In this informative episode, our host, Val, is joined by two guests, Vicky and Joanna. Vicky is a social justice practicum student working with Jessie’s Legacy, and generously shares her own lived experience with an eating disorder from which she is now in recovery. Joanna, clinical counsellor and manager of Jessie’s Legacy, has also been working in the field of eating disorders for more than 10 years. Jessie’s Legacy serves the province British Columbia by providing eating disorders prevention education, resources, and support for youth, families, educators, and professionals.
Together, they talk about the ways in which people of all genders can be pulled into this difficult experience, the stages, characteristics, and myths, and how family and loved ones can provide support.
- How secrecy, loss, and shame can show up and impact the experience of living with an eating disorder
- Early warning signs in Vicky’s journey and how their eating disorder evolved over time
- Social and psychological factors that magnified symptoms and supported healing
- The timeline of potential points of intervention and the experience of different types of support
- How Vicky realized it was time to get help, and what that looked and felt like
Resources:
- To learn more about Jessie’s Legacy – the story behind the program and the range of resources available to you, click here to visit our website.
- To access counselling for children, youth, and adults, email our intake counsellor intake@familyservices.bc.ca.
- If you are interested in getting involved as a volunteer, click here to learn more.
- If enjoyed the podcast and would like to support our work, click here to learn about becoming a donor.
- In this episode we refer to the Eating Attitudes Screening Tool, click here to access the anonymous online screener.
- We also refer to the Body Image Screening Tool, click here to use. This is also an anonymous online screener.
- For more lived experience information, check out the Q&A Series the Jessie’s Legacy website, click here.
- Anxiety Canada and Jessie’s Legacy Infographic on Anxiety and Eating Disorders is also a helpful tool click here to view.
Listen to the podcast here
If you’re interested in listening to other podcast episodes from Family Services of the North Shore’s “Open hearts. Honest conversations.” series, please click here for the full library of podcasts.