National Eating Disorders Awareness Week
In my private practice, one of the areas I specialize in is eating disorders. That’s why it’s important for me to point out that this week (February 21-27, 2010) is National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. It is an effort put forth by NEDA, the National Eating Disorders Association, to raise awareness about the dangers surrounding eating disorders and the need for early intervention and treatment.
This year’s theme is “It’s Time To Talk About It: Everyone Can Do…Just One Thing!” If you or someone you know has or had an eating disorder, there’s no better time than now to do one thing to raise awareness about eating disorders. NEDA has provided a list of things you can do to make a difference.
Interested in some of the myths and facts about eating disorders? Check out Margarita Tartakovsky’s post about NEDAwareness Week on her blog Weightless.
Do you know someone who is suffering from an eating disorder?
Unless you are around the person often, how do you know if they have an eating disorder? Maybe they are just thin or have dietary restrictions that don’t allow them to eat what you may eat
This is a great question and brings up a couple of important points, the first of which is that not everyone who has an eating disorder is thin! People who are bulimic or binge-eaters tend to be normal weight or even sometimes a bit overweight, so weight itself is not the only sign of an eating disorder. There are many signs and symptoms of an eating disorder, a list of which you can find at Something Fishy, a website about eating disorders. If you are not around the person often it may be difficult to detect whether their behavior is normal or if there is a problem. However if there is a lot of talk about food and weight or any strange behaviors around food it is something to watch out for. Remember, you alone are not responsible for detecting a disorder.