Trigger Warning! This episode contains mention of weight stigma and calories, which could be difficult to listen to if you are in the midst of recovery.
In this episode, Nico and Florence chat with Shanta Gyanchand, one of the No Period, Now What support group admins, who is also a psycho-sexual therapist, about her own recovery story and fertility journey, spanning over many years and continents.
With Shanta we spoke about how people identifying as females experience the pressure to be perfect, and to always say yes, but also to cater to the male gaze.
Shanta also mentioned the Minnesota Starvation Experiment, and that our brain requires 30% of our total energy expenditure.
Nicola explained that low AMH in itself doesn't indicate low fertility (more on this here).
Shanta shared that to help her recover, she needed to face the fear of weight gain. She did so by getting professional help that truly understood ED behaviors, starting a self-care routine, considering new morning rituals to replace exercising and work with self-affirming questions, not self-affirmations. Shanta revealed that her biggest take away from HA recovery was to never restrict herself in any way, but also to become a better advocate for gender equality, and a better feminist.
If you are looking for anti-diet, fat-positive therapists for ED recovery, please look into
Association for Size Diversity and Health
www.cbte.co
National ED Association (US)
BEAT ED (UK)
The Butterfly Foundation (Australia)
The Middle East Eating Disorder Association
To find support in your HA recovery:
Get the "No Period. Now What?" book at noperiod.info/book.
To make an appointment with Dr Rinaldi and get individual support to get your period back or improve your fertility, please go to noperiod.info/appointments
To make an appointment with Florence Gillet and get help with the body and mind changes happening in recovery please visit www.beyondbodyimage.com
You can find us on social media
No Period, Now What? on Instagram
No Period, Now What? Recovery Support Group
Beyond Body Image on Facebook
Beyond Body Image on Instagram
Amenorrhee_fr (HA recovery 100% in French) on Instagram
Email us via allin@noperiodnowwhat.com
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Editing by Steven Worlow
Original Music by the Andy Shulman Band "Lost & Found" available on Spotify.