‘I just thought about food every hour of every day’

Warning: This episode discusses eating disorders and suicide.

Molli was convinced she had to be thin to be a dancer and started copying restrictive eating advice she was seeing on YouTube. Alex became obsessed with attaining an “ideal” muscular body after a break-up, and ended up nearly losing his life. Melani used binge-eating to cope with loneliness and became afraid to go to parties.

Eating disorders took control of their minds until all they could think about was food. 

There remains a widespread lack of recognition that eating disorders are a mental illness. Some experts say awareness is a decade behind that of depression and anxiety.

Eating disorders thrive in isolation and during the pandemic, calls for eating disorder lines doubled, with young people most vulnerable. 

As Molli, Alex and Melani have gone through treatment, they’ve worked at reframing their relationship with food, exercise and their bodies. 

If you need help, support is available. Call the Butterfly Foundation on 1300 224 636 or Eating Disorders Victoria on 1300 550 236. Crisis support is available 24/7 at Lifeline, call 13 11 14 or text 0477 131 114. 

You can also contact Headspace for support at headspace.org.au or on 1800 650 890, as well as Kids Helpline at kidshelpline.com.au or on 1800 55 1800.

Get in touch! If you have a question about mental health you'd like answered, leave us a voicemail on +61 2 9906 9915 or email us at enoughpodcast@theage.com.au or enoughpodcast@smh.com.a

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Reporters: Jewel Topsfield and Sophie Aubrey

Producer: Margaret Gordon

Sound mix: Kyle Hopkins

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