Get to know me
through my blog
Managing anxiety on your own
I've been lucky throughout my career to work with managers who have been focused on my professional development. But whenever we sat down for a semi-regular performance chat, one question would always stump me - "What are you doing well?" I could point to hundreds of...
Rethinking ambition
One of the surprisingly common reactions to my recent announcement that I have started my own business is the question of what my goals are. How soon before I employ someone else? Where is my office going to be? How big do I anticipate growing? It seems I'm not alone...
Unapologetically feminist
This weekend was the Wheeler Centre's first Broadside, an "unapologetically feminist" festival of ideas. Of course that's my jam, so I bought a ticket as soon as it was released. And oh my god, I was blown away by the weekend. I don't think I've ever been to a public...
Supporting someone to stay at work
Tired of reading my writing? Hear me speak instead! Such a privilege to participate in this Beyond Blue webinar on supporting someone with a mental illness to stay at or return to work.
Abandoning my alterego
Clark Kent takes off his glasses and suddenly he's Superman. Jo Farmer leaves work and suddenly she's a person experiencing mental illness. The facade is superficial but somehow works. For a long time, this was me. A mental health consumer who happened to also work in...
Truly, madly, deeply
I've only had a small number of 'real' romantic relationships in my life - all unmitigated disasters. That's not to say I regret them - some were founded on real love, others taught me what I wouldn't want in a future relationship - but I look back and think that none...
The tale of the drip
As the train doors close at Melbourne Central, a family push their way on. A single, solitary drip falls from the father. It isn't raining; they aren't carrying anything. Parliament station. Where did the drip come from? I stare at the drip trying to work out what it...
The fat girl who cares about health
The weird feeling of being a fat girl who cares about improving public health
Victorian Royal Commission into Mental Health
My submission to the Royal Commission
The process
I've lost a lot of weight recently. Almost 40kg this year. It's one of the common side effects of having most of your stomach removed, and is, after all, the reason I did it. Actually, that's not quite true. The main reason I chose to have a gastric sleeve was to...