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Sylvia Mac, one of 2020's Women of the Year, discusses the physical and psychological impacts of a horrific accident she experienced when she was just 2-and-a-half years old. She discusses the challenges of being a burns survivor. She also talks about how embracing her body has helped to provide psychological healing and given her the courage to challenge societal attitudes towards non-typical standards of beauty. “I don't blame her for anything. I don't blame her for the accident. I just praise her for being that strong woman that brought me up, cared for me, because now I've got a really strong, caring, supportive character.” ********************* Huge thanks to our sponsor, The https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya-home (Royal Yachting Association) (RYA) Visit the https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya (RYA website) to find your local club and get involved ********************* http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (Check out the Our Voices website for more on this story) http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (We're also on )https://www.facebook.com/ourvoicesinthenhs (Facebook), https://twitter.com/OurVoices14 (Twitter) and https://www.instagram.com/ourvoicespod/ (Instagram) A https://our-voices.captivate.fm/fascinate-productions (Fascinate) Production
Sylvia Mac overcame an appalling trauma as a young child to become a vocal supporter of, and dedicated campaigner for, people living with disfigurement. After a lifetime of agonising about what she saw as her ugly body, a moment of revelation changed her mindset and her attitude and she launched herself into creating an organisation she calls Love Disfigure, through which she supports others and challenges the fashion retail and media industries to be more inclusive and representative. Sylvia describes the harrowing experience of the accident that changed her life, the years of treatment and procedures she has endured, and continues to need, and the mental toll they have taken on her. She recalls the moment her self-image changed for ever and describes the work she does to empower and inspire others who are struggling with their mental health and self-esteem because of their body issues. She also answers the four quick-fire questions we ask each of our Extraordinary Ordinary women: In this episode we're also joined by the brilliant actress, comedienne and presenter, and host of the Women of the Year Lunch, Mel Giedroyc, who remembers getting very over-excited on her first time at the event by an encounter with one particular guest and the joyous, joyful and joy-spreading nature of the lunch each year.
Sylvia Mac is a campaigner, a survivor and an award winner. Sylvia was two when she suffered horrific burns, in a scalding accident, and was given the last rites. Against the odds, she survived but it wasn't till her 40s that she learned to accept her scars and not to feel ashamed of them. Her three children have been on a difficult journey with her but there is love everywhere in her life and she says it's never too late to start believing you're beautiful. She won the Wellness Warrior award in 2020 and founded Love Disfigure to offer support to those living with burns and scarring.Trigger warning: this podcast mentions a burning accident and suicidal thoughts. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
My guest this week is Sylvia Mac, Child Burn Survivor & Founder of Love Disfigure. Sylvia endured third and fourth degree burns across her body as a result of an accident when she was just three years old. The experience and her gruelling treatment left her traumatised, suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and depression in later life as well as suicidal thoughts. Finding that there was not much help for burn survivors, Sylvia created LoveDisfigure, a campaign to raise awareness and support for those living with disfigurement and differences. Through the campaign, she revealed a video that showed her scars and her story about the accident, with others being encouraged to do the same. She has since been actively campaigning for people with visible & hidden differences to become accepted in society. She has received a Point of Light Award for her voluntary services from Theresa May. Sylvia says her life is dedicated to making a difference. Her incredible story has touched hearts, inspired and helped many. When asked what she thinks makes a woman fabulous and fearless, she says “When women put themselves out there to lead the way for others.”In this episode, Sylvia talks about how she survived her burns as a child and the trauma she's gone through. We talk about how she responded to this trauma growing up and what effect it had on her at school, relationships and on her self confidence.The fear of water is very deep rooted for Sylvia and links back to her memories of school. To overcome it she swam one of the toughest open water challenges. Sylvia wanted to show people you can face your fears and overcome anything.We talk about her fear of speaking to an audience, the positive voice on one shoulder and the negative voice on the other, and how this fear saw her turning away from job interviews because she felt lesser then, and throwing presentations in the bin. Sylvia has bravely overcome this fear too and now speaks to Governments. I ask her how she did this, and we talk about her journey to finding self acceptance and self love. Find out more about Sylvia and her work at Lovedisfigure.com** This episode was recorded remotely due to Covid 19 ** See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Welcome back to Just like the Moon (we through phases).This week we meet the force of nature that is Sylvia Mac. Syvia is the founder of Love Disfigure, Child Burn Survivor, Body Image Campaigner, Diverse Model, Inspirational Speaker, Cross Continent Swimmer, Body Image Blogger.Sylvia endured third and fourth degree burns across her body as a result of an accident when she was just three years old. The experience and her gruelling treatment left her traumatised, suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and depression in later life as well as suicidal thoughts. But at the age of 48 she decided she was not prepared to hide anymore. She went on the found Love Disfigure to raise awareness and offer support for those living with burns and scarring, to inspire others to be proud of their bodies. In this episode Sylvia talks about her experience of being a burn child survivor, the challenges of going through treatment, the moment she decide to stop hating her body and fall in love with her scars, and her advocacy and campaigning work trough Love Disfigure to raise awareness and show support for those living with a disfigurement.Sylvia's story is phenomenal and it is so inspiring to hear how she completely turned her life around to help herself but also to help others and create a beautiful community based on inclusivity, body acceptance and empowerment.To find out more about Sylvia's work check out her website : https://www.lovedisfigure.com/ or you can follow her on Instagram at love_disfigure.
