music. For Moonies, as they are colloquially known, singing religious music, both American and Korean, was a part of regular services that fostered a sense of community. The rock music introduced to her by her hippie parents, from the Hairspray soundtrack to the Beatles, was banned, but the Moonies did sing some folk songs — with a twist. “ [We would sing] folk music that was reworded, like ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ became ‘the answers my friend were in the hearts of men.’ They also took a Jimmy Buffet song and changed the words. They would do this with pop music to make it more spiritual, godlike, or more messianic,” Kohn says.

The Moonies became best known for the cult’s arranged mass marriages, and for Rev. Moon’s reported sexual control over the women in the cult. Rev. Moon was considered the return of the Messiah and, as such, requested tithes from his followers that would amount to their life savings. Moon saw the value of music for the secular world as well; he would found the Universal Ballet Foundation, with one of his daughter installed as the prima ballerina, in the ‘90s and Moon was a major sponsor of the New York Symphony.

According to Korsakova-Kreyn, music immerses us in a virtual reality of emotion. “Music gives us the chills, a skin orgasm. It causes changes in our hormonal makeup. Music affects our vital signs: blood pressure, heart rate, breathing. Music can make us cry. And we can get lost in time and space while listening to music.” Of the many things we don’t yet understand about how our brain processes music is why it makes us feel emotional.

For Kohn, it was paradoxically music – secular rock music – that helped her escape the Moonies. “He doesn’t know it, but Bruce Springsteen got me out of the Unification Church,” says Kohn. In her years-long process of leaving, she developed an eating disorder, became addicted to drugs, found herself in an abusive relationship, and nearly ended her own life, But she’s dead serious when she explains that music helped her reshape her mind during that highly confusing time from approximately age 17 to her early 20s.

It was one summer at a music camp that started Kohn’s exodus. She played clarinet and piano, and says she believes her father sent her to music camp the year between her junior and senior years in high school to get her away from the church. “I became friends with people who were gay and bisexual, which is sinful in the church. I wrote to my mom to ask what to do. She was angry and told me to get away from them or convert them.” The reaction, both from her mother and the church, Kohn says, “started to break my brain a little bit.”

Russell explains this is a common phenomenon, “Often when people get out of cults they start to explore what they like.” For Russell, it was jazz and classical music that opened the door back to music.

Kohn ultimately made the choice to put herself into the outside world, attending Stuyvesant High School in New York City for her senior year and Cornell University for college. Rediscovering pop music and live concerts were, she says, “part of my reawakening.” The pull of a different kind of leader — a rock star whose poetry was undeniable to her — helped get her out. “I never stopped to think about how much the music in the church brought me in, but I have thought about how it got me out,” Kohn says, “The lyrics in ‘Thunder Road;’ the line ‘roll down the window and let the wind blow back your hair,’ to me, was my walking away and finding a new world.”

If you are thinking about suicide, please call the Samaritans on 116 123

If you are struggling with substance abuse, please call Talk to Frank on 0300 123 6600

If you are struggling with an eating disorder and are in need of support, please call Beat on 0808 801 0677

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

In Homecoming, Beyoncé Transforms From Superstar To Sister-Friend

Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus & 26 Other Celebs Collaborated On New Song "Earth"

Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande & Lady Gaga Were All Honoured In The Time 100

If you were asked to name the UK city with the highest average salary, you'd probably pick London. After all, most major companies have their headquarters in the capital, and its historic Square Mile is home to the sky-high salaries of the commerce world.

Obviously you'd be right, but according to a new study, the average weekly salary in London isn't that much higher than average weekly salaries in several nearby towns.

Research by finance.co.uk and jobs website Adzuna – which analysed over a million of its listings to calculate average pay packets – found that the average weekly salary in London is £727.

This is comfortably above the national average of £539, but not hugely ahead of the average salaries in Reading (£655), Crawley (£633) and Milton Keynes (£619).

