It's Time to Talk

Today is day 2 of Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2014.

Eating disorders, and all mental health issues to be honest, are rarely talked about in everyday conversation.

People who aren't sufferes are afraid to ask and usually don't understand due to the lack of education surrounding mental health issues; and people who have eating disorders or other mental health issues are afraid to speak out about their illness.

The way mental health illnesses are viewed in society needs to change, as people are afraid to admit they have a mental health issue and many do not recover help because of this. Also, due to the lack of knowledge surrounding eating disorders and mental health issues, many don't even realise themselves that they are ill.

My school (I won't say the name), is a private all girls school, and eating disorders are 3 to 4 times more likely there than a mixed state school.
Yet my school hasn't done a single thing for Eatring Disorders Awareness Week. No posters, no assemblies, nothing. And there are so many people in our school struggling with eating disorders, and they know that and yet still do nothing! They want to be in their perfect little bubble and pretend they don't exist. But they do exist, and not talking about it doesn't make the problem go away. It only makes it worse.

Mental health issues need to be talked about. It is nothing to be ashamed of and should not be a "taboo" subject.

Image via here.

If you asked someone with a mental health issue how they were getting on, even if they didn't want to talk, they would still appreciate the gesture.

I know myself that if people asked me about it, I would happily talk to them just like a normal conversation. Unfortunately it isn't like that.
- I still haven't plucked up the courage to write a post about Eating Disorders Awareness Week on my Facebook or Instagram, and my cousins still don't know so I can hardly post it on social media when I know they will see!

I wish I could tell people without them juding me. That is why this week is so, so important.

Please keep spreading the word, and talk about it! There is nothing wrong with asking questions or being curious about it- it isn't easy to understand, true; but if you ask someone who either has an eating disorder or knows someone who does, I'm sure you'll soon have a better understanding and therefore be able to be there for people in the future etc.

Stay strong, and raise awareness!

Hannah xox

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.

* * *

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