Private Members' Statement

Mr ANOULACK CHANTHIVONG (Macquarie Fields) (18:34): A conversation is not only a simple act but also can be powerful enough to help save a life. When we talk with others about issues that affect us we realise that we are not alone, our individual struggles are shared by many, there are people who care and, more importantly, there are people who can help. Since being elected I have been committed to facilitating more opportunities to converse about mental health. Increasing our conversations about mental health can break down stigma, raise greater awareness, inspire action to boost resourcing and improve mental health services for those affected, in addition to their families and carers. Conversations about mental health need to become normalised everyday conversations, similar to how we discuss heart disease, asthma, diabetes and other health ailments. Why? Because mental health matters.

I was pleased to help continue the important conversation on mental health at my second Mental Health Matters forum. The focus of this year's forum, held in June, was body image and eating disorders, highlighting this often complex and deadly mental illness. More than 70 people braved a cold evening to hear from a range of informative speakers, including one brave woman, Diane McClaughlin, who shared her own lived experience with an eating disorder. The evening was also an opportunity to connect with a range of local health service providers, to ask questions and to share information. The success of the evening followed on from my inaugural Mental Health Matters forum in 2017 on young people and anxiety—a catalyst for more opportunities to raise awareness of mental health.

I was proud to facilitate my latest forum in partnership with local mental health advocate Sandra McDonald, One Door Mental Health, Beautiful Minds, headspace Campbelltown, South West Sydney Local Health District and the Butterfly Foundation for Eating Disorders. This collaborative approach highlights the complexity of eating disorders and the importance of health practitioners working together and taking an individualised approach to treatment and recovery. More than one million Australians live with an eating disorder, with concerns over body image ranked in the top three for young people. Anorexia has the highest death rate of all psychiatric illness. Yet people with eating disorders can make a full recovery if they get proper treatment.

Eating disorders are complex mental health illnesses that require a collaborative approach amongst all those who care, and high support. Research suggests that as many as 97 per cent of people with an eating disorder have at least one other psychiatric diagnosis, the most common being depression and anxiety including obsessive compulsive disorder and social anxiety disorder. Earlier this year, the Butterfly Foundation highlighted the crippling cost of eating disorders. A staggering one in three people goes into debt to treat their eating disorder. Affordability and accessibility are barriers to seeking treatment. That must change to help those in need.

The impact of negative or unrealistic body image on a person's wellbeing cannot be overlooked, especially the increased access to various marketing channels. Promoting positive body image is a vital prevention initiative against eating disorders, and such programs must be made a priority. It is important to remember that everyone's experience of an eating disorder is different. The Butterfly Foundation recently ran an online campaign asking people to share their experience of eating disorders. Here is what some of them had to say:

My eating disorder has nothing to do with wanting to be thin.

Just because we might look a normal weight doesn't mean we don't have an eating disorder.

I am at war with myself every day.

Regardless of your weight, you are worthy of help.

Pause for a moment and consider that 4 per cent of the Australian population is experiencing an eating disorder and that the estimated socio-economic cost of eating disorders in Australia is $67.7 billion. We must act now to provide more services to improve access and treatment options and early intervention programs and to promote more naturally realistic positive body images.

Greater awareness of mental health in our community will help to dispel some of the myths that exist about eating disorders. Greater awareness leads not only to a more accepting community but also improves prevention and early identification, and it encourages people to seek help. That is why the conversation around mental health must continue in our local communities and across the country. The more voices are heard the more doors will open and the more lives we can save. Together, let us continue the conversation, because mental health matters.