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Photo courtesy of Kiera Russo Episode description: Kiera Russo is a student at The University of Notre Dame, studying Film, Television, and Theatre. An eating disorder survivor, she hosts the podcast Heavier Than I Look, which aims to empower other survivors, educate listeners, and foster conversation surrounding eating disorders. By finding meaning in her own suffering, Kiera hopes to fight against the silence that eating disorders demand and to liberate others from the same demand. In this episode of Peace Meal, Kiera shares with us her eating disorder and recovery story. She traces the beginning of her illness to the time following eighth grade. During this period of transition, stress, and anxiety, Kiera started running to prepare for her school’s track team. But, she says, “it easily and quickly turned into…a mechanism for me to control not only how many calories I would allow myself that day, but also how much weight I could possibly lose.” While Kiera’s eating disorder was taking root, people around her inadvertently reinforced it by remarking positively on her behaviors and body changes. These comments validated the disordered behaviors, all the while worsening her illness. After years of struggling in silence, shame, and confusion, Kiera opened up about her illness in a class poetry assignment. She recited the poem in front of her classmates, uttering the words “eating disorder” for the first time and acknowledging that she had one. At this moment, Kiera gave herself her voice and revealed it to others. While sharing her experience was an important step in Kiera’s overall story, it did not resolve her eating disorder. She continued to struggle with restricting and bingeing in secret, experiencing a taste of freedom only temporarily when she entered college. Surrounded by friends who had healthy relationships with food and their bodies, she was able to eat without concerns about weight and body. It was a “blindingly euphoric” time, she says. Unfortunately, additional comments about her weight triggered food and body concerns again. Immense fear returned to mealtimes, and darkness encroached upon her life. At this point, Kiera revealed to herself that she needed help. Despite the obstacles to seeking help, Kiera successfully advocated for the professional care her eating disorder required. Equipped with proper support, she pursued recovery while quarantining last year. She ditched the scale, journaled, and rethought her identity, relationship with food and body, and vocational plans. Born out of her recovery was Heavier Than I Look, her podcast which has transformed her plans for her future and kindled her sincere desire to amplify her and others’ voices. Listen to Heavier Than I Look on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and PodBean, and follow the show on Instagram and Twitter. Learn more about The Emily Program online or by calling 1-888-364-5977. — About the podcast: Peace Meal is an Emily Program podcast that discusses topics related to eating disorders, body image issues, and how society may contribute to distorted thinking. You can find Peace Meal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Podcasts. If you enjoy our show, please rate, review, subscribe, or tell your friends! Are you interested in being a guest on Peace Meal? Email podcast@emilyprogram.com for more information.

Episode description: Dr. Shauna Frisbie is a Licensed Professional Counselor, an approved Supervisor for Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC-S), a Certified Eating Disorders Specialist (CEDS), and a National Certified Counselor (NCC). She has taught psychology, family studies, and counseling since 2001 and is currently a Professor of Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Lubbock Christian University. Shauna joins us in this episode of Peace Meal to discuss the value of sharing and discussing visual content in therapy. Her phototherapy techniques are described in her 2020 book, A Therapist’s Guide to Treating Eating Disorders in a Social Media Age. Images, Shauna explains, and the stories we attach to them provide insight into deep emotional processes and responses. “When I do phototherapy with clients, I’m really trying to help them explore the meaning behind these images,” she says. In treating images as communicators of meaning, she and other trained therapists can help facilitate emotional awareness and processing with clients.  Shauna outlines how social media and smartphones have made images more relevant than ever, especially for young adults in a developmental stage of identity searching and relational skill development. For those susceptible to eating disorders, this increased exposure to images can be especially problematic. Shauna explains how phototherapy can help uncover how visual content impacts clients’ relationship to their bodies and/or sense of identity, as well as offer means of healing. Learn more about Shauna at drfrisbie.com, and find A Therapist’s Guide to Treating Eating Disorders in a Social Media Age at norton.com/author/22703/shaunafrisbie.  Learn more about The Emily Program online or by calling 1-888-364-5977. — About the podcast: Peace Meal is an Emily Program podcast that discusses topics related to eating disorders, body image issues, and how society may contribute to distorted thinking. You can find Peace Meal on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play. If you enjoy our show, please rate, review, subscribe, or tell your friends! Are you interested in being a guest on Peace Meal? Email podcast@emilyprogram.com for more information.

