Episode 24 - Untangling health, thinness and external validation with Aurélie Montenair

In this episode, Nicola and Florence welcome Aurelie Montenair. Raised in France where most girls start dieting at 8, Aurelie went on her first diet as an 18 year old. She tells us about her descent into full-blown orthorexia and HA, and what it took to deconstruct many of the beliefs about body size, health and women she had internalised since childhood.  Together we explore European culture when it comes to thinness, health and fatphobia, control and denial, and also why girls and women are raised to believe that their appearance and getting external validation from others is the most important thing to nurture.Aurelie's story takes many twists and turns, and then she talks about her recovery too, why community mattered so much for her to stay strong and the process of unlearning that accompanied getting her periods back.You can follow Aurelie via @auremtrTo find support in your HA recovery:Get the "No Period. Now What?" book at noperiod.info/book.To join the NPNW Support group, please visit noperiod.info/supportTo make an appointment with Dr Rinaldi and get individual support to get your period back or improve your fertility, please go to noperiod.info/appointmentsTo make an appointment with Florence Gillet and get help with the body and mind changes happening in recovery please visit www.beyondbodyimage.comYou can find us on social mediaNo Period, Now What? on InstagramBeyond Body Image on FacebookBeyond Body Image on InstagramAmenorrhee_fr  (HA recovery 100% in French) on InstagramEmail us  via [email protected] you enjoyed this podcast and found it helpful, please drop us a rating and a review to help more people find it. Editing by Steven WorlowOriginal Music by the Andy Shulman Band "Lost & Found" available on Spotify.