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Wellness

Cadbury removed the words from its wrappers to bring attention to a seldom-discussed issue

The candy giant said it "donated" the words.

Cadbury removed the words from its wrappers to bring attention to a seldom-discussed issue
via Cadbury

Cadbury has removed the words from its Dairy Milk chocolate bars in the U.K. to draw attention to a serious issue, senior loneliness.

On September 4, Cadbury released the limited-edition candy bars in supermarkets and for every one sold, the candy giant will donate 30p (37 cents) to Age UK, an organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for the elderly.

Cadbury was prompted to help the organization after it was revealed that 225,000 elderly people in the UK often go an entire week without speaking to another person.


"Loneliness can affect your health, your well-being and the way you see yourself – it can make you feel invisible and forgotten," Caroline Abrahams, the charity's director, said in a statement.

via Bruce Detorres / Flickr

"A friendly 'hello' or 'how are you?' is something most of us take for granted – it's just part of every day life," she said, "but these latest figures show that hundreds of thousands of older people in the UK will spend today and the rest of this week alone, with no one to share even a few simple words with."

RELATED: Reminder: Not being able to see someone's disability doesn't mean they don't have one

The UK isn't the only place where seniors feel lonely.

In the U.S., a recent study found that one in three seniors report feeling lonely and 30% reported to socializing with friends, family or neighbors once a week or less.

Loneliness isn't just an emotional issue, it can also drastically affect one's health.

"Research shows that chronic loneliness can impact older adults' memory, physical well-being, mental health, and life expectancy," write the authors of the new report.

"In fact, some research suggests that chronic loneliness may shorten life expectancy even more than being overweight or sedentary, and just as much as smoking," the authors continued.

RELATED: Obituary for a 'very sick man' is going viral because it's so funny you wish you knew him

Cadbury's campaign to help lonely seniors is a great reminder for all of us to think about how we can help seniors in our community. It can be as simple as a friendly, "Hello how are you?" or knocking on their door and asking if they're free for a cup of coffee.

A tiny gesture like that is simple for younger people but for the elderly it can make a world of difference.

via K2Sleddogs / Flickr

Justice

Walking Alongside Martu: A journey with one of the world’s oldest living cultures

Pura’s inaugural impact collection honors both sacred traditions and sustainable futures.

James Roh
True

In a world driven by speed, efficiency, and immediate results, it’s easy to forget that lasting change is built on trust. Real impact doesn’t come from rushing toward an end goal or measuring success through lofty metrics. It comes from falling in love with the problem, building a community around it, and sharing a vision for lasting transformation.

Pura, the smart home fragrance company that marries premium fragrance with innovative technology, recently launched its inaugural impact collection with K Farmer Dutjahn Foundation (KFDF) and Dutjahn Sandalwood Oils (DSO). The Pura x Dutjahn partnership began with a clear purpose: to source a sacred ingredient directly from its origin while honoring the land and the people who’ve cared for it. Our goal wasn’t simply to find sandalwood — it was to find a community and an ingredient that embody exceptional land stewardship, ethical harvesting, and transformative, community-led impact. After careful research and over three years of development, we saw an opportunity to secure a premium, luxurious ingredient while supporting a regenerative supply chain that invests in Indigenous-led education, economic opportunity, and land stewardship.

James Roh

Over the past several years, we’ve walked alongside Martu, an Indigenous tribe from the vast Western Australian desert. Martu are one of the oldest living cultures in the world, with a history spanning 60,000 years. As nomadic hunter-gatherers, they have unparalleled ecological knowledge, passed down through generations, making them the traditional custodians of the land. Their approach to sandalwood harvesting isn’t driven by market demand but by a deep respect for seasonal rhythms, land health, and cultural law. Their work adapts to the environment—whether it’s “sorry time,” when mourning pauses activities, or the harsh desert conditions that make travel and communication difficult. Martu operate on Martu time, a deliberate rhythm shaped by millennia of experience, far removed from the rapid-swipe, hyper-productive pace of Western systems.

Martu’s ecological knowledge isn’t documented in baseline reports. It’s lived, carried in stories, and practiced with rigor and respect for the changing needs of the ecosystems. True partnership means unlearning the typical approach. It means standing beside—not in front—and recognizing that the wisdom and leadership we need already exist within these communities. Our role isn’t to define the work, but to support it, protect it, and learn from it.

James Roh

Tonight, as I spoke with Chairman Clinton Farmer and the KFDF team about our focus for this piece, I learned that Clinton’s truck had broken down (again), leaving him to “limp” back to town from the desert at low speeds for hours and hours. He had been awake since 3:00 a.m. This is a common and costly setback, one that disrupts the harvest, demands days of driving, and brings real financial and emotional strain. These barriers are relentless and persistent, part of the harsh reality Clinton and his community face daily. It's easy for outsiders, detached from the reality on the ground, to impose rules, regulations, and demands from afar. Rather than continuing to impose, we need to truly partner with communities — equipping them with the resources to operate sustainably, avoid burnout, and protect the very land they love and care for. All while they endeavor to share these incredible, sacred ingredients with the world and build an economic engine for their people.

