Pages of Interest to People with Eating Concerns

 A closed support group is one where the participants remain constant and registration closes after the first session. Space is limited to 12 individuals, allowing for greater group cohesion and trust development among participants.

Who the closed support group is for?
Hopewell’s closed support group is for individuals over the age of 17, who are struggling with anorexia, bulimia, binge eating or disordered eating. This group is facilitated by Adrienne Benson, MEd., CCC.

When:  Monday Evenings; September 20th - November 15th*; 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. (8 weeks) 
Where: Heartwood House, located at 153 Chapel St. (corner of Chapel & Rideau)

Cost: $40 (manual included)

What is the female athlete triad?

The female athlete triad is a disorder that has three parts. It affects

(1) your eating habits,
(2) your menstrual periods and
(3) the strength of your bones.

Bridging the Gap is a mentoring project that is being run in Ottawa to help support youth and young adults who are transitioning from eating disorder therapy/treatment back into their daily lives. The program involves the mentor and mentee getting together on a biweekly basis over a six-month period.

Mission Statement

To offer those who are struggling with an eating disorder the opportunity to be heard and supported by someone who is a role model and friend. The program's goal is to support recovery by bridging the gap between being in therapy and/or treatment and the reality of daily living.

Objectives:

1) Pairing individuals with mentors who know what it's like to live with an eating disorder

2) Providing individuals with a safe place (e.g., fun outings and activities) to explore who they are outside of their eating disorder

3) Eliminating some of the stress associated with relationships and school/work by shifting individual's focus to the things in their life that are going well.

We are currently looking for mentees who:

• are between the ages of 13 and 30 (exceptions made depending on mentors available)
• have recently received treatment OR are currently seeing a counsellor/therapist
• are tired of struggling with disordered eating
• want to do some fun things that will get you excited about life
• would like to meet a young adult who has recovered from an eating disorder

Contact jamie.hurst@hopewell.ca for more information or call Jamie at 613-241-3428

We are currently looking for mentors who:

• are between the ages of 20 and 35
• have recovered from an eating disorder for a minimum of 2 years
• want to be a role model for someone that is struggling with an eating disorder

Please fill out our Volunteer form

Bridging the Gap is inspired by the Now What? youth program run by Awareness and Networking Around Disordered Eating (A.N.A.D.) of Vancouver, B.C.

  Click here to donate

Body Image

Body image is the mental picture you have of your body

• what it looks like,
• what you believe about it, and
• how you feel about your body.

Self-esteem is the "real" opinion you have of yourself,

Binge Eating Disorder (BED)

Individuals with binge eating disorders eat excessive amounts of food at one time. They do this for two reasons:

· They are very hungry because they have been dieting or restricting their eating in some way. The binge is a response to that hunger.

· They over-eat to comfort themselves, to avoid uncomfortable situations, or to numb their feelings. The binge is an attempt to soothe themselves emotionally.

Main features of bulimia nervosa:

Main features of anorexia nervosa are

· a refusal to maintain body weight over a minimum normal weight for age and height;
· weight loss of 15 per cent or more of ones original body weight;
· an intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat; fear that weight gain is out of ones control;
· distorted body image;
· loss of menstrual periods;
· dietary restriction;

We invite you to become a Hopewell Angel, an important Hopewell donor. If you are already an Angel, don't forget to renew your status with an annual donation. Donations are cumulative allowing you to move up an Angel level by making up the difference from last year's amount. 

The program consists of 4 levels of recognition for annual support in the following amounts:

 
Bronze Angel $250 - $999
Silver Angel $1,000 - $2,499
Gold Angel $2,500 - $4,999
Diamond Angel $5,000 +