Self-worth – Michelle Sparkes

The one thing that has been most transformative in my healing journey from anorexia has been the ongoing, unfolding and deepening revelation of the love of the Father (God) for me. This revelation is available to every hungry heart. As spiritual truth gets “fleshed out” in our experience of life it heals and transforms us […]

Understanding and experiencing the Love of the Father* has been one of the most profound and significant keys to helping me overcome the fear and striving at the heart of my anorexia. Sinking the roots of my being into this Love helps me manage all the ways anxiety continues to show up in my life […]

Late last year I had a dream that brought home to me in a powerful way the preciousness of each individual life, and fuelled within me a desire to let every individual to know how precious they are, how much they are loved and how much their life matters. May this truth blossom in your […]

Chelsea, 19, struggled with anorexia in her mid teens followed by a period of binge-eating and purging, which is not an uncommon experience in the recovery process from anorexia. In this podcast she speaks with Michelle about recovery, finding her way back to balance and discovering more peace and self acceptance. “Finding balance” Chelsea says […]

There are a number of things to embody and embrace (skills to learn, knowledge to apply) to get free from disordered eating behaviours and beliefs but at the heart of it all, I believe there are 3 pillars that are foundational to living a life that is whole and free… “Value is your birthright, your […]

If embodying value is the first pillar to freedom from disordered eating; experiencing your body as home (not object) is the second…and they are intimately connected…listen here for more.

Here are three things that can help you value yourself in ways that are life-affirming and health promoting: Understand your intrinsic worth and value Reflect on what you value in others Spend (more) time in the company of those people

Self and body acceptance go hand in glove. The message of EMBRACE may be a challenge for the young(er) person struggling with anorexia or ED because when we’re struggling in this space, our sense of self as “unacceptable” can go very deep. Without a doubt we need to see and celebrate more diverse body shapes […]

“Pornified messages are bombarding our young people and giving them distorted ideas about their bodies, about relationships, and about sexuality,” says Melinda Tankard Reist, in this podcast interview, “According to global research, (this is) making our kids very unwell.” We are seeing a rise in negative physical and mental health outcomes, eating disorders, anxiety and […]

Are you believing a lie about your worth and value? As you journey out of your eating disorder (or any life consuming/life controlling problem) you will “hit” some of the deeper (painful) self experience that sits below the surface of your (disordered eating) behaviours. This is a difficult but necessary part of recovery. At such times, […]

To know our worth and value at a deep level sets us up to do life in ways that are health-promoting and life-affirming. In this podcast I explore how our self concept develops using the analogy of building a house. We all have different experiences growing up and some people appear to have better “foundations” […]

What we believe in our heart shapes the way we see and do life – which in turn shapes our experiences and beliefs. It can be a continuing circle for good, health and life promotion, or it can be a continuing cycle for negativity, low self esteem and poor relationships. We have different life experiences […]

Self Esteem Vs Self Worth. Are they different? How are they different? And what difference does that make? I believe they are different and that the difference is significant to our mental health and well being. Here’s why… Self esteem refers to how we esteem (or value) ourselves and is made up of all our […]

Where we sit today (inside our skin; at home in our bodies) will be a reflection of our experiences – how we have internalised and processed our experiences and how these have shaped our beliefs, attitudes and behaviours – towards our body, our self, other people, our world. As we continue to act on, and […]

In this podcast I explore the lie at the heart of an eating disorder – how it starts in seed form and develops over time, being reinforced by the food control ‘solution.’ I explore why I believe human and divine connection is so important in breaking through the lie and helping a person move towards […]

In the last episode I said that changing core beliefs requires more than just challenging our thinking. We need an encounter with truth that is experiential, life-affirming, full of grace and transformative. I shared how I experience this in relationship with the God who loves me unconditionally.  But another very powerful and healing relationship is […]

In the last few episodes I’ve been speaking about capturing and challenging unhelpful thinking. This is an important tool in getting free from disordered eating but it’s not the whole story. Our thoughts spring out of our deeply held beliefs and these beliefs are formed in the crucible of our self and life experience. To […]

The 4th component of each of the 4 keys (in the 4×4 Freedom Express) is a spiritual component and I believe it’s foundational to getting whole and FREE in any area of life. I adopt a Christian worldview in that I believe human beings (and the world we inhabit) are CREATED, and that influences everything I […]

I believe body acceptance reflects self acceptance; that how we feel towards, think and value our “selves” is the key to how we treat our bodies. I also acknowledge that social and cultural values strongly influence the communities, families and groups we belong to and thus affect how we value our bodies and our selves. […]

Real bodies are real beautiful because they house real people inside. But in a landscape of digitally and physically enhanced bodies, how do we determine where the lines and healthy boundaries are for us in terms of enhancement? These questions are not as simple as they first appear because we all engage in body/self care […]

I love this quote by John Eldridge, “Let people feel the weight of who you are and let them deal with it.”  It fits so well with the premise of Women Worth their Weight and the Freedom Express. I believe self acceptance is the key to overcoming disordered eating and developing health and life-affirming behaviours. […]

I was reading a newspaper article this morning about the doubling rates of anorexia in young people under 14 years of age in the UK. We have similar figures in Australia. I thought I’d share some thoughts about how can we (adults) can help build resilience in our kids and younger people. Here are a few […]

Following up my last episode with SB, realise I got a bit feisty but I know that when a person is feeling too ashamed to reach out for human help they need to know at a deep gut level (deep in their soul) that they are OKAY as they are; that their reality is NOT […]