In this episode, Jessi is joined by former D1 volleyball player, Ted X speaker + mental health advocate, Victoria Garrick. Victoria shares her experience being a collegiate athlete and how this impacted her relationship with food + body. You will instantly fall in love with Victoria’s real, raw + relatable personality..she's the friend and hype women we all need! You’ll leave this episode feeling encouraged to cultivate compassion for yourself, challenged societal norms + more equipped to tackle the things that are weighing you down.   In this episode: Victoria shares her experience as a D1 collegiate volleyball player and how this impact her relationship with food + body When + how Victoria started experiencing mental health struggles Navigating body changes that came with being a collegiate athlete How Victoria developed performance anxiety and started binge eating How Victoria realized she was struggle with binge eating How Victoria finally worked up the courage to see a therapist and ask for help Victoria breaks down the stigma around mental health and normalizes asking for help How Victoria got picked to do a Ted X talk & began her work as a mental health advocate Victoria shares tangible tips that helped her with food, body image + mental health Victoria shares what ego work is and how she has incorporated it into her life Victoria shares how she always tries to meet herself with compassion How Victoria moved away from all-or-nothing, perfectionism, performative attitude to being able to laugh at herself and not take everything so seriously Victoria challenges and pushes back on society's standard of beauty Victoria shares how she stopped putting her appearance as the #1 priority How to release the unrealistic ideals to look a certain way Victoria opens up about what she is feeling most vulnerable with currently Victoria and Jessi share that they have both struggled with loneliness and female friendships Victoria shares about The Hidden Opponent, an advocacy group that raises awareness for student-athlete mental health   Links: Victoria’s Instagram Victoria’s Podcast Victoria’s Website The Hidden Opponent   Join me for The Food Freedom Online Program. This class is for those who know they want to improve their relationship with food and their body, but are afraid of spiraling out-of-control and want a proven, step-by-step system to go from feeling crazy around food to normal again!   You can either live your life at war with your mind or learn to work in sync with it. If you’re ready to work in sync with your mind and evolve your life, welcome to The Dear Body Podcast! Our mission is to help driven women have an easy and effortless relationship with food and unshakeable self-confidence in their own body. Make sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode & learn more about us here!