Summer is on its way. Here in Medical News Today‘s hometown of Brighton, United Kingdom, the temperature is rising, seagulls are preparing to steal the food of unsuspecting tourists, and our fingers are hovering over desk fans in anticipation of the warmer weather.

Rocks painted by the MNT teamShare on Pinterest
The MNT team used their creativity to decorate some pebbles with positive messages.

It’s at this time of year that I start to get excited about all the things to come: barbecues, beach days, light, warm evenings, and the prospect of leaving the house without a jacket and scarf.

It’s at this time of year, however, that my body confidence begins to decline. The thought of wearing a swimsuit at the beach or even revealing my legs in a dress or shorts fills me with fear.

I’m certainly not alone here. According to the UK’s Mental Health Foundation, 1 in 5 adults in the country have felt shame within the last year as a result of their body image, and more than a third have felt anxious or depressed because of concerns over body image.

Self-love is vital for our mental health and well-being, and we could all do with a little more of it. With this in mind, we decided to share some messages of self-love in honor of Mental Health Month this May — in the form of rock painting.

“You are important.” “You rock!” “Love yourself. You are worth it.”

These are just some of the positive messages that the MNT team thoughtfully painted on pebbles and placed around various locations in Brighton for people to discover. It’s our hope that finding one of these pebbles will give someone a little boost of confidence.

Have you found one of our pebbles? Get in touch! We’d love to hear from you. You can also reach out to us on Facebook and Twitter.

So, dear readers: Which articles piqued your interest this month? Our article on what to know about muscle-building supplements caught your eye, and you were interested in learning about diabetes leg pain.

You also wanted to learn about body fat. Our article explaining how calories and body fat work proved popular this month, as did our article on how to burn fat if you’re unable to work out.

Within our news content, our coverage of a study linking muscle-building protein shakes to health problems piqued your curiosity, and you were intrigued by our story on how setting stricter meal times could help control blood sugar.

Another story that caught your attention was our interesting article on a study that claims to have uncovered clear evidence that having an appendectomy can raise the risk of Parkinson’s disease.

For those of you who are curious as to why so many studies are conducted in mice and how they can possibly be relevant to human health, I urge you to read our article on this very subject. It may very well change your outlook on medical research.

I’ll be back next month with the latest news on what’s been happening at MNT HQ.

Until then, have a wonderful June filled with sun and self-love.

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Honor Whiteman, Managing Editor