It's Time To Talk About It (National Eating Disorder Awareness Week 2017)

National Eating Disorder Awareness Week kicked off this past Sunday. From the NEDA website. . .

Spearheaded by the National Eating Disorders Association, the goal of National Eating Disorders Awareness (#NEDAwareness) Week is to shine the spotlight on eating disorders and put life-saving resources into the hands of those in need. This year’s theme is It’s Time to Talk About It and we’re encouraging everyone to get screened. It’s time we take eating disorders seriously as public health concerns. It’s time we bust the myths and get the facts. It’s time to celebrate recovery and the heroes who make it possible. It’s time to take action and fight for change. It’s time to shatter the stigma and increase access to care. It’s Time to Talk About It!

I find it absoultely mind-blowing that I struggled through anorexia as an adult, for several years, and by the grace of a powerful God, have made it to the other side.

Mind-blowing because I can't imagine living in such bondage now.

Mind-blowing because I can't imagine feeling so out of control now, that food (or lack thereof) would become the source of security and safety.

Mind-blowing because I can't imagine going back to the old me. The me that let the scale become her God. The me that charted every last calorie that slipped past her lips. The me whose mind was continually consumed with thoughts of thinness, weight, food, and the like. The me that manipulated her body down to a meager 89 pounds. The me that became obsessed with the worship of self.

Six chapters of my book are dedicated to this very topic. Because I believe it is a message worth sharing. Because if my story can spare just one person from choosing body mutilation over freedom, it was worth it.

If you or someone you know could be walking through an eating disorder, please reach out. Tell someone. Don't sit alone in the struggle. Contact me and I will find a way to get the first six chapters of my book into your hands.

You can also access a free eating disorder screening here.

Other resources:
National Eating Disorders Association: Feeding hope
Eating Disorder HOPE
Hope, Help, and Healing for Eating Disorders: A Whole Person Approach to Treatment of Anorexia, Bulimia, and Disordered Eating by Gregory L. Jantz, PhD
Gaining: The Truth About Life After Eating Disorders by Aimee Liu
When Eating Disorders Consume Your Family 

It's time to talk about it.

#NEDAwareness