Tag: lived experience

I travelled by train instead of car on Christmas Day 2024. Instead of the usual two-and-a-half hour drive to the home of my children’s dad, George, in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, I took the country train. On Christmas Eve, in a burst of planning, my Melbourne-based daughter and her family collected...

So, I quit my job again at the end of January. The healthcare company I worked for was one of those doctor-owned ventures not uncommon in Seoul, South Korea, where medical doctors generally belong to the highest income groups and are probably the most exclusive interest group. In a misogynistic...

A new counselling service is providing education and support for those caring for someone with an eating disorder. Eating Disorders Families Australia’s (EDFA) new Fill The Gap counselling service is specifically designed to support eating disorder carers during the often long and exhausting years of supporting a loved one through...

I love to participate in online eating disorder surveys, especially those inviting ‘lived experience’ to be shared. I haven’t always felt this way about sharing my illness story, so what has changed? Firstly, I have been with narrative mentor, Dr June Alexander, as a client for more than three years...

Lived experience will feature in Korea’s first Eating Disorders Awareness Week (EDAW), for which I’m responsible. I’ve often been told not to scale up things so hastily, not to put too many irons in the fire, but such cautions seem useless because I’ve developed a simple suggestion from Prof. Youl...

Amazing things can happen when one breaks free from an eating disorder (ED) and channels the illness negativity into positive pursuits. For instance, you can find a new ‘family’ in the eating disorder field. In 2007, 44 years after developing anorexia nervosa, I publicly shared my inner story for the first...

“Recovery” is a treacherous word that is spoken about freely by people who have admitted they live with an addiction. From drugs to alcohol, eating disorders, workaholism, depression, anxiety, control, overthinking, self-harm or perfectionism, none of us are perfect yet many of us find a way to hold our pain...

When young, I never imagined the world had a plan of its own. I was only aware of my existence and those close to me, never questioning there was choice between how, where, what or why anything may happen and how I was expected to manage the external world when...

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 who recover from an eating disorder represent a great repository of untapped potential in helping others to heal from this complex illness. This Friday, August 23, together with Olivia Soho and Carly Harris, I will present a workshop that explores peer support and mentoring as an innovative approach in...