Butterfly: Let's Talk

Improvements in quality of life and reduced healthcare costs are just some of the benefits uncovered in a Monash University study of Australia’s only residential treatment program for people struggling with eating disorders. Wandi Nerida, based on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, provides a unique model of holistic, person-centred, inpatient care. As the rate of eating disorders continues to rise, so does the need for improved treatment approaches. “We're trying to step away from that more clinical hospital feel, where everything's super sterile,” says Dr Carly Roukos, Want Nerida’s Clinical Lead. “As much as possible, we try to have it feel less like a hospital and much more like a home.” In this episode of Let’s Talk, Dr. Roukos shares how the pioneering model of care at Wandi Nerida was first developed, and what life’s like for participants who receive treatment there. Dr Roukos has been with the centre from its inception in 2020 and has played an important role in developing the successful clinical program. “The transition from treatment to home can be really difficult,” she says. “So, we provide opportunities to practice real-life things in real-life settings to help with that transition.” This piece is key post discharge from hospital: How do we maintain our health and recovery in regular life? Dr Roukos addresses this issue and more. Find out more about Wandi Nerida Enquire about placement at Wandi Nerida Meet the team at Wandi NeridaSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Please note: This episode was briefly published prematurely on the 4th of April. If you listened to it then we apologise for the repeat.  If you’ve ever wondered what the public in Australia knows and thinks about eating disorders and body image issues, this episode will put all your questions to rest. We unpack the latest findings from Butterfly's 2024 Community Insights Report with our Head of Knowledge, Research and Policy who shares her perspective on some enlightening results. The report focuses on community awareness, perceptions, and attitudes, and while Dr. Squire shares the key findings, she also compares these with a previous report published four years ago. What are the implications of community understanding (and misunderstanding) for those with lived experience and the sector at large? Has anything changed? One key part of the study reveals some dangerous myths and stereotypes surrounding eating disorders, and Dr Squire examines how various misconceptions impact those who might need support. “We need to understand that eating disorder stigma is complex, important, and under researched. And we can't identify signs and symptoms or support people to seek help without understanding how public stigma and, consequently, self-stigma works for people because stigma around eating disorders is different to other types of mental health stigma.” Listen to Dr. Squire explain it all – you'll be surprised by what we found out. FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE 2024 COMMUNITY INSIGHTS REPORT ARE YOU AT RISK? TRY OUR NEW SCREENING TOOL JOIN OUR 101 WEBINAR ABOUT EATING DISORDERS ON APRIL 17 FIND OUT MORE ABOUT DR. SARAH SQUIRESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We often talk about the psycho-emotional costs of eating disorders for those living with them; but up to this point, we haven’t learned much about the costs to society. Now we know. Since 2012, there’s been a shocking 36 per cent increase in the economic burden of eating disorders to the people of Australia. In the meantime, 1.1 million people in this country are currently living with an eating disorder – that's an increase of 21% in only ten years. These and many other disturbing metrics are in the new Paying the Price Report, produced by Deloitte Access Economics and Butterfly. “In terms of economic cost, we're talking sixty-seven billion dollars per year,” says Jim Hungerford, Butterfly’s CEO. “Yet, in comparison, the amount of money that is spent to prevent eating disorders or to support people who do develop them is actually minuscule.” Chantel, invested in their recovery, can relate - including that their condition could have been prevented. “The cost of my eating disorder takes up about 20% of my annual income," they say. “And this is even with Medicare rebates and private health insurance. To access a therapist for fortnightly sessions, a dietitian for quarterly sessions and a psychiatrist for quarterly sessions to manage my medication, costs me up to $11,738.97 cents every year.” Chantel isn’t alone, and action is needed to change the paradigm, not only for the community but for the sake of taxpayers too. Listen to Butterfly’s CEO, Jim Hungerford, Deloitte’s reporting lead, Simone Cheung, and people with living experience unpack the report, and what it means for the future of prevention and care. Find out more about Paying the Price Report Find out more about the Parliamentary Friends Group Find out more about Simeone Cheung Find out more about Deloitte Access EconomicsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We should let you know that this episode discusses sexual abuse and comes with a trigger warning. It's about trauma, which is an individual’s response to an event or series of events that have deeply disturbed their sense of safety, security, or well-being.   