u/InformationFun4408

I keep seeing people talk about how they are anti vax because they did their research but then all they talk about is how they read about a few adverse effects from a case study or someone’s own experience and the contents of vaccines but to understand these things you have to understand atleast the basics of immunology.

First of all the central concept of vaccines is to expose the immune system to an antigen which in whatever form will be the main contents of a vaccine. Everything else is just there to help deliver, preserve or enhance the vaccine. To be able to understand this you should atleast understand antigens, antibodies and the secondary immune response.

Then another huge part of vaccines is understanding probability. Probability applies to both to the adverse effects and chances of catching the disease if a person remains unvaccinated. Just because someone doesn’t get vaccinated it doesn’t mean they will catch the disease 100% and so they may remain healthy but it’s not proof that vaccines aren’t essential for preventing disease. Also understand herd immunity because if enough people get vaccinated then unvaccinated people are less likely to get the disease which is especially important for individuals who are more vulnerable such as newborns or individuals receiving chemotherapy. Then just because someone has a seizure 1 hour after getting a vaccine it doesn’t mean that the vaccine is why they had a seizure. As it’s so rare it is well possible this is entirely due to chance and it may have occurred without the vaccine.

And then finally another important concept is the diseases themselves. One key example is when everyone thought giving a child Heb B vaccine is useless because Heb B is sexually transmitted and they aren’t sexually active but Heb B is transmitted through bodily fluids including at birth which is why the Heb B vaccine at birth can be vital for protecting the newborn.

Either way this isn’t an exclusive list and I know I rambled a bit but I hope you understand what I am saying.

I am a 19year old female and I am always a bit worried I am being a dramatic but almost a year ago I started eating a lot of food (counted one day about like 3000kcal to my brother who is a growing teenager) and I don’t do much exercise as I am constantly studying so I am basically sedentary. Anyway a few weeks ago after I finished exams I decided I should probably start eating healthier but still eating a good and normal amount for my height and weight (61kg and 168cm) with no intention of losing weight and then I dropped to 56kg now and I am not sure if I am overthinking this.

Also I don’t know if this is relevant but I am also extremely tired suddenly. Like I just can’t do anything like showering and doing my hair my arms just felt so weak and all I want to do is sleep. And then I am very constipated and bloated. But I don’t feel a particular need to pass stool I just realised it’s been over a week.

I know this is kind of random but every time I look at the news or on social media it’s always really negative and it makes the UK seem really depressing.

So does anyone have any like positive news or things that went well like literally anything from work related, health, relationships or whatever.

If you are a perfectionist to the point that it causes distress I would really consider either considering alternative options or ensuring if medicine or dentistry is something you really want to pursue ensuring you receive appropriate support early.

Just to be clear I am not talking about perfectionists who is just hardworking and can handle set backs and learn from them but for individuals who sees anything less than perfection as a failure or cannot cope with uncertainty. This is not to say medicine isn’t for you or you won’t succeed but from what I have heard this doesn’t go away in med school either and no one is perfect at the UCAT which can feel discouraging at first.

I had a friend who has OCPD and this process absolutely destroyed her mental health and I know this isn’t talked about much so I just thought I would give this warning. Anyway support can range from GP if you think that’s appropriate or maintaining contact with school and any support they offer as well as ensuring you keep connect with friends or family.

I lowkey finished alevels almost a week ago now and I honestly feel lost. Like the urge to study has not gone away. And this sounds sad so don’t judge too much but I don’t mind studying that much I just don’t like the stress of A-levels but I also don’t want to study for nothing.

I am trying to do some coding to make my life easier and code like some apps that may make my life easier at university like some sort of hub with access to a timetable, organisation to do list, academic resources like word but with access to academic papers which helps with automatic references and all those features and a way to write notes or separate topics but there is only
So many features I can code. And then crochet but I have run out of ideas of what to crochet. Plus gym but I am limited to going to the gym to max two times a week for an hour. Probably should learn how to cook a wide range of meals for university. Then shopping for university but I don’t exactly have millions of pounds in my bank account but may be one day but being realistic that’s not happening this summer holiday.

