Episode Transcript
[00:00:10] Speaker A: Happy Sunday, y'. All. You are listening to Fit to be tied with Shannon and Whitney on 90.7 the Capstone. And I will admit, I almost missed my cue to start the show. I was like.
[00:00:19] Speaker B: I was wondering.
[00:00:20] Speaker A: I was like, wait a second. So. Happy Sunday. Happy Sunday. You know? Okay, so one of the things that I cannot believe that we did not do last Sunday because, you know, we were so hung up on it being being Valentine's Eve, or I was hung
[00:00:33] Speaker B: up on being Valentine's Eve.
[00:00:35] Speaker A: Cause I brought that up. But we totally didn't talk about the fact that it was the super bowl that night.
[00:00:40] Speaker B: That's true.
[00:00:41] Speaker A: And so I feel like to make up for it, we have to talk about it now. Because the halftime show.
[00:00:48] Speaker B: The halftime show, we are in the
[00:00:50] Speaker A: age group that that ensemble of folks was, like, focused on.
[00:00:55] Speaker B: You know, it's so crazy because I get so irritated with the halftime shows because I like have. I'm like, it has to have, like, this, this, and this. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Last year's was awful, I thought. But then again, I'm older, so maybe, like, it was great for younger people. I don't know. This year's halftime show, I thought was amazing.
[00:01:13] Speaker A: I did too.
[00:01:14] Speaker B: I literally thought the performers did a great job. I thought the set was amazing. The dancers were pumped. It flowed really well.
Snoop Dogg was awesome. He was just chill. I love Eminem. Dr. Dre made all those beats. I mean, I loved it.
[00:01:28] Speaker A: Oh, yeah.
[00:01:28] Speaker B: And then when 50 Cent came in, I was like, now he did look a little rough. He's like a whole dollar now, not just a 50.
[00:01:33] Speaker A: He is. I mean, for him to be ha. Upside down, I was like, okay. I just. I really. I was like, good for him. Now, Mary J. Blige, she. Her skin and hair looked amazing, and she looked great. Yes.
[00:01:47] Speaker B: I don't know how old she is now.
[00:01:48] Speaker A: I don't either.
[00:01:49] Speaker B: Yeah, I don't know. But I thought it was great.
Very entertaining, I will say. This is so funny. Okay, so my grandmother, she's 84. Okay? So she watches like everything on TV. And so of course my mom, like, texts her. She's like, hey, did you watch that? The halftime show? She was like, yeah, it was awful. And you can only imagine, like an 84 year old grandmother, like, she doesn't know who anybody is. She's like, these people, they're not even singing anything. And I'm like, if she only knew. The other funny part of that is, earlier that day, my mom went to her house to like, go Eat lunch with her or something. And she was like, yeah, you gonna watch the halftime show? And my grandmother goes, yeah, I think Snoopy the dog's gonna be on.
[00:02:24] Speaker A: Oh, my goodness.
[00:02:26] Speaker B: Isn't that cute? 84 years old. I mean, she's kicking it, but, yeah, you know, it wasn't like her cup of tea. She likes Frank Sinatra, so that's fair.
[00:02:34] Speaker A: She was just staying on brand.
[00:02:36] Speaker B: That's right.
[00:02:37] Speaker A: Normally likes. Now, I did watch some of the game, like, while I could. My husband watched it the whole time. But the kicker for the Bengals is from my hometown.
[00:02:47] Speaker B: Oh, really?
[00:02:47] Speaker A: So of course, as, like, a quintessential hometown. Like, they changed all of the banners in the downtown area to, like, his face and all the things. So that was kind of cutesy to have, like, some personal ties that way. Like, now, granted, they lost, but it's totally okay.
[00:03:04] Speaker B: Yeah. Now, the commercial, for some reason, this could just be me being a total critic or whatever, but I didn't feel like they were as great this year. I mean, there were a couple. I was kind of like, oh, that's kind of cool. Tons of crypto commercials. Like, I don't know what the heck is going on now. I have my theories, but, I mean, crypto commercials were like. I think the square with the QR code that was, like, bouncing.
[00:03:27] Speaker A: I followed it.
[00:03:28] Speaker B: Oh, yeah.
[00:03:28] Speaker A: Because I was like, what is this about?
[00:03:30] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, it was brilliant marketing, but at the same time, I was like, man, I believe I've seen, like, half of these commercials are crypto commercials. Yes, absolutely.
[00:03:37] Speaker A: I know. I can't, like, because I'm thinking of all the commercials. I'm trying to think if there was anything that was my favorite or thought that I thought stood out, because, you know, it's been a week.