**Content warning: This is one person’s story; everyone will have unique experiences in recovery and beyond. Some stories may mention eating disorder thoughts, behaviors, and symptoms. This episode includes mention of sexual assault. Please use your discretion when listening and speak with your support system as needed. Episode description: Miranda Snyder is a student in the Honors College at the University of Maine, where she is studying to be a high school ELA teacher. A strong proponent of storytelling-based advocacy, her past and current advocacy efforts emphasize the power of lived experience. The power of Miranda’s lived experience is on full display in this episode of Peace Meal. She shares with us her eating disorder story, charting it from illness to “quasi-recovery” to full recovery. When Miranda first underwent treatment for anorexia in eighth grade, she felt she had little say in the matter. She received ample support from friends, teachers, and friends, but her participation in care was more passive than active. Although she achieved nutritional rehabilitation, she continued to struggle with strict food rules and routines for the next several years. She lived in so-called “quasi-recovery.” “I figured, ‘This is as good as it’s gonna get,’ she says, reflecting on that time. “I would be doing the best I could and be achieving so well, but I would always have an ED in the back of my mind.” And then came a turning point. Earlier this year, Miranda realized that she is “worth so much more than a quasi-recovered life.” She entered treatment again, this time on her own terms as a 21-year-old. Miranda put her whole self into recovery, making it a project that received her full focus and dedication. She voraciously took notes in virtual “eating school,” relied on support from family and friends, and regularly journaled affirmations and plans for her future.  In moving beyond quasi-recovery, Miranda has found space for things far more meaningful than disordered rules and routines. She’s better able to engage in coursework, research, and advocacy, she says, as well as relationships with others. She’s more present, more centered. She has claimed a sense of self rooted in her true values—and a life fully free from the leech that is an eating disorder.  Learn more about The Emily Program online or by calling 1-888-364-5977. — About the podcast: Peace Meal is an Emily Program podcast that discusses topics related to eating disorders, body image issues, and how society may contribute to distorted thinking. You can find Peace Meal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Podcasts. If you enjoy our show, please rate, review, subscribe, or tell your friends! Are you interested in being a guest on Peace Meal? Email podcast@emilyprogram.com for more information.

Episode description: Brittany Braswell is a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist (RDN) who runs a virtual private practice for those struggling with food and body image concerns. In both individual and group settings, she helps clients reduce their anxiety and disordered behaviors so that they can achieve lasting freedom from the bondage of their eating disorders. Brittany joins us in this episode of Peace Meal to explore recovery from a faith-based perspective. For many, she explains, faith is a belief system more powerful than an eating disorder, one in which people can trust when distancing themselves from their illness. To place trust in faith during recovery, Brittany emphasizes the importance of intentionality. “I think being able to reconnect to those values or to your faith is really about turning down the eating disorder volume and getting really intentional about identifying and listening for those healthy voices,” she says. As those healthy voices become louder in recovery, people can also strengthen their connection with their bodies and nutritional needs. Faith can augment a non-diet approach like intuitive eating, Brittany says, highlighting the alignment she sees between scripture and intuitive eating principles. She explores this connection in greater detail in her eBook, Faith Over Fear. A key to recovery—for people of faith and otherwise—is finding eternal worth and an identity separate from the eating disorder. “Once you know your worth and identity,” Brittany says, “place your identity in that thing that’s unshakeable.” To learn more about Brittany and her faith-forward approach to recovery, visit her website at brittanybraswellrd.com. There you can find her free eBook, Faith Over Fear: Ditch Food Rules and Nourish Your Body Without Guilt, information about the services she offers, and other resources. Brittany is also on Facebook and Instagram. Learn more about The Emily Program online or by calling 1-888-364-5977. — About the podcast: Peace Meal is an Emily Program podcast that discusses topics related to eating disorders, body image issues, and how society may contribute to distorted thinking. You can find Peace Meal on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play. If you enjoy our show, please rate, review, subscribe, or tell your friends! Are you interested in being a guest on Peace Meal? Email podcast@emilyprogram.com for more information.

