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

Enough is brought to you by the The Age & Sydney Morning Herald. 

If you enjoyed this series, leave a review and recommend us to a friend. To read more, and to watch the videos referenced in this episode, head to our website. 

Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage. Click on the links to subscribe to The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald.

Reporters: Jewel Topsfield and Sophie Aubrey

Producer: Margaret Gordon

Sound mix: Kyle Hopkins

Production assistance: Julia Carr-Catzel, Tammy Mills

Head of premium content: Chris Paine

Head of audio: Tom McKendrick

Executive producer of audio: Nathanael Cooper

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 &ldquo;ideal&rdquo; 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.&nbsp;
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.&nbsp;
As Molli, Alex and Melani have gone through treatment, they&rsquo;ve worked at reframing their relationship with food, exercise and their bodies.&nbsp;
If you need help, support is available. Call the <a href="https://butterfly.org.au/">Butterfly Foundation</a> on 1300 224 636 or <a href="https://www.eatingdisorders.org.au/">Eating Disorders Victoria</a> on 1300 550 236. Crisis support is available 24/7 at <a href="http://lifeline.org.au">Lifeline</a>, call 13 11 14 or text 0477 131 114.&nbsp;
You can also contact Headspace for support at <a href="https://headspace.org.au/">headspace.org.au</a> or on 1800 650 890, as well as Kids Helpline at <a href="https://kidshelpline.com.au/">kidshelpline.com.au</a> 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
Enough is brought to you by the <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/">The Age</a> &amp; <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/">Sydney Morning Herald.</a>&nbsp;
If you enjoyed this series, leave a review and recommend us to a friend. To read more, and to watch the videos referenced in this episode, head to our <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/topic/enough-podcast-6fjw">website</a>.&nbsp;
Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage. Click on the links to subscribe to <a href="https://subscribe.theage.com.au/">The Age</a> or<a href="https://subscribe.smh.com.au/"> The Sydney Morning Herald.</a>
Reporters: Jewel Topsfield and Sophie Aubrey
Producer: Margaret Gordon
Sound mix: Kyle Hopkins
Production assistance: Julia Carr-Catzel, Tammy Mills
Head of premium content: Chris Paine
Head of audio: Tom McKendrick
Executive producer of audio: Nathanael Cooper

Being a young person is hard enough, but when you add a global health crisis to the mix things are really tough.

Before COVID-19, almost half of Australians aged 18-24 were experiencing moderate to high levels of psychological distress. And this had been on the rise for years. The pandemic has only made it harder. The OECD says the COVID-19 crisis has turned into a mental health crisis for young people.

From The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald,Enough is a podcast about mental health in young people, through the pandemic, and beyond. 

Young people tell us, in their own words, what’s going on for them, and how they’re dealing with it.

Being a young person is hard enough, but when you add a global health crisis to the mix things are really tough.
Before COVID-19, almost half of Australians aged 18-24 were experiencing moderate to high levels of psychological distress. And this had been on the rise for years. The pandemic has only made it harder. The OECD says the COVID-19 crisis has turned into a mental health crisis for young people.
From The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, Enough is a podcast about mental health in young people, through the pandemic, and beyond.&nbsp;
Young people tell us, in their own words, what&rsquo;s going on for them, and how they&rsquo;re dealing with it.

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