While research shows a clear intersection between trauma or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and eating disorders, too few health professionals include trauma therapy in their practice. Why? They’re concerned that by opening the “trauma box” there’ll be a worsening of symptoms or relapse.  The problem is that this assumption is wrong. Not all people with eating disorders have indeed experienced trauma, but clinicians need to be trauma-informed to support their clients in understanding and addressing what they may have lived through. This is because appropriate discovery with appropriate care will have a positive impact on their eating behaviours.  Listen to leading clinicians and people with lived experience of both trauma and eating disorders discuss this difficult but important topic, with useful insights on what can help. Find out more about dr Mandy Goldstein Find out more about Archana Waller Find out more about Lucia Osborne-Crowley Contact the Butterfly National HelplineSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This month we’re talking to a distinguished social epidemiologist and behavioural scientist at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health. Her name is Professor Bryn Austin, and her research focuses on public health approaches to eating disorders. Our conversation begins with an overview of the web that connects consumer culture, corporate exploitation, and the pervasive influence of diet culture on body image. “We’ve known for decades how harmful the consumer marketplace can be with diet culture, the diet industry, diet pills and supplements, and all the negative body image pressures that come through media, social media and advertising,” she says. “People have been writing about this for decades.” The problem is we still need to more deeply understand–and do more to address—what corporations are doing to exploit diet culture for profit. Don’t miss Professor Austin’s wise perspective. Not only does she share her thoughts on the complexities of the body image and eating disorders landscape, but she also discusses the transformative potential of strategic initiatives, including what her Harvard-based laboratory did to protect young Americans from predatory diet-industry profiteering. FIND OUT MORE ABOUT PROFESSOR BRYN AUSTIN READ ABOUT AUSTRALIA’S NATIONAL EATING DISORDERS STRATEGYSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re talking about the higher-weight paradox, particularly when well-meaning health professionals can trigger an eating disorder or make one worse.  Not everything health issue is solved by losing weight, yet that is what people in larger bodies too often hear. Worse, numerous people living with eating disorders remain undiagnosed and untreated because the stereotype of an eating disorder doesn’t fit their reality.    Melissa says she had an eating disorder from age 12 but wasn’t diagnosed until age 22. In fact, her unhelpful behaviours were encouraged: “All that my doctors cared about was for me to lose weight,” she says.  Professor Leah Brennan of Latrobe University reports that eating disorders occur across the size spectrum and the prevalence of eating disorders is actually greater in people in larger bodies.  One problem, says GP Samantha Wyton, is that people in non-typical body shapes and sizes are too often made to feel unsafe and unwelcome in medical settings.  “We’re taught that obesity is a disease in medical training,” she says. But it’s a lot more complex than that. “We need to embrace the full spectrum of shapes and sizes, because that’s the reality of the human condition.”    Dietitian Dr Fiona Willer, agrees. “The effect of weight centrism, particularly in primary care, is that people will delay going to the doctor until they can’t avoid it,” she says. And that effectively creates an issue for all their health outcomes, not only body image and eating disorders.  Listen to Sam unpack this issue with our group of concerned and articulate guests, including their thoughts about how we can and must change. LEARN MORE ABOUT THE RISKS AND WARNING SIGNS FIND OUT MORE ABOUT PROFESSOR LEAH BRENNAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT DR SAMANTHA WYTON FIND OUT MORE ABOUT DR FIONA WILLER LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR #QUIETTHENOISE CAMPAIGN FEATURING SARAH COX FIND A PROFESSIONALSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the recent Australia and New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders conference on the Gold Coast, we spoke to experts about new and groundbreaking insights into eating disorders. This episode is the second in a series of two.   