[00:03:47] Speaker B: Yeah, I did, like, it was simple, and I really enjoyed the Keeping up with the Joneses commercial. It was like a Chevy or truck commercial. I can't remember. And, like, like, it was like, oh, gosh. Leslie Jones and then Rashida Jones, and then it was somebody else that was in. Oh, Tom Lee Jones. And then, like, what's the youngest Jonas Brothers? Nick pulls up beside him. Yeah, Nick Jonas pulls up beside him. He's like, hey, I'm just trying to keep up with the Joneses, but he's Jonas. Anyway, it was, like, pretty funny. I was like, okay, all right. If Hollywood's gonna use their powers, then okay, that was.
[00:04:21] Speaker A: I like that. I like that for sure. Any kind of, like, fun, random mixing of folks. Like, I'm here for this But, y', all, we will not be talking about super bowl commercials all show long. We actually. We have a guest today, and, you know, this semest.
Whitney and I have been trying to hold down the fort on our own, but we like to bring our guests. Last week, we had Sherry Simpson, who is now serving as the dietitian at the student health center. And this week, we have a student with us.
[00:04:50] Speaker B: We do.
[00:04:51] Speaker A: And we are going to leave you guys on edge because it's time to go to a break. But grab something to drink, Use the restroom. Do all the things you need to do. You are listening to Fit to Be Tired with Sheena Whitney on 90.7 capstone.
[00:05:06] Speaker B: Wvuafm Tuscaloosa.
Welcome back. You're listening to Fit to Be Thai with Sheena and Whitney. And as we took a break, Sheena was just, you know, reminding me that she had tons of caffeine today, and I was reminding her that I've been through that before, and the head fogs are real, especially when you get older. Coming off your caffeine is. I mean, it's a nightmare. It really does stuff to your body.
[00:05:29] Speaker A: It is. You know, again, I thought it was gonna be a great idea before my workout this morning, and it was. But now I'm. Oh, yeah, okay. I am paying the consequences of just kind of having all the things going on. But we have a great show.
[00:05:46] Speaker B: We do. We do.
[00:05:47] Speaker A: And, you know, for those of you who have followed this show for a long time, you know that one of my passion areas is eating disorders. And this coming week, actually starting tomorrow, is Body Appreciation Week, which is how UA celebrates Eating Disorders Awareness week on our campus, which is fantastic. And so one of the things that we thought that we would do today is actually bring on one of our UA students to really talk about her experience with that. I know that this individual is also passionate about eating disorders advocacy, so we're excited to have her. And she's looking at me right now like, oh, my goodness. But. Izzy Quinn. Hello.
[00:06:25] Speaker B: Hi.
[00:06:25] Speaker C: Thank you for having me.
[00:06:27] Speaker A: Absolutely. And now, Izzy, you're in grad school, right?
[00:06:29] Speaker C: Yes, I'm in my second year of grad school this year.
[00:06:32] Speaker A: Okay. What program are you in?
[00:06:34] Speaker C: I'm getting my msw, so social work. So I'm doing the full time two years, and then I'll be done in May.
[00:06:41] Speaker B: Nice.
[00:06:42] Speaker C: So that'll be the end of my sixth year here.
[00:06:45] Speaker A: Hey, but you're coming away with a degree.
[00:06:47] Speaker B: Yeah. How do you feel about that graduating? Are you ready for it?
[00:06:51] Speaker C: You know, in May of 2020, when I was supposed to graduate or when I did get my undergraduate degree, I didn't feel ready at all.
I am very ready to fly the nest. I think it's been, like, a great experience and I still love being here, but I just feel very. I never that. I would say I feel very ready to start a 9 to 5, but I feel very ready to.
[00:07:16] Speaker A: No. And that's good for sure. And, you know, now that you have gotten your fix of Tuscaloosa, which kind of brings us to our point of where is home for you? Like, where's your hometown?
[00:07:28] Speaker C: So I'm from a little town like 15 minutes north of Seattle, Washington.
[00:07:32] Speaker B: Oh, wow.
[00:07:33] Speaker C: Yeah, it's called Mukilteo.
And yeah, I came here, I guess now five and a half years ago.
[00:07:41] Speaker B: So right now, isn't it snow everywhere up there?
[00:07:45] Speaker C: It's actually okay. It's weird. It snowed really bad over break.
That it does. Not really. It's too. I think it's, like, too rainy to snow most of the time. It's super. The weather there is super mild. Like, when I came here and saw the rainstorms here, I thought I'd be prepared, and I guess I was not.
[00:08:03] Speaker B: Yeah, like, here it's a whole nother ball game with, like, the whole tornado warning. Like, every time we have bad weather, it's like, you're gonna. Apple watcher warning. But I never know what to do.
[00:08:10] Speaker A: Yes, yes.
[00:08:11] Speaker B: Well, and I hate to say it, like, most of the time, knock on wood, we're always in some type of tornado watch. And I feel like people that are new to Alabama or new to the south are like, oh, my gosh, a tornado watch. I'm like, well, I mean, when the warning pops up, that's when we kind of need to be, like, worried. But, I mean, James Fann might disagree with me on that, but.
