by JoFarmer | Oct 15, 2019 | My story
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...
by JoFarmer | Oct 4, 2019 | My story
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...
by JoFarmer | Sep 1, 2019 | My story
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...
by JoFarmer | Jun 24, 2019 | My story
I recently went to a public health conference. In addition to leaving with the world’s most ironic dose of gastro, I came away thinking about what it means to be a fat person working in a public health landscape focused on obesity prevention. An off-the-cuff...
by JoFarmer | May 19, 2019 | My story
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...
by JoFarmer | Apr 20, 2019 | My story
On an average day at work (in any of the jobs I’ve worked at), it wouldn’t be uncommon for someone: to comment on how (un)healthy another’s lunch is – “You’re being good with a salad!”; “Hot chips are my weakness”...
I’m a policymaker and evaluator focused on improving the health and wellbeing of all Australians, particularly those who experience mental illness and complex disadvantage.