After following a doctor’s advice, Hannah Mulcahy was thrown into a nightmare that almost ended in tragedy.
It’s a sweltering day in Melbourne, but Hannah Mulcahy is wearing long sleeves. Her friends are cooling off at the pool or the beach, but the thought of joining them and exposing her badly scarred arms is too painful for the teenager.
The thick, red, raised marks are the horrific results of 17-year-old Hannah taking antidepressants, prescribed by her GP for period pain and sleepless nights.
“I hate the scars. They’re a constant reminder of what happened to me,” she says.
As new statistics reveal that around 30,000 Aussie children aged 18 and under were prescribed antidepressants last year, Hannah’s story serves as a shocking example of what can go horribly wrong.
Hannah was 16 and suffering from severe period pains, headaches and sleeplessness when she went to see her GP in September 2007. After a 15-minute consultation the teenager was prescribed the antidepressant Zoloft, a contraceptive pill to regulate her hormones, and Valium to help her sleep. The doctor gave her some sample packs so she could start on them straight away, but they didn’t come with any patient information.
“The doctor never said, ‘I’m putting your daughter on antidepressants’. She just said they were approved as the safest drugs for kids,” says Hannah’s mum, Nicola.
The doctor told Hannah to take just half the dose at first, and then the full dose five days later. But she never got to the fifth day.
“After four days, everything exploded,” remembers Hannah. “I’d been feeling really agitated and irritable since taking the drugs, and suddenly I was kicking things for no reason. I was throwing books around the study.”
For more information about the Australian Consumer Patient Rights group, visit www.acpr.com.au
Should kids be prescribed antidepressants in any circumstances? Have your say below…
After six on-screen weddings, the Bold And The Beautiful star has popped the question for real.
As TV’s Ridge Forrester, he’s been down the aisle so many times he’s worn a path in the carpet. But in real life, actor Ronn Moss hopes his second marriage will be for ever.
After his first marriage broke down seven years ago, the heartbroken actor shunned the dating scene, instead throwing himself into being the best father possible to his beautiful daughters Creason, 15, and Calee, 10.
So when he met former Playboy Playmate Devin Devasquez, 45, he took things slowly — the couple even split up for three months during their five-year courtship.
By sheer fate, the two had met briefly 23 years ago, although both were involved in other relationships at the time. Now reunited, Devin has taught Ronn, 57, to love again and today they talk exclusively to Woman’s Day about their wedding plans.
When did you first meet?
Devin Devasquez: We met 23 years ago when we were doing a movie called Hot Child In The City. Coincidentally, this was the same movie where Ronn met Creason and Caelee’s mom who was also in the film. I joke with the girls that I could have been their mom!
Ronn Moss: I only briefly remember meeting Devin.
DD: That hurts!
How about the second time?
DD: We were reintroduced five years ago when Lorenzo Lamas [former B&B actor] set us up. Lorenzo was actually trying to fix me up with Winsor Harmon, who plays Thorne Forrester on The Bold And The Beautiful.
RM: It was very much a blind date because I didn’t remember the first time we’d met. Lorenzo mentioned she was an ex-Playmate and I’d told him, ‘Look, if she comes here with bouffant hair and the nails done and all the Playboy accoutrements… I’m out of here!’ But he assured me she was real down-to-earth.
But Ronn, you must have had loads of women throwing themselves at you — why did you subject yourself to a blind date?
RM: Because I didn’t have time. The job is really demanding. I didn’t date for a long time, mainly because of my daughters. I’d become a single dad so I just had to take up the slack. There’s a lot you have to do to take care of your kids on your own.
Tell us about your wedding.
DD: A friend of ours, who is an ordained minister, is marrying us. We are not religious per se, we’re more spiritual.
RM: We’re not doing a religious wedding.
DD: I’ve already given Ronn his wedding band — which he wears on a chain around his neck — so he will give me a wedding band and that will pretty much be it. We have a harpist for the ceremony and a DJ for the party and the beautiful Nadia Bjorlin from Days Of Our Lives will sing.
What’s your favourite thing to do together?
DD: Ronn is very physical which is probably why his body looks the way it is. We go bike-riding, hiking and kayaking at the lake house where Ronn grew up as a kid. I love to cook and we watch movies in our own movie theatre with the fireplace going, or having friends over to barbecue.
RM: I did many similar things in my first marriage but this feels more like home, more than ever before.
And you recently moved to a new home out in the country?
DD: Yes, we moved to this area because Creason really loves horses and we wanted to give her her dream of having horses.
RM: I also wanted to get the hell out of Hollywood!
The model’s wedding to internet and property tycoon Jim Clark was a surprisingly laid-back affair.
