SINGAPORE, June 13, 2019 - (Media OutReach) -
Clear, a global anti-dandruff hair care brand of Unilever, today
announces the launch of a global campaign - #KeepAClearHead - aimed
at equipping young people with the support and tools they need to
become more resilient in the face of rising social anxiety. To help
highlight the issue, the brand has released 'The Long Walk', a film
starring celebrity ambassador Cristiano Ronaldo which gives viewers
an insight into the journey he takes in preparing for a match. In
the film, Ronaldo urges young people to keep a clear head as they
go through their own Long Walk, encouraging them to be more
resilient in the face of life's challenges.
In The Long Walk, Ronaldo explains: "I have taken this walk a
thousand times and still the first step is the hardest. I can hear
my heart beating in my head, but I give each beat a name: Spirit,
courage, greatness. As the noise rises around me, a roar rises in
my throat. Your love makes me strong, your hate makes me
unstoppable."
Clear believes that everyone should be able to perform at their
best. However, social anxiety, defined by the 'fear of being
judged', can stop people from performing at their full potential.
Globally, over 284 million individuals suffer from anxiety
disorders[1], a quarter of whom are between the ages of 10 and
24[2]. While anxiety disorders often develop during adolescence and
early adulthood[3], social anxiety tends to have an earlier onset -
between the age of 5-10 on average[4], and can have consequences
that prevents individuals from reaching their best potential.
Social anxiety has become a major problem for many young people
around the world as more and more expectations are placed on them
to succeed. Now more than ever before, as a consequence of our
'always on' culture and lives lived in full view through social
media, young people find themselves under intense scrutiny and
pressure to perform.
To develop a world-leading approach to helping young people build
resilience and prevent social anxiety, CLEAR is working in
partnership with the Resilience Research Centre (RRC) at Dalhousie
University and Dr. Michael Ungar, Director of the RRC at Dalhousie
University and author of "Change Your World: The Science of
Resilience and the True Path to Success". Ungar, is one of the
world's leading social scientists whose work is raising awareness
of the growing issue of social anxiety and the need to shift our
focus to equipping young people with the supports they need to
achieve both ruggedness AND resourcefulness to be able to tackle
life's many challenges.
"To understand social anxiety, one has to distinguish between a
social anxiety disorder, which is the most severe form of the
problem and debilitating in more than one area of a person's life,
and what is called "non-clinical" social anxiety which is far more
common. More serious social anxiety has long-term negative
consequences for young people so it's important to recognise the
early signs of the disorder and prevent even mild social anxiety
before it gets worse," said Ungar.
Together with Clear, Ungar and his team of researchers are showing
that one's ability to overcome social anxiety and challenging
problems in life depends on both how rugged we are as individuals,
and how resourced and supported we are by our families, friends,
co-workers and communities. Ungar explains why Cristiano Ronaldo is
the true personification of resilience: "His life teaches us that
to be successful and resilient, two things are important. First, we
need to be a rugged individual, which means taking full advantage
of our talents and being positive about our future. Second, we need
to be a resourced individual, with people who believe in us and the
opportunities to put our talents to good use. Ronaldo has both
strengths - he knows how to use his incredible talent, and his many
supports, including the love of his fans, to realise his full
potential. When we are both rugged and resourced, we are far more
likely to become our very best selves."
Clear is committed to enabling people to perform at their best,
driving a positive change both by addressing the global issue of
social anxiety and working with the RRC to develop programs and
resources designed to build resilience, so that young people can
better cope with social anxiety. #KeepAClearHead will see the brand
working in partnership with Michael Ungar and his team to develop a
curriculum and resources hub which will be rolled out globally and
will help young people assess their levels of ruggedness and
resourcefulness and how to develop new strategies to find and use
the resources they need to better tackle social anxiety. The brand
will also leverage pop culture through a partnership with Marvel to
create a series of thought-provoking superhero short films and
inspiring edutainment content to help young people understand the
importance of building resilience and recognising the resources
around them to better cope with self-doubt and social anxiety.
"Clear helps people to defy judgement and perform at their best. As
an anti-dandruff shampoo, we want people to look and feel their
best by clearing dandruff, which can be a cause of social anxiety.
However, we believe we can play a bigger role in tackling the need
to build resilience in young people to help them deal with every
facet of social anxiety. Working in partnership, we want to build a
generation of resilient youths who are able to perform at their
best, despite increasing social pressures," said Tri Tran-Tue,
Global Brand Vice President, Clear, Unilever.
To learn more about #KeepAClearHead and to watch The Long Walk,
visit
https://www.clearhaircare.com/arabia/en/keepaclearhead.html
For more information on social anxiety among youths, please refer
to the appendix.
APPENDIX
#KEEPACLEARHEAD: TACKLING THE GROWING GLOBAL ISSUE OF SOCIAL
ANXIETY BY HELPING TODAY'S GENERATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE DEVELOP
RESILIENCE.
Introduction
To understand social anxiety, one has to distinguish between a
social anxiety disorder, which is the most severe form of the
problem and debilitating in more than one area of a person's life,
and what is called "non-clinical" social anxiety which is far more
common. More serious social anxiety has long-term negative
consequences for young people so it's important to recognise the
early signs of the disorder and prevent even mild social anxiety
before it gets worse.
