Skip to main content
Be Yourself. Happy. Healthy. Hopeful.

Be Yourself. Happy. Healthy. Hopeful.

By BANA

This podcast was created through a collaboration between a Ph.D student from University of Windsor, Sara Santarossa, and a local not for profit, The Bulimia Anorexia Nervosa Association (BANA) in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Hosted by health promoter, Stephani Fenkanyn, we explore topics related to health, mental wellness and creating a happy, healthy & hopeful life full of opportunities for yourself.
Available on
Apple Podcasts Logo
Castbox Logo
Google Podcasts Logo
Overcast Logo
Pocket Casts Logo
RadioPublic Logo
Spotify Logo
Currently playing episode

Episode #19 - Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2023: A chat about lived experience, accessing support and recovery with writer and blogger Chloë Grande

Be Yourself. Happy. Healthy. Hopeful.Jan 31, 2023

00:00
47:31
Episode #19 - Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2023: A chat about lived experience, accessing support and recovery with writer and blogger Chloë Grande

Episode #19 - Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2023: A chat about lived experience, accessing support and recovery with writer and blogger Chloë Grande

It’s Eating Disorders Awareness Week (EDAW) 2023!

On this episode, BANA Health Educator, Stephani Fenkanyn chats with Canadian mental health blogger, writer and speaker Chloë Grande.

Chloë Grande (she/her) is a communications specialist turned eating disorder recovery writer, speaker, and blogger. After an anorexia relapse at the start of the pandemic, she began blogging about her eating disorder recovery to help create a sense of community for other eating disorder survivors. The blog has since grown into a full-time business where she works alongside leading mental health organizations and facilitates body image workshops at universities and colleges across Ontario. Learn more about her work online: www.chloegrande.com. Follow along at: @ChloSheGrows on Instagram and Twitter.

In this podcast, Stephani and Chloë discuss this year’s EDAW theme, Transforming Asks to Action. Chloe shares about her own passed lived experience living with an eating disorder, as well as being a young athlete and being in sport culture. We get into contributing factors that Chloe can now look back on and understands how they may have impacted the development of her eating disorder. She discusses her passion for working with post-secondary institutions and the importance of bringing more services to this population. Chloë shares about accessing support and what treatment looked like for her. We discuss healthy coping mechanisms and how it is normal to have bad body image days. We also touch on future plans for Chloë’s business and what keeps her inspired to continue to do this work.

Jan 31, 202347:31
Episode 18: Talking Trans Wellness with Registered Social Worker, Juliana Simon, from Trans Wellness Ontario

Episode 18: Talking Trans Wellness with Registered Social Worker, Juliana Simon, from Trans Wellness Ontario

On this episode, BANA Health Educator, Stephani Fenkanyn chats with Registered Social Worker, Juliana Simon (she/her), from Trans Wellness Ontario (TWO). TWO is a community mental health organization within Windsor-Essex whose mission is to enhance and sustain the health and wellness of Transgender, Genderqueer, Two-Spirit, Non-Binary, Queer and Questioning communities and their families.

Juliana is a social worker at TWO and conducts assessments for new clients, facilitates health outreach and provides individual counselling for members of the Trans* community and their partners. In her studies at the University of Windsor, she completed a Bachelors of Social Work and Women’s and Gender Studies. Juliana notes that this is where her love for activism and advocacy flourished. As a member of the community, Juliana is extremely proud of the work she does at TWO and is happy she can now offer services that were not accessible to herself or to other loved ones who have experienced similar challenges.

In this episode, Stephani and Juliana discuss Juliana’s role, as well as the services offered at TWO and which are most heavily utilized by their clients. They get into the type of education TWO provides to other organizations and the importance of a safe space in health care for members of the Trans* community. Stephani asks Juliana to describe some of the terminology that is used and why it is important to be considerate of one’s pronouns. They also touch upon the unique considerations that pertain to the Trans* community as it relates to body image issues.

To learn more about how you get involved and to educate yourself, please visit www.transwellness.ca. Follow Trans Wellness on social media at: @transwellnessontario

Oct 06, 202101:04:53
Episode 17: Learning more about Nutrition with BANA’s Registered Dietitian, Nicole Boulanger
Jul 06, 202156:22
Episode#16 – Thriving Under Pressure and Turning Self-Criticism into Self-Compassion with Dr. Andrea Dinardo

Episode#16 – Thriving Under Pressure and Turning Self-Criticism into Self-Compassion with Dr. Andrea Dinardo

BANA Health Educator, Stephani Fenkanyn connects with psychology professor, TEDx speaker, and former school psychologist, Dr. Andrea Dinardo.