Dr Simon Wilksch unpacks his work around the significant financial and emotional costs that families face when caring for children with eating disorders and, to improve outcomes, why he recommends that parents and caregivers receive support too.  Monash’s Courney McLean talks about the complex relationship between vegetarianism, veganism, and eating disorders, and the tool she’s developing to assess motivation for adopting to a plant-based diet. Her work points the way to improved diagnosis and care for vegetarians and vegans experiencing eating disorders. Belinda Chelius, CEO of Eating Disorders Queensland, explains her evidence-based rationale for including lived experience practitioners in eating disorder treatment, and why lived experience has always provided the infrastructure for EDQs work. Finally, Dr. Renee Denham, a child and adolescent psychiatrist based in Brisbane, describes the interplay between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and restrictive eating, and how we can identify and help those kids affected.   These conversations reveal the multifaceted nature of eating disorders and the innovative approaches being taken to address them.  Find out more about ANZAED Find out more about Simon Wilksch Find out more about Courtney McLean Find out more about Belinda Chelius Find out more about Renee DenhamSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The key to understanding any mental illness is to listen to those who have been through it. Not only can the voices of those with lived experience of an eating disorder help those who are currently impacted, but they also, importantly, serve to educate the health professionals who will provide care.  The evidence is clear: Services that are co-designed with those who know their own situation will always have the best chance of success.   That’s why the voice of lived experience is being embedded in most new treatment initiatives, including the recently launched and much heralded National Eating Disorders Strategy of 2023 – 2033.  Our guest, Shannon Calvert, experienced a longstanding and severe eating disorder and through the ups and downs of her own journey has since dedicated her life in recovery as a much needed voice and advocate for others.  “Through my own recovery, there were health professionals that didn’t want to do eating disorders or didn’t know how to do eating disorders. It was too complex, too challenging for them. That shifted my perspective in terms of how we can do things differently", she says.     Today, Shannon collaborates with all parts of the sector -- health professionals, researchers, and policymakers to develop person-centered, compassionate and integrated health care for better outcomes for everyone.  Learn more about Shannon Calvert Learn more about the National Strategy for eating disordersSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We snuck into the annual Australia and New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders (ANZAED) conference to illuminate the future of eating disorder diagnosis and care. We recorded on-site at the conference, where we asked various speakers to give us a taste of their research for the sake of all those who’d be interested but couldn’t be there. Segment 1: Reviewing current treatment approachesDr. Anthea Fursland, a distinguished clinical psychologist for the past 40 years, shares a candid perspective on the strides made in treatment, especially for Anorexia Nervosa, but offers insights about the gap between new understandings and legacy approaches to care. Segment 2: NDIS engagement for people with eating disordersHilary Smith, a National Manager at the National Eating Disorder Collaboration (NEDC), talks about what may be required and what we still need to know for people with eating disorders to access support from the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Segment 3: Body dysmorphic disorder and cosmetic surgeryThe point where body dysmorphic disorder and cosmetic surgery intersect is where researcher Dr Toni Pikoos does much of her work. She’s been deeply involved in crafting new, enforceable guidelines to protect the psychological safety of patients.  Segment 4: The possibility of laws to protect body imageMarilyn Bromberg is an Associate Professor of Law at UWA and an expert on laws that discourage content researchers understand to negatively impact body image. While there is some precedent in other parts of the world, we can do more in Australia.  Segment 5: Dealing with an eating disorders crisis and emergency careMental health occupational therapist Genevieve Pepin presented on “Eating disorders, carers, and the emergency department: A recipe for disaster.” It’s a carer’s worst nightmare, and Genevieve tells us just how bad it can get and how we can make the experience less traumatic for families. This is the first of two episodes covering the conference. Look out for Part 2 in October 23.  FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE ANNUAL ANZAED CONFERENCE FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ANTHEA FURSLAND FIND OUT MORE ABOUT NEDC’S WORK AROUND THE NDIS FIND OUT MORE ABOUT TONI PIKOOS FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MARILYN BROMBERG FIND OUT MORE ABOUT GENEVIEVE PEPINSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the DSM-V–also known as the psychiatrist’s bible–there are only four official diagnoses for eating disorders. Though experts expect that number to double in the next edition, the reasons someone might develop or maintain an eating disorder are as variable as the number of people affected.    This is because eating disorders are not just a set of behaviours. They are a way of coping with difficult things.   Psychologist and former Butterfly Helpline Manager, Juliette Thomson, specialises in a person-centred, holistic approach to recovery. “An eating disorder is often the tip of an iceberg,” she says, “Underneath, there is likely a lot more going on for a person about themselves in their lives.”   To help someone struggling with an eating disorder, a therapist will seek to understand their psychological and social reality. That’s why there shouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all approach; people need treatment plans tailored to their own situation. In addition, insists Juliette, you don’t need to be certain that you even want to recover, as a good therapist should support you wherever you’re at.   Listen to Juliette explain why she tells clients that recovery may be the hardest thing they’ll ever do in their life, and why it will also be the most rewarding.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s a medication for almost every illness, and that’s true for mental illnesses,including eating disorders. But how do they work, and how do they help? We’relaunching our fourth season of Butterfly: Let’s Talk with an investigation intomedications used to treat people with eating disorders, including some brand-newdevelopments that could offer hope. “Many people with an eating disorder will be prescribed some kind of psychiatricmedication,” says psychiatrist Professor Richard Newton, who has been working inthe sector since the 1980s. “But most of those treatments will be for associatedconcerns such as anxiety, depression, poor sleep, hearing voices, obsessive-compulsive disorder, etc. They’re more adjunct interventions and are not for theeating disorder itself.” Having suffered from an eating disorder since age 11, Emma has triedseveral different prescriptions. “I was first given a psychiatric medication when Iwas 14,” she tells us. “It was an antidepressant, and it helped. It showed me thatthere was something chemically not quite right.” Later, she was prescribedantipsychotics, that she says also helped. In this podcast, we talk about psilocybin, the psychedelic chemical associated withmagic mushrooms. "Psychedelic drugs offer an incredible way to access an altered state of consciousness that can change how people think about their behaviour,” says neurologist and researcher Dr Claire Foldi. While psilocybin is stillundergoing clinical trials, she's upbeat about its potential for eating disorders. We also go into depth with Dr Kristi Griffiths, who has studied Vyvanse, a stimulanttraditionally prescribed for ADHD, now being used to treat people with BulimiaNervosa and Binge Eating Disorder. “In one randomized study," she says, "Peoplewho took Vyvance over a set period had around a 4% relapse rate. That's apretty low rate.” Listen to our experts and Emma, who believes that she is well into recovery thanks in part to her medications. Perhaps this episode will offer insights for you, your client’s or your loved one’s treatment plan.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The results from the new Butterfly Body Kind Youth Survey are in, and they’re concerning. More than 1600 young people aged 12-18 took part in the survey, with at least half saying they were dissatisfied with their bodies. About one in three kids say they’re completely dissatisfied with the way that they look. "The problem is there’s a real cost to young people's body dissatisfaction," says Helen Bird, Butterfly's Education Manager. "A significant number limit their involvement in everyday activities like sports, going to the beach, hanging out with their friends, or going clothes shopping. It’s also impacting their learning. Something like 50% of young people say that their body image has stopped them from putting their hands up in class, focusing on their schoolwork and, for some, even going to school." In the latest episode of Let’s Talk, our host Sam Ikin talks to Helen, mental health counsellor Stella Ladikos and social worker AJ Williams-Tchen who all work closely with young people and listen to their concerns. He also chats with two high school students who aren’t surprised by the survey results but who make it quite clear that adults and institutions need to be doing a lot more to support them.