I obviously have friends which I can see but my social battery after alevels has been wiped out and I am going on holiday for two weeks which is exciting but that’s only two weeks. So anyone have any ideas so I don’t spend too much time bedrotting and getting lazy again before university?

after this whole process I realised that the worst thing about applying to medicine isn’t the UCAT or interviews or A-levels it’s the amount of effort that can all just fall apart from one small mistake or whatever. You sat the UCAT for 2670, get 4/4 offers, get an offer from Cambridge and then on the day of your chemistry or biology alevel you start to feel sick, super stressed and make a few extra silly mistakes and there goes every bit of work you did because you end up a few marks below the grade boundary. Wasted year 12 summer sweating your ass off trying to skim read dense boring passages for a word in 30 seconds, dragged yourself to an interview where you start overthinking everything and got really happy to see your offer all for nothing.

So when someone says to me you will be fine your predicted an A* it’s not the end of the world if you get a B I would like to see them to do the whole medicine application process instead of just writing a personal statement the day before and getting all 5 offers that same week.

Recently I have seen a lot of male politicians and activist say things like ‘we need to protect women from immigrants’

For example, Restore Britain (new right winged UK party) has one policy about legalising pepper spray with the reasoning:

‘British women face an increasing threat of physical and sexual violence, primarily due to mass legal and illegal immigration.’

For one legalising pepper spray would increase risk for women considering a perpetrator would also gain easy access to pepper spray. Imagine trying to run or call the police if you can’t see. I get people have different opinions in the US but its a lot harder to access these things in the UK currently so its better to keep it that way.

Then my second main issue is that violence against British Women has always been an issue. It hasn’t suddenly increased because of immigrants British men aren’t perfect. I mean DV increases during big football matches but I don’t see any of them mention that. The conviction rate from report to court is around 3-4% in the uk but who cares unless it’s an immigrant being convicted or accused.

Anyway my point is women’s violence is a real and an ongoing issue since forever with every ethnicity and if you are only going to advocate for women’s safety when it’s about immigrants then your main concern isn’t actually women.

I can understand Nigel Farage to an extent but Tommy Robinson is an absolute hypocrite and clown.

He talks shit about illegal immigrants all day but he tried to enter the US with a friends passport after he was denied a visa. He’s probably just bitter he ended up with a criminal record and they didn’t.

He talks about how Muslims are taking over our country and we are going to be a minority in our own country but then supports Zionism despite the fact that Palestinians having the same concern about Jewish migration before Israel was established. Unless he is talking about Zionism as the concept rather than the reality of today it’s a bit ironic.

He talks about protecting women but he was convicted of stalking and harassing a journalist by making false allegations about her and her partner, hiring a private investigator to find her address, then went to her address threatened her and said he would keep coming back.

Not even reform uk can support Tommy Robinson and it’s not like they have never supported controversial political figures or influencers yet thousands of people will turn up to his rallies (although I am aware you can turn up to his rally and not necessarily support him but a lot of people do which is just insane to me)

I will get 2 A*s and an A in my Alevels
I will get 2 A*s and an A in my Alevels
I will get 2A*s and an A in my Alevels
I will get 2 A*s and an A in my Alevels
I will get 2 A*s and an A in my Alevels

(You can ignore this once I think of something like this if I feel like I don’t do it then it won’t come true or will come true depending on what it is and please mods I beg don’t remove this like the r/UCAT mods did I would be super beyond grateful but just to contribute something, good luck everyone for your exams ☺️)

I will get 2 A*s and an A in my Alevels
I will get 2 A*s and an A in my Alevels
I will get 2A*s and an A in my Alevels
I will get 2 A*s and an A in my Alevels
I will get 2 A*s and an A in my Alevels

(You can ignore this once I think of something like this if I feel like I don’t do it then it won’t come true or will come true depending on what it is and mods please for my sake don’t remove it I would be really grateful 🙏 )

After the arguably shit outcomes of Brexit would you vote yes in a referendum to return to the EU?