Dr. Andrea Dinardo is a psychology professor, TEDx speaker, and former school psychologist who applies positive psychology to facilitate personal growth and transformational change. Her psychology blog and TEDx Talk (both called Thriving Under Pressure) were created in response to rising levels of student stress and anxiety. The purpose of both is to help individuals and groups develop coping skills in interactive, educational, and uplifting ways.

Dr. Dinardo received her M.A. and Ph.D. in Psychology from Western University. Afterwards, she completed the post-doc internship and exam requirements of the College of Psychologists to become a fully registered psychologist (C. Psych.) in the province of Ontario, Canada.

As a registered psychologist specializing in school and counselling psychology, Dr. Dinardo spent 18 years working with students, educators, and their families. She retired her psychologist practice in 2016 to dedicate more time to psychology teaching, speaking, and writing.

In this episode, Stephani and Dr. Dinardo speak about what positive psychology is, turning your perceived flaws into strengths by moving from self-criticism to self-compassion, posttraumatic growth and how adversity can be beneficial to us, boundaries around social media use, the magic of prevention work and maintaining hope.

To learn more about Dr. Dinardo, book a presentation and access her work, visit her website: www.dr.andreadinardo.com, or check her out on one of her social media listed below:

· YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/c/DrAndreaDinardo

· IG: @Dr.Andrea.Dinardo

· Twitter: @DrADinardo

· LinkedIn Company: Positive Psychology Talks

Mar 15, 202101:06:28
Episode 15: Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2021: Raising Awareness and Encouraging Advocacy with Ary from NEDIC

Episode 15: Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2021: Raising Awareness and Encouraging Advocacy with Ary from NEDIC

Eating Disorders Awareness Week (EDAW) runs annually each February from the 1st to the 7th. EDAW has been commemorated across Canada since 1988 by established eating disorder organizations, education and public health institutions, and concerned members of the public. It draws attention to the causes, prevalence and impact of eating disorders. Traditionally, organizations around the country host local events, light notable landmarks in the colour purple, and engage in public education campaigns in an effort to raise awareness of eating disorders.

Today, for our special EDAW episode of the podcast, Stephani chats with Ary Maharaj. Ary is the Outreach and Education Coordinator at the National Eating Disorders Information Centre, or NEDIC, based out of Toronto. A secondary area of Ary’s work, outside of his role at NEDIC, is providing counselling and group therapy in his community.

NEDIC provides information, resources, referrals and support to Canadians affected by eating disorders through their toll-free helpline and instant chat. NEDIC’s outreach and education programming focuses on the awareness and prevention of eating disorders and is available online across Canada and in-person in the Greater Toronto Area.

Ary and Stephani discuss, what is eating disorders awareness week, some myths and misconceptions associated with eating disorders, changes that could be made within our health care system in order to improve eating disorder care, how far we need to go when it comes to eating disorder prevention and how we get there, and all ither things eating disorder awareness and advocacy!

For more information on NEDIC or to reach out for help through their toll-free number or instant chat, please visit: www.nedic.ca.

To learn more about what BANA has planned for EDAW 2021, please visit: www.bana.ca/edaw, or check out our social media @banawindsor.

Feb 01, 202101:04:01
Episode 14: Happy Holidays From BANA! Managing an Eating Disorder During the Holiday Season

Episode 14: Happy Holidays From BANA! Managing an Eating Disorder During the Holiday Season

In this episode, BANA Health Educator, Stephani Fenkanyn, sends holiday wishes to all of our listeners. She updates you on what we have in store for our next episode which will be released the week of February 1st-7th for Eating Disorder Awareness Week 2021.

Stephani is also joined for a short episode by her fellow health educator at BANA, Marisa Casey. They provide some considerations and tips to help one manage an eating disorder during the holiday season.

To stay up to date with what we have in store for Eating Disorder Awareness Week 2021, please continue to follow us on social media at @banawindsor. We look forward to connecting with you in the New Year!

Dec 09, 202016:26
Episode #13: Viewing Mental Health from a New Perspective with Frank Renaud

Episode #13: Viewing Mental Health from a New Perspective with Frank Renaud

BANA Health Educator, Stephani Fenkanyn connects with former CFL footballer and mental health advocate, Frank Renaud.

Frank Renaud speaks very openly and candidly about how he has been dealing with mental health struggles throughout his whole life. He was first diagnosed with anxiety and depression in high school, and then after a manic episode in 2018, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Frank describes himself as a journey man and now views his mental health diagnoses as a gift. Frank was linebacker who played at the University of Windsor and then professionally with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger Cats. After two knee injuries, his football career came to an end and he played his last game in 2018.

