Case Study Teresa_Final

>> Hello. Welcome to this module's case study. Remember Teresa? Imagine that this is your sixth coaching session with her. Here are some notes from her last three sessions. Session number three, Teresa arrived to the session exhausted with a headache and indigestion. Though she was able to connect with her constant state of stress, Teresa struggled a bit with your stress cycle and eating connection exercise. She said that she's more of a spatial and big picture thinker. So instead, we mapped out her personal stress cycle in a different way. Teresa recognized that while she knew how lonely she felt, she didn't realize how much it affected her daily habits, particularly her eating and sleeping habits. She thought that she might be skipping meals as a way of staying in control at work. We explored her cravings for spicy food and how it might relate to her emotions. Session number four, Teresa shared that she feels a lot of pressure at work. As a news anchor, she constantly has to appear put together so she puts on a happy face even when she's tired and stressed, and she has a very hard time saying no. Teresa said that it reminds her of being in high school and trying to keep up with the popular crowd which she was always a part of. She said that working in media is a constant challenge for her in terms of body image. After trying the fitting in exercise, Teresa shared that she knew that her eating habits had something to do with her desire to fit into the ideal that everyone "expects me to be." She also shared that as a recent divorcee, she feels like a failure and hopeless in terms of finding love again. She states she's lost in general. Session number five, as a lover of communication and storytelling, Teresa liked the idea of brainstorming the eating story exercise. We started with the food language exercise, and Teresa wrote that, "Curbing my eating when I feel hungry is like running a marathon. I feel successful when I can wait until 3:00pm to eat." Teresa spent a long time with the eating story exercise, and she said that growing up, food was always abundant and finishing everything on your plate was applauded, even if that meant overstuffing yourself. On the other hand, Teresa's current female colleagues always watch what they eat. In terms of her ex-husband, Teresa said that she was the only one who cooked as he came from a very traditional family. In her most recent revisit form, Teresa recognized that she had received many mixed messages and biases about health which might explain why she feels so stuck. We'll return to Teresa again in a few weeks. After you finish Module 6, take a few minutes to return to this case study and try applying some of the material. We'll also provide more opportunity for you to reflect on this case study and support each other via the Facebook group. For now, think about the following two questions. What are some high-mileage questions that might help you in your next session with Teresa? What perspectives about health might keep Teresa stuck in her current habits and mindsets? Until next time.