Episode description: Kezia Reeder is a former Emily Program client and staff member and a continual advocate for eating disorder recovery. In this episode of Peace Meal, she joins host Dr. Jillian Lampert to describe her holidays with an eating disorder. “I feel like I was constantly stressed from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Eve,” Kezia says. “It’s supposed to be a time of celebration and… in the United States, a lot of our celebration centers around gathering for a meal.” Reflecting on four years of holidays like these, Kezia says she struggled at first without any outside support. She hid her disorder from family and friends, suffering in silence amid food- and body-related conversations and a lack of routine around meals. She could not be present. Over the course of her recovery, Kezia explains that she used trial and error to navigate the holidays successfully. The more present she was in treatment, she says, the more present she could be outside of it. With the help of her treatment team, she learned how to enlist the support of her sister, develop a meal plan, and approach holiday food as just food. “Do what works for you, and there’s a lot of different ways that holidays can look successful with an eating disorder,” Kezia explains.   The holidays look different now that Kezia’s eating disorder is no longer invited. “They’re awesome,” she says. “They’re just a whole new level of awesome because I know how challenging they have been in the past. So there’s a lot that I appreciate about it now.” If you or your child are struggling with food this holiday season, The Emily Program can help. Learn more about treatment online or by calling 1-888-364-5977.  — About the podcast: Peace Meal is an Emily Program podcast that discusses topics related to eating disorders, body image issues, and how society may contribute to distorted thinking. You can find Peace Meal on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play. If you enjoy our show, please rate, review, subscribe, or tell your friends! Are you interested in being a guest on Peace Meal? Email podcast@emilyprogram.com for more information. https://www.emilyprogram.com/ — Follow The Emily Program on Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheEmilyProgram Twitter: @emilyprogram Instagram: @emilyprogram

Episode description: Maddy Kit is a woman in recovery who is writing a book about her experiences with anorexia and other obstacles. She hopes to share her story with the world to help anyone going through something similar.  Maddy joins us in this episode of Peace Meal to share her recovery story. She tells us first about developing anorexia at nine years old and the barriers to care she experienced at this young age. She then reflects on how her eating disorder evolved in the context of bullying and isolation, as well as a severely traumatic event in high school. Though her illness was not a choice, she notes how it did provide some short-term comfort and illusory control in the face of these painful experiences. She then goes on to describe how she came to accept eating disorder care. Initially resistant to it, she understands recovery now as a life-saving experience, one that has allowed her to realize her worth beyond her body and to pursue interests like writing, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.   Learn more about The Emily Program online or by calling 1-888-364-5977. — About the podcast: Peace Meal is an Emily Program podcast that discusses topics related to eating disorders, body image issues, and how society may contribute to distorted thinking. You can find Peace Meal on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play. If you enjoy our show, please rate, review, subscribe, or tell your friends! Are you interested in being a guest on Peace Meal? Email podcast@emilyprogram.com for more information.

