National Eating Disorder Awareness Week
When I started this blog, I wanted to not only provide outside resources for my clients and the public, I wanted to also use this as a platform for awareness issues that some of my clients and loved one’s face. February 25th through March 3rd marks National Eating Disorder Awareness Week. This year’s theme is focused on “Come as You Are”. This is also something that I hope all my clients to do when they enter my room.
Most people believe that eating disorders are about food and weight gain/loss. There is so much more to them than that. This issue has many layers and I can tell you that deep down its not about the weight, its not about the bread. Its about self-esteem. It is about all the little rules you have created for yourself about food and why they are there. Its about control. This can be life threatening and those suffering and fighting every day with this battle know that. They fight every day to live with their condition. They fight to take that last bite that they fear is going to destroy everything they have built. Living this way is exhausting. Fear is exhausting.
How did (insert name) get this way? Well that’s a hard answer because well, the world we live in isn’t always the greatest. Yes, the media plays a role. How could we ever ignore that? Men and women are surrounded by advertising and promises of weight loss. These ads are based on the notion that if you pay 7 payments of $39.99 for our magic beans you will lose weight, find love, be wanted, be desired, and you won’t be alone forever. Every woman is supposed to be Kendal Jenner and every man is supposed to be Channing Tatum. This is just one example. There are many other reasons for this such as, a way to take control of past trauma, a way to finally be better than someone you believe to be more talented, early messages from family regarding food and dieting, addiction, the culture you live in (dancers, performers, etc), pressure from friends, etc. I could go on for days.
This little blog post could never get through all the ways, reasons, and treatments, available. I also don’t want you to use this as a quick recovery fix all. That would be negligent. This is just to get you to think about taking the next step. I want to provide you will a list of resources for you to learn about these disorders, how to support loved ones going through it, and if you are someone who thinks they might need help this list can get you started. I also encourage you to find a therapist who specializes in this and go see a doctor to make sure your physical health does not need intervention. I hope that bringing awareness to these issues can help you or someone you love to get through this. Its not easy but I promise it is so worth it.
Here are some resources to get you started:
National Eating Disorders Association
https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/
Eating Disorder Hope
https://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/
Eating Disorder Hope Recovery Book List
https://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/recovery/books
List of National Eating Disorder Organizations for US and Canada
https://www.mirror-mirror.org/natorg.htm