Well, glad you came to Alabama. So what made you decide to come to Alabama? I mean, literally across the United States?
[00:08:35] Speaker C: Well, I actually did my undergrad degree in something completely different. I was creative media with, like, a concentration of production management.
Yeah. So I do this.
So I was super drawn, obviously, to our communication school.
And my dad, who works in college counseling was basically just like, took me on a trip my junior year to visit a ton of different colleges. And this was like, the only one that I could see myself living full time on.
And then pandemic hit and just completely shifted what I wanted to do. And now I'm about to finish up my master's in Social work and probably never go back to production management, but.
[00:09:21] Speaker B: No, but maybe like a side job or something.
[00:09:23] Speaker A: Exactly. An on set social kind of little like. Yeah, side hustle type thing. But okay, so let's. Izzy, tell Izzy. Sorry again, the caffeine, y'. All. Oh, Sheena, I know.
If we could rewind right now. Izzy.
[00:09:37] Speaker C: Quinn, it's okay. I've known you for six years, so
[00:09:41] Speaker A: I feel bad because I'm like, I have known you for six years. So, Izzy, in terms of your internship placement right now, tell us about that. And then also once you get that msw, what do you want to do professionally?
[00:09:52] Speaker C: So this we get. When you're in your full time, like the two year msw, you do two full years of internships and of got randomly placed with student care and well being here at the university, which is.
I like had no clue anything about it. They called me and told me and I was like, I mean, sure, I don't really care. I'll do anything.
And so basically our office is in charge of anytime a student is experiencing a mental health crisis or a financial crisis.
We're kind of like the case managers on duty for that. And we're kind of like a resource hub.
And I'm so glad I got RA place there because I have now learned it is exactly what I want to be doing. So I'm basically going to be.
I don't care really where yet. I have like a list of no cities. And then I'm just going to apply for this job, like pretty much anywhere.
[00:10:49] Speaker A: That is amazing. And you know, I think that given that in just a little bit you'll be sharing your own story about eating disorder recovery, do you feel like in some ways it was just meant to be as far as that placement in the office of student care and Wellbeing?
[00:11:03] Speaker C: Oh, yeah. I mean, I think also too, I knew that when you go into social work, obviously there are gonna be some things that you feel like you're most passionate about. And I had always thought I would either just go directly into either eating disorder recovery work or I was always. I did my minor in undergrad in addiction recovery sciences, so I just thought I would go straight into that. But I think one of the things I love about working at Student Care and well being is that I get such like a broad scope, like it's not one specific thing, but like, obviously every once in a while something will pop up that I'm super passionate about working with that. And so that's always interesting to me. But I think What I really like about it is how broad it is.
It definitely keeps me from getting burnt out. Cause it's just something new every day.
[00:11:56] Speaker A: Yeah. That's awesome.
[00:11:57] Speaker B: That's awesome. I think that's a good thing to kind of bring up just. Just for our listeners. You know, when you're getting ready to graduate and you're gonna set forth on your career and it's something you're gonna do every single day, it's like, you gotta find ways to not get burnt out. I know for Sheena and myself, we've both been here 10 years. You've over 10 years, aren't you? And so it's like you kind of get to that point where you gotta figure out, okay, what other things can I do? What else can I learn? So that's great that you're already kind of seeing that now and you haven't even started working yet.
[00:12:25] Speaker A: Oh, absolutely. And I'm trying to think because I know in a few minutes we'll actually have to go on a break. But Izzy, before we take that break, we'd love to kind of set the stage and have you share a little bit about your eating disorder recovery journey.
And we can even start with how did that eating disorder story start for you as far as your relationship with food and everything else?
[00:12:52] Speaker C: So I think I've always kind of had, from the time I was a small child, a really disord relationship with food and eating.
I remember, like the first time I went on Weight Watchers, I was probably like 10 years old.
And obviously that was, you know, didn't start me out on a great path. But around the time I was maybe, maybe like 12 or 13, I was as we all were back then. I was like super big into Tumblr and you would find like these blogs on there that would basically teach you how to have an eating disorder.
[00:13:29] Speaker B: Interesting.
[00:13:30] Speaker C: Yeah, I know a lot of other girls might like, specifically my, like in that two, three year age gap, who had a really similar experience with that.
So I began binging and purging around the time I was 12 or 13.
And it would go intermittently with binging and purging and then just purging.
And that continued up until I was 18 or I guess 17 in my senior year of high school.
[00:13:58] Speaker A: When it comes to the recovery piece of things, do you feel like that is something that you were interested in on your own? Or do you feel like that was something that was really encouraged by the people that loved and cared for you? Or maybe a little bit of both?
[00:14:13] Speaker C: I Think it was definitely more encouragement from others. I think I went kicking and screaming, but, you know, I was definitely at my rock bottom just physically with my body. I don't think my body would have tolerated much more.
And so it was definitely my parents and my coaches and the people around me that got me into it, but I'm very, very glad they did. Yeah.