There is much to learn, but we are here to listen, adapt, and stay the course. The future we need will not be built in quarterly cycles. It will be built in trust, over time, together.

To learn more about the partnership and fragrances, visit Pura x Dutjahn.

Upworthy has covered a few stories about people who decided to live permanently on cruise ships because it's cheaper than living on land or in a nursing home. These stories have connected with millions because they say a lot about the modern cost of living but are also aspirational.

Christine Kesteloo has become popular on TikTok with over 680,000 followers because she shares what living on a cruise ship is really like. Kesteloo is the wife of the ship’s Staff Chief Engineer, so she gets to live on the boat for free. She only has to pay for alcohol and soda, which she gets for half off according to Business Insider.

“I live on a cruise ship for half the year with my husband, and it's often as glamorous as it sounds,” she told Insider. “After all, I don't cook, clean, make my bed, do laundry or pay for food.“

Kesteloo’s life seems pretty stress-free. After all, she's basically on a permanent vacation. However, even though she lives on a cruise ship as a “wife on board,” there are a few things she either can’t or shouldn’t do.

She shared these four things in a TikTok video with nearly 10 million views.


1. Gambling

living on a cruise ship, cruise ship living, residential cruise ship, best cruise, married to a cruise workermedia0.giphy.com

Kesteloo says she cannot sit at a slot machine and “play my heart out until I win.” She believes it would “look a little weird if I, as the wife of the staff chief engineer, won a big jackpot.”

2. Leaving the ship with the guests

living on a cruise ship, cruise ship living, residential cruise ship, best cruise, married to a cruise workermedia0.giphy.com

When the ship arrives at a destination, she can't get off with the guests. She must wait about an hour and exit the vessel with the crew. When returning to the ship, she also has to be on time. “No, they will not wait for us,” she says. And the same goes for her husband, if they “miss the ship, someone else will take over the role.”

3. Sitting in a crowded pool

living on a cruise ship, cruise ship living, residential cruise ship, best cruise, married to a cruise workermedia1.giphy.com

Although Kesteloo has access to the pool, gym, and all the ship’s amenities, she’s cautious not to interfere with the guests' good time. She’ll exit the pool if it’s busy because “it’s just the right thing to do.”

4. Traveling without international traveler insurance

living on a cruise ship, cruise ship living, residential cruise ship, best cruise, married to a cruise workermedia1.giphy.com

She must have insurance in case of a misfortune on the ship. But as a citizen of the Netherlands, they already have coverage and just have to pay a few extra dollars a month.

Though folks generally welcomed Kesteloo's advice, some of the most popular commenters on the video were from women regretting that they married men who aren’t chief engineers on cruise ships or those who want to know where to find a single one.

"OK, can you explain how to marry a cruise ship engineer?" one female commentator wrote.

"How. in. the. H E double hockey sticks do I become the wife of a cruise ship engineer???? I don’t have to work AND cruise for free!" another added.

"Does he have any single friends with same job??? Asking for me," one more asked.

For even more tips on living this charmed life, follow Kesteloo on TikTok. Who knows, by now she might evne have some advice for landing your own cruise ship engineer spouse.

This article originally appeared last year.

Georges Biard/Wikipedia, Canva

This is how you love your kids unconditionally.

Robert De Niro’s 29-year-old daughter Airyn recently came out as trans in an interview with Them…which was a bit of a forced coming out, considering it followed the Daily Mail posting paparazzi photos of her with long pink braids along with the headline: “Robert De Niro's nepo baby son shows off shock transformation with heels and pink hair in rare sighting.

Following Airyn’s interview, De Niro sent a statement to Variety that leaves no confusion as to where he stands with his kid.

“I loved and supported Aaron as my son, and now I love and support Airyn as my daughter. I don’t know what the big deal is. I love all my children.”

Yep. Love your children for who they are. It really is that simple. And yet, we all know that sadly, for a lot of trans kids, being accepted unconditionally by their parents (or their community at large) does not come this easily, if at all. Which makes every time it does happen still feel noteworthy. Hence why so many celebrated in the comments across multi social media platforms.

“How is this a hard concept? You don't have to like or understand everything your children do, but support and love them.”

“This is the way it should be. Love your children unconditionally.”

“❤️❤️🔥🔥 this is what good parenting looks like.”

“That my friends is how you keep the love in your heart for your children, and the love for you in theirs. 🙌”

“Unconditional love actually has one simple condition: that your children are happy and thriving. ❤️ As a parent, I love my children. Period. There are no caveats or contingencies, no requirements.”

