Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2014

This week commencing on the 24th of February to the 2nd of March 2014 is Eating Disorders Awareness Week.

It's a chance to raise awareness and break stigma surrounding eating disorders- something that very much needs doing in our society today.

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Eating disorders are hidden away from the world; people who have them are ashamed of them, and people who hear of them think that anorexia is just being "skinny". That couldn't be more wrong.

Anorexia is a full-blown mental illness that effects not only your body,
but your mind too.
You don't just lose weight; you lose your friends, your life, and yourself too.

When people say "eating disorder", there is almost a physical gasp of breath as people respond. They think people with eating disorders are some kind of alien. But they're wrong. Anyone can be effected by an eating disorder: boys and girls, young and old, any culture. There is no set type of person who gets an eating disorder.
They can effect anyone.

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If someone broke their leg they wouldn't hesitate to tell people. Why should it be any different for mental health?

Having an eating disorder doesn't make you an alien, it doesn't make you a bad person. It's just like any other illness- it isn't the person's fault. No one "chooses" an eating disorder, and just like people don't choose to get it, people can't choose to just "snap out of it". Just like having a broken bone, it requires intensive support and care from people around you to get better.

So that brings me on to places that can help with eating disorders, offer support for those who know someone suffering from an eating disorder, and what to do if you think you either have an eating disorder yourself, or think you know someone who has.

Image via here.

Image via here.

Above is the Beat (Beat Eating Disorders) logo and campaign for eating is orders awareness well: "sock it for eating disorders". 

To visit beat, the link is below:
www.b-eat.co.uk

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Another common misconception is that society assumes that people with eating disorders are underweight and skeletal.
- Wrong; Anyone of any size can have an eating disorder.

As well as notoriously known "anorexia" (more specifically in categories of anorexia nervosa, anorexia orthodoxia, anorexia athletica, anorexia binge and purge subtype, and atypical anorexia), there is BED (binge eating disorder), bulimia, and EDNOS (eating disorder not otherwise specified).

People of all different shapes and sizes have eating disorders. You don't need to be underweight or thin to have an eating disorder!

In fact, this stereotypical image is preventing people from realising they have an eating disorder and getting help. You can still do serious damage to your body whether you are underweight or not; malnourishment is a serious issue no matter what your weight.

That's why this week is so important in raising awareness. If we break this stereotypical image, then we will be helping our generation and generations to come.

Educating people on eating disorders is important, almost just as important as having services available to everyone for eating disorders. 

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We should not be made by society to live in shame of our issues, afraid to speak out and seek help.

Image via here.

So let's be brave, let's speak out for eating disorders.

It's been so hard for me to tell people about my eating disorder, and even some of my closest family still don't know because I don't want them to be upset or treat me differently. But it shouldn't be like this, it shouldn't be this hard and misunderstood.

If we speak out about eating disorders and what they're really like, we can change the way society view eating disorders. And our next generation will thank us for it.

I'll try to post each day this week for Eating Disorders Awareness Week. If anybody has any suggestions, questions, photos/ stories of things they have done for the E D Awareness Week, or would like to do a guest post on this blog, please contact: myjourneywithrecovery@gmail.com

Stay strong and break stigma for Eating Disorders  Awareness Week 2014.

Thank you for reading, 

Hannah xox