Aussie model and television host Kristy Hinze, 29, said “I do” to her billionaire love Jim Clark, 65, in a star-studded tropical island ceremony.
Wearing a stunning Oscar de la Renta gown and surrounded by a who’s who of powerful business names and home-grown Aussie talent, Kristy mirrored her exquisite surroundings when she walked down the aisle.
“It is a very relaxed-feel wedding, and Jim and I are both calm and just enjoying each other — and being with our close family and friends,” Kristy said of her three-day nuptials with Netscape founder Jim.
Hollywood stars and Woman’s Day‘s own fashion director Jo Ferguson were among the 120 guests who descended on the British Virgin Islands to share in Kristy and Jim’s joy.
A twilight cocktail party at Virgin founder and wedding guest Sir Richard Branson’s private Necker Island kicked off the celebrations, preceded by a family visit to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.
The following morning, guests — who had been advised of a “tropical chic” dress code — were ferried to the nearby Little Dix Bay Resort on Virgin Gorda, where the simple beach ceremony was held.
There was never any doubt Kristy would make a beautiful bride, but she still managed to draw gasps from the crowd, when they caught sight of her hot-off-the-runway strapless gown.
A fed-up Brad storms out on Angelina as he struggles to raise their six kids alone while she’s at work.
Brad Pitt has threatened to call it quits on his manic life with Angelina Jolie, storming out on the star after their biggest argument ever.
Fed up with his out-of-control home life, a frustrated Brad has issued Angelina a warning following another row over the couple’s six children.
After their most recent confrontation, a weary Brad turned to Angelina and yelled, “You wanted all of these kids, you take care of them!”, before storming out of their Washington home and racing off on his motorbike.
Insiders say the couple, who no longer share a bedroom, have been increasingly at odds as Brad, 45, struggles to care for six children under seven years of age while Angelina films the movie Salt in the US capital.
The household is severely understaffed since Ange fired a female nanny amid fears she was undermining her authority and bonding too closely with Brad and the kids.
Being the devoted father, Brad quickly stepped in to pick up the pieces, but playing Mr Mum has proved too much for the actor, who adores his kids but has never really been able to discipline them.
“They run wild, play tricks and pranks on him — like shooting him with potato guns — and turn the house upside down,” an insider says.
Princess-in-waiting Kate Middleton is horrified by the latest scandal to engulf her. Royal writer Phil Dampier reports.
Just as speculation mounts that Prince William is finally set to propose, Kate Middleton has been left red-faced by suggestions that her family have been cashing in on talk of her impending royal wedding.
An embarrassed Kate — who has long suffered snide suggestions in the British press that her family are social climbers — last week returned from a secret skiing holiday with William in the French Alps, to find lurid newspaper headlines criticising her role as a “saleswoman” for the Middletons’ party-planning firm.
Kate’s face is prominently displayed on the website of her parents’ multi-million dollar business, which sells children’s party items. Mum Carole, 54, and dad Michael, 59, are promoting a staggering 84 princess-themed products, from tiaras and ball gowns to castles and fairytale stagecoaches. Most expensive is a pink princess trike at $524.
“This is plainly cashing in on palace connections and the royals aren’t going to like it,” a courtier exclusively told me.
“Kate is a famous woman only because of William and it’s clear to see that any product she endorses with a regal connection will sell. There’s a very real concern that what she’s doing trivialises the name of the British monarchy.”
For the full story, see this week’s Woman’s Day (on sale March 30).
Friends and fans pay tribute as the star loses her very public struggle to live.
Reality TV star Jade Goody succumbed to cancer last week knowing she had provided for her two young sons’ futures — and that she’d lived her unconventional life exactly as she’d wanted to.
Shooting to fame with her often uncouth outbursts on the UK version of Big Brother, then spinning her notoriety into a career as a celebrity, Jade was unapologetic until the end.
“I want to be remembered for being the mouthy bird off the box. The one who irritated and entertained people in equal measure,” the 27-year-old told a British magazine before her death from cervical cancer.
“But I also want to be remembered as the girl who put up a fight and would never let herself get beaten down.”
There’s no doubt she was remembered by people from all walks of life, with tributes after her March 22 death coming from British PM Gordon Brown and American Idol host Simon Cowell. Comedian Stephen Fry described her as “a kind of Princess Di from the wrong side of the tracks”.
The zesty scent of lemon essential oil is not only refreshing; it’s a blues-buster as well.
A study published in Neuroimmunomodulation shows that depressed patients who inhaled lemon oil each morning needed fewer antidepressant drugs than those who did not; other research suggests that lemon oil improves mood, concentration, and accuracy. It is thought that the smell stimulates the hippocampus, which is the part of your brain that is responsible for short-term memory, alertness, and physical balance. Get your day off to a great start with this zingy, citrus-y treatment:
Sprinkle 10 drops of lemon essential oil into a washbasin filled with warm water. Dip a clean face-washer into the water, wring it out, and proceed to briskly massage your body with it, using small firm circles. Start at your feet and move upwards, always moving towards your heart, which stimulates your circulation.
