Tag: shame

I sat on the dense wooden palings that ran along the front of the beach. I sat without a care in the world. Just me and the universe and the video camera, a truly perfect combination. It was 1999. I was rocking a bowl-cut, baggy track pants, an oversized hoodie...

We have progressed a long way in mental health recognition since the 1940s. My message is that our mental health is something to embrace and speak openly about, rather than hide in shame. The Spot Cafe in Portland, a coastal town in Victoria, Australia, was bustling with people, mainly locals....

“I HAD an eating disorder.” This sentence has left my mouth frequently over the past two decades. I was 19-years-old when diagnosed with an eating disorder (ED). At the time, I had no idea that cutting out refined sugar and carbohydrates as a method to get in shape would spiral...

Living with an eating disorder for 20 or more years can severely impact life quality. Some people with a long-term eating disorder can be high functioning on a tiny partial self, while others are trapped in a perpetual revolving door scenario, going from home to hospital, and hospital to home. ...

It was like receiving a great big slap in the face. Sitting with my friend Lisa in an auditorium surrounded by a bunch of strangers, my mind was wondering, ‘Do they all know about me?’, ‘I wonder if any of them have an eating disorder?’ Instantly, my insecurities set in; I felt like a big neon sign was astride my head, flashing ‘Eating disorder...