Michael Ungar, Director of the Resilience Research Centre at
Dalhousie University and author of Change Your World: The Science
of Resilience and the True Path to Success
"To be at the top of my game, I have to be at my very best inside
and out. We are only at our best when we fight against the best; I
welcome strong rivals as they make me stronger. Their fans may boo
me, but rather than let that tear me down, I channel their hate to
build me up and be unstoppable."
Cristiano Ronaldo, football superstar and Clear global
ambassador
Social Anxiety: a growing global issue
In an 'always on' world, where we increasingly live our lives in
full view and open to public scrutiny via social media, the issue
of social anxiety is becoming a global problem. Over 284 million
individuals suffer from anxiety disorders[5], a quarter of whom are
between the ages of 10 and 24[6]. While anxiety disorders often
develop during adolescence and early adulthood[7], social anxiety
tends to have an earlier onset - between the age of 5-10 on
average[8], and can have consequences that prevents individuals
from leading fulfilling lives later in adulthood.
The most common held view on how best to deal with social anxiety
tends to focus on developing coping strategies from within
ourselves - having a positive attitude or dispelling negative
thoughts that can trigger anxiety. Most solutions focus on becoming
a more 'rugged' individual. However, we believe that this issue
cannot be tackled by ruggedness alone; there is also a need to help
young people become better 'resourced' individuals that can
recognise and find the supports necessary to better cope with
life's challenges.
Why is Clear getting involved?
As an anti-dandruff shampoo, Clear helps people look and feel their
best by clearing dandruff, which can be a cause of social anxiety.
However, we believe we can play an even larger role in building
resilience in young people, helping them deal with every facet of
social anxiety. Working in partnership with the Resilience Research
Centre (RRC) at Dalhousie University, we want to build a generation
of resilient youths who are able to perform at their best despite
increasing social pressures.
The Director of the RRC, Michael Ungar, is one of the world's
leading social scientists whose work is raising awareness of the
growing issue of social anxiety and the need to shift our focus to
equipping young people with the supports they need to achieve both
ruggedness AND resourcefulness to be able to tackle life's many
challenges.
This year we are launching #KeepAClearHead, a global campaign
which, together with our expert partners, global ambassadors and
local influencers, to raise awareness of social anxiety, its causes
and impact on young people and provide practical help and advice on
how best to cope with it.
What is social anxiety?
Social anxiety itself is something normal and natural - it is a
mechanism that helps us to be aware of dangers to survive. In fact,
everyone experiences some mild form of social anxiety throughout
their lifetime when they are faced with new situations such as
changing schools, starting a new relationship or when applying for
their first job.
The most common definition of social anxiety is a persistent fear
of being in social situations where one is exposed to the scrutiny
of others, real or imagined. For example, a mild level of social
anxiety can cause one to have trouble concentrating at work,
performing on tests or make one feel tense when mixing
socially.
Social Anxiety: a global issue with local nuances
While social anxiety has been observed in people all around the
world, it can look and feel different depending on contexts and
cultures. In a Western context such as the United States, it tends
to appear as social withdrawal and anxiety when asked to speak
with, or in front of others. However, in Asian cultures social
anxiety often appears as shame, or worry that one's actions will
offend others. In China and other Asian countries, social anxiety
is often referred to as social phobia. A study of social anxiety
among Chinese people indicated a unique symptom: fear of making
others uncomfortable or influencing them in a way that is not
beneficial. In Japan and Korea, there is Taijin Kyofusho (TKS),
which refers to worry about being observed or offending other
people. Those with TKS generally avoid a wide range of social
situations.[5]
Rising social anxiety fueled by the pressures to succeed and the
fear of missing out
Social anxiety has become a major problem for many youths around
the world as they are burdened with expectations to succeed. We are
also living in a time where the changing economic and social
conditions make success increasingly difficult.
The rise of social media has added a new dimension to social
anxiety as it offers youths a way of directly quantifying
friendships, viewing the friendship networks of others for
comparison, and providing immediate information about social
events. Youths cannot help but compare their own popularity with
that of their peers, and constantly battle with the adolescent
'fear of missing out' (FOMO).
Today, social anxiety can be a social survival mechanism, helping
us avoid situations where we are vulnerable. An individual who
experiences too much social anxiety tends to be overly cautious and
this can dampen the chances of performing at their best and
achieving their goals. Too much social anxiety is also associated
with poor outcomes, as one might feel 'frozen' or 'paralysed', or
just feel that they are unable to do things that show the best
sides of themselves.
For instance, when it comes to first impressions, being overly
concerned about saying the wrong thing might lead us to say very
little, which would be bad if it stops one from getting on well
with others, diminishing the desire to meet up again in the future.
The constant fear that people will reject you when you make the
smallest mistake can snowball into serious long-term consequences
like social isolation. This pattern of behaviour can extend into
adulthood and manifests in many different parts of our lives. The
good news is, social anxiety can be prevented, reduced, and
mastered by becoming resilient.