Kat and Jen head to London to talk to childhood burns survivor Sylvia Mac. The 'Love Disfigure' campaigner strips off to talk about the trauma that caused third and fourth degree burns across her back and stomach when she was just a toddler. The 52-year-old chats about the physical and mental toll that scarring and surgery has taken on her and how a life changing holiday made her finally love the skin she's in. Sylvia reveals how her scars have led her into toxic relationships, how the trauma caused bed-wetting and why she now sweats in intimate places. Having transformed her outlook to spread a message of body positivity she's now helping others with burns and disfigurements to embrace acceptance. In the first of their adventures in the capital Jen and Kat prepare to bunker down together but Jen's got a few perspiration problems. Kat on the other hand is celebrating after relocating her lost libido-o-oh! Twitter: @TheNakedPodcast; @LoveDisfigure Instagram: The Naked Podcast; love_disfigure Love Disfigure: www.lovedisfigure.com
Welcome back to another emergency episode of Body Cons! We’re here to help you navigate diet culture, the changing food landscape, anxiety and all the other things that may be triggering bad body image during the COVID-19 pandemic. If you’ve listened to our previous two series of Body Cons you might notice this one sounds a little different. This is ...
Sometimes you come across someone whose struggles and achievements equally blow you away and this weeks guest is definitely on of those women. Meet Sylvia Mac, otherwise known as Love Disfigure. Sylvia has a long list of achievements behind her including child burn survivor, campaigner, model, international speaker, founder of Love Disfigure support network and can now add cross-continent swimmer to her list. We had so much to talk about Sylvias is such an inspiring woman. Music that motivates you? You Are My Sunshine - originally by Jimmie Davis Book that inspires you? Road to Recovery by Terry Dunnage. Who inspires you? Khrystyana, I just love what she is doing. Polly Brooks MBE, Bali bombing survivor and friends Sally B and Chris who without their help Love Disfigure wouldn't have happened. To follow all of the fabulous things Sylvia gets up to please visit her at www.lovedisfigure.com You can also find her on all social media platforms. Instagram @love_disfigure Facebook and Twitter @LoveDisfigure Please get in touch with any comments on the Anchor.ap or www.rachelperumodel.com. It would be great if you could leave a review over on iTunes or the Apple podcast ap. You can also find me over on Instagram @rachelperu1 Twitter @rachel_peru and Facebook @rachelperumodel (Background music credited to Scott Holmes -Our Big Adventure) Keep being fabulous x --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/outofthebubble/message
In this moving episode Bobby sits down with inspirational burns survivor Sylvia Mac to talk all things body image and how she overcame the shame she felt towards her scars. Equal parts inspiring and emotional you'll want to get the tissues ready for this one. Here we go! Mental is the brain-child of Bobby Temps, who lives and thrives while managing his own mental health. Each Thursday we delve into a factor or condition that influences the mind and how to better manage it. Sign Bobby's petition to 'Get Mental Health Education on the School Curriculum' http://bit.ly/MentalPetition Join the movement on: Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/bobbytemps Instagram - instagram.com/mentalpodcast (http://instagram.com/mentalpodcast) Twitter - http://twitter.com/mental_podcast We also have a very blue website with loads of great resources - http://mentalpodcast.co.uk Licensed music: Puppy by Netsky on Lickd / Listen here: https://lnk.to/Netsky2ID
When she was 4 years old Sylvia Mac suffered 3rd and 4th degree burns over my back and various parts of her body. She was put on life support and was not expected to live. But she pulled through only to face years of surgeries and skin grafts as her body healed. The unseen scars of PTSD took much much longer to recover from. These days Sylvia campaigns for those with body disfigurements by raising awareness through her not-for-profit campaign group, Love Disfigure. For this year's Mental Health Awareness Week theme of Body Image, this is the story of a woman who has one of the most spectacular body images I know of!
Welcome to our third nugget for the month of August on Body Positivity. For this episode, we thought we would take a look at body positivity, body acceptance, and body image from a different perspective - from that of injury and disfigurement. Today, Monkey speaks with Sylvia Mac of Love Disfigure. Love Disfigure was born out of a need to raise awareness and support to those living with disfigurement. Founded by child burn survivor Sylvia Mac, who at the age of 48 dared to bare her scars for the first time. For more information, please visit our website and check out the show notes: www.bcbcpodcast.com And remember - you can like us on all the social media, subscribe to our channel, download our episodes, become a Patreon supporter and so much more! We are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization so you can also make a tax-deductible donation! Website: www.bcbpodcast.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BCBCPodcast/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/BCBCPodcast Instagram: https://twitter.com/BCBCPodcast Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BCBCPodcast
In timely fashion for Valentine’s Day, Jade and Nadia talk to Sylvia Mac and Nick Sharratt on the topic of intimacy and appearance, with a special focus on the role of visible differences within romantic relationships. Let us know what you think https://twitter.com/car_UWE To find out more about CAR: www.uwe.ac.uk/car To register for Appearance Matters 8: https://store.uwe.ac.uk/product-catalogue/conferences-events/appearance-matters-8 More on our guests, Sylvia Mac https://www.lovedisfigure.com/ Nick Sharratt’s study: https://tinyurl.com/CAR-Romantic-Survey Episode developed by Jade Parnell & Nick Sharratt. Produced by Nadia Craddock
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