Candid Conversations

For the first time on the podcast we have a lived experience story from a carer perspective! Jeanette is a Stories of Recovery Ambassador at EDV who has supported two daughters through recovery from anorexia nervosa.

Jeanette beautifully weaves her family's story through the lens of EDV values - Perseverance, Connection, Courage and Optimism.

Please welcome EDV Ambassador Lily to the podcast! Lily is a clinical nurse specialist at a large regional hospital in Victoria. She loves the outdoors and adores being an aunty. While Lily is now focused on living life to the fullest, as a teen she experienced anorexia nervosa, OCD, anxiety and depression.

Lily's story of recovery covers the challenges of living in a rural area, navigating FBT, the backwards and forward steps of recovery, the impact of an eating disorder on the broader family unit, and the steps she takes to maintain her mental health.

We're putting our critical thinking caps on for this episode of Candid Conversations! Social worker, graduate researcher and EDV Peer Mentoring Program Manager Rachael Duck joins Bree for an important conversation that will challenge listeners to think outside the box and look beyond an individual focus on health. Importantly, we invite you to think about the idea that eating disorders don't happen on their own, and that people's experiences are often tied to larger social and cultural forces. As Rachael likes to say, the personal is political!

The release of this episode aligns with Body Image and Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2023. As part of the theme 'The Time is Now to Take Action on Eating Disorders and Body Image', we are sharing lots of lived experience reflections, education resources and advocacy information on our socials. Make sure you're following us!

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In between recent visits to hospital wards to share her story, Ambassador Beth stopped into EDV to record her recovery story for you.

Beth's story covers:

• The impact of a challenging home environment
• Feeling voiceless in the treatment process
• Hitting rock bottom, and getting back up again
• Pursuing recovery based actions, without intending to recover
• How a 'fear hierarchy' approach changed things
• Managing the shapeshifting nature of relapse
• Finding herself outside the eating disorder

Big thank you to Beth for sharing in such a considered, helpful way.

Hi friends! We have a very special guest on the podcast - EDV's boss lady, CEO Belinda Caldwell. Belinda joins Bree for a candid conversation about how she ended up as the CEO of an eating disorder organisation, as well as the challenges and opportunities that face EDV and the eating disorder sector. Topics covered include:

• The evolution of EDV
• Impacts of state and federal funding announcements for eating disorders
• The new residential treatment service opening in Melbourne
• The upcoming Victorian Eating Disorder Strategy
• Opportunities for you to be involved through lived experience work and advocacy

LINKS:

While Kiara's story begins with childhood taunts and self-consciousness about her body, it was being diagnosed with gastroparesis (stomach muscle paralysis) that kicked off a downward spiral into fad dieting and eventually, Binge Eating Disorder. Kiara reflects on:

• The impact of diet culture on her self-worth and acceptance
• The impact of the diet-binge cycle, including fear, anger and shame
• Challenging her belief system around food and bodies
• Quasi-recovery
• The role of ego and intuition in her recovery (via popular book, The Power of Now)

Thank you so much to Kiara for sharing her story with the EDV Community 🌸

Did you know that the majority of eating disorders occur between the ages of 12 and 25? This means that for many people with eating disorders, recovery also falls within the transition period from adolescence to adulthood. It's a time of huge change and growth, which, when coupled with an eating disorder, can be really overwhelming.

In this episode, we speak with Emily, a member of the EDV team who has lived experience of being diagnosed with an eating disorder in her late teens. Emily's recovery journey included both the adolescent and adult public health system. We discuss being diagnosed with an eating disorder while in Year 12, undergoing treatment while seeking independence from family/parents, choosing recovery as an adult and finding motivation, travelling, moving out of home, and creating a new life.

Huge thanks to Emily for sharing her story for this episode. As with all of our episodes that are driven by lived experience, we feel like there's something in here for everyone, even if this transition period that we're talking about doesn't directly relate to you. But if you know someone who is going through this particular time in their life, please feel free to pass this episode on!

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Hi! Today we're welcoming EDV Ambassador Ming to the mic! Ming is an organisational change professional and Pilates instructor, and has lived experience of recovery from anorexia nervosa. 

From China, to Brisbane and now Melbourne, Ming's story is one of inner determination and courage. It shows that it's possible to find hope for yourself, even when it feels like you're facing the battle alone. Ming's decision to claim her story and learn from her recovery experience has helped shape her into the person she is today. In sharing her story she is choosing hope, and she invites you to do the same. 