Sprinkle another 5 drops of lemon oil on the face-washer and place it over the grating in the shower recess. Run a warm shower (if you make it too hot, you will feel lethargic afterwards, rather than invigorated) and step in. Steam from the warm water disperses the oil and spreads the aromatherapeutic benefits, without any extra effort on your part. (Note: Placing the oil on the face-washer rather than on the shower floor reduces the risk of slipping.)
Finish with a short blast of cold water at the end of your shower for a dynamic morning wake-up call. Make sure you let the water play on the nape of your neck and chest for a super-stimulating effect. This shakes off morning grogginess and also closes your pores, which protects your immune system. When you get out of a steaming-hot shower, your pores are left wide open, allowing the heat to leave your body.
Towel off – and resolve to keep that fresh, focused feeling with you all day.
Your Say: How do you add citrus to your diet? Share your tips below…
Two antioxidant flavonoids that you’ve probably never heard of – kaempferol and luteolin – may hold the key to fighting ovarian cancer, often called ‘the silent killer’ because it has few symptoms and is usually only diagnosed at an advanced stage.
A study of 66,940 women at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, USA, published in the International Journal of Cancer, found that diets high in kaempferol (found in broccoli and green tea) and luteolin (found in carrots, capsicums and cabbage) were associated with a 40 and 34 per cent reduction in ovarian cancer risk, respectively. Study leader Margaret Oates says, “This is good news because there are few lifestyle factors known to reduce a woman’s risk of ovarian cancer.”
Your Say: Have you heard about kaempferol and luteolin already? Share you thoughts below…
Strength training does not make you 'big'. To get big muscles you need to train a lot, very hard and with very heavy weights and you also need testosterone. This is hard enough for men and extremely difficult for women...
Strength training does not make you ‘big’. To get big muscles you need to train a lot, very hard and with very heavy weights and you also need testosterone. This is hard enough for men and extremely difficult for women.
Muscle is denser than fat, as it stores water and energy. Pay more attention to body measurements or clothing size than weight.
Muscle is an ‘expensive’ tissue; it raises your metabolism and burns more energy (and fat) all day, which is great for weight loss.
Protein builds and repairs muscles and carbohydrates provide exercise energy, so eat enough quality sources of both.Gallery:12 exercises for strength training at home
Strength training works only the specific muscles used in an exercise and not fat stored on top. There is no such thing as spot reduction; strength training makes you tighter, firmer, stronger and shapelier. Fat loss is a result of negative energy balance, that is using more energy than you eat and genetics and hormones determine the pattern in which fat is lost.
Strength training gives women, gorgeous firm curves, toned limbs, lots of energy and prevents bone density and muscle tissue loss which otherwise decline after mid twenties.
Resistance training, strength training, weight lifting are all similar terms meaning pushing or pulling against a force which could be water resistance, body weight or dumbbells against gravity or pulleys or hydraulics on a machine.
Gallery: 12 exercises for strength training at home
Related video
Tips for effective training
You can do a huge range of exercises just with your body for starters. Some of the best bodies in the world are trained mostly with body weight; those of dancers, gymnasts and martial artists.
Basic equipment enhances training effects. Start with light weights and more repetitions for safety.
You can use dumbbells or plastic milk bottles with handles filled with water or sand.
Always lean proper form to prevent injury; try books, the internet or ask an expert.
Perform exercises in front of a mirror to ensure proper form. If anything hurts stop and seek medical advice.
Always do strength training slowly and under control. Speed and swinging risks injury.
Don’t hold your breathe while doing exercises.
For fast, effective workouts, mix exercises up, rest less and perform more than one at a time, such as a squat with a bicep curl. It raises your heart rate and burns more kilojoules.
Remember to stretch; Flexibility training is essential for range of motion, injury prevention and relaxation.
YOUR SAY: What body type are you and are you happy with your shape? Tell us below…
The city of Kota Kinabalu on Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, is your doorway to a world of lush tropical rainforest, incredible wildlife and a shared history created by war.
A short hop from Singapore, Sabah offers you so many different sorts of experiences, it’s hard to believe it’s only part of an island. From watching orang utans at play to breathing cool mountain air as you gaze across a lush tea plantation, you can enjoy a variety of holidays all in one place. From your base in Kota Kinabalu, the thriving capital on the west coast, you can reach every attraction on offer.
There’s no need to miss out on comfort, either, just because you hanker for adventure, with four and five-star hotels to stay in, for a fraction what you’d pay in Australia, with a wide choice of other types of accommodation to choose from in the city or beyond.
