National Eating Disorders Awareness Week: February 22-28 2009

by Terri Potratz | February 23, 2009 at 02:06 pm

1790 views | 33 Recommendations | 21 comments

The National Eating Disorders group in the US created an awareness week which takes place during the last week of February each year in the hopes to prevent eating disorders and unhealthy body image, and to eliminate the stigma surrounding eating disorders and encourage those affected to seek treatment.

The nonprofit NEDA organization that was formed in 2001 when Eating Disorders Awareness & Prevention (EDAP) and the American Anorexia Bulimia Association (AABA) joined forces to pool resources and strengthen their prevention, treatment and awareness programs.

The theme for the 2009 Eating Disorders Awareness Week is "...until eating disorders are history," with flyers depicting chalkboards and stressing the importance of education in treatment and prevention.

Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are the two most common types of eating disorders, but there are numerous others. Binge eating, orthorexia nervosa, and compulsive exercising also fall under the general 'eating disorders' umbrella and are serious illnesses that require careful treatment plans.

Anorexia nervosa sufferers limit body weight by voluntarily abstaining from eating and engaging in other excessive behaviours such as obsessive exercise, cosumption of diet pills, and purging (self-induced vomiting).

Bulimia nervosa is marked by binge eating followed by purging and/or fasting. Binge eating is characterized by the consumption of an excessive amount of food and an inability to stop or control the amount of food intake.

An eating disorder is an extremely complicated illness that is difficult to treat, as it often stems from deep-seated body image and confidence issues which are compounded by numerous pressures from society, family and friends. Eating disorders are psychiatric illnesses and therefore become deeply entrenched in every aspect of an individual's life, which makes treatment a long-term struggle.

More than 50,000 people have already been helped through the free telephone hotline put in place by NEDA and its website boasts over 50 million hits per year. Eating disorder professionals, specialists, educators, and volunteers give up their time to ensure every resource is available for anyone who would like to learn more about eating disorders.

2009 marked the first NEDA Walk, which took place on February 21 in Seattle and other participating cities.

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Roy C

at 14:26 on February 23rd, 2009

Food has psychophysiological value. It is both a meaning and a material. That is why in communion, you share bread. The very name companion means "with breader", the person you share you bread with.

We need a lot of healing after centuries of development often at odds with human nature.

C∂rlina

at 15:22 on February 23rd, 2009

Thank you for posting my image. :)

C∂rlina has contributed a photo to this story.

laurensarahphotos

at 15:36 on February 23rd, 2009

Thanks for including my photos.

Barbara McPherson

at 15:56 on February 23rd, 2009

An important story. Maybe save a few lives!

Terri Potratz

at 16:32 on February 23rd, 2009

I have seen some friends go through this before, and it's an incredibly big commitment on behalf of the friends and family to support someone through recovery - a process which can take years and years. It takes a lot of education and patience, so awareness around an illness like this becomes especially important and vital to the success of treatment.

xdowncasteyes

at 17:27 on February 23rd, 2009

taken by myself of myself in honor of National Eating Disorders Awareness week. it's important to be aware of it to help others or even yourself.

Ashes Photography Site

at 17:11 on February 23rd, 2009

This was one of the hardest shoots I have ever done. Seeing any one struggle with eating disorders is hard enough, but to know you are working with a male with eating disorders is tough. Only ten percent of those that suffer from eating disorders are male. "J" has been dealing with eating disorders since age 11.. he his now 28. He has come a long way in recovery, but he believes there is no such thing as recover, but management only. As a photographer, you have to hold it all together during a photo shoot. As soon as he left, I broke down in tears. Between worries of how this photo shoot had affected him, and how it was affecting me. You can view more of my work at www.AshesPhotographySite.com

Ashes Photography Site has contributed a photo to this story.

CeciliaCapture (not verified)

at 19:52 on February 23rd, 2009

Thank you for using my photo. Please note that the model does not suffer from an actual eating disorder, she is a perfectly healthy young woman that offered to model for my class assignment. Thank you again.

Zooey Loves Bugs

at 02:04 on February 24th, 2009

Thank you for using my picture for this cause.

It was an assignment for my eating disorder group. We were to create two "advertisements" - one for ED and one against. The picture used here is a closeup of the girl in my ad for ED. The full picture shows the girl seemingly sheltered from a dark and chaotic outside world, safe in her little cocoon where all she has to worry about and focus on is food and weight etc. The picture is called "Shelter". The other picture I made is called "Isolation" showing the same girl in the same cocoon but instead of feeling safe and sheltered she now feels isolated from a colorful outside world, trapped in a dark place with her thoughts of food and weight.

There is also a third picture in the making. It is called "Freedom" and I plan to finish it when I finish my own treatment in about 3 months time. It has been a long journey to get to the point where I'm ready to make that picture. I have struggled with anorexia for 13 years but I have decided that enough's enough. I'm done. I deserve to be happy and I'm determined to completely let go of my eating disorder and I hope that I'm able to - in my life - inspire others to do the same.

sillylilme†

at 05:37 on February 24th, 2009

sillylilme† has contributed a photo to this story.

jack_gunby

at 11:38 on February 24th, 2009

thankyou for featuring my photos on here, i hope they are clear!

Bisous Darling

at 12:57 on February 24th, 2009

This picture and the one that go with it are just photo illustrations of an eating disorder. I think it's important to show the real side of an eating disorder instead of the glorified version that is shown through stick thin celebrities.

Bisous Darling has contributed a photo to this story.

Rhonda J Mangus

at 19:52 on February 24th, 2009

Thank you for this story, Terri!

Black Rainbow

at 08:30 on February 26th, 2009

big thanks for using my photo. great story!

cyeh01

at 10:11 on February 26th, 2009

Thanks for using the picture of my nutrition log. Hopefully it helps the cause. For the record, I don't have an eating disorder. I was maintaining a log of my caloric intake for dieting purposes. I'm now done with that phase and back to getting fat. Thanks again!

rebecca-jaclynne

at 15:29 on February 26th, 2009

This picture was taken for an art gallery representing social issues and problems. Body image is a topic that is extremely important to me and I am almost against how people percieve it. I chose eating disorders in general because I believe that many people can relate to the concepts portrayed in these pictures, and to generally show the harsh reality of how the people around us and the media impact how we percieve ourselves.
To see this on deviantart, follow this link
http://rebeccaxx.deviantart.com

rebecca-jaclynne has contributed a photo to this story.

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at 06:01 on March 31st, 2009

In the United States, as many as 10 in 100 young women suffer from an eating disorder.

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at 20:46 on June 25th, 2009

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