Episode 70: Healing Body Image with Mary Jelkovsky

May 27

In this week's episode of Euphoric the Podcast, Karolina sits down with Mary Jelkovsky, Author of “The Gift of Self Love,” an advocate for eating disorder recovery, and champion for self love.

Mary uses her voice and personal recovery journey to inspire women around the globe to love themselves and their bodies in a fierce and powerful way. Through her book and social media platforms and website, Mary’s Cup of Tea, she creates love, acceptance and empowerment for all bodies and all people. We’ll explore intuitive eating, the core components of self-love, and the stigmas that exist in the spiritual wellness community.

We all heal differently. Find what works for you.

In high school, Mary was a ballet dancer and a bikini fitness competitor, where working out obsessively to obtain the perfect body was a regular part of her day to day routine. Though there was the glamorous side of competing like winning trophies, getting sponsorships, and flying around the country, deep down she was struggling with her body image, ultimately developing an eating disorder and binge eating in private. Getting clear about what would be most supportive for her, Mary decided to start fresh and move to Canada to begin her recovery and healing journey.

Recovery will look different for everyone. For Mary, this meant experiencing a new environment, surrounding herself with good friends and life coaches, and finding a community of like-minded people who were also on a recovery journey. Later, she began hosting intimate self-love retreats and sold a $4.99 eBook about body confidence on her website that later became the inspiration for her newly published book, The Gift of Self Love.

Life and recovery are not one size fits all. Tuning in to yourself and asking what you need will result in the best possible space for healing. Some tools you can try include meditation, residential treatment, medication, therapy, or hiring a nutritionist. Recovery is a process of changing negative patterns of thought and behavior and creating new positive ones. It doesn’t have to look a certain way, as long as it best supports you in living a flourishing, beautiful life.

Not all recovery is created equal.

Biases and descrimination toward marginalized groups exist everywhere, including the health and wellness industry. Stigma and judgement within the healthcare system leads to incomparable care for people of color and those outside of gender and sexual norms. This adds another barrier towards healing and recovery for marginalized persons.

Taking the time to learn and educate herself, Mary emphasizes the importance of a Health At Every Size mindset within the health community. She explains this as doctors, health professionals, and policy makers approaching a person's health and treatment without the stigma of weight.

It is so important for the healthcare system and professionals to educate themselves on different human experiences and the disproportionate access to adequate support and services for marginalized groups.

Have you ever felt judged based on what you ate or by the size of your body? Have you ever judged someone else for their body type? When health is viewed as a moral obligation, it leads to judgement of those living a different lifestyle. Two people can eat the exact same things, but their bodies can look vastly different. There’s an element of privilege that comes with eating right. For some, eating a hamburger at McDonald’s is the best they can do, whereas others may be able to afford premium supplements and order smoothies every day from their local juice bar.

As a society we have the power to shift into a more accepting and compassionate approach to health by educating ourselves and learning about health at every size.

The formula for self-love.

Mary shares the three core components to building a self love practice:

Self-Worth: A foundational, spiritual knowing of your innate value and worth

Self-Esteem: Having confidence in yourself. Building confidence is a practice, often rooted in building competence.

Self-Compassion: Being kind and loving toward yourself. Showing yourself grace and understanding.

When we break things down into smaller pieces and get clear about the specific areas we are struggling with, it becomes easier to take action steps. These action steps create new positive beliefs, breaking down unhealthy and unsupportive narratives. We all have the ability to learn self-love. Living an alcohol-free lifestyle or taking a break from drinking is an act of self-love, too! The beauty is that by living this way and strengthening our self-love muscles, we learn empathy and compassion to love and care well for others.

“When you're in recovery, everything is hitting you in the face. And it's so brave and courageous and admirable to keep going and growing through that... I think that's one of the most beautiful byproducts of recovery that we can all be proud of.”

LINKS/RESOURCES MENTIONED

Mary’s Cup of Tea

The Gift of Self Love, by Mary Jelkovsky

Find Mary on Instagram and Facebook

How To Take A Month Off and Feel Amazing - Free Guide

Follow Euphoric Alcohol-Free on Instagram

If you’re ready to unlock a new level of amazing in your life, get curious and explore what incredible mindset shifts a break from alcohol can bring. Join the FREE 5 Day Restart to change your thinking around alcohol so you can uplevel your entire life.

And as always, rate, review, and subscribe so we can continue spreading our message far and wide.