I’ve been fascinated with weather since I was a kid. During a classic Chicagoland winter storm, I’d run outside with a ruler and fake microphone in hand to provide live weather reports from the backyard. This was often to an audience of one, our golden retriever Butterscotch.
My favorite book was Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs. Most kids have fantasy lands consisting of dragons, castles, or unicorns. My dream destination was the town of Chewandswallow!
And my favorite movie was, you guessed it, Twister! I’ll never forget going to my friend Kelly’s birthday party to see it in theaters. I was left in total awe and couldn’t wait for the VHS to come out. Yes, I’m that old!
I watched The Weather Channel not The Disney Channel. I chased storms, not romance, once I got my driver’s license. This interest in weather has grown deeper over the years.
That’s why I’m excited for the opportunity to combine my love of weather with my passion for mental health and eating disorder awareness.
I’m proud of everything I’ve accomplished with Orthorexia Bites and will continue to work hard to ensure everybody knows about the condition that nearly cost me my life. But just like the weather, sometimes it’s time for a change in seasons.
As wild as it sounds, storm chasing is a mindful activity for me and one that has helped on my healing journey. I’ve incorporated this passion into many of my talks and have seen first-hand how it actually breaks through the stigma and allows others, especially men, to hold genuine conversations on mental health.
The most important part of a storm chase for me is to ensure others are safe and warned. I spent a long time chasing storms, while trying to run from my own. Having experienced an eating disorder, anxiety, OCD, and PTSD I’ve seen and felt the damage mental storms can cause.
Advanced forecasting and warning systems have saved countless lives from the destruction of nature’s storm. I believe storytelling and peer support can have the same effect when it comes to the mental storms many of us face at some point in our lives. That’s why I’m sharing my story.
Mental health and eating disorder awareness remain my top priority and this rebrand will not change that. Incorporating my passion for weather and storm chasing will simply bring a new layer and reach to the awareness while hopefully provide for some great content and pictures along the way.
I look forward to the next chapter in this journey together at Mental Storm Warning and thank you for your ongoing support of this mission!