“I love that she has a great support system.”

If you follow the Goodfellas star outside of his acting career, you’ll know he makes his left-leaning stance on most social issues very, very strongly.

So it’s probably no surprise that he would be blunt and outspoken in his support for his daughter’s identity. But it’s his “what’s the big deal” bluntness that folks are really responding to. Because, well, in these times…it’s refreshing.

In the aforementioned interview with Them, Airyn shared how her family’s acceptance of her made the other challenges while growing up—“I was always told I was too much of something or not enough of something growing up: Too big, not skinny enough. Not Black enough, not white enough. Too feminine, not masculine enough.”—more manageable.

And even though she’s dealt with some fears of still being seen as the person she was before transitioning and taking hormone therapy, that support has helped fortify her mission to provide mental health advocacy and support to fellow POCs and queer folks.

“I’d want to hopefully be an inspiration for at least one other person like me who is Black, who is queer, who’s not a size extra small,” she told Them.

In a time when the trans community is under seemingly constant threat, little moments like these feel like huge victories.

@steph_murphy/TikTok

Stephanie Murphy shares her "average" home in viral TikTok video.

Sure, it’s lovely to see pristine, perfectly curated homes that look like they belong in Architectural Digest. A little inspo never hurt anyone. But as we all know, the spotless life is simply not an achievable reality, especially for those with busy lives and limited budgets (read: most of us).

But you know what? Maybe even the messy homes deserve some love. The ones with constant junk piles, unfinished projects, dirty dishes, and misplaced toys. The homes that will never grace the cover of a magazine but still do a wonderful job of containing all the moments life has to offer—the big, small, extraordinary, mundane, and everywhere in between. 'Cause at the end of the day, isn’t that a home’s true purpose anyway?


@stephsharesitall

Lets normalize “average” because there is nothing wrong with it. Everywhere you look on social media you see big gorgeous houses in perfect condition and its hard not to compare yours to them. But its not the norm and half the time its staged. Our house is lived in, and its filled with love and tons of memories and at the end of the day thats all that matters.

Stephanie Murphy, a mom and TikTok creator, seems to think so. Murphy recently took viewers on an “average house tour,” and it was the exact opposite of aspirational. Highlighted in Murphy’s tour are the pantry door that’s remained unpainted for three years, blinds held together with binder clips, air conditioners held in place by duct tape, a full dish rack tray that’s “a permanent fixture” on their countertops, and not one but two junk drawers (honestly, that’s a little low by my count). You’ll also notice a fridge that is covered in her kid’s artwork and school pictures. Not in any cohesive way, but merely thrown on randomly, as nature intended.

Meanwhile, in the master bedroom, Murphy and her husband’s bed have two separate blankets because neither of them like to share. A genius idea, and just another example of how we really, really don’t need to continue with marital sleeping norms that don’t actually feel comfortable.

As for why Murphy decided to showcase her “average, middle-class house,” it’s all in the caption of her video: “Let’s normalize ‘average’ because there is nothing wrong with it. Everywhere you look on social media, you see big gorgeous houses in perfect condition and it’s hard not to compare yours to them. But it’s not the norm and half the time it's staged. Our house is lived in, and it’s filled with love and tons of memories and at the end of the day that's all that matters."

She further explained her reasoning to Good Morning America. "I feel like social media is full of one perfectly curated video after another, and there is just so much pressure from social media to be perfect in all aspects -- to have perfect skin, perfect makeup, perfect outfit, perfect house. And the reality is no one's perfect," Murphy said.

"Honestly, I feel like there's a very good chance that all those videos that we see were staged and they probably like, moved a pile of toys behind the camera to film and then moved it back when they were done. But that's the part that people on social media just aren't sharing. They don't show you the behind-the-scenes and that is what I was looking to change," she continued.


Judging from the comments sections of this now-viral post, it seems like other people are ready for more average content.

“This is awesome! I’m constantly feeling inadequate when people have a perfect house that looks like nobody lives there!” one person wrote. “I feel seen,” added another.

Hear, hear. No need to feel inadequate about having a home that’s lived in. Imperfection has its own kind of beauty.

This article originally appeared two years ago.

Canva

A delivery driver in England helped save a woman's life

Kindness is infectious. Once it chooses a host, it can spread easily to others, creating a world where the same germ of consideration one could have for another might come back tenfold.

Such was the case in England with Leandro Pinto Dantas, a 36-year-old Asda delivery driver working in Poole, Dorset. One evening, he was making a grocery delivery to a woman and became concerned when she didn't answer her door. His instinct told him something was off, and sure enough - it was.