[00:14:37] Speaker A: Well, no, and I. And I just. I want to take this time because I know we're about to hop to a break, but just to thank you for sharing that and for having that transparency, because I know it's so helpful to our listeners, we're going to continue this conversation, you guys, but we've got to take a quick break. You are listening to Fit to be Tied with Sheena and Whitney on 90.7, the capstone.
[00:15:04] Speaker B: Wvuafm tuscaloosa.
You're listening to Fit to be Tied, and I hope everyone's having a great Sunday, and we are just catching up with Izzy. I'm getting the pleasure to meet Izzy as a UA grad student getting ready to graduate soon and take on the world. And I've never met you before, but Sheena has known you for six years. I think about that now. Did you know her? Did you start seeing Sheena?
[00:15:34] Speaker C: Yeah. So whenever I did my Bama Bound, I had. So I entered, like, a rehabilitation program in about winter of my senior year, and I continued, like, went through partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient, and then outpatient, literally right until I went to college.
[00:15:52] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:15:53] Speaker C: One of the stipulations for coming here was that my parents basically made me sign a contract that said, when you go to school, we're gonna set you up with everything during Bama Bound and you're gonna see a therapist and Sheena, and if you don't stay doing this, then you're coming back home. So I met Sheena when I was at Bama Bound, I think, and then.
[00:16:18] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. Cause you came. It was during the summer, and I.
That can be a very typical situation in terms of having students that have been in their eating disorder recovery. They were in a higher level of care.
And then as a family, everybody's like, oh, my goodness, we're about to send her to school.
We need faces with names. We need to set this person up for success. And so I remember Izzy meeting you and your mom as one of the families that I got to meet that summer. And, you know, and obviously, that has been very important to me. And great that we have that connection so that you could be with today. And you know, thinking about your own recovery, do you feel like there have been moments during undergrad and even grad school where you've got to use your own experiences to give advice to others who have struggled in similar ways?
[00:17:08] Speaker C: Yeah, I think it's been. It's been a little bit of a roller coaster. I think one thing that really kept me going in my recovery was, like, always just being super open about it. Like, I knew that the minute I stopped living in secrecy was the minute that I then had other people holding me accountable for my actions. Like, one of the reasons I was able to, you know, be in such a bad place for so many years was the fact that no one knew.
So I knew I just had to be super open. So I think around my sophomore year was when I started lecturing in the addiction recovery classes.
And in those classes, it would be a lot more, like, symptom talk, stuff like that.
And then I did. When McCall Dempsey came and did Southern Smash, I was a panelist for that. But the past couple years, I haven't done as much just because of the pandemic, I think. But it's been really great to be able to. Especially now that I'm in classes with those people I used to lecture to. It's been really cool to see kind of like a direction line and effect of. You know, even if I've never. I mean, maybe. I don't know, but even if I've never, like, encouraged someone who's struggling to go get help, just even making people more aware of the fact, like, these are the signs to look out for stuff like that. Like, that in itself makes me really happy. And I've had a lot of people come up to me and tell me that, like, you know, it made them take a second look at their friend or maybe a family member or something and encourage them to go get help.
So even if you can just make, like, the smallest impact in that way, I think it's. Oh, yeah, it's made it all worth it.
[00:18:52] Speaker B: Well, I think sometimes, you know, when we're in different situations, we don't realize when we do speak out about something, whether we think it's big or small or whatever, like, how much we are impacting somebody. Because the fact that you had to, you know, be truthful and come out with all this and just be that way, that was kind of like your freedom to, like, keep going on the right track. And so, I mean, you just never know who's gonna hear a lecture or listen. Listen to the radio show right now and, like, Be struggling with something that nobody knows, or maybe people have picked up on some signs and things like that. But, yeah, I mean, I think it's great. And you sound super brave because being a freshman and coming to the University of Alabama and, you know, your parents, you know, helping you through all this, getting you hooked up with Sheena therapy and all that kind of stuff. I mean, there's just not a lot of younger, I guess, freshmen, sophomores that would even take that step, because there's the in quotations or whatever, the stigma of, like, how it looks and all this, which doesn't really matter, you know, but it.
I think people will hear what you have to say, and it just takes one little spark. And someone goes, well, if she is comfortable talking about it and she got help and UA has all these resources, well, then, shoot, maybe I should go get help, you know?
[00:20:11] Speaker A: Yeah. And, Izzy, in your recovery experience, do you feel like there have been some.
There's a lot of misconceptions about eating
[00:20:22] Speaker C: disorders, I think completely. I think one of, like, the ones that I will scream on the top of buildings until my head falls off, is that eating disorders come in literally every shape and size.
I don't think there was ever a time in my eating disorder history, even though I was purging five to six times a day for five years, where I ever looked like what you would consider, like, a stereotypical girl with an eating disorder to look like.