Episode description: Mark Schindler is an NBA writer and podcaster for SB Nation and his co-created site, Premium Hoops. Mark joins us in this episode of Peace Meal to reflect on his eating disorder experience, particularly as it relates to his pursuit of a professional boxing career. His food and body image concerns manifested in the sport and contributed to an eating disorder that extended far beyond it. Sharing how his illness compromised both his physical and mental well-being, Mark warns of the dangers of weight-cutting and offers a definition of health that encompasses more than appearance. Strewn throughout the episode are meaningful words of advice and comfort for those considering recovery. Find Mark on Twitter @MSchindlerNBA. Learn more about The Emily Program online or by calling 1-888-364-5977. — About the podcast: Peace Meal is an Emily Program podcast that discusses topics related to eating disorders, body image issues, and how society may contribute to distorted thinking. You can find Peace Meal on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play. If you enjoy our show, please rate, review, subscribe, or tell your friends! Are you interested in being a guest on Peace Meal? Email podcast@emilyprogram.com for more information.

Episode description: Susan Burton is an editor at the public radio program This American Life and a former editor of Harper’s. Her radio documentaries have won numerous awards, and her writing has appeared in Slate, The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, and others. Susan’s debut book, Empty: A Memoir, is out now from Random House. In this episode of Peace Meal, Susan tells us about Empty, a personal story of her eating disorders long kept hidden. In describing her experience with binge eating disorder (BED) and anorexia, she poignantly recounts how the illnesses felt both destructive and protective, both safe and stifling. They functioned in part, she says, as ways to cope with longing and a deep desire for human connection. Understanding now that BED and anorexia were equally harmful and isolating, Susan shares myriad lessons from the perspective of someone still recovering. In this liminal space of recovery, she continues to learn how to sit with discomfort, balance emotional highs and lows, and practice self-compassion with the help of therapy and family support. Empty is available at local bookstores and on Amazon. Connect with Susan via her website, Instagram, or Twitter. Learn more about The Emily Program online or by calling 1-888-364-5977. — About the podcast: Peace Meal is an Emily Program podcast that discusses topics related to eating disorders, body image issues, and how society may contribute to distorted thinking. You can find Peace Meal on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play. If you enjoy our show, please rate, review, subscribe, or tell your friends! Are you interested in being a guest on Peace Meal? Email podcast@emilyprogram.com for more information.

Episode description: Debbie Seacrest, Ph.D. is a non-binary math professor who is passionate about advocating for mental health and showing that eating disorders affect a variety of people. In this episode of Peace Meal, Debbie speaks to their eating disorder experience as a non-binary person. They share how negative body image in early childhood morphed into anorexia in adolescence, and how body image continued to be relevant to their gender journey and eating disorder recovery. Crediting karate, self-advocacy, and social connection as important tools in recovering from their anorexia, they reflect on the progress they’ve made and offer strategies for others suffering. They also share how the eating disorder community can be more gender-affirming and competent in the language we use and services we provide—a generous and important contribution given the disproportionate rates of eating disorders among trans and/or non-binary people. Contact Debbie via email with any questions. Learn more about The Emily Program online or by calling 1-888-364-5977. — About the podcast: Peace Meal is an Emily Program podcast that discusses topics related to eating disorders, body image issues, and how society may contribute to distorted thinking. You can find Peace Meal on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play. If you enjoy our show, please rate, review, subscribe, or tell your friends! Are you interested in being a guest on Peace Meal? Email podcast@emilyprogram.com for more information.

Episode description: Teresa Schmitz is the powerhouse coach behind mybestselfyet.com, a website and blog recently launched to help others define and become their best selves. She discovered her own best self while in recovery from a midlife eating disorder. Teresa joins us in this episode of Peace Meal to share her eating disorder experience, including the personal, professional, and age-related factors that complicated her relationship with food. She tells us how providers have focused on weight throughout her life, encouraging various diets and appetite suppressants with the sole aim of weight loss. Then, Teresa says, a diagnosis of binge eating disorder finally connected her to meaningful care and community support. Eating disorder recovery has helped her redefine her relationship with food and her body, nurture her sense of self outside of career accolades, and restore her physical, emotional, and mental health. Learn more about Teresa on her website and connect with her on Instagram. Learn more about The Emily Program online or by calling 1-888-364-5977. — About the podcast: Peace Meal is an Emily Program podcast that discusses topics related to eating disorders, body image issues, and how society may contribute to distorted thinking. You can find Peace Meal on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play. If you enjoy our show, please rate, review, subscribe, or tell your friends! Are you interested in being a guest on Peace Meal? Email podcast@emilyprogram.com for more information.

