Hope Virgo

Welcome to Proper Mental episode 25!

My guest this time around is Hope Virgo!

Hope Virgo is a leading international and award-winning advocate for people with eating disorders.  She is an activist and a campaigner and an all-round force of nature!

She is the author of two books ‘Stand Tall Little Girl’ and ‘Hope through Recovery’ and actively campaigns for change in the way that eating disorders are diagnosed and treated.

Hope suffered with anorexia for over 4 years, before being admitted to a Mental Health Hospital in 2007. She lived in the hospital for a year, fighting one of the hardest battles of her life. Since being discharged, she has fought to stay well.

She now wants to use her experiences of mental health illness to champion the rights of others, inspire them to get well, and help break the stigma of mental illness.

I find Hope to be nothing short of inspiring and it was fantastic to get to chat to her about her work and activism.  She is fighting for genuine change and is holding space for so many people, she really is incredible!

We chat all things eating disorders, the effects of society on mental health, changing the system, the process of recovery and everything in between.  There’s a lot going on!

You can find out more about Hope and her campaigns on www.hopevirgo.com.  You can also access the petitions for Curb the Count and Dump the Scales via her website so please take five minutes to have a read about what she is trying to achieve and sign to lend your voice.

You can connect with Hope on Instagram @hopevirgo_

You can chat to me on all social media platforms @propermentalpodcast and I’m always happy to chat so let me know if anything from any episode stands out for you!

If you need support, please go to www.thehubofhope.com

Thanks for listening!  Enjoy!