Contact: Sasha Steinberg
STARKVILLE, Miss.—Best-selling author Jenni Schaefer will share her inspirational story of recovery from a variety of mental health issues, including anxiety, depression and perfectionism, during a Monday [April 8] lecture at Mississippi State.
The university’s Department of Health Promotion and Wellness, Student Counseling Services, and Pi Beta Phi and Phi Mu sororities are co-sponsoring the free 7:30 p.m. event at Humphrey Coliseum.
Schaefer’s talk will include a discussion on healing from disordered eating and negative body image, as well as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Currently residing in Austin, Texas, Schaefer has earned an international reputation by sharing her message of self-acceptance and triumph over adversity with a variety of audiences, including students, teens, corporate leaders and mental health professionals.
After graduating summa cum laude from Texas A&M University with a degree in biochemistry, Schaefer planned to attend medical school. She instead decided to relocate to Nashville for pursuit of a singing and songwriting career, but then dealt with the devastating consequences of an eating disorder that nearly derailed everything. She chronicles her journey of overcoming the disorder in her breakthrough best-seller “Life Without Ed: How One Woman Declared Independence from Her Eating Disorder and How You Can Too (McGraw-Hill).” The book recently was re-released in a 10th-anniversary edition and audiobook.
Schaefer is chair of the Ambassadors Council of the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) and a recipient of the organization’s Westin Family Award for Excellence in Advocacy and Activism. She also is a member of the International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals, the Academy of Eating Disorders, and the International Society for the Study of Traumatic Stress. She is working on a book about fighting through PTSD. For more, visit www.jennischaefer.com.
Kim Kavalsky, mental health outreach coordinator for the Department of Health Promotion and Wellness, said anxiety and depression are two of the most common issues affecting college students. She said the goal of Schaefer’s presentation is to remind audience members in similar situations that they are not alone and to empower them to discover a happier and more fulfilled life.
“I believe this is an incredible opportunity for our campus community to gain a better understanding of mental health issues, decrease stigma associated with help seeking, and connect with valuable resources,” Kavalsky said. “A big focus of the work I do is to share with students that they do not have to struggle alone and encourage them to reach out to others for help. We hope the audience will come away from the presentation with greater knowledge on how to help themselves as well as others in their lives.”
For more information, contact Kavalsky at 662-325-3158 or kkavalsky@saffairs.msstate.edu.
Learn more about MSU’s Division of Student Affairs and its Department of Health Promotion and Wellness at www.saffairs.msstate.edu and www.health.msstate.edu/health.
MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.