And I think a lot of the time, like, I've even had people cast doubt on if I'm, you know, being truthful with my story, because people just aren't used to. To seeing it in every shape and size.
And I think also when you're in recovery, that's one of the. Your body changes a lot. And so I think that in itself is just the biggest misconception about eating disorders.
[00:21:19] Speaker A: I agree. And one of the things that I was also thinking about in preparation for this show, in regards to misconception, is that I think sometimes people just think it's a situation where it's just dieting gone wrong. And it was always just based in, like, oh, this person wanted to go on a diet and look differently. Well, a lot of times.
And I think I even have to remind my nutrition students that work with me, too, that at the heart of it, at the end of the day, an eating disorder is a mental health disorder, and it can be an unhealthy coping mechanism for some type of trauma that has happened in our life. And so I think that's probably Izzy If I were to go on, like, a soapbox about misconceptions, I'd be like, it's not just about the dieting. I was like, there are some other things that are going there. So I. I think bringing awareness to that is always huge. Yeah.
[00:22:08] Speaker C: And.
Sorry, I completely lost my head, though.
I think also along with that is, oh, my God, I cannot pick up my train of thorn. I have no clue where I was going with that. Welcome to the radio.
[00:22:24] Speaker A: Did you have the same caffeine that I did?
[00:22:26] Speaker C: Honestly, I had a 32 ounce Red Bull.
[00:22:30] Speaker B: Hey. Just real talk. Well, hey, I mean, and maybe your thought will come back in a second, but, like, I'm kind of curious you. So what kinds of things can friends and family members of someone in recovery do or say that would be helpful? Because you've been through it and you said you kind of went kicking and screaming.
That's real. There might be some people that check themselves in. I need my help. This is what I need. Or there might be some that are maybe kind of in denial that other people see. But what kinds of advice or things can you give people?
[00:23:02] Speaker C: I think the biggest thing for me is that, you know, before I went into recovery, I had, like, a really difficult relationship with both of my parents. And one of the things that brought us so much closer over the years, and I have a great relationship with both of them now, is that they just.
From I knew to their core, they supported and loved me through it. And I think one of the things that can make it so hard, especially because, like I always say eating disorders are, like, one of the most. Most secret illnesses that you can have. It's literally like living a double life.
And so, like, there can be a lot of, like, resentment in relationships and a lot of, like, difficulty.
But I think just like, knowing that my family, like, to my core, I was at. I was probably the worst person I've ever been in my life at that time. And knowing that, like, they. I had their love and support regardless, made it okay for me to be honest about what was happening. And, like, I've never felt like. Like eating disorders are not linear. Like, anytime I've gone through a period where I'm struggling again, like, I now have never felt fear. And, like, being open with my mom if I'm really struggling because I know it's not gonna be like, an attack or, you know, something that she be disappointed in me in.
It was just the fact that they came with such a place of love, at least for me, that really, I mean, everyone's different. But for me, that was the most important thing, was that I knew that no matter what I had done, they were just there to help me and love me and get me back to.
[00:24:44] Speaker B: And they wanted you to be well and healthy and have a great life, so. Oh, yeah, totally.
[00:24:50] Speaker A: And I love that you had that experience. And I'm also appreciative of you acknowledging that sometimes there are individual that are not as lucky when it comes to what that social support looks like for them. And I know that in the times that I've served as a clinician on treatment teams for this, I always like having a good communicative relationship with the parents of the student, if it is an ideal situation, just so that I can kind of serve as that middleman for communicating how the parents can be a great advocate to their student because they can come from a place of love, but they still may not fully understand the eating disorder. So I love to be that person on behalf of my patients, where I'm like, hey, there may be some things that you say to your daughter, and it's going to be super encouraging on a Tuesday, but the nature of an eating disorder is you could say the same thing on Thursday, and it could be super triggering. Like, don't take it personal. That's just the nature of the eating disorder. And then, of course, instead of saying things like, oh, my gosh, Izzy, you look so healthy, because of course, eating disorder voice wants to screw up the word healthy.
Saying things like, you seem like you have a lot more energy. You seem really happy. You seem like you're interested in doing things with your friends again, versus it being so physical based. Would you agree with that?
[00:26:03] Speaker C: Oh, I completely agree. I think that was one of the hardest parts, at least with my family, was just changing our language about the way that we all talked about food and eating and even just complimenting each other instead of being like, oh, my gosh, you look so skinny today.
Changing it to something that's not as based. You're glowing. You look radiant. Whatever it may be. Bless my mom for she still.
[00:26:27] Speaker B: She.
[00:26:27] Speaker C: Literally every word that comes out of her mouth, she's so intentional with.
And I think that's, like, one of the most helpful things is that I know I always have someone who.
[00:26:37] Speaker A: I love that.
[00:26:38] Speaker C: Oh, my gosh, y'. All.
[00:26:40] Speaker A: Okay, we gotta take a break, but we have to continue this conversation. Y' all are listening to Fit to be tied with Sheena and Whitney on 90.7 the casting.