Two Scottish cities – Edinburgh (£598) and Aberdeen (£597) – also place very high on the list. Check out the top 20 highest-earning cities, and their average weekly salaries, below.

1. London: £727

2. Reading: £655

3. Crawley: £633

4. Milton Keynes: £619

5. Cambridge: £609

6. Slough: £606

7. Oxford: £600

8. Edinburgh: £598

9. Aberdeen: £597

10. Derby: £595

11. Aldershot: £588

12. Southampton: £579

13. Luton: £571

14. Swindon: £560

15. Bristol: £547

16. Leeds: £533

17. Coventry: £532

18. Birmingham: £527

19. Glasgow: £526

20. Gloucester: £526

At the other end of the scale, the lowest average weekly salaries are found in Southend (£413), Huddersfield (£424), Birkenhead (£428) and Wigan (£436).

But as anyone who lives or has lived in London will know, a bigger salary doesn't necessarily translate to better off. Research by finance.co.uk found that nearly 58% of Londoners aged between 25 and 34 use credit crafts or an overdraft to pay for daily essentials on a regular basis, suggesting they're really feeling the pinch as they live and work in the capital.

The only place in the UK where more people aged 25-34 borrow to pay for daily essentials is the North East, where 60% of people said they do so on a regular basis.

At the other end of the scale, less than 50% of people aged between 25 and 34 borrow to pay for daily essentials on a regular basis in the West Midlands, Northern Ireland, South West, Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midland and Wales.

This situation could get worse in the medium-term future, as it's been predicted this week that rents are set to rise by 15% in the next five years, chipping away at many young people's already meagre disposable incomes.

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

Confessions Of A...Cam Girl

What Is The TikTok App That’s Suddenly Getting Banned?

How To Deal When Your Partner's Career Change Throws Your Life Into Chaos

After speaking to Insatiable creator Lauren Guiss, you can only come to one conclusion: she is an overwhelmingly well-meaning individual. The former Dexter writer is pro-queer and body-positive, especially after tackling decades of body image issues issues herself, as well as an eating disorder she spoke about on Twitter. Yet, the suburban Chicago native’s brand-new Netflix comedy, about a plus-size teen who rapidly loses 70 pounds and is tossed into the beauty pageant world, has proven to be one of the streaming service’s most controversial series.

So controversial, in fact, a Change.org petition urging Netflix to never air the show received 229,000 signatures over accusations of fatphobia. Trailer visuals of star Debbie Ryan in a fat suit were deemed especially offensive, as was the quick weight loss journey of Ryan’s character, Georgia teen Patty Bladell. Obviously, the petition failed, as Insatiable was fully birthed into the world during the wee hours of a Friday morning, like most other Netflix Originals.

At the beginning of the series, Patty, whose best friend Nonnie (Kimmy Shields) is secretly in love with her, follows her lawyer-turned-pageant coach Bob Armstrong (Dallas Roberts) into the hunt for the coveted Miss Magic Jesus crown. Eventually you realise almost everyone other than Nonnie is a monster.

Although the black comedy proved to be a pop cultural lightning rod before it even debuted — as some reviews also labelled the southern-fried saga homophobic and racially insensitive — it’s possible Insatiable is still fulfilling the goals of its creator. When you chat with Lauren Guiss, you also realise how much she hoped her series would get people talking about the darkest parts of themselves and society around them. “So we can alchemise them into lightness,” as she explained.

Well, Insatiable, partially inspired by formerly closeted famed Alabama pageant coach Bill Alverson (who is now happily married to a man), has certainly gotten people talking.

With the whole world chattering about Guiss’ series, it seemed necessary to hear the TV veteran's own unfiltered explanation of Insatiable’s origin story and her outlook on its many controversies. Find out how Guiss’ identity inspired Patty Bladell’s journey, the reason her show is “pushing buttons,” and why the writer thinks that polarising fat suit was so very necessary.

Refinery29: What inspired the show for you? Especially in the context of your emotional Twitter statement.