Being 'Rugged AND Resourced' are key to tackling social anxiety
When building resilience in an individual, we often focus on
building up the individual's ruggedness which involves mindset,
positive attitude and ability to bounce back from challenges.
However, ruggedness alone cannot explain why some people do well
and others still fail when exposed to the same amount of
stress.
Being rugged involves strong internal qualities like having good
problem-solving and self-regulation skills, strong self-control, an
ability to learn from past mistakes, and optimism. For example,
putting forward new statements about situations that scare us and
our ability to handle them and internalising these statements
challenges negative thinking with reason. This forms an
individual's rugged response to break the cycle of unnecessary
concern and worry.
The new science of resilience, however, is showing that the chances
of success depends just as much on the quality of the support we
get from our families, neighbours, friends, employers, schools, and
even community programs which are there for us when we are
confronted by unusual challenges in our lives. When the world
around us helps bring out our best and provides opportunities to
realise our goals, and encourages us to think positive thoughts,
believe in ourselves, and change our behaviours for the better, we
are more likely to be bolder and more successful in our day to day
life.
This is especially relevant to the youths of today who need help
but might not know where and how to get the resources to learn how
to cope. There are at least seven aspects of a young person's life
known to help nurture resilience (see below).
Clear's purpose and commitment
As a global brand, Clear has been helping millions of people around
the world to have the confidence to perform by clearing their
dandruff, which is a source of anxiety and doubt. We want to
inspire people to show the world what they are made of and help
them become resilient, equipping them with the resources they need
to better cope with anxiety and self-doubt.
We recognised and want to shed light on the realities of social
anxiety and how it affects youths globally. We want to let them
know that they are not alone and to help them discover and put into
practice rugged AND resourceful practices to help them better cope
with life's challenges, so they can perform at their best.
Clear is committed to addressing the global issue of social anxiety
by working with experts to develop programs and resources designed
to build resilience. #KeepAClearHead is the introduction to an
ongoing program being developed in close collaboration with Michael
Ungar and his international team at the RRC, that aims to advocate
for a new way of thinking about resilience. Going beyond the
traditional emphasis on individual ruggedness often advocated in
Western thinking, our upcoming curriculum and resources hub aims to
address the current needs of youth today - to support and help them
recognize social anxiety, assess their levels of ruggedness and
resourcefulness and develop new strategies to find and use the
resources they need to better tackle social anxiety.
In addition, we have also teamed up with Marvel to produce a series
of superhero films, thought-provoking and inspiring edutainment
content and activations to better engage with youths on the
importance of building resilience by surrounding yourself with
supportive friends and family who can help you navigate life's
twists and turns.
Globally, we continuously hope to drive positive change by rallying
the support of our celebrity ambassadors and local influencers, so
that together, we can create a movement of resilient youths who are
able to perform at their best.
#KeepAClearHead #NothingToHide
To find out more, visit
https://www.clearhaircare.com/arabia/en/keepaclearhead.html
[1] https://ourworldindata.org/mental-health
[2] Global Burden of Disease Collaborative Network. (2017). Global
Burden of Disease Study 2017 Results. Seattle, United States:
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), 2018. Available
from http://ghdx.healthdata.org/gbd-results-tool.
[3] Remes, O., Brayne, C., & Lafortune, L. (2014). The
prevalence of anxiety disorders across the life course: a
systematic review of reviews. The Lancet, 384, S66.
[4] Kessler, R. C., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., Alonso, J., Chatterji, S.,
Lee, S., Ormel, J., ... Wang, P. S. (2009). The global burden of
mental disorders: An update from the WHO World Mental Health (WMH)
surveys. Epidemiologia e Psichiatria Sociale, 18, 23-33.
[5] https://ourworldindata.org/mental-health
[6] Global Burden of Disease Collaborative Network. (2017). Global
Burden of Disease Study 2017 Results. Seattle, United States:
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), 2018. Available
from http://ghdx.healthdata.org/gbd-results-tool.
[7] Remes, O., Brayne, C., & Lafortune, L. (2014). The
prevalence of anxiety disorders across the life course: a
systematic review of reviews. The Lancet, 384, S66.
[8] Kessler, R. C., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., Alonso, J., Chatterji, S.,
Lee, S., Ormel, J., ... Wang, P. S. (2009). The global burden of
mental disorders: An update from the WHO World Mental Health (WMH)
surveys. Epidemiologia e Psichiatria Sociale, 18, 23-33.
5.
https://www.verywellmind.com/cultural-social-anxiety-disorder-3024706
About Clear
Launched in 1975, Clear has one goal in mind, to provide the most
effective dandruff solution to its consumers. Since then, we've
never looked back and have set off to take the world by storm.
Unlike many other shampoos which only wash dandruff away, Clear
shampoos are engineered to not only remove dandruff flakes, but
also boost your scalp's natural self-defence, ending recurring
dandruff concern.
Media Contacts
Jian Hung Low
Associate, Golin
D: 6551 5442
E: jlow@golin.com
Kengyin Lee
Senior Manager, Golin
D: 6651 5424
E: klee@golin.com
Source: Clear
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