Butterfly Foundation

Yousef is the father of someone who has experienced the difficulties of an eating disorder. At first, it was difficult for him to understand, because of cultural shame and stigma. 🦋 In this video, he shares his family's experience to show how support and understanding are crucial to recovery. 💙 Supporting a loved one with an eating disorder can be challenging, but you don't have to do it alone. Reach out to Butterfly at ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gXWrD7FA to find information, support, and professional help. If you need a translator, say ‘Arabic’ when you contact our Helpline.

Only 1 day left - Our Appearance Ideals Research Survey is closing very soon, so if you’re aged 16+ and haven’t had your say, now’s the time! 💬 Share your experiences with body image and appearance ideals in this anonymous, 15-minute online survey to help us better understand the true cost and impact of appearance ideals. Your insights will inform Butterfly’s vital work to reduce the number of people in Australia experiencing eating disorders and body dissatisfaction. 🦋 For more information and to view the survey, visit https://lnkd.in/geQKuU5K or email: comms@butterfly.org.au 💙 If sharing these experiences impacts you or you need support for an eating disorder or body image concern, reach out for confidential & free support from the Butterfly National Helpline, 7 days a week, 8am-midnight (AEDT) by calling 1800 ED HOPE (1800 33 4673) or visit www.butterfly.org.au to email or chat online.

Last month was Mental Health Month and we encouraged our staff to prioritise “glimmer hunting” - finding small moments that spark feelings of happiness, joy, connection, safety or comfort to benefit our own #mentalhealth. 🦋 Our team also discovered and acknowledged the traditional lands where they found their ‘glimmers’ to connect more deeply to country and pay respect to the traditional custodians of the land on which we are living, learning and working. 💙 Here’s a few moments that brought Team Fly joy – we hope you can get outside and do the same!

“Empowering healthcare professionals to reduce stigma is not just beneficial for individual clients; it is essential for driving meaningful, systemic change across healthcare services.” - Gabriel Lubieniecki A new systematic review titled "perceived clinician stigma and its impact on eating disorder treatment experiences” (Lubieniecki et al., 2024) has highlighted how #stigma from healthcare professionals - whether intentional or not - can disrupt eating disorder recovery, creating feelings of dismissal, misjudgment, and even shame. In this blog, PhD researcher and credentialed eating disorder clinician Gabriel Lubieniecki explores how #clinicians can reduce this stigma to improve treatment outcomes and highlights why it’s essential that #healthcare professionals establish supportive, non-judgemental therapeutic relationships. Read more ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/gQwvWezP UQ - School of Psychology, Monash University, Monash Translational Medicine, Consortium for Research in Eating Disorders (CoRe-ED), The Swan Centre

Don’t miss your chance to have your say on the impacts of appearance ideals and body image on our day to day lives. 🦋 Butterfly's Appearance Ideals Survey is still open for people in Australia aged 16+. If you haven’t shared your experiences with body image yet, now’s the time! 💬 This anonymous survey only takes 15 minutes and helps us better understand how appearance ideals impact us all. Your insights will help to inform Butterfly’s work in mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention, ultimately reducing the number of people impacted by body dissatisfaction and eating disorders. For more information and to view the survey, visit https://lnkd.in/geQKuU5K or email: comms@butterfly.org.au 💙 Help us reach more people by sharing this survey link with your networks. Every voice counts!

The most recent Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) biennial report highlights #weight as the second highest risk factor for health issues - but what this fails to account for is the devastating psychological toll of living in a society that consistently stigmatises and discriminates against people in larger bodies. In this blog, Butterfly CEO Dr Jim Hungerford highlights why society urgently needs to shift from weight-centric approaches to health promotion and care. Instead, we must address systemic barriers & acknowledge the complex interplay of genetic, environmental, social, and economic factors that influence weight - and not blame and shame individuals or perpetuate harmful stereotypes. Only by shifting the weight-based narrative can we create a more inclusive society, where people are respected for more than just their body size and weight. We must do better for people living in larger bodies in Australia, and we all have a role to play. You can help by completing Butterfly's Appearance Ideals survey (link in comments), which is aiming to uncover the true impact of appearance ideals and appearance-based discrimination to help support our mission of improving the experiences of people impacted by body dissatisfaction and eating disorders across Australia. Read more ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/gzKY4kcX

We're pleased to share Butterfly's annual report for FY2024 and what a year it was!  🦋 Just some of the highlights included sharing new research into the prevalence and cost of eating disorders, launching our Next Steps Outpatient Program, and reaching over 300,000 young people with our prevention and education services. Each of these achievements, and so many more across the year, represents a step forward in our mission to change lives and create a world where everyone with an eating disorder or body image issue can access the support they need. 💙 We'd like to thank our partners, supporters and the incredible individuals and families who shared their experiences with us across the year and supported our work - Together, we are making a difference, and together, we will continue to advocate for change and provide hope to those who need it most. View a preview of Butterfly's FY2024 Annual Report below & find out more by heading to ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gj-4rCvK

Yesterday I was on a panel representing Butterfly Foundation hosted by the Member for Goldstein, Zoe Daniel, talking about the role of social media platforms and the dangers of algorithms. A ban is not part of the solution. We need transparency from social media conglomerates about how their algorithms work, we need a way to RESET OUR ALGORITHMS (how good would that be!!) and we need to diversity in our algorithms because the default in our feed should not be white, thin and Eurocentric.

Eating disorders do not discriminate, yet a harmful misconception persists: that they only affect women and girls. In reality, more than a third of Australians living with an eating disorder are male and many are going undiagnosed. 🦋 With numbers of men with eating disorders in Australia on the rise, we’re asking you to #SpotYourMate. 🔎 By spotting the signs and symptoms and talking to the men in your life about eating disorders and body image concerns, you can stop them from struggling in silence. 💬 Head to our website to access resources, lived experience insights and support specifically for men experiencing eating disorders & body image concerns. ⤵️ www.butterfly.org.au/men

Butterfly is proud to launch our new campaign Let’s Talk Eating Disorders: Support and Resources in Arabic to increase awareness and help-seeking for eating disorders in multicultural communities. Join us over the next few weeks as we explore how eating disorders can impact anyone, including those who are from Arabic-speaking communities. Today we’re hearing from Noura, who says that in many Arabic-speaking cultures, traditional beauty standards can significantly impact body image. In this video, she shares how these body and beauty ideals contributed to her developing a life-threatening eating disorder, and how reaching out to Butterfly helped her recovery. If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, please know that help is available. Visit Butterfly's website at https://lnkd.in/gXWrD7FA for resources, support, and to talk to someone who understands. If you need an interpreter say ‘Arabic’ when you contact our Helpline.