Lauren Gussis: “Bill had sold his life rights [for] a reality show, and we realised we needed to also make it a [scripted show with two leads]. Out of that we realised he needed a beauty pageant client. At which point I realized it was an opportunity for me to birth Patty, who was the inner demon of my formerly bullied teenager who would be able to embody all of the fever dream-like intensity and ill-minded fantasies of how I would have wanted to behave and enact my revenge after my own years of feeling really bullied and marginalised.

“It’s a cautionary tale about making your outsides be the most important thing. It was a cautionary tale about what it means to enact revenge as opposed to actually working on yourself. It was a cautionary tale about what does it mean to be beautiful? … What happens when people assume things about you because they like the way your outsides look, and they assume they’re going to like your insides?”

Why did you want to tell this story in this specific way?

“It was very important to me to tell that story through comedy because that’s just my way — and not through a traditional hero or heroine. I worked on Dexter for the entire run of the show. I learned to tell stories through the dark mind of a killer and still make an audience root for that person. So I wasn’t afraid of pushing some buttons and making people a little uncomfortable in the interest of getting them talking.

“Because, if [only] I had seen a character like Patty [while growing up], who’s angry. I was so angry for such a long time and that was the thing that separated me from other people. I was hoping this would be a way to bring people together instead of making them feel separate.”

So we should look at Insatiable as a conversation-starter? Whatever that conversation may be?

“I want to break down the walls. I feel like we’ve reached a point in our culture where we’re afraid of saying things. I feel like we’re in a position where we’re in a lot of danger of censorship. I would much rather get things out in the open, beat the rug and talk about it instead of brushing it under the rug. Sometimes this is what it takes to get people talking about things.

“If you don’t talk about it the right way, you’re not allowed about to talk about it. That doesn’t breed connection — that breeds more isolation and more polarisation.”

Were there ever conversations about not using the fat suit?

“That was always going to be used. If we had cast somebody else to play the other version of Patty, we would have been saying, ‘You are actually a different person when you lose weight.’ It felt important to me to say you are exactly the same person either way.

“We were very careful about who we chose to do the suit and how we portrayed it and trying to make it accurate. I had an argument with one of the [prop] guys about the way the legs on the suit looked because he said, ‘Teenage girls don’t have cellulite.’ I kind of tore him a new one. I said, ‘It’s exactly that kind of thinking that’s the reason I had a problem and hated myself. So you’re going to take the fat suit back and you’re going to put cellulite on it because that’s what real bodies look like.’

“I was very protective of that part of the character. [The fat suit portion of Insatiable] wasn’t used for comedy at all. I actually made a speech on set about treating Debby with respect when she was in it. Like, ‘This is not a place for humour.’ This is showing Patty’s pain and every single person on the set was required to respect that.”

A post shared by Lauren Gussis (@laurengussis) on Apr 20, 2018 at 4:18pm PDT

Patty might be the inner demon of your teenage years, but do other Insatiable characters serve as your proxy as well?

“Every single one of these characters is me. I put out that tweet about my body issues because that was the issue being talked about at the moment. Because that’s true. That’s 100% true. But no one’s talking to me about the other character arcs, which is fine. I welcome that discussion. It’s also about my relationship to my sexuality, my relationship to power and accomplishment, and my relationship to wanting to be perfect.

“They all become an extension of the opportunity to channel all of [those feelings] into Patty. That kind of bled out into every single person in this world. They all have misguided goals. Which is why they’re not good people. But because their goals are wrong they do inappropriate things. And to me that’s where the comedy comes from.”

A lot of reviews have said some of the humour is homophobic. You’ve spoken a lot about how showing the full range of sexuality was for you. So how do you respond to that critique?