In Sophie Cridland's piece for BBC.com, she shares his explanation: "The light was on, and the TV was on. I knocked on the door but didn't get an answer, so I called the contact phone number we had for the delivery but got no reply." He then looked through the window, only to see that the woman was on the floor, seemingly unconscious. He called emergency services (999 in the United Kingdom), and luckily, they were able to come in time.

The woman, reportedly in her 60s, was diabetic, and her blood sugar had dropped. The paramedics treated her with a glucose injection.

Some might say concern for others is just the right thing to do — and that perhaps anyone in their right mind would have done the same. But Leandro went an extra mile by not only putting the customer's groceries away once the paramedics arrived, but also coming back a few days later with a check-in and some flowers.

In turn, the woman penned a letter to Leandro for the Bournemouth Echo (a local newspaper), letting him know how much it meant to her.

Printed in bold was: "Thanks for all your help." The letter continued: "I don't know if he will see this, but just in case he does, I wonder if you can print my letter to say thank you to the Asda delivery chap who found me unconscious on the floor and organised a neighbour to get my back gate open so he could come in and phone for an ambulance. That is certainly going above and beyond what I would expect from supermarket delivery drivers to do. I am fine now, but I think that will be the last time I do my insulin injection in that part of me again." It's signed Mrs. A. Thorne, Coles Avenue, Poole.

Delivery driver, Asda, Poole, heroA woman pens a note to the Bournemouth Echo to thank delivery driverBBC.Com, Bournemouth Echo Newspaper

She also relayed that the incident might have saved her from another silent issue. "I came round with a paramedic giving me glucose to get my blood sugars up. My blood pressure wasn't quite right either, so I was taken to hospital to be checked over and was allowed home the next day."

Leandro's employers took note too. They nominated him for the Asda Service Superstar Award. From their website: "We’re extremely proud of our incredible colleagues who go the extra mile every day to make a difference to our customers, communities and each other. Our Proud to be Asda Awards are about recognising, celebrating and most importantly saying thank you to these extra special colleagues."

Call it fate, call it circumstance. Either way, one simple act of doing the right thing led to more kindness, which led to the workplace taking note ---which will hopefully only continue paving the path for better things.

Woman making a "time out" sign.

There’s nothing worse than getting caught off-guard by a rude comment, whether it’s someone in line at Starbucks, a coworker saying something passive-aggressive, or a family member taking a shot at you for being single. Once the insult hits, you get flooded with negative emotions, and your brain goes into overdrive. Should I say something back? What did they really mean? You think to yourself. That’s why it’s great to have a response in your back pocket, so that you don’t say the wrong thing in haste, making the interaction even worse.

How to respond to a rude comment

John Bowe, a speech trainer, award-winning journalist, and author of “I Have Something to Say: Mastering the Art of Public Speaking in an Age of Disconnection,” recently shared the perfect five-word phrase to keep handy next time someone makes a rude comment to you: “Do you really mean that?”

“Say it with outrage or dripping sarcasm, with raised eyebrows or deadpan calm. It doesn’t matter. This phrase is quietly disarming and deceptively powerful,” Bowe writes for CNBC. Bowe says the response does two great things for you. First, it gives them a chance to reconsider their words because most rude comments are said without thinking. “By responding with curiosity instead of defensiveness, you’re holding up a mirror. Often, that’s all it takes for the other person to walk back their offense,” he writes.

comebacks, rude comments, insults, woman, stop, insults, gaspA woman gasping.via Canva/Photos

Secondly, it shifts the power dynamic. “You’re not on your heels anymore — you’re in control. And instead of lashing out or escalating, you’re putting the responsibility back where it belongs: with the person who made the rude comment,” he writes.

When you respond by asking them to clarify their comments, you put them in a position where they are almost forced to backpedal or apologize. At least, you’ve neutralized the situation unless the other person rants to escalate.

How to respond to a rude comment at work

Amy Gallo, at the Harvard Business Review, offers additional comebacks with similar meanings she suggests people can use at work. Gallo is a workplace expert who writes and speaks about effective communication, interpersonal dynamics, gender, difficult conversations, and feedback.“You might even ask the person to simply repeat what they said, which may prompt them to think through what they meant and how their words might sound to others,” she writes.

insults, coworkers, work, men in business suits, reports, rudeA man criticizing another man's work.via Canva/Photos

Here are Gallo’s suggested comebacks:

“What was your intention when you said…?”

“What specifically did you mean by that? I’m not sure I understood.”

“Could you say more about what you mean by that?”

“Did I hear you correctly? I think you said…”

The great thing about these responses is that they allow you to take the high ground without having to resort to lowering yourself to their comment. The reactions are confident and will enable you to expose the other person by simply asking them to clarify their comment. It’s like a judo master using his opponent's force and weight against them to gain leverage. It’s the type of assertive response that would definitely make most people think twice about insulting you again.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com