Category: Dear Teenage Self

Girl Power: Pheobe Ho

3/9/2019

Image courtesy of Pheobe Ho

22 year old Pheobe Ho is one of the 7 News Young Achiever Awards Finalists. Because of her experience of eating disorders she is passionate about mental health. Pheobe is a Headspace National Youth Advisor, was the UWA Guild Welfare Officer in 2018, won the Cruickshank-Routley Memorial Award for her contribution to life on campus, and has run many mental health programs.

When asked what advice she would give her teenage self she said:
1) Know that my self-worth as a person is more than my shape, appearance, and weight because I am the connections I’ve formed with other people, and the memories I’ve shared with them.
2) To have persevered in help-seeking and to have known that it may take several tries before you “click” with the right psychologist. I generalised my first not-so-positive experience to all other psychologists and out of seeking help for a long time. But when I found the right psychologist, it was extremely beneficial to my recovery.
3) To enjoy life, surround myself my positive people, and value me for me and all the amazing things I can do- walk, run, talk, socialise, etc. and not buy into images of body ideals on social media that are often photoshopped and an inaccurate representation of reality.