Going through fertility treatment can be a nerve-wracking and sometimes demoralising experience. When it’s coupled with a past or current eating disorder, the whole process can be even more complicated.

Why? “Fertility difficulties and going through fertility treatment can increase the risk of an eating disorder, but also, eating disorders can impact fertility,” says National Eating Disorder Collaboration National Manager, Dr. Sarah Trobe.

The NEDC has a new program to help educate health professionals about these issues. It’s important because the intersection between those seeking fertility treatment and those with eating disorders is surprisingly high. Not enough health practitioners are yet aware of this.

“Up to 16% of those seeking fertility care are also experiencing a current eating disorder, which is much higher than the general population,” says Dr. Trobe. "And around 25% have a past lived experience.”

Listen to Dr. Trobe share up-to-the-minute learnings from NEDC’s work in this space and how health care professionals can identify risks and respond appropriately when needed. Importantly, Dr. Trobe also offers insights and tips for self-care around eating and body image for people in treatment, as well as for those thinking about starting the process.

See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

In depth with Dr Sarah Trobe: Fertility, your body and eating concerns

A staggering ninety-five percent of young Australians aged between 12 and 18 are experiencing some level of body image concern, and more than half are unhappy with how their body looks. That’s according to Butterfly’s second Body Kind Youth Survey.

With body dissatisfaction playing a significant role in the development of eating disorders, it’s not surprising that this data makes sense in relation to Butterfly’s latest Paying the Price Report, which shows 27% of individuals with an eating disorder are aged 19 or younger.

It's quite clear there’s a problem, but what can we do? How can parents and caregivers reduce risk and support the individual young people they love?

In this episode of Let’s Talk, we invited our audience to submit their direct questions. Then we asked Helen Bird, Butterfly’s Education Manager and Lead on the Survey, to respond.

While acknowledging that it’s not always easy talking to teens, Helen delivered.

“We live in a society where body size matters,” she says. “And people are picking up very strong messages from a young age. It’s in the media, in books, in the toys that they're playing with.”

The trick is to focus on health-promoting behaviours, that is, ensuring that our teens are eating nutritious food, they’re moving regularly, they're getting enough sleep, they're practising self-care strategies, and that they have positive coping mechanisms. These are the things that contribute to our teens’ health and happiness; it's not necessarily about their shape and weight.

And if you are noticing signs of a problem? “Lean in with compassion and curiosity,” says Helen. “Talk about the things that you've noticed, but in terms of your young person’s feelings and moods. Again, try not to focus on weight or eating behaviours because that’s quite likely to be met with resistance.”

Tune in for more of Helen’s wise and empowering tips, even if you might have body image issues yourself. Working to heal your own relationship with your body is not only good for you but also for the people around you, including your teens.

Find out more about Butterfly's Body Kind Youth Survey Findings [https://butterfly.org.au/get-involved/campaigns/youthsurveyfindings/]

Find out more about Butterfly's Body Kind Families [https://butterfly.org.au/get-involved/campaigns/bodykindfamilies/]

Find out more Butterfly's Education and Prevention Services [https://butterfly.org.au/school-youth-professionals/about-our-programs/]

Find out more about our Paying the Price Report [https://butterfly.org.au/who-we-are/research-policy-publications/payingtheprice2024/]

Contact our Helpline [https://butterfly.org.au/get-support/helpline/]

See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Parents - Ask Me Anything about your teens body image

The concept of including peers in your treatment team, that is people who have recovered from a similar health experience to yours, is not new in healthcare.

Alcoholics Anonymous, for example, has successfully engaged the support of recovered people—called sponsors—since the 1930s.

And, today, peer support is widely seen as a vital part of an eating disorder recovery team.

“Peer work is a new space compared to clinical support, but it is incredibly powerful,” says Reece Georgas, a peer worker in Butterfly’s new Next Steps program that offers support to people discharging from hospital care. “I think it's a game changer.”

Reece turned years of difficult mental health challenges and an eating disorder into something of value for others on a path he knows well.

“Out of all the hospitals I've been in, the one where the therapist had a lived experience and where the groups were peer led – this is what I found to be most beneficial.”

Listen to Reece’s honest description of his own experience and how peer workers are skilled to use their mental health story intentionally to support others safely.

Find out more about Butterfly's Next Steps Program [https://butterfly.org.au/get-support/support-programs/next-steps-outpatient-program/]

Find out more about Butterfly's Peer-led Recovery Support Group [https://butterfly.org.au/get-support/support-groups/recoverysupportgroups/]

Find out more about Butterfly's Peer-led Program for Carers [https://butterfly.org.au/get-support/support-programs/carer-program-collaborative-care-skills/]

Read our Peer Workforce Guidelines [https://butterfly.org.au/health-professionals/eating-disorder-peer-workforce-guidelines/]

 

See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Peer worker Reece on how your own experience can be the key to recovery for others

Improvements in quality of life and reduced healthcare costs are just some of the benefits uncovered in study by Monash University into Wandi Nerida, Australia’s only non-hospital residential treatment program

The 13 bed private facility provides holistic, person-centred inpatient care on Queensland’s Gold Coast. 

