This week on Wellbeing we are kicking off our 13-part series on Anorexia Nervosa. Anorexia has the highest fatality rate of any mental health condition and is characterised by a fear of being overweight. In our first instalment we are talking with internationally renowned eating disorder expert Dr. Judith Brisman. Dr Brisman is the co-author of Surviving an Eating Disorder which, when it was first released in 1988, was the first book to offer effective advice for families and friends of those with eating disorders. Dr Brisman is also a pioneer in the eating disorders field having founded The Eating Disorder Resource Center in 1981 which was the first centre of its kind.

In this episode, Dr Brisman talks about what anorexia is, how and why it occurs, its effect on the body and the internal organs, anorexia in younger people, anorexia in those who are part of the LGBTQ community, the effects of social media on anorexia's prevalence, stigma around those with anorexia, anorexia recovery in children, how anorexia impacts the brain, and her role as a psychoanalyst in recovery.

"We are also seeing that we totally missed the world of gender fluidity; of course this is all a new subject and we are learning so much about this. Think about it, if you are in a male body and you believe you're a woman and you're 13 years old or 15 years old and you want to look like you really believe you are, the first thing you are going to do is make your body smaller, and so we are also seeing anorexia in the transgender community" -  Dr. Judith Brisman on this episode of Wellbeing

Tune in next week when we talk with another expert in the anorexia field.

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