Tag: body image

Gain is not a four-letter word—at least not in the bad way fostered in diet culture. Diet culture taught me to fear and hate that word for decades. As I strived to achieve and maintain a smaller version of my body, I became a smaller version of myself partly because...

Anyone who has struggled with an eating disorder (ED) is familiar with the words trigger or triggered, and I am no different. Even though I am in the space of recovery, situations that could trigger eating disorder thoughts and behaviours are everywhere. Living in this diet culture/weight-biased world, there is...

I’ve always considered apathy to be negative. The dictionary defines apathy as a lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern. Conducting a little research about apathy and whether it’s considered an emotion, I was interested to discover it’s actually a lack of emotion, which makes perfect sense. Apathy is the opposite...

Sometimes, I dislike my body even though I consider myself in recovery from an eating disorder. If I were to wait until I felt at peace with every part of my body before calling myself recovered, recovery would never happen. I don’t say that to be pessimistic; I say that...

A decade ago, my husband and I purchased an elliptical machine from a store that specialized in exercise equipment. The purchase price included a complementary session with a personal trainer. We took advantage of this offer, mostly to get some valuable pointers on how to use the machine and all...

My story with eating disorders began at my first full-time job. I was two years out of university when offered a position with the Eating Disorders Service at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne. I felt a thrill to be starting in a new, challenging role as a research coordinator, but...

The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating impacts on people struggling with body image issues and eating disorders. A new world-first chatbot, launched in collaboration with the Butterfly Foundation, is providing much needed support to these people and their loved ones. The chatbox is providing hope to the one in three young...

People with lived experience of an eating disorder are being called on to help researchers understand and measure core body image disturbance in the illness. Body image as a concept is much more nuanced than typically considered, and several aspects of body image disturbance could contribute to eating disorder onset...

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 — their lives, studies and careers have been shaped through...

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’ female body are pervasive throughout modern society, consolidated and perpetuated...