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In February this year, ABC dedicated their flagship investigative report, Four Corners, to eating disorders. This was, in part, because of a few Members of Parliament. The MPs are Teal Independent Zoe Daniel, Liberal Andrew Wallace and Labor’s Susan Templeman. Based on continuous calls for help from their constituents, the three resolved to act for change. To start, they’re co-chairing a new Parliamentary Friends Group for Eating Disorder Awareness to highlight the critical need for more care and support. “We've been absolutely avalanched in my office by families and people from across the country, saying that it really needs action,” says Zoe Daniel. “And it’s been interesting to have conversations with other MPs. Eating disorders aren't confined to the stereotypical groups.” Susan Templeman agrees. “I don't think there's an elected office in the country where someone hasn't phoned in at the end of their tether, saying, I don't know what to do. My son or my daughter or my partner is suffering from an eating disorder, and I can't get the help that I need.” Andrew Wallace was once in a Cabinet meeting where a senior health official assured the Prime Minister that Australia was getting on top of the issue. “I said, sorry, Prime Minister, but I totally disagree with what you've just been told,” he recalls. “We have absolutely no idea how you first suffer from it, why you suffer from it and, importantly, how you best treat it.” As a carer, Wallace speaks from his own experience, as does Susan Templeman. Eating disorders are mental health issues that do not discriminate. And as more policymakers lean in to educate their political peers, the more hope there will be for real investment in care.    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Many of us remember being teased about our appearance in primary school because it happens - a lot. Perhaps we don’t think about it much now, but chances are the experience has left a mark on who we’ve become. The research is clear: Appearance-based teasing is a key risk factor for a child to develop body dissatisfaction which, in turn, can negatively impact their life outcomes, including their mental health, career, and relationships. Body dissatisfaction is also one of the highest risk factors for eating disorders.    "There's research showing children as young as eight describing their weight and size as a problem because they've experienced appearance-based teasing," says expert researcher Dr Steph Damiano. Appearance-based teasing, which is rife, is also related to more intense disordered attitudes and behaviours around food." To a large degree, this problem is related to cultural stigmas around size and weight, which can be internalised by children as young as three.   "I was always naturally a very low weight and also very tall for my age," says mental health worker Jenna Abbasi, who has lived this firsthand. "I was teased about my size and height, my colour, my teeth, my hair, my nose...I was labelled as the skinniest person in school and a rabbit. It's still very difficult for me not to be self-conscious about my body because the social anxiety from that time has never left."   Psychologist Louise Adams, who counselled clients on body acceptance long before she had her own children, has worked hard to protect them. However, she admits her larger-bodied daughter experienced the full brunt of fat-phobic comments in primary school and still suffers from it. To address all of this, Butterfly Body Bright was developed in association with experts from La Trobe University to promote body-positive peer environments for younger kids. "The program shifts all of our mindsets," says teacher and pastoral care worker Sarah Price. "We’re not only teaching kids about the impact of what they say to other people but also what they can say to themselves."   "The full program is evidence-based, easy to execute, and comprehensive about developing a positive body image,” says Dr Damiano. Regarding appearance-based teasing, the teachings are all about encouraging children to treat each others' bodies with respect and to stand up for themselves and others in the face of hurtful comments.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr Beth Shelton is a psychologist and long-time director of the National Eating Disorder Collaboration (NEDC), leading a team that develops national standards for preventing and treating eating disorders and works actively to build the system of care. As a highly respected professional in the field, we asked Beth to explain the different diagnoses for eating disorders, the possible causes, and what she believes constitutes “normal” eating. First, Beth makes one thing clear:  An eating disorder is a mental illness with serious physical and mental health consequences for the person affected. It causes a lot of dysfunction and suffering. Though there are several separate diagnoses for eating disorders, they are more similar than they are different. Absent recovery, many people move from one form to another. Different eating disorders often manifest from similar risk factors, for example, genetics or psychological profiles. She also confirms that these conditions do not discriminate. We too often default to thinking about an overly thin teenage girl, but an eating disorder can affect anyone; we don’t see it. An