When I was first asked to create Daye’s first podcast series, the topic seemed obvious to me. Daye’s whole mission is to close the gender pain gap and tackle the myriad taboos that exist around women’s health. They know that only when we are able to discuss a topic properly can we find solutions to the issues that surround it - hence their unfiltered exploration of topics ranging from periods to sex to STIs.

It occurred to me then that what this podcast series needed to do was continue Daye’s ongoing work tackling such social taboos around women’s health and well-being.

The subject I wanted to begin with was then similarly obvious - anorexia. Because despite the growing prevalence of experiences like my own, it remains a topic still so shrouded in shame and taboo.

To kick off the series I was therefore incredibly grateful to be joined by eating disorder campaigner, Hope Virgo, in episode one, who battled with anorexia for years before eventually turning her story into a vehicle through which to campaign for change in how society sees and treats eating disorders. Her book, ‘Stand Tall Little Girl’ recounts her experience overcoming the illness. As we spoke, I thought how grateful I would have been to have heard her story growing up.

In this first episode, I also spoke to Clinical Psychologist, Dr Natalie Kanakam, in episode one, who shared her expert insight from working at the Maudsley Clinic (which treats eating disorders), on some of the psychological causes and consequences of anorexia, plus the many misconceptions that surround it.

Throughout the rest of the series I cover taboo topics ranging from sex after assault, to what it’s really like to have a sex and porn addiction, to the trauma of having an abortion. In each episode, as with the first, I speak to someone who has personally experienced the taboo topic at hand, followed by an expert in the field who can shed their professional insight onto that week’s issue.

I hope you find it as fascinating to listen to as I found it to record. And I hope too that it prompts some more open and frank discussions for you around topics typically deemed taboo.

On the first episode of Talking Taboos with Daye, we tackle anorexia and the myths and misconceptions that surround eating disorders. Listen to the episode here.