“I’m a member of the queer community. I’m the B in LGBTQ+. For a long time I experienced internalised homophobia around what did my truth mean about myself. I was not homophobic about other people, but I was homophobic about myself. Nonnie goes through a lot of that. I was afraid of what people would think of me. I think that’s a very common experience inside the community, especially for someone who’s bisexual. Because I felt confused. I felt like [sexuality] was very binary … Either you’re one thing or the other thing. I bounced between the two and I couldn’t find a place where I could hold space for all of it.

“To pretend we’re post being afraid of coming out of the closet just isn’t reality. It was important to deal with that with humour. It was important to me to show the whole process and journey and the kinds of jokes people make because they’re afraid and the kind of ways people try to deflect who they are. Because at the end of the day I think if people watch the show, they will see people come to terms with their own insides. Those are the people who actually become better people because they’re more fully who they are.”

Is that why you had the scene of Patty speaking with a trans girl in the bathroom during the fifth episode?

“No. For me, in my own recovery with my eating disorder, I had been taught our similarities are more important than our differences. It’s really speaking to that [idea of], ‘One day my life will start. And if I get this outside thing, I will fill that hole and I’ll be okay.’ Except we’re never, ever going to feel okay unless it’s an inside job.

“It was very important to show two people who were on very different paths on one level, but on another level they’re on exactly the same path because it’s a healing journey. All they had to do is reach across that sink and hold hands to realise they weren’t that far apart at all.”

You mentioned pushing people’s buttons earlier. You’re obviously aware of the Twitter backlash. What is the message you actually want people to take from the show?

“There’s value in expressing the truth and portraying what is. There’s also value in aspirational storytelling. That’s not how I tell stories. I tell stories the way that I hope will expose what’s actually going on and comment on it through comedy. If people are able to hear the things being said, they’re like, ‘Oh, that makes me uncomfortable.’

“I’m hoping to start a conversation. A lot of different issues come up in the show. We’re not making fun of the issues, we’re bringing up the issues through comedy. I’m hoping I can bring people together over the course of a discussion because if they can learn to talk about what they think is funny, then they can learn to talk about other things that are higher stakes.”

“I also think a lot of characters have journeys people can relate to even if they don’t want to admit it. My goal is, [to] make at least one person feel less alone. That one person sees Patty’s journey [and thinks], ‘Maybe I could look at another way to deal with my feelings instead of anger because I see where that leads.’ Or, if someone sees Nonnie and says, ‘Oh my God, that’s me. Maybe it’s okay for me to be who I am.’ Or if somebody sees Bob and Bob’s journey, or Bob and Bob and Coralee[‘s journey, which takes an unexpected turn] and takes a look at what it means to be married and what does it mean to have a long term relationship? Or what does it mean to realise your needs change over time, and is it okay to speak up for yourself? Is it okay to ask for what you need?”

So do you believe people are uncomfortable because it’s not showing our better angles at all? It’s really filled with the worst parts of humanity.

“Nail on the head. These are the parts of myself that I have put out on the table because that’s the way we alchemise them. When I say, ‘Putting these parts of myself on the table,’ I’m not talking about fatphobia. I’m the opposite [of that]. I put out that tweet. I have struggled with my weight and my body my entire life.

“Yes, the idea is, perhaps, there may be internalised phobia. Like, why was I so obsessed with that? Why was I so concerned about that? But that’s real. That’s what girls are dealing with. I've known my whole life it doesn’t matter what you look like and the most important thing is what’s on the inside. And I philosophically agree with that. But because of all the messaging I’ve gotten, I’ve internalised bad messages.

“So I need to be able to, as an artist, as a human, be able to express, ‘Yes, I understand that and agree with that intellectually and emotionally. So then why do I feel on the inside like I’m not good enough?’”

By the way, are you from the South?

“I am not from the South at all. But, Bill Alverson is from Alabama. We spent a lot of time together, and he kind of indoctrinated me into that world, and I absorbed it by osmosis...He was totally down because he got the joke … He was my barometer, he was my true north in terms of ‘Have I captured the feeling of the pageant world? Have I captured the South?’ We have similar journeys reconciling who we thought we were supposed to be and who we really are.”

