The Coolest Moment of My Career (So Far)
On March 7th, 2024, I shared a stage at the National Museum of Wildlife Art with 3 other health providers (a medical doctor, another Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, & a licensed therapist) for an event centered around empowering women beyond their appearance & their weight. Each one of us opened up about our stories & journeys to inspire women to redefine what actually makes us valuable in this world. The event was powerful, & I’m so incredibly proud to have been a panelist for this kind of event.
A therapist named Ryann Prentice who I respect highly said something in a free class about her career evolution that struck me, & it’s about owning our issues with food & our bodies as health providers. Basically, I needed to be okay with the world knowing about my history with Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport, Other Specified Feeding &Eating Disorder, & the long-term consequences of not eating enough to fuel my body as a college softball player. By owning the shame I once felt about my eating disorder, I have been able to find more peace within myself as well as open up to others in the world in hopes of reducing shame & stigma.
During my portion of the panel discussion on March 7th, I discussed how young I was when I learned to binge eat (age 3), how young I was when I first realized others thought it was okay to critique my body (age 8), & how old I was when I first started to feel immense shame for merely existing in this body (age 14). Many members of the audience were tearing up while I was talking, & I know it’s because they could pinpoint similar times in their own lives. These learned behaviors about food & our bodies… they start when we’re young, & it does take time to undo & unlearn damaging beliefs that are preventing us from truly living. To be able to look out across the audience & see women & girls of all ages in my community eager to learn & hear a different perspective when it comes to wellness… Let’s just say if you’d told me I’d be doing this kind of work when I was a little girl growing up in rural Georgia, it would have inspired me!
I feel empowered to keep doing this kind of work - in so many different realms & capacities ✨
Click here for a list of resources (books, podcasts, films, etc) the panelists & I recommend if you’re truly ready to find a more peaceful relationship with food & your body. Full video recording of the event is available for you to watch below (I start speaking around the 35 minute mark, but the entire video is worth watching).
