|
|
As we all head into the holiday season (and YES, for most of us Halloween is the PERFECT kick off to a fun holiday season), those with eating disorders can start to feel their anxiety rise. Everyone from the media to families to loved ones to doctors, are giving the message that candy is BAD and should be avoided at all costs.
ANAD believes that eating intuitively and listening to YOUR OWN BODY'S CUES are key to health and an anxiety-free relationship to food and candy. We’d like to share with you this Halloween video that we put together to help people in eating disorder recovery, as well as their parents and loved ones, alleviate a lot of this candy anxiety, and just focus on having fun this Halloween!
|
|
|
ANAD is doing more than just supporting everyone in having their Halloween and eating their candy too. Last month, ANAD launched a new free support service: the ANAD Recovery Mentor Program.
In just one month, we've had over 100 Mentees sign up for the program! We're currently seeking more Recovery Mentors. If you or someone you know is recovered and would like to help others on their way to recovery, please apply here.
It has become abundantly clear to us since we launched the Recovery Mentor Program, that being able to see and talk to someone who is far along in their recovery and has been eating disorder behavior free for a stretch of time is deeply beneficial. Recovery Mentors are living proof that recovery is possible and are something that everyone in recovery should have access too.
We're also about 6 weeks past our 2016 Conference and Maria Rago, ANAD's President and Deb Prinz, ANAD's Director of Community Relations both share what they saw and learned and were thrilled about at this year's conference. According to one attendee, this was ANAD's "best program yet!"
We'd also love to introduce you to some new faces here at ANAD: Kaitlyn Pasquinelli, ANAD's new Volunteer Coordinator, and Kathleen Sachs, ANAD's new Social Media Manager. Both Kaitlyn and Kathleen have been instrumental in helping us launch new support services and guiding us in engaging more socially and emotionally with our volunteers, people in recovery and their families, friends and loved ones as well.
Lastly, please consider donating to ANAD this holiday season. We are getting ready to launch another free support service this year, Grocery Buddies, and your donations will help us get this free support service up and running.
Happy Halloween and #HappyEating!
Laura Zinger, Executive Director
|
|
|
Meet some New Faces at ANAD!
|
|
|
Kaitlyn Pasquinelli: Volunteer Coordinator
|
|
|
Kaitlyn Pasquinelli is as bright and colorful as her favorite candy, Starbursts! Kaitlyn started at ANAD five weeks ago and has already helped ANAD launch a new support program, ANAD Recovery Mentors, and is hard at work helping launch another program, ANAD Grocery Buddies.
In addition to managing volunteers and paperwork for these two support services, Kaitlyn also manages ANAD Support Group Leaders, and helps manage the ANAD Helpline.
Kaitlyn is thrilled to be at ANAD. According to her, “It’s so rewarding to directly hear from volunteers on how they want to help people who have eating disorders. You really can see that people want to help each other out.” She also notes how she was led to take on the role. “I’ve been volunteering for two years and I have been really passionate about giving back to the eating disorders community,” she says. “I, myself, recovered from anorexia and I have been trying to help out as much as I can. I love it.”
|
|
|
Kathleen Sachs: Social Media Manager
|
|
|
Kathleen Sachs is as outgoing and all-accepting as her favorite candy: all of it.
Kat is well versed in social media having worked previously doing social media for Grub Hub. She truly understands the power of social media these days, especially for the population of people that ANAD supports. Kat points out, "Studies consistently show that social media has had a significant impact on how people perceive themselves, and I think ANAD is distinguishing itself as a safe space not only for people who are struggling with an eating disorder, but also those who want to engage with a body positive community.”
She says she enjoys, often learns from, reading people’s reactions to posts, whether it’s just a “standard” reaction—Likes and such—to the sharing of personal stories. She really appreciates ANAD’s current vision—how it's more inclusive of people from different backgrounds and "even people struggling with problems on the other end of the spectrum." She truly believes that all people are beautiful: “ I really think that's coming through via social media.”
|
|
|
ANAD's 2016 Conference was our, to quote an attendee, "best program yet"
|
|
|
As ANAD's Current President and as along-term board member even before that, as soon as I saw the heart drawn next to our Keynote Speaker, Dr. Michael Berrett's name on one of the conference CE Evaluation forms, I knew that this year, our conference had touched, not just minds, but hearts as well.
Dr. Michael Berrett, our keynote speaker, emotionally gave a message similar to ANAD’s new mantra: Your future is worth fighting for. He meant this for clinicians who may struggle with burn out. He intimately shared his own honest experiences as a clinician and gave strategies to help us care for ourselves as we deeply as we care for our clients.
Dr. Berrett inspired the audience with genuine concern, and because he wants to be a support to all of the clinicians in the audience, he gave everyone his cell phone number! He really practices what he preaches! The love from Dr. Berrett was felt by many, including the attendees who gave him these reviews...
READ MORE
|
|
|
Get and Give Support with ANAD Programs TODAY!
|
|
|
Don’t see a support group near you?
Contact us at: supportgroups@anad.org
|
|
|
Please Consider Donating to ANAD Today
|
|
|
Your generous contributions help ANAD continue to offer support services for people in eating disorder recovery and for their friends, families and loved ones. We need your help to continue to offer these support services for FREE. We greatly appreciate any financial support and assistance you can provide to ANAD.
|
|
|
ANAD Thanks the Following Individuals for their Generous Contributions
|
|
|
ANAD recently lost two special supporters, Rosalie Fialkoff passed away March 28, 2015 and Jolie Parker who passed away February 4, 2016.
|
|
|
Jolie Parker was an ANAD support group leader for 14 years. Her group was a parents group giving parents the support needed when a child suffers from an eating disorder. According to her daughter, Holly, “She lovingly supported me even when the professionals at the time said it was her fault and that she should stay away from me in order for me to heal. It was at that time that she started supporting other parents of daughters and sons with this debilitating and at times baffling disease. This was very therapeutic for her and helped many parents cope with their own circumstances. I will miss her dearly. My mom was grateful for the support of ANAD and I hope her legacy will live on and inspire other parents.”
|
|
|
According to Rosalie Fialkoff's daughter, “Our family has been touched by eating disorders, and I know it was my Mom’s wish to support ANAD’s efforts to educate and advocate about issues pertaining to eating disorders.” ANAD is very grateful and appreciative of the generous donation Rosalie gave as a final gesture.
|
|
|
ANAD would also like to express its sincere condolences to Janet Glassner on the loss of her daughter, Miriam Ellen Glushakoff. In honor of Miriam, Janet made a generous donation to ANAD. We are always so grateful for the donations we receive. Giving in this way is such a beautiful way to remember a loved one. Thank you Janet for remembering Miriam by making a donation to ANAD.
|
|
|
ANAD
750 East Diehl Rd, Ste 127
Naperville, IL 60563
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
