National Eating Disorder Awareness Week
February 22nd through February 28th - National Eating Disorder Awareness Week. Eating Disorders plague the lives of many young men and women around the world and for many go untreated. It's very important to raise the awareness of Eating Disorders so that the people suffering from it can get the help that they need.
The causes for eating disorders are far and wide, ranging from traumatic experiences to identity crises, to depression or issues with one's self-image. The National Eating Disorders Association seeks to raise the awareness for this disease to provide support for individuals and families who have been affected by eating disorders. For so many eating disorders ruin lives and go untreated for far too long. NEDA's goal is to help people feel comfortable about themselves, and to not let outside issues influence their self-image. Eating Disorders are a very serious issue that doesn't get the attention it deserves because of how overly (behind closed-doors) glamourized it is in Hollywood and on TV.
Everywhere you look, every magazine you pick up, the media's version of "beautiful" is shoved in your face. This unreal, and unnatural look, usually enhanced digitally, leads to the destruction of one's self-image, causing many people to strive to reach a goal that isn't possible. It destroys the body both mentally and physically, and if untreated long enough, can permanently damage the body.
Treatment is not as simple as giving someone food to eat. There's usually many underlying issues that cause the eating disorder, much like the layers of an onion to use a food analogy. It's important to attack each and every one of these issues to ensure a proper treatment with any sort of hopes of a full recovery, and neglect these issues is to avoid solving the problem, leaving the high potential for a relapse.
Unfortunately many insurance companies don't see Eating Disorders as an actual disease and don't offer sufferers the coverage they need to get the treatment they need. It is with National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, we hope to change this, and get people the help they really need.
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