Episode description: Lisa Wingårdh is a yoga teacher based in Stockholm, Sweden. Fully devoted to helping others reconnect with their body and breath, she is especially passionate about eating disorder recovery given her personal experience with anorexia and bulimia. In this episode of Peace Meal, we discuss the role of yoga in eating disorder treatment and recovery. Lisa shares her journey to discovering yoga and describes the ways it has nurtured her body, mind, and soul. Speaking from experience and training, she explains the benefits of yoga to those healing from eating disorders as well as reasons people might find the practice intimidating or challenging. She also offers gentle advice for making sure our yoga practice remains self-compassionate and customized to our own needs and lives. Learn more about Lisa on her website, wingardhwellness.com, and find her on Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube. Learn more about The Emily Program online or by calling 1-888-364-5977. — About the podcast: Peace Meal is an Emily Program podcast that discusses topics related to eating disorders, body image issues, and how society may contribute to distorted thinking. You can find Peace Meal on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play. If you enjoy our show, please rate, review, subscribe, or tell your friends! Are you interested in being a guest on Peace Meal? Email podcast@emilyprogram.com for more information. — Follow The Emily Program on: Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheEmilyProgram Twitter: @emilyprogram Instagram: @emilyprogram

Episode description: Dr. Heidi Dalzell is a licensed clinical psychologist in the greater Philadelphia area with 25 years of therapy experience. She specializes in treating eating disorders and body image concerns, especially in women at midlife. Heidi joins us in this episode of Peace Meal to discuss midlife eating disorders. She explores the cultural, biological, and life-stage factors that make women susceptible to eating disorders at this point in life. Among them are societal appearance ideals of thinness and youthfulness, aging-related weight and shape changes, and changes in relationship roles and dynamics. Heidi explains the unique barriers midlife women face in seeking care, including shame, stigma, and lack of access to age-appropriate treatment, and then identifies how we can better serve this population. Emphasizing that recovery is possible, she encourages anyone struggling with an eating disorder to reach out for help. Learn more about Heidi on her website, talktogrow.com, and check out her Facebook support group, Eating Disorders at Midlife. Learn more about The Emily Program online or by calling 1-888-364-5977. — About the podcast: Peace Meal is an Emily Program podcast that discusses topics related to eating disorders, body image issues, and how society may contribute to distorted thinking. You can find Peace Meal on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play. If you enjoy our show, please rate, review, subscribe, or tell your friends! Are you interested in being a guest on Peace Meal? Email podcast@emilyprogram.com for more information.

Episode description: Johanna Kandel is the Founder and CEO of The Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness, a national non-profit dedicated to eating disorders outreach, education, early intervention, and advocacy. Having recovered from an eating disorder herself, she is a passionate and prominent advocate for mental health and eating disorders legislation. In the last of our three-part series on eating disorder advocacy and policy, Johanna joins us to talk about the personal experience of advocacy. First she opens up about her own eating disorder, recovery, and journey to advocacy. She then describes how her closeness to the issue has fueled and challenged her advocacy efforts, how her professional and personal motivation has evolved over time, and how she focuses on opportunity instead of cynicism. Underscoring the importance of personal voices and lived experiences, she concludes by encouraging others to get involved. To sign up for the EDC Action Alerts mentioned in the episode, visit https://www.eatingdisorderscoalition.org/inner_template/get_involved/take-action.html. Learn more about The Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness at allianceforeatingdisorders.com and about The Emily Program at emilyprogram.com or by calling 1-888-364-5977. — About the podcast: Peace Meal is an Emily Program podcast that discusses topics related to eating disorders, body image issues, and how society may contribute to distorted thinking. You can find Peace Meal on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play. If you enjoy our show, please rate, review, subscribe, or tell your friends! Are you interested in being a guest on Peace Meal? Email podcast@emilyprogram.com for more information. — Follow The Emily Program on: Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheEmilyProgram Twitter: @emilyprogram Instagram: @emilyprogram

