Girlfriend Australia - April 2016__

GF ADVICE WARNING: CONTENT IS SENSITIVE AN

END

R MICHAEL

CARR-GREGG,

GF’S ADOLESCENT

PSYCHOLOGIST.

NOTHING’S

HELPING

My best friend has an

eating disorder. Even

with professional help

andstrictparents,she

doesn’t eat one thing

when they’re not around.

She’snotgettingbetter.

Concerned

It's good she’s getting

professional help. But people

often take awhile to change

their behaviours and this is

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experiencing intense levels

of self-loathing. Showing that

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force her to eat. Check out

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au/facts-sheets/ for more.

LESS WEALTHY

I have a friend and her family isn’t poor or anything,

just not as wealthy as everyone else I know. Her

parents can’t afford to buy presents for her and

her sister and she comes to me for advice. I don’t

know what to tell her.Awkward

Tell her that being wealthy isn’t related to happiness.

People enjoy the company of someone who is intelligent,

personable and fun – the fact that they come from

a family with or without money isn’t relevant. A good

reputation is worth more than money. Having said that,

there may be times when she may need extra money to

go to do things. If she’s old enough I’d advise her to get

a part-time job and save some money so that she can

enjoy some of the same things her friends will be doing.

Good

girls

we <3

vice

GF

family

&

friends

SEND YOUR QUESTIONS TO:GF FAMILY + FRIENDS ADVICE, GPO BOX 7801, SYDNEY NSW 2001OR email

[email protected] the subject line ‘Family & Friends Advice’.We can’t answer every

question straight away, so if you have a serious concern, call a support line like Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800.

Good girl

My friends are

getting rebellious

• they want to go
  out and smoke
  and drink but I’m
  not into that stuff
  and feel heaps
  pressured to do it.
  I don’t want to but
  I don’t want appear like the baby
  of the group.Pressured
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  readers choose to smoke and drink.
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  fit in, to escape or relax, feel grown-up,
  relieve boredom, give them personal
  excitement,orjustbecauseofpeer
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  find people who are interested in
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DARIA

MORGENDORFFER

Wry, funny, deadpan

and soooo not

into chasing

popularity.

CADY

HERON

She eventually

realised bad-girl

behaviour wasn’t

her scene.

KAT

STRATFORD

A proudly unsocial

feminist who won

Heath Ledger’s heart

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big sis).

MY SISTER THE SHUT-IN

I’m really worried about my younger sister – she

hardly ever leaves her room and keeps to herself.

She seems happy enough, but I’m really worried

about her because it doesn’t seem healthy.

Everyone says it’s a teenage thing she’ll get over,

but I think they should be encouraging her to leave

her room instead of brushing it off. Troubled

It is nice that you care about your sister. There are

two possibilities. One is she has a naturally shy

temperament and may grow out of this

shyness. Shyness often comes with a range

of positive attributes, including greater

sensitivity. Alternatively she may be a bit

depressed or anxious – but you say she

seems happy enough, so this is unlikely.

My advice is for your family to monitor

her, wait awhile and see what happens.

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