You said you changed the script from the original pilot. What were the major changes?

“It used to be a half-hour [show]. Then The CW bought it, and we made it into an hour … The characters of Dixie and Regina were characters people just talked about. We showed flashbacks of them.

“The CW encouraged us to have them be involved people in the show. That changed the entire thing for the better … because you could have them say and do terrible things. By having the villains say it, we’re saying this is a terrible thing to say. You know?”

Do you have any parting words?

“ Insatiable is meant to be a social commentary. I’m standing on the shoulders of a long history of people who have used satire as social commentary in a way that’s not sermonising … It’s okay to laugh. Art isn’t polite. It isn’t gentle, and if it’s starting a conversation then at least we’re talking about it. Because not talking about it and trying to silence ourselves and other people is the most dangerous thing we could do.”

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

Is Jaime Lannister Going To Die Next On Game Of Thrones? Here's The New Evidence

It's Time To Meet "The Great Other" Of Game Of Thrones

Who Will Win The Game Of Thrones?

It's no secret that planning a wedding is stressful and expensive – the average cost of a wedding in the UK is now an eye-watering £30,000.

But while a wedding is definitely a celebration of the happy couple's commitment to one another, it's also – in many cases – a time for family and friends to come together and celebrate with them. No couple want their wedding guests to leave feeling disappointed.

So it's interesting to look at new research from American Express asking wedding guests which elements of the big day they find most and least enjoyable.

Interestingly, the three wedding ingredients that guests value the most cost nothing at all – knowing other guests, good weather and how well they know the couple getting married.

Venue and catering – which obviously it is possible to spend a small fortune on – also placed within the top five, which you can check out below.

1. Knowing other guests (described as important by 44% of survey participants)

2. Good weather (42%)

3. How well they know the bride/groom (41%)

4. The venue (38%)

5. The catering (37%)

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the elements of a wedding that guests find least integral to their enjoyment are favours and goody bags, and the dreaded speeches.

1. Favours/goody bags (described as important by 5% of survey participants)

2. The speeches (10%)

3. Being able to bring children (10%)

4. Being able to bring a plus one (13%)

5. Meeting new people (13%)

The research also found that 59% of couples planning their wedding take steps to reduce the cost of attending for their guests. Just over 1 in 3 said they chose a venue close to their family and friends to reduce travel expenses, while just over 1 in 5 said they deliberately organised a relatively cheap stag or hen party.

If you're looking to save money when planning your wedding, check out these top tips from members of Refinery29's Money Diaries Facebook group.

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

Quick! Soak Up The Sun At London's Best Rooftop Bars

Kim Kardashian West Finally Shows How Her Ultra-Minimalist Bathroom Sink Works

Confessions Of A...Cam Girl

We tend to complain about Mercury retrograde because we don't know what else to blame for our problems. Besides, everyone else does it and misery loves company, right? As satisfying as whining about Mercury may feel in the moment, we should probably put a more positive spin on its retrograde periods. They're nothing new, they happen three times a year, and, trust us, they're actually pretty darn helpful. Try meditating this week on what this slow-down has done for you. Before the scapegoat planet goes direct next week, consider the benefits of a much-needed reset.

Mars starts the week off with a bang when it enters Capricorn. Since the red planet is still retrograde (and making even our best-laid plans move in slow motion), this is an opportunity to rehash, reorganise, and restore anything that's bugging you at work — leave any executing for after the 27th, when Mars goes direct.

If you have some free time on Sunday, spend some time tidying up and cleaning out your home as the moon enters Virgo. Don't be surprised if you suddenly have a Terminator-like ability to zero in on the sneakiest messes. We might be feeling more social (and ready to host an impromptu shindig) when the moon enters Libra on Tuesday.

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

During The Full Pink Moon In Libra, Let Pleasure Be Your Guide

Far Out Astrology-Inspired Baby Names For Zodiac Lovers

This Is The Reason Why People Celebrate Easter