This week on Wellbeing we speak with Adi Barkan, an activist fighting against anorexia in the fashion industry. Anorexia is prevalent in the modelling industry and Adi has seen it happen firsthand. Adi has been a photographer in the fashion industry since the 1980s and noticed that it was with the introduction of thin models like Kate Moss in the 1990s that everything changed. As Adi will talk about, since the 1990s anorexia has been prevalent in the industry. Due to this factor, he became an activist and has campaigned for legislation banning the use of models below a certain BMI. He has given a TED talk on the subject, and talks regularly about it across the media.

In this episode Adi talks about how he got into the fashion industry as a photographer, when anorexia started becoming a problem in the fashion industry, how anorexia impacts the mental health of those modelling, his advocacy work against anorexia in the fashion industry, how editing software like photoshop impacts self image and contributes to anorexia developing, how the use of excessively skinny models impacts people in society and their body image, and how anorexia can be better combated in the fashion industry.

“Just think, if all the people woke up in the morning, looked in the mirror and say 'Oh, I look great', how many companies are going to break down.” - Adi Barkan on this episode of Wellbeing 

Tune in next week when we talk with author and psychotherapist, Matthew Campling about the anorexia recovery sector.

We would love to hear from you! If you would like to suggest topics, give us feedback, or just say hi, you can contact us on [email protected]  

Hosted and Produced by Jack Hodgins    
Wellbeing website: https://www.2nurfm.com.au/wellbeing 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Wellbeing we are talking with Katherine Schultz, a photographer based in Adelaide, Australia, she shares her experiences in having a sister going through anorexia. Katherine’s perspective as a sibling of someone who has anorexia is a rarely heard from perspective.

In this episode Katherine talks about when she noticed anorexia was becoming a problem for her sister, how her sister's anorexia impacted their relationship, how it impacted the family's daily life, what brings on eating disorders, how it felt seeing her sister loose who she was to anorexia, the supports available to siblings and family members of those going though anorexia, the mental strategies Kathrine has to manage as a result if her sister's anorexia, the toll her sister's anorexia has on her, and her general advice to family members of those with anorexia.

"The deeper she fell into it, the harder it was to sort of have conversations with her about it and she kind of lost like a spark, and I think many people talk about that like you sort of lose sight of the person you know them to be as this disorder takes over." - Katherine Schultz on this episode of Wellbeing 

Tune in next week when we talk with activist in the fashion industry against anorexia, Adi Barkan.

We would love to hear from you! If you would like to suggest topics, give us feedback, or just say hi, you can contact us on [email protected]  

Hosted and Produced by Jack Hodgins    
Wellbeing website: https://www.2nurfm.com.au/wellbeing 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This Week on Wellbeing we are talking with Veronica Luccioni, who is a mother whose daughter went through anorexia. Following her daughter's recovery, Veronica founded The Elephant in the Room Foundation, a charity that aims to improve the lives of individuals with anorexia nervosa. She is on the show today to share her perspective as a mother having a child with anorexia, and how she went about helping her daughter with her anorexia.

In this episode Veronica talks about when she noticed the anorexia in her daughter, the symptoms she noticed of anorexia from her perspective as a mother, and how she helped her daughter recover.

Her body changed and she became skinnier and started wearing smaller clothes . . . she started fitting into those clothes again and she started wearing them so I told her 'No! you cannot be wearing those - you cannot be fitting into smaller and smaller clothes'.  - Veronica Luccioni on this episode of Wellbeing

Tune in next week when we talk with Kathrine Schulz about her sister's journey with Anorexia

We would love to hear from you! If you would like to suggest topics, give us feedback, or just say hi, you can contact us on [email protected]

Hosted and Produced by Jack Hodgins
Wellbeing website: https://www.2nurfm.com.au/wellbeing

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Wellbeing we are talking with David Chawner, comedian and mental health advocate. Anorexia is seen to be a mental health condition that effects mostly females, but today we cover the important perspective of male anorexia. Dave started developing anorexia during puberty to keep out unwanted emotions that c along with puberty. He gave a TED Talk in 2015 about the condition and soon after in 2018 wrote his memoir; Weight Expectations: One Man's Recovery from Anorexia. He says a big part of his recovery has been his comedy work, of which a lot of his content is based around the illness.

In this episode, Dave talks about why he developed anorexia, the differences in being male going through anorexia, how the recovery sector needs to become a more positive environment, his own recovery journey, the role of comedy in his recovery, and how friends and family can better support those with anorexia.