[00:26:51] Speaker B: Wvuafm Tuscaloosa.
Welcome Back. We are having an awesome conversation with Izzy. Not Lizzy. Cause I know you're probably getting the name confused with Lizzie over at the. No, where's Lizzie now? She's over at Safe Zone. Yes, I always get Lizzie mixed up with your Izzy. But anyway, we have just so many great people that we work with, and so I think sometimes we just, you know, are overwhelmed with joy and gratitude and multiple names come into our head.
[00:27:19] Speaker A: We just see so many awesome people.
[00:27:20] Speaker B: We do. Sheena, how's your caffeine doing?
[00:27:22] Speaker C: Are you good?
[00:27:23] Speaker A: It is good.
I am going down now, so that is good.
[00:27:26] Speaker C: Y.
[00:27:27] Speaker A: So to continue the conversation in all of this, and, you know, if you're just now joining us, we do have Izzy Quinn with us, who is a UA grad student, and she has been sharing her eating disorder recovery journey. And we had just talked about some of the things that friends and family can say to someone to be helpful during that recovery process.
But, Izzy, in your experience, like, what advice would you give to someone who says, hey, I'm really concerned about my friend. How can I talk them into to going to see someone professionally about this?
And have you had that experience where somebody has asked you about that?
[00:28:04] Speaker B: And how do you know? Because for me, I feel like working at the rec center. I see some tendencies in people where I see them multiple times a day, and I wonder if there is an issue, but sometime we might just be burning off some steam.
How do you know?
[00:28:20] Speaker C: I think that specifically has always been the hardest part for me. I've definitely. There have been many friends that.
Well, because obviously, as I was saying, I've been, like, super open about it. So a lot of people will come to me and, like, if they see one of our other friends struggling, like, I'm kind of the person they tend to go to. To ask, like, how do I see this? And the thing is, it's just so dependent on the person, too. Like, I know something.
Like, if you had said that to me When I was 17, 16 years old, I would have flown off the handle that you can say to, you know, someone who might have the same disorder but would be, like, totally receptive to it.
So I think it's just one of those things where you.
I always just say, like, really be careful. You're coming from a place of love and not a place of accusation. Because like I said, an eating disorder is like living a double life. And when someone.
If someone comes to you like that, you feel like your world is flipped. It is like exposed heart dropping to your stomach. Feeling. So whatever you say, as long as you're coming very clearly from a place of support rather than a place of accusation and we need to ship you off and whatever it may be, I think anything is gonna be better than nothing. And if you're not sure, it never hurts to say something like, I would always. There have been people where I've been like, hey, you know, I've noticed these things and I just want to tell you I'm here for you if you ever need to talk about this stuff. And they're like, it is literally not an issue, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.
[00:30:00] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, no. And I love that you give that advice of coming from a place of love and, you know, and even coming from that place of saying, hey, I am worried about you and not this accusatory like, oh, I knew you've been throwing up in the bathroom or you keep skipping meals with us, but really just that place of concern overall. And I think I've mentioned this on this show before, but I know that there have been several times during my time working at the student health center and for our colleagues that work in the counseling center where students will call and say, hey, we know that my sorority sister, she has like some kind of eating disorder. Can you call her and tell her she needs to make an appointment? And we have to explain to that person, we can't just cold call. Because for one, you know, if I were to get a call from someone, it's like, hey, I can't tell you who it is, but somebody knows that you're throwing up in the bathroom and you need to see me, that's not gonna set that person up for success. And so I think for the individual that does actually have a relationship with the person, they're concerned about having that very caring conversation, saying, I'm just, I'm worried, I'm stressed. I am willing to risk our friendship and me seeming like a paranoid weirdo in order to. To just have this conversation with you because I am so worried.
[00:31:17] Speaker B: You know what I mean?
[00:31:18] Speaker C: And I think also, I mean, there are so many resources on campus for exactly that. Like not to plug student care and well being, but it's kind of exactly what you do. Like if you're in the place where you really see a friend struggling and you really have no clue how to start that conversation. Like if you go on the Bama Carer's website, you can submit a student of concern report and then they can get connected with resources and have people kind of keep an Eye on it.
But I think it's a really scary conversation to start sometimes. But I have never once regretted starting that conversation. Even if I was wrong. I'd rather look a little overprotective than, you know, be seeing something and not saying it.
[00:31:59] Speaker A: Oh, yeah.
[00:32:00] Speaker B: So have you before, you know, if you've suspected and you've seen something or whatever and you've said something, has somebody felt relief almost that you kind of picked up on these things and they're kind of like, oh, I can actually like talk to you about. I can talk to somebody about this now.
[00:32:18] Speaker C: Yeah, I think directly in the exact moment. Maybe not.
I've never talked to someone who's just been like, yes, I'm struggling.
[00:32:27] Speaker B: Yes, take me.
