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Photo Credit: George Burns

As a 25 year-long viewer of The Oprah Show, last Saturday I crossed my number one off my bucket list – I met Oprah at the Sydney VIP Sound Check & An Evening With Oprah.

I know…cool right?!

Meeting Oprah was everything I imagined it would be. She is the real deal – present, authentic, warm and inviting. Her self-deprecating sense of humour is hilarious – this woman can truly laugh at herself!

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Photo Credit: George Burns

I was blessed to be seated up front and one of only 5-10 people in the audience to have my question answered.

At the heart of the work I do as a psychotherapist, I help women discover who they really are, and how to find value, meaning and purpose in life (particularly out of their symptoms and suffering). Crisis as a catalyst for growth, and living life with purpose were two of the main themes throughout the night. My question for Oprah was, ‘What brings you value, meaning and purpose in life?’

BUT…in the moment, my therapist self went out the window and I went with expressing my gratitude by sharing how watching The Oprah Show helped me turn my life around.

There were many guests over the years who were fundamental to helping me heal from my early childhood wounding, disordered eating and then a major existential and spiritual crisis as I struggled with repeated failed IVF treatments and the possibility of never having a ‘happy family’.

I recently blogged about How Oprah and Rudine helped me overcome my eating disorder so I shared with Oprah about Rudine, eating disorder recovery and how I found value, meaning and purpose out of my suffering, and through my work as an eating psychology and eating disorder specialist. Oprah shared with me how Rudine profoundly changed her life too – the way she interviewed, the way she did the show and the way she looked at all future guests!

Towards the end of our chat, we talked about how most eating disorder recovery treatment does not include spirituality, yet spiritual issues are significant in both the etiology and recovery of eating disorders. She said, ‘yes, and you will see later in the show, it’s all about spirituality’.

After the sound check Q&A, we were invited up on stage to have our photo taken with Oprah. After my official photo was taken, she looked at me, gave me a high 10 and and said, ‘so you suffered with an eating disorder and now you help people recover – that’s great, good on you!’

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Photo Credit: George Burns

From start to finish, this was a fantastic experience. If there is someone you would love to meet and they offer a VIP experience, go for it – it is a once and a life-time opportunity that shouldn’t be missed. Many thanks to the other VIP participants (you made the evening super special), The Dainty Group, Sun Super, Swisse and the Arena staff on the night!

Who are your role models? Did someone get you through a difficult time? I’d love to hear who! If you had the opportunity to meet them – what would you ask or say to them? If you met Oprah in Australia – I’d love to hear about your experience! Please comment below 🙂

Please note that the photos in this blog are intended for VIP participants’ personal and social media use only. No further distribution or sale is authorized.

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