“We're trying to step away from that kind of more clinical hospital feel, where everything's super sterile,” Want Nerida’s clinical lead, Dr Carly Roukos, tells us. “We try to have it feel as much not like a hospital as possible and as much like a home as we can.”

As Australia's rates of eating disorders continue to rise the need for more intensive inpatient recovery programs is also rapidly increasing. 

In this episode of Let’s Talk in Depth, she opens up with host Sam Ikin about the process of creating Wandi Nreida and what it’s like for its participants. 

“You have a dietitian and a therapist that work with you throughout the duration of your stay,” Dr Roukos says. “They meet with you a couple of times each week, and they help you kind of move through the programme and really tailor the treatment to your needs.”

But that’s just the beginning of what set’s Wandi apart. “Above and beyond that more kind of traditional therapy stuff, we offer a lot of extra more creative, expressive therapies, and a lot of it is surrounded with is sort of based in connecting with nature connecting with animals.”

Dr Roukos has been with the centre since 2020 before it had even started to take patients and has played a big in helping to guide the successful clinical program. “Anybody is welcome to apply. And that includes people from overseas, we've had some overseas participants come through, but the majority of our participants are currently from Australia.”

For more information on Wandi Nerida you can go to wandinerida.org.au [http://wandinerida.org.au/].

See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

In Depth: Dr Carly Roukos on life at Wandi Nerida residential treatment centre

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 [https://butterfly.org.au/who-we-are/research-policy-publications/communityinsights2024]

ARE YOU AT RISK? TRY OUR NEW SCREENING TOOL [https://butterfly.org.au/get-support/areyouatrisk]

JOIN OUR 101 WEBINAR ABOUT EATING DISORDERS ON APRIL 17 [https://butterfly-org-au.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_PKyrNvfZRTSiiPLUFv3NRw#/registration]

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT DR. SARAH SQUIRE [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-squire-0b032922/?originalSubdomain=au]

See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

In Depth: Butterfly's head of research and policy on the new community insights report

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 [https://butterfly.org.au/who-we-are/research-policy-publications/communityinsights2024]

Are you at risk? Try our new screening tool [https://butterfly.org.au/get-support/areyouatrisk]

Join our 101 webinar about eating disorders on April 17

Find out more about Dr. Sarah Squire [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-squire-0b032922/?originalSubdomain=au]

See omnystudio.com/listener [https://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 [https://butterfly.org.au/who-we-are/research-policy-publications/payingtheprice2024/]

Find out more about the Parliamentary Friends Group [https://butterfly.org.au/news/federal-mps-unite-to-establish-parliamentary-friends-group-for-eating-disorder-awareness/]

Find out more about Simeone Cheung [https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonecheung/?originalSubdomain=au]

Find out more about Deloitte Access Economics [https://www.deloitte.com/nz/en/services/financial-advisory/services/deloitte-access-economics.html]

See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Ouch: The eye-popping costs of an eating disorder

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 [https://www.mgpsych.com/about-mandy-goldstein-psychology.html]

Find out more about Archana Waller [https://tikvahclinic.com.au/archana-waller/]

Find out more about Lucia Osborne-Crowley [https://www.instagram.com/luciaoc/]

Contact the Butterfly National Helpline [https://butterfly.org.au/get-support/helpline/]

See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

If you've experienced trauma you could be at risk for an eating disorder

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 [https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/striped/team/austin/]

READ ABOUT AUSTRALIA’S NATIONAL EATING DISORDERS STRATEGY [https://nedc.com.au/national-strategy]

See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

In Depth with Harvard’s change maker Professor S. Bryn Austin

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 [https://butterfly.org.au/eating-disorders/risks-and-warning-signs/]

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT PROFESSOR LEAH BRENNAN [https://scholars.latrobe.edu.au/l2brennan]

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT DR SAMANTHA WYTON [https://thebubbletasmania.com.au/hobart/people/dr-samantha-wyton]

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT DR FIONA WILLER [https://www.fionawiller.com/]

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR #QUIETTHENOISE CAMPAIGN FEATURING SARAH COX [https://butterfly.org.au/get-involved/campaigns/quietthenoise/]

FIND A PROFESSIONAL [https://butterfly.org.au/get-support/butterflys-referral-database/]

See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Under-diagnosed and poorly treated: Eating disorders in larger bodies

This is the Butterfly Podcast from the Butterfly Foundation, your national voice
for people living with body image issues and eating disorders.

Butterfly: Let's Talk