[00:32:28] Speaker C: But you know, like, even. And I don't think it has to be like one big conversation. Even if it's just like little things over time. Like, hey, I noticed you've been like a little off lately. If you ever need anything, call me, I'm here for you. And then just making yourself, making them know that you're available to talk about that stuff. And honestly, not everyone is. And that's okay. Like, one of the biggest things I've learned in grad school is setting boundaries. There are some times when people come to me and I'm like, hey, I am not in the best mind to help you with this. But like, here's some other people, here's some resources.
[00:33:01] Speaker B: Well, there's also, you know, you still have to think and protect yourself and think a certain way. So sometimes you're not the best person to talk to somebody, you know, and so that's great having those boundaries and
[00:33:14] Speaker C: not to like backtrack a little bit. But I think that's another misconception. It's like, you know, just because I talk about it and stuff doesn't mean that like I woke up one day and was 100% magically cured, quit cold turkey, never happened again.
And I think that a lot of time it's easy to fall in the mindset of like, oh, now that I'm in recovery, I have to stay that way forever and I can never go and have any slip ups because I think that kind of sets you up for failure.
[00:33:43] Speaker A: No, and thank you so much for bringing that up because I think that when somebody is thinking about recovery for the first time, they have this fear or misconception that it is an all or or nothing situation. I think that eating disorder, thought process kind of naturally put somebody in that place. And I like to share with individuals That I think your recovery is really your ability to start recognizing your eating disorder thought process separate from your own personal thoughts and knowing when those are there and then having the ability to basically argue against those thoughts. And they're like, no, this is not the truth. Like, I know what this is. And also too, to remind individuals that regardless if someone has an eating disorder or not, we're all gonna have some bad body image days.
So I think to think like, oh, I'm recovered. I'm never gonna hate my body ever again. It's like, no, we can have some days of body dissatisfaction. So I feel like I gotta throw that out there too. And that's kind of a good segue. Just thinking about, you know, we've talked a lot about resources on campus and and I mentioned earlier on in the show that we have Body Appreciation Week starting tomorrow. And one of the great things about that is we have so many different campus partners that sponsor events to really raise awareness. So, you know, we're promoting positive body image, but then we're also creating some eating disorder awareness. And we're kicking off tomorrow. I know we have an event sponsored by the counseling center and university programs over in the great hall and at the student center that's gonna be a little bit of a tabling fair where we do have some of our campus partners. We're also going to have some coloring sheets that are like body affirmation type things.
And so we'll have that going on. I know that the Safe Zone Resource center is having their monthly meeting Cinnamon rolls, not gender roles. And the topic is loving our queer bodies and talking about just the eating disorder mindset and body image mindset within that community. We also have an event that is sponsored by the national alliance for Eating Disorders. And it's going, it's being co sponsored as well with Alabama Pan Hellenic association and the Greek programming board. And it's basically how to be a culture changer in a hashtag diet culture world. And so what's great is they are going to be talking about what is diet culture, what is positive and negative body image. But then they're also going to be bringing some very practical situations to light of how do you flip those conversations when you're getting ready with your friends for a swap or a date party and then you've got that friend in the group that starts body shaming themselves and then everybody feels like they've got to like say something negative about themselves too or it just kind of starts that domino effect effect. It's like, how do you flip that. Or what if you're that person that is in recovery and then everybody in your group text thread or in your group meet is talking about whatever diet they're going on for spring break. And Izzy, I can see your face right now. You're like, oh, my gosh, I have lived that life. Like, I hate that. And so a lot of those different things. And then, Whitney, you are actually ending our week with a bang.
Doing a gratitude of yoga session. Really kind of getting people in tune with their body. Tell us a little bit more about that.
[00:37:01] Speaker B: You know, when we kind of came up with this idea, I was already doing like a session with wellness and work life balance. Just because I think, first of all, a lot of people don't really know the healing power of yoga or the history of yoga or why it's still available to us. And I just like, really believe in the practice of it.
And, you know, it gives us a chance to take like a stop in the middle of the day to just bring awareness to ourselves. Now that could be pretty heavy for some people, like just being alone with your thoughts. I don't teach it that way. I'm very light hearted. I'm very. Let's just enjoy moving our bodies, getting our heart rates up just a little with some movement and just giving gratitude to ourselves and our bodies. Because I think sometimes, you know, we're so focused on how it looks, we forget how it serves us. We forget about the muscles and the bones and the joints that are, you know, intricately woven and we want to keep them strong. And so I kind of take a different approach to that yoga practice. But, yeah, I love for y' all to join me. If you've never done yoga before, it doesn't matter. Yoga's for everybody, so.
[00:38:02] Speaker A: No, I love that. And so with that, we've got to take a break, but we will be having our last segment. And Izzy, I hope you can stay with us for the end of the show. You guys are listening to Fit to Be Tied with Sheena and Whitney on 90.7 capstone.