eating disorder is also not a choice – perhaps beginning a diet to lose weight initially may be a conscious decision, but once the eating disorder takes hold, the person affected has lost control of their health and needs support. Beth puts it best: “No one I've ever worked with or spoken to about an eating disorder would ever choose one or choose one for anyone else.” Fortunately, she and numerous others in the sector are working tirelessly to help, not only for those with lived experience but for their loved ones and carers too. Find out more about NEDC Eating disorders explained Find out more about Parliamentary Friends Group for Eating Disorder Awareness Find a Professional  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re all subject to continuous appearance-based pressures which impact our self-worth. The LGBTQIA+ community is no different. In fact, it’s a community that faces unique challenges regarding pressures that affect body image. And, for some people, it can escalate during Mardi Gras season.   “People will go on a big shred or a big diet for the month,” says one of Australia’s most popular LGBTQIA+ content creators, Matt, also known as Alright Hey. “As soon as Christmas is over, it starts. Mardi Gras lands around the start of March and people think they have two months to totally transform their body.”  Author, podcaster, and creator Allira Potter says much of the pressure often comes from others in each community. “I feel it 100%. Being a lesbian, I have this pressure to dress and act a certain way.”  Non-binary and queer creator, Jonti Ridley says appearance-based pressure is unhelpful to everyone. “A large facet of the queer community is enforcing these standards that we didn’t even come up with. We don’t even like them. They’re not for us.”  Actor and creator Jeff van de Zandt has this to say: “Mardi Gras prep diets come from a place of hate,” he says. “They come from hating oneself. But Mardi Gras is a celebration of love, a celebration of pride, of all these positive things. It’s just backward to me.”  Mardi Gras is a seminal time for 78er Peter Murphy who was at the very first Mardi Gras, when he was seriously injured by police as they attempted to shut it down. He says it’s not compulsory to do anything special around your appearance at all. “I’m going in comfortable clothes and comfortable shoes and I still expect to have a great time.”  Listen to these fascinating and enlightening guests as they explore body and beauty ideals within the LGBTQIA+ community, how pressures to conform can manifest, and why they’re choosing to participate in WorldPride with BodyPride, starring their unique, kind, and most authentic selves.  CHECK OUT BUTTERFLY’S BODY PRIDE CAMPAIGN CHECK OUT OUR LGBTQIA+ RESOURCE HUB FOLLOW ALRIGHT HEY FOLLOW ALLIRA POTTER FOLLOW JONTI RIDLEY FOLLOW JEFF VAN DE ZANDT QUICK GUIDE TO TERMS – LGBTQIA+See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It goes without saying that we want to give our young children the best start. We also know from years of research that negative body image can impact almost all life outcomes – including relationships, education, and careers.  So how do we protect our children from developing a negative body image? And when should we start? The answer could shock you.  Dr Stephanie Damiano is a psychology researcher and an expert in this space.  “We see quite consistently that around the age of three, children start to develop pretty strong weight attitudes and weight stereotypes around bodies,” she says. "They tend to attribute positive characteristics to thin bodies and negative characteristics to large bodies. Their body image starts to develop a little bit later, around the age of four.”  Biological, psychological, and socio-cultural factors contribute to the development of positive or negative body image. In the socio-cultural space, our kids’ attitudes are shaped by family, the media, and their peers – and this is where adults can influence them.   Dr Damiano also leads Butterfly’s pioneering Body Bright program that is available free to primary schools. Listen to her chat with Sam about helping young kids establish a positive relationship with their bodies for their future well-being and success. find out more about Butterfly body bright butterfly body bright - information for families butterfly body bright - information for schools for educators - register your schoolSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The summer holidays usually come with some expectations. We meet the extended family for a holiday meal. We wear fewer clothes in the summer heat. We make new year’s resolutions pushed by the diet industry. We smile and nod at the inevitable comments about our appearance from well-meaning family members. And we’re expected to find all of this a joyous time of year. But it’s events like these that make the summer holiday period difficult for some people, particularly anyone experiencing negative body image or eating disorders.  “How do people look compared to how they looked last year,” says Tania Nichols from Butterfly’s National HelpLine. “Are they bigger or smaller? There’s a lot of anxiety around potential judgement from others and the inevitable comments that go with them.” “Most of us, in general, start to feel the stress around getting together with people we haven't seen for ages,” Tania tells us. “And of course, that's magnified for people who are experiencing disordered eating and eating disorders because all of these festivities, of course, happen around food.” Jennifer White suffered from an eating disorder for years and says it was the holiday get-together over food that would always stress her out. “In the Australian culture, people feel comfortable, rightly or wrongly, commenting on how people look, what people wear, and what people eat,” she says. “At functions that I have gone to in the past, whether it be family, friends, work, whatever, it's just something that people say without really having a second thought.” Clinical psychologist Chris Cheers tells us negative body image can have a huge impact on how people cope with difficult situations. “People connect the way their body looks with their ability to be liked,” he says, “Or to form relationships with people or to get that boyfriend or girlfriend or get that partner, especially if you're single. There seems to be this pressure of you needing to look a particular way to make friends.” But he says by being aware of a few things, we can make a world of difference for our family and guests. “I think a really helpful question to ask someone is what would support look like for you right now. And we sometimes feel pressure to know how to support people too. And sometimes that can stop us from reaching out or saying anything.” He says, on a personal level, you can “give yourself permission to notice those expectations,” he says, “But choose instead to go inward, and be guided by what's important to you, be guided by your body and what you need.” For more tips and advice, go to Butterfly’s Summer of Kindness page. https://butterfly.org.au/get-involved/campaigns/summerofkindness/  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The drive for perfectionism is unusually common in people experiencing body image issues and eating disorders. Perfectionism is quite different from the drive to improve, which is an appropriate and healthy desire. Perfectionistic people, however, believe that "perfect" is possible—and the problem is that it's not. This sets up the perfectionist for continual frustration and disappointment, which in turn leads to mental health issues, including eating disorders.  In this episode, our host Sam Ikin sits down with Professor Tracey Wade, who has spent 30 years researching the intersection of perfectionism and eating disorders. "As a perfectionist, you tend to have high but impossible goals," she says. "And when you inevitably don’t meet them, then self-criticism and depression occur. Perfectionism actually takes people away from success."  In fact, of all the difficult issues it causes, perfectionism has a particularly strong relationship to eating disorders.  Professor Wade spent time with Sam to explore what distinguishes perfectionism from the normal drive to achieve, how it harms health and wellbeing, and how we can learn to think differently for ongoing recovery. Find out more about Professor Tracey Wade  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we sit down with occupational therapist Dr Elysa Roberts to discover why OT can be effective in treating eating disorders.  First, what is an occupation? It’s generally defined as “any activity in which one engages”, which means it’s a lot more than just a job. An occupation can include eating, exercising, working, shopping, socialising, parenting, education, time spent on spiritual practice... the list just goes on. Occupations are all the ordinary and everyday activities of life. An eating disorder can be considered an occupation, but one that isn’t good for your health or well-being. Recovery could also be defined as an occupation, and that’s why Occupational Therapists can play a key role in a person’s treatment team. Dr Roberts, an OT since the early ‘90s, says that she realised the importance of OT as a treatment modality through her own lived experience. “I'd go through waves of treatment, be discharged, recover, and then go through it again all while establishing my OT career. Unfortunately, what wasn't happening in those days was strong relapse prevention programmes, or relapse prevention being included as part of recovery.” Now things are changing. Dr Roberts describes how OT can help – first by bringing a unique and holistic understanding of an individual’s mental, physical and sensory profile, but also by co-designing practical interventions that can make all the difference to ongoing recovery. If you think you need to find out more about occupational therapists and how they could help you or someone you love, Butterfly could help. Go to Butterfly.org.au or call the Butterfly helpline on 1800 ED HOPE - 1800 33 46 73. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.