Supporting Eating Disorder Recovery and Suicide Prevention in Colorado Springs
Earlier this year, Eat Breathe Thrive facilitator Hannah Childs led a community-based Eat Breathe Thrive course in Colorado Springs as part of our suicide prevention initiative funded by the Colorado Springs Health Foundation.
Hannah is a registered dietitian specializing in eating disorder treatment across PHP, IOP, and outpatient levels of care. In addition to her work with a virtual treatment center, she also runs a private practice supporting people in eating disorder recovery.
We spoke with Hannah about what drew her to the work, what stood out from her first course, and why community-based recovery support matters.
What made you want to become an Eat Breathe Thrive facilitator?
“I have found that working with individuals with eating disorders feels like a soul-level calling. Our relationship to food and our bodies is foundational in how we relate to others and experience our day-to-day lives.
When a friend let me know about the grant-funded opportunity to become an EBT facilitator, I knew almost immediately that the work Eat Breathe Thrive is doing felt in alignment with my own heart for supporting this population.
I am so passionate about walking with people through their recovery, because I think life is precious. It’s a gift to witness people reclaim their lives and expand their experience.”
How was leading your first course?
“Leading my first course was so lovely, and also an incredible opportunity for personal growth and interpersonal connection.”
One moment from the final session stood out in particular.
As part of the course service project, participants were invited to donate an item that represented letting go of harmful beliefs about their bodies. One participant chose to donate a skirt she had kept for almost three decades as motivation to return to the smallest version of herself.
“In sharing why she was choosing to let this skirt go, she said, ‘I was 27 when I last fit into this skirt. I’m 52 years old now. I’ve been pregnant and given birth twice over since then, and lived a whole life. I don’t need to expect my 52-year-old body to be the same as it was when I was 27.’
Despite her consistent negative thoughts about her body throughout the course, it was clear in this moment that she had begun to integrate the messaging of the program.”
Hannah also reflected on what she personally took away from the experience.
“I feel a deepened connection to myself in claiming my own leadership style, and recognizing who I am and how I like to lead.”
What do you hope participants come away from future courses with?
“I hope participants come away with a deepened connection to their bodies and hearts, and a stronger ability to trust their bodies and their intuition.
I feel so strongly that this is the foundation for continued personal growth, and ultimately for making the world a better place.”
Programs like this one are part of the Eat Breathe Thrive Foundation’s broader work to expand access to eating disorder recovery support in community settings, particularly for people who may otherwise struggle to access or engage with care.
Would you like to help bring a course like Hannah’s to another community? A $750 donation can fully fund a four-week Eat Breathe Thrive course like Hannah’s, bringing eating disorder recovery support directly into a community and covering the cost for participants to attend free of charge.