Reminder if you're looking for help:

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Does eating disorder recovery have you feeling like you're living a double life? Your recovery self is working full-time on getting better, while your regular life comes knocking with work, study and social obligations. It can be exhausting! 

In this episode of Candid Conversations, we speak with Telehealth Nurse and Recovery Ambassador Gemma to help make sense of this really challenging period of recovery. We discuss:

• Gemma's personal lived experience of ED recovery
• Why this period can be the most difficult in recovery
• How to manage work/study obligations
• Opening yourself up socially while maintaining recovery
• How to manage frustration and curb self-criticism 
• The power of journaling 
• How loved ones and friends can be supportive
• How to find motivation through relapse and setbacks 

For EDV's Education Officer Bridie, the topic of body image and body dissatisfaction in her eating disorder recovery was largely dealt with in "very lame platitudes" from well meaning health professionals. While Bridie recovered from her eating disorder, feelings of shame and discomfort around her body image lingered. Bridie was eventually compelled to confront her relationship with her body and begin a self-guided journey towards compassion and acceptance. 

In this chat we cover:

Hi there! Today we're passing the mic to Emma, one of EDV's Stories of Recovery Ambassadors. Emma shares the long journey she has been on to finally be sharing her story as a recovered person, and trust us when we say it was not a an easy path! Emma was first diagnosed with an eating disorder at age 11, and spent much of her childhood, adolescence and adulthood in and out of treatment, recovery and relapse.

If you are someone who feels like they have treatment fatigue or are questioning the possibility of recovery, this episode is for you.

Reminder if you're looking for help:

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With borders open and people rushing to get their passports renewed, it's clear that travel is well and truly back! Travelling is so often a goal for people in recovery, but how do you know if you're ready for it? And where do you start in even planning a trip when you're so used to routine and structure in recovery?

Well that sounds like an ominous episode title doesn't it!? We promise, this episode isn't a cautionary tale! In fact, it showcases the empowering and mutually beneficial experience that can come from sharing recovery stories with the world, provided it's done with thoughtful consideration for both story tellers and their audience. 

We speak to two guests who have their own expertise in this space:

Hello! We're dropping in for a bonus Lived Experience episode today with one of our Ambassadors, Audrey. Audrey shares her story as she would if she were speaking at an event or to a group of people in recovery. We want you to hear our Ambassador's stories in their own words, uninterrupted. 

Audrey's story includes:

• Challenging family dynamics, including how that impacted her eating disorder and her recovery
• Ongoing medical challenges
• What helped in her recovery
• What didn't help in her recovery!
• How she maintains her ongoing wellness 

Big thanks to Audrey for being the first EDV Ambassador to share her story like this on our podcast. We plan to bring you more Ambassador's stories in the future!

Enjoy this podcast? Subscribe/follow to ensure you never miss an episode!

This podcast is informed by lived experience and professional practice. It is not a substitute for individual medical or mental health advice. If this podcast prompts you to seek further help and if you live in Victoria, our team at the EDV Hub is here to listen and support you. The EDV Hub is a free and confidential helpline service providing information and peer support for Victorians experiencing eating disorders and those who are supporting them. The EDV Hub operates Monday - Friday from 9:30AM to 4:30PM.

📞 CONTACT THE HUB:

Call: 1300 550 236
Email: hub@eatingdisorders.org.au
Web Enquiry: www.eatingdisorders.org.au

If you are located outside of Victoria, please contact The Butterfly Foundation: www.butterfly.org.au

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Maintaining your identity when experiencing an eating disorder can be tricky. The illness often provides a false sense of comfort that can rob you of the things that make you you, like your interests, hobbies, friendships, relationships and life goals. 

Drawing on the insights from the knowledge and lived experience of the team here at EDV, we answer your questions and talk about the ins and outs of inpatient treatment services.

You know that place where you're almost recovered from an eating disorder? Most people think you're doing really well and hey, you are! But we know eating disorders do not give up easily. Even when you're almost at the finish line of recovery, behaviours can linger and you may find yourself still making room for your eating disorder. We call this place quasi recovery. It's a really common stage of the recovery journey and it can be tremendously difficult to push past. So, on today's show, we're joined by Lived Experience guest, Elli, Clinical Psychologist, Laura Gorrie and EDV's Wellbeing Coordinator, Amy Woods to discuss what quasi recovery is, why it happens and most importantly, how to move beyond it to reach the place of full recovery that you have worked so hard for.

Enjoy this podcast? Subscribe/follow to ensure you never miss an episode!

