Mirel Zaman's Recent Articles - Refinery29

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Can You Actually Self-Diagnose ADHD? It’s Complicated

How Much Money Do You Really Need To Quit Your Job?

Is It Ever Possible To Stay Close With An Ex’s Family?

What Is Emotional Labour, Really? You Might Be Surprised

Here is a not-at-all-comprehensive list of times I’ve incorrectly used the term “emotional labour”: — To express my exasperation when my husband as

This Viral App Takes A Candid Photo Of You Every Day

When I first saw a TikTok about Glance Back, a Chrome extension that functions as a kind of photo diary, I knew I’d download it. Once a day at a

Being Embarrassed Is Good, Actually

The other day, I bought a cheap bouquet of bright pink sunflowers — I spotted them while en route to a birthday party, and they were too irresistible to

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This Bodyweight Workout Will Give You An Exercise High — In 12 Mi...

Why Are There So Many Bad Job Interview Questions?

“If you were a tree, what kind would you be?” It’s the type of inane question that many people would roll their eyes at if it were asked during an ic

Millennials Never Wanted Ping Pong Tables At Work — But It’...

When Rod Thill graduated college in 2013, “everyone,” he remembers, “wanted to work at a startup.” Thill, who’s better known as @rod on TikTok, w

The Wellness Industry Has A Cultural Appropriation Problem — & It...

Almost 30 years ago, in 1995, two researchers from the University of Mississippi were granted a patent for “the use of turmeric for wound healing.” At

Our Notes App, Ourselves: Inside The Weirdest, Most Wonderful Pla...

“It’s so hot. The woman next to me reading poetry, barking into the phone: Pick up pick up pickup.” This isn’t a snippet of some experimental

These Stupid Life Hacks Changed My Life In An Unexpected Way

It could be argued that life-hack content has been around, as a genre, since roughly 2500 B.C. That’s the approximate date of the “Instructions of Shur

Do I Have Autumn Allergies Or COVID-19?

Every autumn, I spend a day or two thinking I have a cold before I remember that allergies are a thing I deal with every year. Then I pop an antihistamine

7 Stretches For Emotional Wellbeing

I Was Diagnosed With Cancer At My First OB/GYN Visit & I Don’t Wa...

The first time she went to a gynaecologist, Emaan Abbass was 21. She’d heard her friends talking about their own visits, and figured it was time to go he

There’s A Reason You Want To Buy All Your Childhood Dinnerware Ri...

The plates are lovely: They’re ceramic and adorned with rough, blue brushstrokes and dotted with yellow stars. But it isn’t their aesthetic appeal that

Smartphones Are Great, But Have You Ever Held A Pink Motorola RAZR?

1999 was a huge year for mobile phones. That’s the year that the first mobile phone with a mobile web browser (WAP) came out. Samsung released a phone th

Why Is It So Weirdly Sexy To Have A Husky Voice?

When I quit smoking in 2010, my heart was only half in it. I knew it was the right thing to do, but I liked smoking. And yet, my growing fear of the i

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What Does It Really Mean To “Decolonise” Wellness?

Turmeric lattes, facial gua sha, yoga, burning sage — the modern wellness industry in western countries borrows heavily from the ancient traditions of c

How Does It Feel To Have A Partner Who Does Sex Work?

Chris Buck, a photographer and director based in New York and California, has always been drawn to the tension between strength and vulnerability. In his l

Diet Culture Is Deadly — & Profitable. Elle Fanning Wants To Talk...

Journalist Jessica Wapner was researching body heat when she first came across the mention of 2,4-dinitrophenol, known as DNP. The chemical had been linked

Why Will Men Do Literally Anything To Avoid Going To Therapy?

The pandemic has driven many people into — or back into — therapy. We’ve probably all noticed this — if not because of the experiences of people we

I Changed My Name When I Got Married, & I’ve Felt Weird About It ...

Two years ago, I got married and took my husband’s last name, adopting my original surname as my middle name and dropping my birth-given middle name alto

Do You Have COVID Insomnia? These Two Strategies Might Help

The creators of most TV shows probably don’t hope that viewers fall asleep before the credits start to roll. But putting you to sleep is the goal of a ne

Are Saturn Returns Real?

Twenty-nine is often a very difficult age. It was for me, anyway. I spent most of my 29th year in a state of upheaval, questioning my career path, my relat

Is Slang Changing Faster These Days, Or Am I Just Getting Old?

Recently, I found myself thinking, Am I getting too old to partake in the latest slang? Of course, even having that realisation probably means I’m alread

Is Everyone Secretly Napping While Working From Home?

In my experience, people either vigorously advocate for napping or are dismissive of it, perhaps exasperated by their inability to appreciate something tha

Is Working From Home Ruining My Vision?

I have always felt undeservedly smug about my vision. For distances, I need glasses, but up close? Crystal clear. One particular point of pride was my abil

We Have To Start Talking About Period Poo

Period poo is one of those things no one talks about much, but so many people experience. My anecdotal experience confirms it: Mention “period poo” to

COVID Shaming Doesn’t Work — So Why Does It Feel Like It Does?

Last weekend, I was snowshoeing through a trail in Massachusetts, United States, with a small group of friends when one pulled out her phone. I started to

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