freEDom

It has been a while since I have posted as I have been unwell and unable to attend the past two group meetings. However, I am better and attended the latest meeting which held some exciting news.
In between catching up on what's happened and my explaining the work I have been doing whilst unable to attend 2 meetings I learnt that we are set to become an official organization (the 1/2 trees worth of documents to be signed and filled in was quite a sight to behold.) How very exciting!

So watch this space.

Kate <3

Support Group

The time has come for us to really focus on how we're going to set up the support groups. It's a lot of work - but it's something that we are so determined to achieve that I'm quite sure we will succeed.

Please email us - dispellingthemythsforum@gmail.com if you're interested attending either the family/friends support group or the sufferers support group. All enquiries will be completely anonymous, of course and we'd really love to have some people to come along!

We will update you more when we know more!

Later on, as a branch off the support group, we're hoping to start a mentor program - between people who are really recovered and people who are only just embarking on the journey of recovery. The mentors can help the mentee with facing feared foods/situations and provide support - however the mentor would never be seen as a counsellor. Again, that's just in the works, so keep thy eyes tuned!!!!

<3
Be well!
Noelle

Long time no update!

Hi Guys!
So sorry we haven't updated in over a month - naughty us. *slaps hand*

I think we've all been busy with our personal lives, and keeping up with the awareness work and our own recovery.

However, we have some exciting news. The meeting with Katy Gallagher went fantastically well. She's pledged 5 out of 20 beds of a new inpatient mental health facility for Young People to eating disorder sufferers. She's agreed that Phillip Health Centre will recieve an upgrade (of $5 million which will be spread across all community health centres) which will be enough to host an adequate eating disorders program (y'all know...like a kitchen to teach dietitics in, etc.) However - the mental health facility leaves out those with eating disorders under the age of 13 (yes, we all know from recent media reports that 6 and 8 year olds are struggling with anorexia nervosa) and over the age of 25. So where does it leave those people? It's a start, it's a good start, but it's not enough.

We were also on stateline again :) Which is awesomely exciting. Here's the link if you're interested:
http://www.abc.net.au/stateline/act/content/2006/s2275426.htm

We've also been approached by 60 Minutes, and should be hearing back from them soon - so we might be on their show soon, which is pretty darn cool.

And we're also designing a documentary "what it's really like to live with an eating disorder" although the title will be way snappier and cooler. We're so sick of these people making documentaries which make treatment look like a summer camp and having an eating disorder, all fun. So we're going to make it real - and we're going to show just how crap it really is.

Hope everyone's well! Promise that we'll update much more frequently!
<3
Noelle

Meeting with Minister Gallagher

Coming up on the 10th of June, we have a meeting with Minister Katy Gallagher, the health minister for the ACT.

Do you guys have any particular questions you want to ask her? We're starting to put together some notes :)

<3
Noelle

What do you want to see on the blog?!

We were having a discussion about what we want to put up on the blog. Some suggestions were our journeys, how we met, how we went through recovery (and are, for some of us), what recovery means, how to help someone who has an eating disorder, any poems or stories that we find and like, and any really helpful websites.

Please leave us a message or email us at dispellingthemythsforum@gmail.com with what you want us to put on the blog!

and for our first creative entry, I'm going to put up a poem I wrote, with the help of a friend called Rach, when I was first in treatment. For those of you who don't know - the name of my eating disorder is "Medusa"

Medusa’s Lies

Medusa is her name
Destruction is her game
Thriving on secrets,
Suffering and pain

Come here little one
Let me tell you a lie
The rules have won
You’ve lost, my oh my

Your reflection is broken
Her eyes you will see
Medusa is awoken
You no longer will be

Quiet and submissive
You have learned well
Of fears she’s dismissive
Do, or there will be hell

From wild to tame
Gently she soothes
She’ll destroy and maime
With very few moves

Her actions so gentle
And swift into your life
Showing all you’re ‘mental’
And in very deep strife

Come here little one
Let me wipe away your tears
I will destroy all fun
I will fill you with my fears

You become a marionette
With strings attached
A life in pieces you’ll get
Slowly becoming detached

I’ve taken your body, not only your head
Not only about food, but many fears
Eating with others fills you with dread
It’s been the same for many years

As you learn what is real
What you hold close to your heart
Recovery is a deal
Upon which you now embark

Have I Mentioned...

HOW MUCH WOMEN'S FORUM AUSTRALIA ROCKS!?
No?
Well I shall now set about doing so...

After attending the forum hosted by Jacqui at the ACT Legislative Assembly, at which the amazing Melinda Tankard Reist spoke, I felt so empowered and releived. I felt empowered by the encouragement that I am much more than just the sum of my body parts and releived that there are people out there taking action and saying NO to the objectification of women and the sexualisation of girls. I felt relieved also by the fact that they did not just focus on the damage this does to women but also the way in which this impacts upon the men in our society.
I know all too well of the hurt caused by guys treating me like an object and then their shock and confusion when I tell them that there is more to life and not to dumb themselves down.

After reading Women's Forum Australia's (www.womensforumaustralia.org) Articles on Objectification of Women and Sexualisation of Girls I was horrofied at some of the statistics. I was especially horrofied to see, printed in black and white infront my very own eyes, the statistics for eating disorders. I have talked about these statistics and have been a part of them and yet it still shocks me and makes me sick to the core when I see them infront of me.

I would encourage everyone to stand up for what you believe in and call for change in our increasingly dark society. As a group frighting for freedom and change we are part of a much larger battle that Women's Forum Australia and many other organisations & groups are fighting. It's not always easy to stand up for what is right but I feel no one should have to go through harassement, eating disorders, depression, anxiety or any other experience and become part of the alarming statistics we see today. I feel that no one should have to live in a world which cries democracy and free speech but whispers conformity. Infact, it doesn't even whisper it, it screams it! Look around you at the Lee jeans adds, look at the dolls 6 yr olds play with, look at the cosmetic proceedures aimed at young girls! It's everywhere and we have learnt to live with it. We shouldn't have to! We shouldn't have to be made to feel inadequate by a pixelated image of a tarty fashion model exposing all by 3 sq cm of her body! Taking a stance against sexualisation is not a prude gesture of an ultra conservative nature, it's a stance on our right to be ourselves, our right to be individuals and not sexualised women and girls. It's a stance in which we say no to the exploitation of society as a whole (men and women.)

Stand up for what you believe in and fight for the future.

Forum with Melinda

Last night we had the forum with Melinda Tankard from Womens Forum Australia (http://www.womensforumaustralia.org.au/). It was really interesting - somewhat shameful that some of the behaviors she was talking about, some of us had engaged in, in our "sick days". Some of the advertising made me sick to my stomach.

That's Hannah, Kate and I just before the forum started (please excuse the poor quality, camera-phones-r-us).
Jacqui, Hannah and Kate - and I *was* there, but somehow managed to cut myself out perfectly.

We also have a new member, Lon - who will be attending meetings with us, as well as Leni who will be offering her wisdom and advice.

It was a fantastic night, and I think I speak for all of us when we say that we learned a lot :-)

<3
Noelle