Counseling and coaching for eating disorders and health
Presentations
Society continually sends us hurtful and incorrect messages about food and our bodies. These messages hit us from all angles: the media, our culture and our families. On the same page of a magazine, we are told how to instantly lose 20 lbs while making the most succulent chocolate cake. Our culture tells us that food and the shape of our bodies have the power to make a person good or bad. As a result, the natural connection with food and our bodies is distorted. Eating disorders, obesity and body dissatisfaction affect all ages, sexes and races! Eating disorders have the highest death rate (up to 20%) out of all mental illnesses. Looking at our relationships with food and our bodies is not only vital for our well-being, but also for our children’s. Children are dieting and fearing their bodies at younger and younger ages. According to NEDA (National Eating Disorders Association), 42% of 1st – 3rd grade girls want to be thinner, and 81% of ten year olds are afraid of being fat. Clearly, these issues need to be given more attention and education!
“I wanted to tell you your testimony was awesome. You had those students sitting on the edges of their chairs.” Carol D. Seaborn, PhD, RD, Assistant Professor
Rachel Quast, M.A. is a survivor of anorexia, bulimia and binge eating. This allows her to easily connect with her audiences on many levels. Not only does she have the personal experience, but she also addresses the issues from a therapeutic viewpoint as well. Ms. Quast speaks on our emotional needs and how we use patterns to protect ourselves from pain. She presents on topics like wellness, emotional eating, eating disorders and body image. The descriptions are below.
EATING DISORDERS: EXPOSING THE STORM WITHIN
*Rachel Quast’s personal struggle with anorexia and bulimia
*Causes of the disorders (biological, social, cultural and trauma)
*How low self-esteem, family patterns, and “stuffing feelings” contribute to the disorders (anorexia, bulimia and binge eating)
*How early hurts create core beliefs and how that relates to the development and perpetuation of eating disorders
*How to support someone experiencing an eating disorder
MEDIA & BODY IMAGE
*Group discussion on media and advertising tricks
*Discussion on how media impacts body image
*Group activities to improve one’s body image
BREAKING UNHEALTHY PATTERNS
*Explain how we identify our patterns
*Discuss what patterns are and how they impact job performance, relationships (with ourselves, others and a higher purpose) and our communities
*Identify which psychological needs were not fulfilled in your life
*Explain how patterns attempt to fill those needs
*Describe how to heal old wounds in order to change unhealthy patterns
FEEDING THE NEED
*Identifying emotional eating and obesity
*Explain how the misuse of food “fills” or blocks the emotional void
*Discuss how the media perpetuates overeating
*Obesity and possible health risks