Episode description: Chase Bannister, MDIV, MSW, LCSW, CEDS, is the president of the Eating Disorders Coalition for Research, Policy & Action (EDC), the federal advocacy organization that advances the recognition of eating disorders as a public health priority. In this episode of Peace Meal, Chase describes the EDC and its members, its mission and goals, and how it engages in eating disorders education and advocacy. He emphasizes the importance of community, strategy, and persistence in advocacy, as well as the immense power we have as constituents. He then explains two of the EDC’s current policy efforts, the Nutrition CARE Act and the SERVE Act, and offers easy ways we can get involved.   Learn more about The Emily Program online or by calling 1-888-364-5977. — About the podcast: Peace Meal is an Emily Program podcast that discusses topics related to eating disorders, body image issues, and how society may contribute to distorted thinking. You can find Peace Meal on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play. If you enjoy our show, please rate, review, subscribe, or tell your friends! Are you interested in being a guest on Peace Meal? Email podcast@emilyprogram.com for more information. — Follow The Emily Program on: Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheEmilyProgram Twitter: @emilyprogram Instagram: @emilyprogram

Episode description: Attorney Katrina Velasquez is the Founder and Managing Principal of Center Road Solutions, a public policy firm that works with the Eating Disorders Coalition for Research, Policy & Action (EDC) to advance eating disorders as a public health priority on Capitol Hill. Katrina takes us through the federal legislative process in this episode of Peace Meal. She outlines how ideas are introduced as bills, discussed and amended by committees, and ultimately voted on to become laws. Describing the influence of politics, timing, and leadership, she shows how the process can be lengthy and involved. Citizen participation, however, is vital and not as intimidating as it may seem. Learn more about The Emily Program online or by calling 1-888-364-5977. — About the podcast: Peace Meal is an Emily Program podcast that discusses topics related to eating disorders, body image issues, and how society may contribute to distorted thinking. You can find Peace Meal on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play. If you enjoy our show, please rate, review, subscribe, or tell your friends! Are you interested in being a guest on Peace Meal? Email podcast@emilyprogram.com for more information. — Follow The Emily Program on: Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheEmilyProgram Twitter: @emilyprogram Instagram: @emilyprogram

Episode description: In this episode of Peace Meal, we chat with a Division 1 soccer player, Cece Muskovac, about eating disorders in student athletes. Cece shares how sports have impacted her relationship with food and body, and how her eating disorder once held captive the personality traits that make her a strong athlete. She describes how she came to appreciate, fuel, and listen to her body and find recovery with the support of her coaches and teammates. Learn more about The Emily Program online or by calling 1-888-364-5977. — About the podcast: Peace Meal is an Emily Program podcast that discusses topics related to eating disorders, body image issues, and how society may contribute to distorted thinking. You can find Peace Meal on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play. If you enjoy our show, please rate, review, subscribe, or tell your friends! Are you interested in being a guest on Peace Meal? Email podcast@emilyprogram.com for more information. — Follow The Emily Program on: Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheEmilyProgram Twitter: @emilyprogram Instagram: @emilyprogram