[00:38:18] Speaker B: Wvuafm Tuscaloosa.
We're back. And once again, another amazing show. If you just started listening to us, we're at the end. So you need to go back and you need to probably re listen to some of the shows we've had in the past. But Izzy, thanks for being on our show today.
[00:38:37] Speaker C: Yeah, thank you for having me. This was really fun.
[00:38:39] Speaker A: Yes. And Sarah, so there's a question we're about to ask you that we have Been asking our guests from time to time this year. And so, you know, I feel like, especially with the pandemic and all the things, self care has become more prevalent. So in terms of self care, as a busy grad student, what does self care look like for you right now?
[00:39:00] Speaker C: Oh, you are totally asking the right person. I have a very detailed self care plan.
[00:39:05] Speaker B: What?
[00:39:05] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:39:05] Speaker B: Are you serious?
[00:39:07] Speaker C: Oh, yeah.
[00:39:07] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:39:08] Speaker C: It's like written out by. Listen, I'm a Virgo.
I am very detail oriented and planned.
It's one of, I always recommend it to people, especially when they start internships in grad school, to make yourself a self care plan of super attainable, attainable things. So for me, it's making sure that on certain days of the week, I'm making my lunch the night before and then just having it in the fridge ready to go so I don't have to worry in the morning or walking to my classes just because I know on Tuesdays I struggle to fit in time to get myself moving and that's a super easy way to do it. Or getting lunch with a friend once a week or hanging out and going, doing something fun, something like that. So I have super attainable goals.
[00:39:59] Speaker B: So you basically end your week, you have like plan out your self care. You're like, okay, I have to go to class, I have to go to work, I have to do homework, I have to get across campus. But within this, I'm gonna find ways to have like my social time, I'm gonna exercise, I'm gonna eat my meals, I'm gonna like plan it accordingly.
[00:40:16] Speaker C: And I have it like completely broken down. Like no, there's different goals. Like social goals, spiritual goals, psychological goals.
It's the best thing ever.
[00:40:27] Speaker B: Do you feel like because you've been over and so student care and well being, it's become more of a priority.
[00:40:33] Speaker C: Oh, 100%.
I always thought when people talked about getting burnt out, they were like, I was like, oh whatever, that'll never happen to me. I'm an intern.
And then the end of last semester hit and I was like, I can't come in anymore.
[00:40:47] Speaker A: Yeah, no, I love that. I literally feel like you gave some hashtag pro tips when it comes to self care and to show people that it can be very practical things. Like it doesn't have to be the situation where it's like, oh, I'm going to get a super expensive mani pedi every week or a bubble bath or whatever. It's just like, no, I think my self care is just making sure my Ish is together making sure I wash my hair. My week goes by smoothly. And that actually reminds me, and I may have shared this on the show before, but I do remember being with a student one time and she was showing me her planner, and I literally remember seeing a section of her planner where she had scheduled, like a five minute minute segment to just let herself just scream. And it had cuss words in it, but it was basically like, allow myself to blank I t c h about whatever. So it's like she was so busy that she didn't have time to, like, just normally complain throughout the day. She's like, okay, I'm gonna allow myself this five to 15 minutes to just, like, let myself be pissed at the world. And then I'm gonna go back to conquering.
[00:41:55] Speaker B: I think that's kind of interesting. Cause it kind of makes it kind of like, what is self care? I mean, we could do a whole show on this because, like, literally, you. We think that self care is like, I have to exercise. I have to eat healthy. Self care for me is like, can I just, like, put the office on and candy crush on my phone? Like, literally. That is so, like, relaxing and just gives me a second. And for her to just be like, I just need to cuss and I
[00:42:18] Speaker C: just need to scream.
[00:42:19] Speaker B: And then now I feel better. I think that's cool. I don't know. I like it a little cathartic. Yeah.
[00:42:24] Speaker A: Type stuff there for sure.
Now, Izzy, as we end this show, is there anything that you would want to just kind of share at the end in regards to eating disorders, encouraging people to get help if they have been, you know, kind of on the fence about it, or maybe even on the fence about talking to that person. They're concerned about, like, any kind of, like, words of wisdom there.
[00:42:47] Speaker C: I just think it's, like, super similar to what we were saying earlier. I think a lot of times, and you have that voice in your head, it can be super black and white.
And just to recognize that recovery is, like I said, it's not linear. It looks different for everybody. And the same way you should never compare your body to other people. You should never compare your recovery to other people.
And even just the smallest first step in a direction of even just looking into it is a huge act of
[00:43:17] Speaker A: self care, and it's a man. That is the sound bite to end this show on. Oh, my gosh, y'. All, Izzy Quinn, thank you so much for being with us. And thank you, listeners, for being with us this afternoon. You have been listening to fit to be tied with Sheena and Whitney on 90.7 capstone.
[00:43:35] Speaker B: Wvuafm tuscaloosa.