Frank and Stephani discuss viewing the mental health spectrum as more neutral, the evolution of your own self-care practices, what is a ‘self-care soup’ and how energy plays a role in elevating your mood. They talk about how the ego aims to protect us against being vulnerable, facing and questioning our own conditioning, the importance of listening to understand as a caregiver and being of service to self before taking care of others. The conversation continues to cover how we are wearing masks on social media and how the online environment perpetuates fear and lack-based feelings, and they finish by touching upon the power of self-love.

To learn more about Frank, follow him on social media at @frankeyrenaud.

Nov 09, 202001:02:26
Episode #12: Learning About Eating Disorder Treatment at BANA with Registered Social Worker, Sara Dalrymple
Sep 28, 202001:06:21
Episode #11: Exploring Intuitive Eating, Disordered Eating and Enjoying It All with Sarah Berneche
Aug 24, 202046:24
Episode #10: An athlete’s perspective on caring for your mental health during life transitions.
Aug 04, 202042:46
Episode #9: Using Movement, Gratitude and Being Aware of Your Energy to Enhance Your Mental Health
Jul 21, 202039:19
Episode #8: Being Real & Raw Online and Embracing the Sour Parts of Life

Episode #8: Being Real & Raw Online and Embracing the Sour Parts of Life

BANA Health Educator, Stephani Fenkanyn sits down with local content creator and podcaster, Sierra Parr from Lemon Soul Studios.

Together, they discuss Sierra’s vision for her online platform which place an emphasis on authenticity and being a ‘lemon soul’ by embracing the sour parts of life. Sierra discusses how she aims to demonstrate that emotional lows are a normal part of being a human, how she has come to embrace failure, as well as, her strategies for moving through fear and living life fully by trying new things. Sierra is also candid and honest in sharing her own body image struggles, how it still needs work and is in constant evolution. We love the role model Sierra is in the online world and admire her honesty and realness!

You can learn more about Sierra and follow along in her Lemon Soul journey at @lemonsoulstudios on Instagram and find her podcast ‘Lemon Soul’ on all platforms where you find your favourite podcasts.

Jun 22, 202052:27
Episode #7: Mental Health Challenges during COVID-19
May 25, 202052:55
Episode #6: Being a Positive Influencer for Today’s Youth

Episode #6: Being a Positive Influencer for Today’s Youth

BANA Health Educator, Stephani Fenkanyn sits down with positive influencer to youth, community disability and mental health worker, pole dancing teacher and Veg Out business owner, Mackenzie Kovaliv.

Together, they discuss how she developed her vegan meal company, work she’s done with underprivileged youth in Windsor, the importance of being authentic on social media, diet fads that exists, body based bullying and her own relationship with her body, food and physical activity.

You can learn more about Mackenzie and follow her journey on Instagram at @mackenziegetsfit or @vegoutwindsor.

Apr 27, 202001:03:19
Episode #5: Supporting girls through healthy active living

Episode #5: Supporting girls through healthy active living

BANA Health Educator, Stephani Fenkanyn sits down with physical education teacher, guidance counsellor, coach and mother, Christine Hamel-Fuerth. Christine attended BANA’s Being a Positive Influencer On and Offline workshop back in October of 2019.

Together, they discuss how social media has altered the lives of high school students, being a mentor and building confidence in young girls, how sport can play a role in building a positive body image and boundaries around social media use in the home and in school.

Apr 14, 202033:44
Episode #4: Male Athletes, Masculinity & Role Modelling
Mar 23, 202052:09
Episode #3: Promoting Positive Body Image In Our Community

Episode #3: Promoting Positive Body Image In Our Community

Episode #3: Promoting Positive Body Image In Our Community

BANA Health Educator, Stephani Fenkanyn sits down with fellow health promoter and mom of twins, Marisa Casey. Together, they discuss the work they do in the community in promoting mental health, positive body image and self-esteem. They touch upon disordered eating, mental health services, their own relationships with food and their bodies and external pressures put upon young people in our society.

Mar 09, 202047:50
Dianne Bondy - Learning To Love Your Body
Jan 31, 202001:00:35
Sara Santarossa - Media for Moms & Daughters

Sara Santarossa - Media for Moms & Daughters

BANA Health Educator, Stephani Fenkanyn sits down with University of Windsor Ph.D student, Sara Santarossa to discuss the finding of her research as it relates to the mother and daughter social media relationships, and how it affects their body image and self-esteem.

Jan 31, 202001:02:44