Archive for the ‘Eating Disorders’ Category

“Out of your vulnerabilities will come your strength.”  Sigmund Freud A series of events inspired me to write A Dangerous Daughter. Firstly, in 2015, I was invited to take part in an international study on eating disorders, the Anorexia Nervosa..

You are a “good enough” parent. Remember this. Twelve years after launching a blog to raise awareness of eating disorders, your stories continue to shine brightly on the dark crevices where the eating disorder hides. Your stories help us to..

By Michelle Southern and Jennifer Hamer Two Australian-based women, Michelle and Jennifer, have created an online self-help eating disorder program to help address gaps in accessible and adequate treatment and care. Michelle and Jennifer bring first-hand understanding to the fore..

If only an eating disorder (ED) could show up on a scan. What a disgrace our public health sector is in Australia. I say “our” as it could be you, your mother, sister, or friend instead of me. My mother..

Pent up in my room, I contemplated the screen. Words failed me, and I felt consumed by an incessant writer’s block. Deprived and malnourished, my stomach ached, and my head was abuzz with a low, cyclical thrum of throbbing that..

Our next generation of young people are highly concerned about their body image. In fact, one in three 15-19-year-olds in Australia are “very” or “extremely concerned” (Tiller et al., 2020). Body image concerns are the major risk factor for the..

“You are looking well today.” My aunt’s words became frozen in time. As a 13-year-old with anorexia nervosa, my brain sprang to high alert. Thoughts raged: “I’m fat. I look horrible. I must eat less.” Recovery roared in reverse. That..

Do you wish to look like the girl in the magazine? I will let you in on a secret… the girl in the magazine doesn’t even look like that.  I know: I have been that girl.  Representations of the ‘perfect’..

Flaws in our public health system* are creating havoc in the lives of people with eating disorders (EDs). I am a mentor for Shelley**, who is in her 40s, and lives in a country town in Australia. Shelley has diagnoses..

From a clinical and research perspective, Eating Disorders (EDs) are interesting, almost unique, in that despite not wanting to have an ED, many people continue to engage in behaviour that can be dangerous and even deadly. More concerning is that..