From increases in depression and anxiety symptoms (Hawes et al., 2021) to rising rates of adolescent suicide attempts (Yard et al., 2021), youth experienced a plethora of adverse mental health effects as a result of the pandemic. Eating disorders were no exception. Treatment waitlists grew quickly (Nuffield Trust, 2022), and hotlines for organizations like the United States’ National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) and Canada’s National Eating Disorders Information Centre were flooded with requests for support (Martinson, 2020; Kindelan, 2020).
Delaware (July 27, 2022) – The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) is pleased to announce the election of four new members to the NEDA Board of Directors. New board members include Jen Rionda, Executive with Morgan Stanley, Kristen Chin, Attorney with Aiken Gump, Maryam Khorasani, Attorney with the State Bar of California, Benjamin Lennon, Executive with RBC.
When it comes to treating eating disorders, one of the most important steps is receiving a diagnosis. That diagnosis informs what type of treatment and what level of care (e.g., outpatient, day treatment, hospitalization) are needed to treat the current symptoms. One challenge, however, is that eating disorders often go undetected and people may struggle for years before receiving a diagnosis and specialty treatment.
Leah Stiles is a retired U.S. Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer. Since her retirement from the Navy in 2021, she has been raising awareness of eating disorders in the military and the need for insurance coverage and resources for service members, retirees and their family members. Below she discusses her struggle with an eating disorder that began when she was 12 years old and was exacerbated by career and personal demands.
It was only once I recovered from my eating disorder that I began to understand its gravity. I kept some journal entries, various gems left to be uncovered in the margins of my planner, nuggets of wisdom to be siphoned from my notes app of those years. I was in college, but it probably started before that. It’s no coincidence that I don’t actually know what came first: my eating disorder or my queer awakening. I revisited those archives: the journal entries, notes, nuggets, and scrawls, and tied them together into this list.
This week, the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) is celebrating National Volunteer Week. We are highlighting the importance of volunteerism by celebrating the individuals and families who come together to support NEDA throughout its different programs and services.
The Yoga and Body Image Coalition (YBIC) has been a long-time Partner in Change. This blog round-up, in honor of National Eating Disorders Awareness (#NEDAwareness) Week 2022, highlights how the practice of yoga can be an integral component in the effective treatment of and ongoing recovery from eating disorders and disordered eating.
Our field is Seeing the Change because of the collective action taken over the last twenty years by many individuals and organizations. In celebration of the organizations that have helped pave the way for eating disorder treatment, research, and advocacy, and who strive to push the field to continue to grow and change for the better, we have gathered some reflections and perspectives from just a few of the many organizations who have played a role:
ANAD (National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders)
Black girls don't have eating disorders.
That lie reverberated throughout my adolescence and young adulthood. There were no words for one's struggle with purging. Or to name and discuss the excessive nighttime eating that comforted after the stress of a longtime day was done. Or to describe my relationship with food when my desire is not to be thin, just to carry a little less of me. There is no way we could have an eating disorder. That was reserved for White girls.
Editor's Note - CW: Physical/Mental Abuse
I have debated back and forth about writing this because it could be shared with thousands of people. I have always been ashamed of my story but I think it’s now the right time to share it. I hope even a single part of this will spark someone else to own their story as well.