Butterfly: Let's Talk Butterfly Foundation

As parents or carers of young people, we like to think we know what's important in young people’s lives. But there's no way to tell what's really going on in their heads. If we're trying to understand young people as a group--their perspective in relation to the world and the culture right now--it's even harder. That's where Mission Australia's Youth Survey comes in.

Liz Dale is a Worimi Woman and Doctor of Psychology whose work involves Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s lived experience of eating disorders and body image concerns, as well as Aboriginal approaches to wellness and care.

A holistic approach is becoming increasingly accepted as key to ongoing recovery. However, many of us steeped in Western European treatment models are still figuring out what a holistic approach might actually mean.

Dr. Dale believes that understanding and appreciating an Indigenous worldview can help. “Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and doing can enhance the mainstream treatment sector,” she says.

To Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, good health as more than merely the absence of disease, and social and emotional wellbeing is the foundation of both physical and mental health. A person’s whole life is involved: their physical, social, emotional, cultural, and spiritual well-being, as well as their connection to Country and community.

“Australia is a very individualistic society,” says Dr. Dale. “That’s a huge contrast to Aboriginal culture, which is entirely collectivist. Our sense of self is inseparable from and embedded within our family and the members of our community. It’s connected to the Country that we’re from, and within that Country, we have access to all the knowledge that we need to understand how to live.”

The problem is that, currently, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are up to three times more likely to experience mental health conditions and eating disorders than their non-Aboriginal peers.

Dr Dale spent time with host Sam Ikin in this episode of Let's Talk in Depth to review why this is true, as well as how culture and community can support any person at risk.
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Paying attention to your appearance is a very human trait. And though we talk about accepting our bodies and learning to love them, most of us still think about our image a lot.   

We're not the only species that groom,” says researcher and clinical psychologist Deb Mitchison. “Most species are interested in how they look so it's not a drive that I think we can expect to eliminate.” The problem is that parts of society take advantage of our natural drive to look and be better. They profit from creating insecurities around how we present to the world. This can lead to body image issues and eating disorders. 

The situation raises some philosophical questions about our society. At what point does enhancing or investing in our appearance turn into a problem? “There's a need to constantly update yourself or be better than what you are,” says philosopher Mary Zournazi. “It can give you power but be detrimental at the same time.”  

In this episode of Butterfly: Let’s Talk, we explore the difference between putting your best foot forward and going too far, both for society and your own physical and mental health. 

Talk to the Butterfly National Helpline

Find out about Butterfly's Prevention Programs

read this article: How far is too far?

find out more about Dr. Deb Mitchison

find out more about Mary Zournazi

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A few years ago, Isabella Davis impulsively took a photo of her body and posted it to her Instagram account. It was an act of defiance. She was sick of being told she wasn’t good enough, that she needed to go on a diet, or that she should aspire to a particular body shape or size. “My feed was just full of perfectly posed images, which are great, but it's just not my reality. And I was just like, ‘Screw it. I'm gonna upload a photo of my body just being a body, just sitting down; a body that's really me.' It was my way of saying, ‘Screw you to diet culture and toxic beauty standards.’”   

Today Bella is a wildly popular sex-positive/body-acceptance influencer with a considerable following. We were lucky enough to grab her in between photo shoots to talk about body image and how she’s taking on the toxic beauty culture that dominates social media.  
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It’s the most basic of questions and the one most commonly asked on the Butterfly Helpline: How do you know if it’s an eating disorder? “If you're even considering that there might be an eating disorder going on to me that that indicates it's highly likely that there's something happening that is worth getting checked out,” says Dr Simon Wilksch, a senior research fellow at Flinders University and a leading clinician in the field.

If a person experiences a mental health issue, most people know that their family is also affected in varying ways. In this podcast, we...