• I am finding your entire thing pretty annoying. Firstly, many doctors miss gluten sensitivity. Untreated, it can contribute to bowel cancer. Get a biopsy done at the time of the colonoscopy. And get that bloody mole checked! Your husband is not your doctor. Also, how you feel about driving is nothing compared to how you will feel about driving to surgery or chemo and radiotherapy. So just get on with it. PLEASE. Was also an avoider. Now live with a pretty crap late diagnosis and prognosis and small kids. Do look after yourself. - Jane Salmon
  • Thank you Gabrielle. Finally, a few facts and figures outlining some of the government's major achievements. I don't know how anyone can argue against what HAS been achieved, except for the right wing trolls and haters who come from an irrational, emotive driven neurosis about the JG 'story'. - helen b
  • I would have to add to the list that there have been some high-profile failures, and they tend to stick in the mind. Same-sex marriage, for example, was a huge public issue this term. The government made exactly zero progress, and showed no sign of even trying. The half-arsed immigration detention policy probably didn't help either. - Pseudonym
  • Back again. Having read his explanation of what was going on - He's an abuser. If he'd said "we had an argument, i lost my temper, i shouldn't have done it, i regret it, i'm sorry, i'm ashamed" etc etc but "it was playful"?? HELL NO!!! That's akin to the 'she made me do it" defense. Again. HELL NO!!! And thank you Tony for taking the time to really read what i wrote. I actually had to look up what MRA was - i hadn't encountered that sort of thing before so i can almost see where Sandy was coming from. The aggression was uncalled for though. I'm thinking the MRA do more harm then good in the long run. I assure you, I am female, I am the mother of an abused male, and as such, i'll stand up for his rights every single day. That doesn't make me a MRA - that makes me a mother. I would stand up for my daughters (if i had any) just as loudly ;) Let's end ALL domestic abuse, no matter who it happens to, or who is guilty of it. The best way to do that is to listen, really listen, when someone calls out for help, and don't make assumptions based on their sex. Jo (short for Josephine - a name i NEVER use lol) - Jo
  • For most of my adult life , I had a dry spot on the back of my upper right arm . One day , when I was in my late 40's, I was brushing my hair when my adult daughter asked me what was the mark on the back of my arm. I said , oh that's nothing , it's been there forever. Her words however stayed in my mind and I started checking this mark which had now become a pale brown colour , a bit like a freckle. When it started to feel a tiny bit raised on one end , I visited the Doctor who told me not to worry , not a problem. I repeated this process with two more Doctors over the next, maybe 12months, with the same results , don't worry. My instinct now told me that this mark , not a mole by the way , was not OK , so I went back the Doctor and told him I wanted it removed and biopsied - Carole/m
  • Bridget!!! I love the comments you have written. Absolutely 100% with you in raising awareness of the power of the mass media and how oppressive regimes such as the Nazis destroyed information sources available to the masses. The burning of books/literature which challenge dictatorial regimes is legendary across the world. And, the silencing of the press in presenting the truth, the facts, a balanced perspective has been the driving force for the maintenance of the ignorance of the masses in dictatorial regimes. I can only thank the forces of technological change for the internet and social media which have kept us informed across the world. Of course, that includes sites like Hoopla, a site which increasingly stands out as a lighthouse of discourse and discussion. It really is my 'one-stop' therapy shop! Unfortunately, we have many people who are still wanting 'big brother' or should I say the patriarchal father, 'big daddy', to look after them. Just have a look at how many are still looking to Kevin Rudd as 'the messiah' who will save them. How many look back to see what brought him to his demise...failure to work with a team and the lack of courage to act on his principles. I don't blame him. But I haven't forgotten. Too many are attached to the 'daddy government' which has been with us forever! Let's get rid of that one too...'nanny government', another subtle swipe at the feminine. - helen b
  • Surely it is rappist to paint all rap as misogynist. My son and his friends were/are rap artists. My son spent a lot of his time rapping about history (only person I know who put the name Versemgeterix, the great Celtic leader, in a song) and the bad side of religion. A feature of Australian rap is it's often very funny. If an artist is bad, condemn the artist not the genre. Tony W. If you like Mingus you might find the structure of rap exceedingly interesting, the double rhyming in a line and the interesting beat stresses, get a rapper to teach you how to listen to it, you may find it a new form of jazz, seek out Australian rap, listen carefully and you may actually enjoy it. Still the misogyny of any song should be called out for what it is as should racist lyrics. - sue Bell
  • Somehow, in this patriachal culture, jokes about the buldge in a man's 'budgie smugglers' are enhancing of his power and capacities, whereas jokes about a woman's vagina are never....you'd see this & agree if we simply removed it from the political debate between a Prime Minsister and an aspiring one whom I'm guessing you'd like to help annoint? But brushing your distraction aside... Gillard will be remembered as a great Australian, for all the reasons detailed in this fine article. - Village Green
  • I'm with you there Tony W. - Heather
  • so what black people can't complain about race because then they're destroying feminism? Gender and Racial equality are not mutually exclusive, in fact they're inextricably entwined. At no point did i say that: a) we shouldn't call out misogyny in rap b)i am defending the misogyny of Tyler, it's disgusting. c)rape or threats of rape by someone of any race is acceptable You can support feminism and also point out racism contained within feminist critique, and pointing that out isn't destroying the movement but strengthening it. google "intersectional feminism" There's a difference between pointing out that there's misogyny in rap and being all "those rappers with their attacks on women because they're all wannabe crack dealing gangsters! I'm not posing as anything, I'm a black person who supports gender equality being offended by the racist implications of this article. also conflating your experience with a universal experience is ridiculous and conflating these misogynistic lyrics and others in rap with the entire content of a whole genre of music is ridiculous, and no amount of rationalisation by Tony W or others is going to change that. - Ash
 