This podcast is informed by lived experience and professional practice. It is not a substitute for individual medical or mental health advice. If this podcast prompts you to seek further help and if you live in Victoria, our team at the EDV Hub is here to listen and support you. The EDV Hub is a free and confidential helpline service providing information and peer support for Victorians experiencing eating disorders and those who are supporting them. The EDV Hub operates Monday-Friday from 9:30AM to 4:30PM.

📞 CONTACT THE HUB:

Call: 1300 550 236

Email: hub@eatingdisorders.org.au

Web Enquiry: www.eatingdisorders.org.au

If you are located outside of Victoria, please contact The Butterfly Foundation: www.butterfly.org.au

🌿 FIND EDV ON SOCIALS:

Instagram: @eatingdisordersvictoria

Today we are talking about the health care system and how you can go about accessing and affording treatment. A lot of people, understandably, find themselves very disillusioned with the health system. But this is exactly the thing we don’t want to happen! It is so so important to keep trying when it comes to treatment, and it’s why we want to make this process super clear for you with today’s episode. Even if you are not new to eating disorder treatment, we encourage you to give this episode a listen as there may be options and resources available that you haven't considered before. 

⏰ As this episode is a long one and covers a lot of ground, we have timestamped key sections below, so you can skip forward to the parts that are relevant to you: 

3:57 - Building a relationship with a GP, how to prepare for an initial appointment with a GP and how an ongoing relationship with GP can benefit you in your recovery

6:20 - Medicare subsidies for eating disorder treatment, how to access these, and the eligibility criteria (including Mental Health Treatment Plans, Eating Disorder Plans, and Enhanced Primary Care Plans) 

11:38 - Treatment in the public health system (inpatient programs, outpatient programs, eating disorder day programs, Adult Mental Health Service) 

16:22 - Treatment in the private health system (private clinicians, private hospital services) 

21:24 - Costs and affordability of treatment (accessing treatment in the private system, bulk billing, subsidised costs for health care cardholders) 

27:30 - Free and low-cost complementary support options (EDV services, peer support options, self-help resources) 

32:04 - Navigating long waitlists for psychologists with the heightened demand due to COVID-19

35:30 - Accessing treatment in regional or rural areas of Victoria

For more information about treatment pathways: www.eatingdisorders.org.au/my-eating-disorder-recovery-journey/eating-disorder-treatment-for-adults/

Enjoy this podcast? Subscribe/follow to ensure you never miss an episode!

This podcast is informed by lived experience and professional practice. It is not a substitute for individual medical or mental health advice. If this podcast prompts you to seek further help and if you live in Victoria, our team at the EDV Hub is here to listen and support you. The EDV Hub is a free and confidential helpline service providing information and peer support for Victorians experiencing eating disorders and those who are supporting them. The EDV Hub operates Monday-Friday from 9:30AM to 4:30PM.

📞 CONTACT THE HUB:

Call: 1300 550 236

Email: hub@eatingdisorders.org.au

Web Enquiry: www.eatingdisorders.org.au

If you are located outside of Victoria, please contact The Butterfly Foundation: www.butterfly.org.au

🌿 FIND EDV ON SOCIALS:

Instagram: @eatingdisordersvictoria

Surprise! We're delighted to be in your ears for a very special bonus episode, featuring lived experience guest Sarah Bryan. Sarah is a Support Group Facilitator at Eating Disorders Victoria, running our BEYOND group for individuals experiencing binge eating behaviours and binge eating disorder. Sarah has lived experience of binge eating disorder (BED) and is a prominent voice in the eating disorder sector, raising awareness and breaking down the stigma surrounding BED. You may be familiar with her work and activism on Instagram at @hello.sarahlou

On this episode, Sarah chats to host Bree about her experience and recovery from binge eating disorder. Sarah kindly shares her incredible wisdom and insight, touching on topics including: 

🌿 The development of her eating disorder and how she noticed things weren't quite right

🌿 The challenging impacts of shame, stigma and secrecy in BED recovery

🌿 Her own journey of seeking treatment and pursuing recovery in a diet-culture obsessed world 

🌿 Finding body acceptance, adjusting to living in a larger body and her experiences of weight stigma and bias

🌿 How online activism impacted her recovery then and now and the power of sharing her story

Enjoy this podcast? Subscribe/follow to ensure you never miss an episode!

This podcast is informed by lived experience and professional practice. It is not a substitute for individual medical or mental health advice. If this podcast prompts you to seek further help and if you live in Victoria, our team at the EDV Hub is here to listen and support you. The EDV Hub is a free and confidential helpline service providing information and peer support for Victorians experiencing eating disorders and those who are supporting them. The EDV Hub operates Monday-Friday from 9:30AM to 4:30PM.

