Molly O’Neill on her eating disorder and new Barwon Health service

A Geelong woman who spent years battling an eating disorder said it was “hospital or nothing” during her ordeal, but a new program is offering hope to others suffering.

Molly O'Neill has recovered from anorexia using holistic treatments and is helping others do the same. Picture: Alison Wynd

Molly O’Neill spent more time in hospital than school as a teenager.

Now 25, she was just 13 when she was diagnosed with anorexia.

The Geelong woman said she found herself bouncing between psychiatric and medical wards, without a program to treat both the mental and physical aspects of the eating disorder.

“For me it was either hospital or nothing,” she said.

“When I was diagnosed … it was either you eat the food or you lose your privileges, so I would lose everything from friends to TV until I was left sitting in a hospital room staring at a wall.

“(The approach) was very punitive and only aggravated the eating disorder.

“The eating disorder took up so many years of my life.”

It was a multi-pronged approach that helped Ms O’Neill turn the corner, focusing on therapy for trauma alongside eating disorder treatment at a day program trial at private facility the Geelong Clinic in 2021.

She learned to integrate both treatments into her everyday life.

Molly has been fully recovered from anorexia for two to three years now, something she said some doctors told her would never be possible, and works helping others suffering eating disorders.

She has welcomed news of a new Barwon Health day program, saying it will be as “hugely helpful”.

“Thinking about the months and months and months I could have been sleeping in my own bed, surrounded by people that loved me, to be able to have that intensive community but still get treatment – it would have been hugely helpful,” she said.

Professor Steve Moylan. Picture: Brad Fleet

A Barwon Health spokeswoman said clinicians were observing a rise in severe cases of eating disorder in the Geelong region.

The new program would be co-designed with people who had lived experience, including people with eating disorders and carers, to deliver a variety of interventions including group therapy, individual support work, education sessions, medical consultation, and supervised meals, Barwon Health mental health, drugs and alcohol services clinical director Steve Moylan said.

The state government said the day program would be the first of its kind in regional Victoria.

Professor Moylan said it would complement other supports, including specialist eating disorders services, to provide an enhanced level of publicly available services.

The program, set to start in early 2025, is a part of broader investment by the state government to deliver on the priorities in the Victorian Eating Disorders Strategy 2024-2031, Prof Moylan said.

The program will have 12 participants at a time for eight to 12 weeks, meaning four to five cohorts will go through it annually.

The state government said eating disorders had been on the rise for more than a decade, with the global pandemic and social media both contributing to a significant increase in new eating disorders and relapses.

If you need help or support for an eating disorder, call the Butterfly Foundation’s National Helpline on 1800 334 673 or Eating Disorders Victoria on 1300 550 236.

For crisis support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Originally published as Molly O’Neill on her eating disorder and new Barwon Health service