The tropical rainforest will enchant you with its riches, from tiny orchids to soaring trees entwined with vines and the teeming animal life. Australians interested in our history will also want to retrace the steps of the Sandakan Death Marches and remember the thousands of Diggers and British troops who lost their lives. So, for a trip that promises surprises and unique sights and sounds, Sabah is a destination that will not disappoint.
There is a special connection the Sabahnese feel with Australians and it was forged in war. In 1945, in the face of an Allied advance, the Japanese forced 2428 prisoners of war (POW), including 1787 Australians and 641 British troops, to march 250 kilometres from Sandakan, in northern Borneo, to Ranau in the west, in three groups. Their torturous journeys took them through thick jungle and, already weakened by years in captivity, thousands of the POWs died or were killed by their Japanese guards along the way. Of the thousands that set out, only six marchers – all of them Australian – survived. It remains the single worst atrocity committed against Australians in war. Memorials marking the start and finish of the marches can be found in Sandakan, where a memorial day is held on August 15 each year, and at Ranau, and there is also the Kundasang War Memorial situated on the fringe of Mount Kinabalu Park. Today, the visitor wanting to pay their respects can travel the same route in relative comfort, but will still be moved by the thought of those brave men struggling through a hostile environment.
To find out how to retrace the journey of the marchers, visit www.sandakan-deathmarch.com
The jungles of Borneo host an amazing array of animals, birds and plants. One that visitors are keen to see is the majestic and endangered orang utan. The best way to see the “Man of the Forest” is at a sanctuary, either the Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary, 40 minutes outside Sandakan in the west, or at the orang utan reserve found behind the Shangri-La Rasa Ria Resort at Kota Kinabalu, in the east. At these sanctuaries, the orang utans have been rescued from lives as pets or they are orphans, and are being rehabilitated, so, one day, they can return to their natural habitat, the forest. It’s a thrill the first time you hear the rustle of leaves and, there before you, are orang utans playing or feeding. You don’t have to stay at the resort to visit the orang utan sanctuary, but it’s well worth a look, with its family-friendly beachfront position and plenty of activities to keep everyone happy.
For more details about seeing orang utans, visit www.sabahtourism.com
No visit to Borneo would be complete without seeing Mount Kinabalu Park, Malaysia’s first World Heritage site. A botanical paradise, the park covers 754 square kilometres and the focal point is the breathtaking mountain itself. More than 4000 metres high, the mountain is never out of sight for long as you travel up the winding road towards it. The fitter among you can take a guided hike to its peak, but those after a less strenuous experience can enjoy a walk around the botanical gardens at its foot. The gardens are a showcase of the fascinating plant-life that inhabits the park.
For more information on Mount Kinabalu Park, visit www.sabahtourism.com
A refreshing place to stop is the Sabah Tea Garden, on the road to Mount Kinabalu. The views are spectacular from the plantation, which spreads across the foothills of the mountain. You can take in a tour of the tea factory, where you’ll learn all about tea cultivation and sample some of the top quality tea produced here. You can also stay overnight or longer in a traditional bamboo long house or a more luxurious guesthouse. After the tropical atmosphere and bustle of Kota Kinabalu, the cool breezes and peace of the Tea Garden will refresh you as much as the tea.
For more information on the Sabah Tea Garden, visit www.sabahtea.net
Among the incredible array of wildlife to be found in Sabah, the fireflies are one of the most fascinating. A good place to see them is at the Monkey Tops Safari Eco-lodge and Fish Spa, at Kota Klias, 100 kilometres from Kota Kinabalu. Situated on the edge of the Klias River, Monkey Tops has a variety of nature-spotting activities to offer. Hop on a cruise boat and be taken on a guided tour to watch proboscis monkeys as they feed and find a suitable treetop for the night, or the smaller long-tailed macaques, silvered leaf monkeys, kingfishers, eagles and maybe even crocodiles – the forest is teeming with life. After dark, you can dine under a canopy of stars, on a deck built out into the river. When the night has descended on the jungle and all is dark, re-embark for a short trip to find the fireflies. Arranged like Christmas decorations, the fireflies will have you gasping in wonder at their twinkling beauty.
For more details, visit www.borneostarcruise.com
FLY: Singapore Airlines to Singapore then a connecting flight to Kota Kinabalu with its subsidiary, Silk Air. Phone 13 10 11 or visit www.singaporeairlines.com
STAY: You can either opt for the four-star luxury of the Novotel Hotel in Kota Kinabalu for a fraction what it would cost in Australia, or stay at one of the many budget hotels available in the city or elsewhere in Sabah. Visit www.sabahtourism.com for all your accommodation options.
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