Meet Michelle who had a 2 month whirlwind from diagnosis to major surgery and how she made the whole experience one that was flipped from being traumatic to deeply healing. For Michelle - she felt 'these things don't just happen'. She learnt how to ask for help and accept support. Paying attention to the detail had major impact in unexpected areas. For example, having a seat in the shower was not only a great support, but actually "really lovely!"

When you are in the middle of an eating disorder, be that as a lived experience person or as a family member, it can feel like there is no way out. Meet Kylie who experienced severe Anorexia Nervosa and has found a way to not have that experience as defining her or any part of her day-today living now.

If you need support, please do not hesitate to contact some of the amazing support services across the globe.

Support services in Australia include

The Butterfly Foundation
A comprehensive website with support for people with eating disorders, body image concerns and their families and practitioners. Support includes details for nationwide practitioners, a National Helpline on 1800 33 4673. and online chat service

Eating Disorder Families Australia
A great resource for parents and families

National Eating Disorders Collaborative
The National Eating Disorder Collaboration is a great resource for up-to-date information and research on eating disorders. It also provides a list of state-by-state treatment services for inpatient, outpatient and community support programs in their ‘Services and Support Organisations’ section.

EDBI (Eating Disorders and Body Image)
If you are interested in the research around eating disorders and body image (including my own!) please check out the
EDBI site Western Sydney University 

A big topic and a potentially triggering question. I could go to the dictionary definition of bullying but why…. it described a set of behaviours that are already embedded and have become ‘repeated targeting’. Yet have we accepted low level forms of bullying as normal interaction between people to the point that we now don’t even call it bullying but relationships and or family dynamics?

Read more on this topic on Back to Basics Parenting and watch out for an article in the Hornsby Kuring-gai Post

Why is it so natural to go into comparison? Are we measured from such an early age that we have forgotten how to adore each other just for being who we are rather than for what we did or achieved?

Check our the latest audio from Annette Baker and Gabrielle Caplice which looks at why comparison is so prevalent and taking personal responsibility to address it in our own lives so we can bring awareness to it and - dare I say - stop it in all our lives.

The year 7-9 Community Problem Solving Team from Ravenswood Girls School have, once again, offered a unique insight into the challenges of Neurodiversity in a school environment. Abi, Millie, Mia and Grace talk us through their project and what their team of 11 have done for the competition. Unravelling Uniqueness is a wonderful celebration of how we can celebrate neurodiversity.

Have you considered how often we hide who we truly are behind a mask of humour? Could it be that this strategic manoeuvre to keep ourselves safe is what locks us away to be even more fearful of being ourselves in the world? Allow me to introduce Philip Hills to you - you will get to know him better when he publishes his book but till then... a sneak preview to the process of writing a book when you are trying to capture your life - and then some. I met Philip at a party... he stole my tiara... I don't think I have said that about anyone else but it was a moment that resulted in the most engaging conversation over dinner. How could I keep that opportunity to just me, when I have the opportunity to share Philip with all of you.

This interview showed me, once again, how humour can be a mask we wear that hides who we truly are and how complicated it can then be to find ourselves again behind that mask when life calls us to be more true to the gem we always were

After the last post on death and dying - I felt there was an important question to ask - do we know how to live?! Let's be honest, there are handbooks for everything and most of them tell us we are have much to learn, so when Cynthia Hickman a psychotherapist wrote a 'Handbook for Being Human' I was intrigued. My interview with Cynthia talks to how we grow up in this world without buying into the fear factor that is fed to us left, right, centre, up and down! 

This blog is a collation of individual interviews - please click the read more below to access them

Online dating has been around for more than 20 years, but has exploded in recent years and potentially become a necessity due to a pesky virus that has way too many living in silos. This has stopped one of the most natural processes from taking place. Coming together and meeting new people. Where has all the dating gone? Now, it seemed, life was more about ticking boxes and working out what you wanted, what you liked and didn't like, and finding someone who fitted that picture. The algorithm would do all the hard work for you!

But it seems it is not quite that simple. Here you will find a series of interviews that share the varied experiences that come from online dating. The online-dating Compendium - Our Compendium of Love.
​
Clearly this is but a peek into the world of online dating, there are many diverse experiences missing, however, what has been shared here will sound and feel familiar regardless of perceived differences.

​Enormous thanks to my wonderful interviewees - every one of them so willing to share their experiences of online dating. We experiences from teens to 70s!

Dating seems to have changed. It is not just about the restrictions and the need for more online interaction, even before that, there was a sense that you shouldn't commit to a relationship too early because we might miss out on something 'better'. That better seems to mean playing the field but always searching for 'the one'. Pictures galore of what we think 'the one' is and all the while there is no true connection being looked for or found.

This is a two part blog on relationships and exclusivity. I am starting with exclusivity because that is what triggered the realisation for me that dating had changed, and my interest to discover in the way we date now. 

What I have discovered is a sense that there is a push-pull between the connection we are looking for and the fear of being alone that makes us accept the destructive games and 'settle' for a crumb of attention rather than the connection we truly know we all want and deserve.

I love how these women share some top tips for setting standards and knowing your self-worth way before you meet someone. 

Meet Hannah, Marika, Shelley and Rosie. 4 slightly different perspectives.