Episode description: Bronwen Clark is a Los Angeles-based therapist and the author of Don’t Be Weird: A Memoir of Food and Feelings, a book that chronicles her journey through eating disorder treatment. In this episode of Peace Meal, Bronwen reflects on the client experience of treatment, including its rewards, challenges, and lasting impact. She explores lessons learned, the difficulty of transitioning between treatment centers and across levels of care, and the search for an identity outside of a diagnosis. She concludes by offering advice for those considering treatment now. Read more about Don’t Be Weird on The Emily Program’s blog, and find Bronwen at bronwenclark.com and @bforboundless on Instagram and Twitter. Learn more about The Emily Program online or by calling 1-888-364-5977. — About the podcast: Peace Meal is an Emily Program podcast that discusses topics related to eating disorders, body image issues, and how society may contribute to distorted thinking. You can find Peace Meal on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play. If you enjoy our show, please rate, review, subscribe, or tell your friends! Are you interested in being a guest on Peace Meal? Email podcast@emilyprogram.com for more information. — Follow The Emily Program on: Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheEmilyProgram Twitter: @emilyprogram Instagram: @emilyprogram

Episode description: In this episode of Peace Meal, writer Lindsey Hall reflects on the online recovery community, where she has shared the nitty-gritty details of eating disorder recovery for over six years. She describes how writing publicly about her experience has both protected and challenged her ongoing process of healing. To create a more compassionate, inclusive recovery community, Lindsey encourages us to practice vulnerability and grace when telling our stories and hearing those of others. Learn more about Lindsey on her blog, and find her on Instagram and Facebook. Learn more about The Emily Program online or by calling 1-888-364-5977. — About the podcast: Peace Meal is an Emily Program podcast that discusses topics related to eating disorders, body image issues, and how society may contribute to distorted thinking. You can find Peace Meal on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play. If you enjoy our show, please rate, review, subscribe, or tell your friends! Are you interested in being a guest on Peace Meal? Email podcast@emilyprogram.com for more information.

Episode description: Author and psychotherapist Thom Rutledge joins Peace Meal to discuss how people with eating disorders can prioritize recovery during the coronavirus pandemic. While “Ed”—the eating disorder—may try to co-opt the current cultural anxiety and changes in food, exercise, and environment for his purposes, Thom explains how we can intervene. With the support of others, we can reclaim our power and use the situation as an opportunity to strengthen our recovery efforts. Thom Rutledge, LCSW, is the author of Life without Ed (with Jenni Schaefer), as well as Embracing Fear, The Self-Forgiveness Handbook, and more. Learn about Thom and his work at thomrutledge.com, and find him on Facebook and Instagram. Learn more about The Emily Program online or by calling 1-888-364-5977. — About the podcast: Peace Meal is an Emily Program podcast that discusses topics related to eating disorders, body image issues, and how society may contribute to distorted thinking. You can find Peace Meal on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play. If you enjoy our show, please rate, review, subscribe, or tell your friends! Are you interested in being a guest on Peace Meal? Email podcast@emilyprogram.com for more information. — Follow The Emily Program on: Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheEmilyProgram Twitter: @emilyprogram Instagram: @emilyprogram

Episode description: In this episode, author Chrissy Cahill recounts her daughter Alexandra’s battle with anorexia. Alex struggled with the eating disorder for 18 years and ultimately died from it at the age of 33. Following Alex’s death, Chrissy gained entry into her daughter’s private, painful world through Alex’s writings. Chrissy published these writings to educate others about life with an eating disorder, weaving them into a book called Fatal Reflection. Chrissy chronicles her experience of writing the book, describes the loving, strong person Alex was, and shares how the eating disorder affected the different members of her family. Find Fatal Reflection on Barnes & Noble and other online booksellers. Learn more at https://www.austinmacauley.com/book/fatal-reflection. — About the podcast: Peace Meal is an Emily Program podcast that discusses topics related to eating disorders, body image issues, and how society may contribute to distorted thinking. You can find Peace Meal on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play. If you enjoy our show, please rate, review, subscribe, or tell your friends! Are you interested in being a guest on Peace Meal? Email podcast@emilyprogram.com for more information. — Follow The Emily Program on: Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheEmilyProgram Twitter: @emilyprogram Instagram: @emilyprogram