“One of the things about the Anorexia is that generally it can tend to numb unwanted emotions -unwanted thoughts- because its kinda like if you' don't put any fuel in your car it won't run and if you don't feed your brain then it will start shutting down.” - David Chawner on this episode of Wellbeing

Tune in next week when we talk with a mother with a daughter that has anorexia   

We would love to hear from you! If you would like to suggest topics, give us feedback, or just say hi, you can contact us on [email protected] 

Hosted and Produced by Jack Hodgins  
Wellbeing website: https://www.2nurfm.com.au/wellbeing 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Wellbeing we are talking with Christine Jap about her anorexia journey. Christine started experiencing anorexia at age twelve and after a journey with it only recovered recently in 2017 while attending university. Today Christine is the PR officer for The Elephant In The Room Foundation, a charity that aims to improve the lives of individuals with Anorexia Nervosa. This is the sixth instalment in our 13 part series on Anorexia. This episode is the fourth and last with females that have had a journey with anorexia. Next week we cover the important topic of male anorexia. 

In this episode, Christine talks about why she developed anorexia, the way she viewed food while going through anorexia, how her family tried to help her with her anorexia, how it impacted her daily life, her journey with recovery, the challenges of anorexia recovery and how recovering has impacted her life positively.   

“Inside I knew there was something else going on, that it wasn't really my fault. Everyone was kinda just saying 'Oh this is your fault, you just don't want to get better'', so that reinforced my shame and negative thoughts” - Christine Jap on this episode of Wellbeing

Tune in next week when we talk with comedian Dave Chawner about his anorexia journey   

We would love to hear from you! If you would like to suggest topics, give us feedback, or just say hi, you can contact us on [email protected] 

Hosted and Produced by Jack Hodgins  
Wellbeing website: https://www.2nurfm.com.au/wellbeing 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Wellbeing we are talking with Brittany Burgunder, author and life coach. Brittany was first diagnosed with anorexia at the age of 13. She engaged in disorder eating as the more weight she lost, the less anxious she became. Her anorexia would be with her for years, up until the time she was in college. Brittney weighed just 56 pounds when she was 20, and was near death. She survived her anorexia which morphed into a binge eating disorder. Within 18 months, she went from being underweight to being obese. Today Brittany has recovered from both eating disorders and in 2016 published her book Safety in Numbers: From 56 to 221 Pounds, My Battle with Eating Disorders which covers her journey with eating disorders. Today Brittany is a Certified Professional Life Coach and eating disorder specialist.

In this episode, Brittany talks about the beginnings of her anorexia, why she thinks it developed, how it impacted her daily life and relationships, how it changed her daily life over time, her relationship with food, how her anorexia morphed into binge eating disorder, how binge eating disorder impacted her daily life in contrast to anorexia, her journey to recovery from both eating disorders, how her book came to be, and how recovery has allowed her to get her life back. 

“I felt that if I could be perfect or if I could be the best at something, if I could be super successful it would sorta' overshadow how I really felt inside and mask how awful I truly felt." - Brittany Burgunder on this episode of Wellbeing

Tune in next week when we talk with another person that has gone though anorexia 

We would love to hear from you! If you would like to suggest topics, give us feedback, or just say hi, you can contact us on [email protected] 

Hosted and Produced by Jack Hodgins 

Wellbeing website: https://www.2nurfm.com.au/wellbeing 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Wellbeing we are talking with Kelsey Osgood, a New York based writer. Kelsey started developing anorexia when she was 14. Her battle with anorexia would be decade long and would consist of three lengthy hospitalisations. After her recovery she began writing her story down. These writings would become her 2013 book "How to Disappear Completely: On Modern Anorexia". The book set out not to be like many of the Anorexia memoirs that came out during the '90's and early 2000s that romanticised the condition. 

In this episode, Kelsey talks about the beginnings of her anorexia, the culture towards anorexia in the 90's and early 2000s, how it impacted her relationship with food at the time, how it changed her daily life over time, her journey to recovery, how her book came to be, her thoughts on the understanding of anorexia in wider society, and gives some tips for friends and family member in how to support and approach people with anorexia. 