📞 CONTACT THE HUB:

Call: 1300 550 236

Email: hub@eatingdisorders.org.au

Web Enquiry: www.eatingdisorders.org.au

If you are located outside of Victoria, please contact The Butterfly Foundation: www.butterfly.org.au

📱 CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIALS:

Instagram: @eatingdisordersvictoria

Did you know that the binge eating page on our website has seen an increase in visits of over 65% since July last year? This tells us that there are a lot of you out there struggling with this so on today's episode, we're breaking down binge eating. Binge eating disorder is the most common of all eating disorders, but it's not something that is talked about or well understood in a mainstream way and it often carries with it a lot of stigma and shame. Even if you haven't received a straight binge eating disorder diagnosis, binge eating commonly pops up across the spectrum of different eating disorder diagnoses and you may still experience episodes of binge eating, for example when you’re in recovery from a restrictive eating disorder.

For this episode, we're delighted to welcome back EDV's Wellbeing Coordinator, Amy. Amy joins our host Bree chat about what binge eating is, why it occurs, what treatment for binge eating disorder may look like, and tips to help you support yourself after a binge episode.

Enjoy this podcast? Subscribe/follow to ensure you never miss an episode!

This podcast is informed by lived experience and professional practice. It is not a substitute for individual medical or mental health advice. If this podcast prompts you to seek further help and if you live in Victoria, our team at the EDV Hub is here to listen and support you. The EDV Hub is a free and confidential helpline service providing information and peer support for Victorians experiencing eating disorders and those who are supporting them. The EDV Hub operates Monday-Friday from 9:30AM to 4:30PM.

📞 CONTACT THE HUB:

Call: 1300 550 236

Email: hub@eatingdisorders.org.au

Web Enquiry: www.eatingdisorders.org.au

If you are located outside of Victoria, please contact The Butterfly Foundation: www.butterfly.org.au

🌿 FIND EDV ON SOCIALS:

Instagram: @eatingdisordersvictoria

So you’ve committed to recovery and you’re doing all the right things. Good for you! But then, weird things start happening. Your body is changing, and you’re not feeling good about it. Recovery is supposed to make you feel better, right? So why are you feeling worse than before? It’s time to get candid about something that few people talk about in recovery – we're talking about the unexpected and uncomfortable things that can happen in your body when you start recovering from an eating disorder. On today's show we're joined by EDV's resident Telehealth Nurse, Shannyn, to chat about why these changes are normal, and why it will get better.

Enjoy this podcast? Subscribe/follow to ensure you never miss an episode!

This podcast is informed by lived experience and professional practice. It is not a substitute for individual medical or mental health advice. If this podcast prompts you to seek further help and if you live in Victoria, our team at the EDV Hub is here to listen and support you. The EDV Hub is a free and confidential helpline service providing information and peer support for Victorians experiencing eating disorders and those who are supporting them. The EDV Hub operates Monday-Friday from 9:30AM to 4:30PM.

📞 CONTACT THE HUB:

Call: 1300 550 236

Email: hub@eatingdisorders.org.au

Web Enquiry: www.eatingdisorders.org.au

If you are located outside of Victoria, please contact The Butterfly Foundation: www.butterfly.org.au

🌿 FIND EDV ON SOCIALS:

Instagram: @eatingdisordersvictoria

Why is recovery from an eating disorder so hard? Isn’t recovery supposed to feel good? On today’s show, we’re joined by EDV's Wellbeing Coordinator, Amy, to discuss a topic that almost everyone with an eating disorder comes up against. We’re talking about why recovery feels so wrong, and how you can persevere, even when you really don’t want to!

Enjoy this podcast? Subscribe/follow to ensure you never miss an episode!

This podcast is informed by lived experience and professional practice. It is not a substitute for individual medical or mental health advice. If this podcast prompts you to seek further help and if you live in Victoria, our team at the EDV Hub is here to listen and support you. The EDV Hub is a free and confidential helpline service providing information and peer support for Victorians experiencing eating disorders and those who are supporting them. The EDV Hub operates Monday-Friday from 9:30AM to 4:30PM.

📞 CONTACT THE HUB:

Call: 1300 550 236

Email: hub@eatingdisorders.org.au

Web Enquiry: www.eatingdisorders.org.au

If you are located outside of Victoria, please contact The Butterfly Foundation: www.butterfly.org.au

🌿 FIND EDV ON SOCIALS:

Instagram: @eatingdisordersvictoria