February 27th

This year is no different for the unawareness people have for eating disorders. I can sit and talk to my fellow strugglers about how frustrating it is that people are so ignorant to this grave disease. We, as a community, would like to tell people a few things about eating disorders. Correct things. The way we feel, think, react, and so on with this disease. NOTE:What I am about to say does not pertain to every single person that struggles. They are just generalizations and if you know someone who does have an eating disorder, talk to them about their specific needs because they are and will be different than everyone’s. 

1. This is not something we can control having. We were born with this disease. Environment is the bullet, situation is the trigger.

2. This is not a condition or a phase. Sure, things can get better and we can maintain the use of behaviors and begin to take care of our bodies and minds properly, but it is very possible that we can relapse. Multiple times.

3. Be patient with us. We’re doing the best we can to get better.

4. If it were just about the food, then recovery would be a lot easier. Its not about the food, its about the core issues and food is just how we control our emotions.

5. Telling us to “just eat” is kind of insulting. If we could “just eat” then we wouldn’t have an eating disorder, now would we?

6. Defining us as an anorexic, bulimic, or over eater is rude. We are a person struggling with an eating disorder. Get it right and stop using those terms. We are people. You wouldn’t call someone with AIDS a blood cell killing diseased person.

7. What we do to our bodies is extremely lethal. It can affect us permanently. Some of these problems we will have for the rest of our lives.

8. Eating disorders come in all shapes and sizes. Just because someone isn’t super skeletal skinny, doesn’t mean they don’t struggle and need support.

And now, some formal information from NEDA (nationaleatingdisorders.org)

-In the United States, as many as 10 million females and 1 million males are fighting a life and death battle with an eating disorder such as anorexia or bulimia. Millions more are struggling with binge eating disorder (Crowther et al., 1992; Fairburn et al., 1993; Gordon, 1990; Hoek, 1995; Shisslak et al., 1995).

-In spite of the unprecedented growth of eating disorders in the past two decades, eating disorders research continues to be under-funded, insurance coverage for treatment is inadequate, and societal pressures to be thin remain rampant.

-Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness.

-Treatment of an eating disorder in the US ranges from $500 per day to $2,000 per day. The average cost for a month of inpatient treatment is $30,000. It is estimated that individuals with eating disorders need anywhere from 3 – 6 months of inpatient care. Health insurance companies for several reasons do not typically cover the cost of treating eating disorders.

-The typical time for someone to recover from an eating disorder is 7 years of treatment.

-20% of people suffering from anorexia will prematurely die from complications related to their eating disorder, including suicide and heart problems.

-Two to three in 100 American women suffers from bulimia.

PLEASE EDUCATE YOURSELVES PROPERLY. Don’t be an insensitive douche bag to someone you know that struggles. Reach out to someone if you see signs of isolation, restriction, secretive eating, avoiding situations where there is food involved, etc… Do not police/micro-manage someone with an eating disorder, it doesn’t help but in fact makes it worse. Instead of asking about food, as about the emotions behind the anxiety they are having. Don’t feed their eating disorder by letting the person put down their looks. Change the subject of conversation. Please just be sensitive, educated people. Start awareness. This can be prevented.

This issue is extremely important to me. I’ve lost so many friends to eating disorders. Not all have gone through death, but their soul was taken by it. Educate yourselves before we lose anyone else. Help is real. Hope is real. Recovery is possible.

(Source: satanworshipsmyreligion)

February 27th / with 21 notes
Tags: Eating Disorders, NEDA, national eating disorder awareness week, health, body image,