"I think even when I was a teenager and I was first hospitalised in the year 2000, people, compared to the statistical number of people who have a clinical eating disorder, people were very aware of what Anorexia and Bulimia was. Maybe there was some lingering insensitivities to it but there was really this enormous push, starting with the death of Karen Carpenter in 1983, that was really trying to tell people this is not about weight, its about any number of things; its about control, its about people pleasing, its about nefarious cultural forces" - Kelsey Osgood on this episode of Wellbeing

Tune in next week when we talk with Brittney Burgunder about her anorexia and binge eating disorder journey  

We would love to hear from you! If you would like to suggest topics, give us feedback, or just say hi, you can contact us on [email protected] 

Hosted and Produced by Jack Hodgins 
Wellbeing website: https://www.2nurfm.com.au/wellbeing

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Wellbeing we are talking with Cherry Boone O'Neill. Cherry grew up in the public eye being the daughter of American singer Pat Boone. Being a part of a musical family she regularly performed with the Boone Family. During her early teenage years in the early 1970s Cherry developed anorexia. At this time the condition was not well understood with many doctors not knowing much of its existence or how to treat it. After recovering from the condition in the early 1980's her memoir about her time with the condition, Starving for Attention came out in 1982. Today Cherry is a Certified Transformational Life Coach and talks about her experiences with anorexia regularly.

In this episode, Cherry talks about her early life performing with the Boone Family, the beginnings of her anorexia, how it changed her daily life over time, its impact on her relationships, how fellow Boone family members tried to help her, her journey to recovery, how her book came to be, her friendship with fellow anorexia sufferer Karen Carpenter, and her thoughts on the stigma that exists towards anorexia in society.

"My Doctor didn't even tell me the name of what I was struggling with, I thought I was just some isolated freak going through this weird behaviour all by myself." - Cherry Boone O'Neill on this episode of Wellbeing 

Tune in next week when we talk with Kelsey Osgood about her anorexia journey.

We would love to hear from you! If you would like to suggest topics, give us feedback, or just say hi, you can contact us on [email protected] 

Hosted and Produced by Jack Hodgins 
Wellbeing website: https://www.2nurfm.com.au/wellbeing

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Wellbeing we are talking with Dr Walter Kaye, Executive Director of the Eating Disorders Center for Treatment and Research, University of California San Diego. Dr. Kaye's research seeks to understand why individuals develop eating disorders and use what is learned to develop more effective treatments. He has authored more then 300 articles and publications on the subject and through his treatment work works closely with parents of children with anorexia and other eating disorders. This is the final episode talking with academics about anorexia as next week we start talking with those that have actually had the condition. 

In this episode, Dr. Kaye talks about what anorexia is, how and why it occurs, its effect on the body and the bones, anorexia in younger people, common traits in those with anorexia, how long it takes to develop, the prevalence of anorexia, how it impacts the brain, and the anorexia researching sector more broadly. 

"People will often end up recovering, and when they do, they actually do very well in life, and some of the traits that got them into trouble -self discipline, obsession with details, they are very achievement orientated - can be used in beneficial ways and people who recover from anorexia often do very well In life." - Dr Walter Kaye on this episode of Wellbeing

Tune in next week when we talk with Cherry Boone O'Neil about her anorexia journey  

We would love to hear from you! If you would like to suggest topics, give us feedback, or just say hi, you can contact us on [email protected] 

Hosted and Produced by Jack Hodgins
Wellbeing website: https://www.2nurfm.com.au/wellbeing

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Wellbeing is the second instalment in our anorexia series. We are continuing to look into anorexia from an academic perspective. In this episode we are talking with Prof. Isabel Krug, a senior lecturer in clinical psychology, and leads the MSPS Eating Disorder Lab based at the University of Melbourne. The main focus of the lab is to improve the understanding of the genetic, neurocognitive, environmental, and psychological underpinnings of eating disorders.

Prof. Krug talks about what anorexia is, how and why it occurs, its effect on the body and the internal organs, anorexia in younger people, stigma surrounding those with anorexia, anorexia in children and different age groups, how it impacts the brain, and the anorexia researching sector more broadly.

"Some people could just go into a diet for what ever reason, or might be dissatisfied with their body, start a diet and then they develop an eating disorder." - Prof. Isabel Krug on this episode of Wellbeing

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

We would love to hear from you! If you would like to suggest topics, give us feedback, or just say hi, you can contact us on [email protected] 

Hosted and Produced by Jack Hodgins
Wellbeing website: https://www.2nurfm.com.au/wellbeing

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.