Dear Readers,
I wanted to apologize for the gap in posting. I have been in an intensive treatment programme and have had little time to do much else. When you are ready for that part of your recovery, I encourage you to take the step to speak to your doctor and get a referral. Even if you aren’t ready to commit to the treatment itself, the assessment experience was eye-opening for me and I was provided with a number of resources and given the opportunity to choose what was best for me based on where I was in my recovery journey. I am graduating from the programme at the end of next week and look forward to a life free from symptoms as I continue to learn, to heal, and to grow.
Now, back to the blog.
This summer, Sheena’s Place held a group that exposed and assisted clients in grocery shopping and cooking. The group was facilitated by Sari and Corinne. Sari is a Food Technician at Toronto General Hospital, and Corinne is a Psychotherapist who has been facilitating groups at SP for a number of years. At the grocery store, Sari talked about how to pick fresh produce, how to look for the best price, and how to purchase ingredients that could be used in multiple recipes. She also discussed strategies for getting in and out of the store in ways that reduce anxiety and save money.
I asked one of the participants to share her experience. The group is continuing this season and hopefully will become a regular part of the Sheena’s Calendar. Thank you, Melissa, for taking the time to answer my questions and participate in the blog.
If you have a story you would like to talk about on the blog, and don’t feel confident, please contact me and we can set up an email or in person interview to help facilitate your process. You can email me at Kmccarthy@sheenasplace.org I look forward to hearing from you.
Remember to nourish your body, mind, and spirit,
Your blog moderator,
Kira
Cooking and Grocery Shopping
By Melissa
I chose to participate in the grocery shopping and meal preparation group for some exposure to the kitchen. I felt I would benefit from being around food preparation. I always enjoyed cooking and still I felt the kitchen was anxiety provoking. The group helped me look at being in the kitchen in a more positive light. The participants all had wonderful supportive ideas that I found useful in challenging my anxiety. The facilitators also helped me find ways to speed up my time in the kitchen so when I am feeling anxious it doesn’t feel as debilitating.
There was one particular recipe we learned that became an instant favourite of mine because it was quick, easy, inexpensive and enjoyable to make. [clients were provided copies of the recipes and encouraged to try cooking at home and to report back on the experience]
The community aspect of this group was amazing. I felt really supported. Having other people’s perspectives was insightful and I found myself constantly inspired. I would absolutely recommend this group to other people. The only stipulation would be that I believe it requires the participant to be at a place in their recovery where they feel they are ready to expose themselves to food discussions.
I cannot express enough how much I enjoyed this group and how deeply I believe it has benefited me.