Categories:  Woman of the Week

WOMAN OF THE WEEK: SARAH McFARLANE-EAGLE

As founder of Walking Feat, Sarah McFarlane-Eagle is taking small steps towards reducing the stigma surrounding mental illness… 1400km of small steps, to be exact.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics 45 percent of all adults will experience a mental illness in their lifetime. Of these adults, 70 percent will not seek treatment because of the stigma and confusion about where to go for help. By 2020 the World Health Organisation predicts mental illness will be the second leading cause of death and disability.

Sarah MacFarlane Eagle thinks she can beat these stats if we all walk together.

Walking might be an understatement: this month Sarah is leaving the small town of Armidale to walk more than 1400 kilometers in Japan. Her goal is to raise awareness about mental illness and lessen the stigma when people reach out for help. She is doing this in memory of her brother Ben who went missing 11 years ago.

Sarah spoke to The Hoopla.

What do you think the community needs to hear when talking about mental illness?
I want the community to know and understand the prevalence of mental illness, that no one is immune from developing a mental health issue, and because of this we all need to increase our understanding and knowledge about the complexities of it. There are many mental health service providers available; we need to know what is there and how we can access it if we need to, and to have courage to use them.

From my own personal experience I want people to be aware of how urgent the issue of funding is – Ben was discharged at his worst due to lack of funding.

It’s not good enough and sadly this still happens now. I strongly feel we all need to have the courage to speak out, to ask for support, to stand together as a community so that policy can change to reflect the needs of the community. No one is alone with their journey relating to mental illness.

What are you doing to further the cause?
This year I’m undertaking two walks, in Japan and then from Armidale to Melbourne.
I’ll be walking 1400km in Japan, on the island Shikoku. It’s an old pilgrimage visiting 88 Buddhist and Shinto temples that follows the circumference of the island. While I’m in Japan I hope to collaborate with mental health services there, one year after the tsunami there will be still a lot of recovery processes taking place, particularly regarding the impact on mental health. Natural disasters have a history of leaving a trail of mental health issues afterwards.

On May 29, I’ll be leaving for the second leg, from Armidale to Melbourne, a further 1700km. The purpose of this walk is to raise awareness of mental health issues and service providers along the route. There’ll be talks and events all the way down to Melbourne.

I launched Walking Feat in November 2011 with the help of former Australian of the Year Patrick McGorry. The launch was the beginning of a journey to recognise the work that’s required to empower, improve and inform the lives of those living with a mental illness. Walking is one of the ways I can show the community that both physically and metaphorically; we need to move forward together.

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3 Responses to this article

  1. loulou March 5, 2012 Reply
     
     

    Thankyou Sarah…from a person whos suffered from mental illness (bipolar 2/depression) for over 20 years..It is devestating and soul destroying and can kill you..just like any chronic disease. I still live with shame and tell most people Im sick..make up anything but “depression”. When I told people I had diabetes..they wanted to help offer support…when I told people I was bipolar they dissappeared. Thankyou so much for raising awareness and educating people…When ur at the bottom of that deep dark hole..face down…its people like you that help us see some light..

     

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Comments

  • Jane Salmon: I am finding your entire thing pretty annoying. Firstly, many doctors miss gluten sensitivity. Untreated, it can contrib...

  • helen b: Thank you Gabrielle. Finally, a few facts and figures outlining some of the government's major achievements. I don...

  • Pseudonym: I would have to add to the list that there have been some high-profile failures, and they tend to stick in the mind. ...

  • Jo: Back again. Having read his explanation of what was going on - He's an abuser. If he'd said "we had an argument, i lost...

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