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this article put out by
The Mighty highlighting the top 5 ways YOU can get involved in Eating Disorder Awareness Week 2016! Check it out below and get involved:
It’s National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, which means it’s time
to speak up. Speak up to prevent eating disorders. Speak up for people
who are currently struggling with eating disorders. And more
importantly, listen: Listen to the stories of people who live with
eating disorders, and encourage those who need that extra push to seek
the help they deserve. Talking about eating disorders, not just this
week but every week, could encourage people to seek help sooner, and
literally save lives.
Here are some ways to get involved:
1. Get screened or encourage a loved one to get screened.
It takes only three minutes to complete the
confidential online screening
for eating disorders, which helps determine if it’s time to seek
professional help. Getting screened is important because early
intervention matters. According to the National Eating Disorder
Association,
intervening during the early stages
of an eating disorder can significantly increase the likelihood of
preventing the onset of a full-blown eating disorder. If you’re worried
about a loved one or yourself, take three minutes. It’s worth it.
2. Challenge the “thin ideal.”
Most people — eating disorder or not — have been taught to believe thin equals good. According to a 2010 poll, almost
nine in 10 American teenage girls
say they feel pressured by the fashion and media industries to be
skinny. The National Eating Disorder Association suggests to help combat
the “thin ideal,”
challenge the false belief
that thinness, weight loss and/or muscularity are desirable, while body
fat and weight gain are shameful or indicate laziness or worthlessness.
Be critical of the
media you consume, and don’t judge others based on their body weight.
3. Watch your language.
Pay attention to how you talk about your own weight or about the
weight of others. What may seem like a passing comment (“I feel
so fat today!” “I would die to be that skinny.”) can be triggering for someone living with an eating disorder.
Educate yourself
about healthy ways to talk about eating and food — even if you don’t
have an eating disorder, you’ll benefit from a viewpoint about food that
isn’t shaped by the “thin ideal.”
Project HEAL is
using the hashtag #RecoveryIs to spread awareness about eating disorder
recovery. The pictures from this campaign prove recovery is possible,
and send messages of hope to anyone who isn’t quite there yet.
#WhatMakesMeBeautiful is spreading body positivity, celebrating what
truly makes people beautiful.
5. Talk about eating disorders — and push for action.
National Eating Disorder Awareness Week is about spreading stories,
but also about educating others about what the eating disorder community
needs. The scary reality is that
only one in 10 people with eating disorders receive treatment, and for those who do get treatment, it
can be difficult to get insurance coverage. The National Eating Disorders Coalition found in a
survey of 109 eating disorder specialists
around the country, nearly all believed their patients with anorexia
are put in life threatening situations because of early discharge due to
lack of coverage. If you don’t see the seriousness in that, consider
this: Anorexia nervosa has the
highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder.
Men are also often left out of the eating disorders conversation.
According to the National Eating Disorder Association’s website, eating
disorders “
have been characterized as ‘women’s problems’ and men have been stigmatized from coming forward.”
Minorities and adults also are hurt from the stereotype that eating disorders only affect young, white women.
Conversation is just the beginning. For more information about National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, visit
NEDA Awareness. To help make eating disorders
a public health priority in the United States, visit the Eating Disorders Coalition and get involved.
