Awareness is critical with eating disorders

The following excerpt was posted on www.experienceproject.com by a young girl with a problem. "I have lost so many things to this eating disorder. I regret doing it everyday. Yet it's so hard to stop."

February has been named National Eating Disorder Awareness Month by the National Eating Disorder Association.

These problems affect virtually every college campus, according to Sarah Silverman, the social cause marketing manager for the Experience Project, an operation aimed at improving statistics on eating disorders.

It has been reported that 40 percent of college women in the U.S. have an Eating Disorder, and this works out to one in every two college girls on facebook.

According to www.cignabehavioral.com, as many as 10 million females and one million males are struggling with an eating disorder in the United States. About 25 million are suffering from binge eating disorders.

There are three main eating disorders

Anorexia nervosa results in excessive weight loss from self-starvation. There are two subcategories of this disorder. The restricting type would involve the person restricting his/her intake of food and possibly over exercising.

Bulimia nervosa results in a person secretively binge eating and following such overeating by purging themselves by vomiting, laxatives, enemas, diuretics or over-exercising.

A binge eating disorder involves someone having times of uncontrolled, continuous, or impulsive eating. It normally results in obesity in an individual.

Other eating disorders combine the symptoms and signs of the three disorders previously mentioned. Cases that do not fall within one of the three may not be considered full disorders, but are still serious.

The Signs, The Reasons

Eating excessively at one meal, spending a lot of time in the bathroom after meals, and obsessive working out are all signs that there may be a problem, according to Philip Hestand, ASU Director of the counseling and career planning center.

People fall into eating disorders for many reasons. "Media presents an ideal woman as very thin, while not necessarily healthy," said Hestand. "Women especially fall into this 'the thinner the better' mentality."

Men sometimes resort to these disorders for athletic reasons, such as the need to be a certain weight for a competition.

Perfectionist personalities sometimes use an eating disorder as a way to control every aspect of their lives.

"For some people, the disorder is like something that has a life of its own," Hestand said.

If a student notices a friend who shows signs of a disorder, he/she can make a difference. The first step to be taken is the talk. The student should talk to the person. He or she should approach the person with concern, and be wary of being critical. If possible, accompanying the person with the problem to a professional can be especially helpful. In severe cases, intervention involving two to three people approaching the person could work to convince the person to see someone about his or her problem.

Students offered a variety of responses when asked what they would do if put in the situation of having a friend with that type of problem.

"I would tell them that they need help and I love them," said Stella Cole, a freshman nursing major from Gosnell. "I would also say that they should care more about their health and family than to be that selfish."

"I would ask my friend to talk about their problem, but if they didn't feel comfortable, I wouldn't want to forcefully interfere with their life," said Lee Quessenberry, a senior computer science major from Birdeye. "I'd be concerned for their safety but also considerate of their self-esteem and security."

A Place to Help

The ASU Counseling Center will be conducting an online screening involving eating disorders for National Eating Disorder Association week.

The questionnaire for the screening is available now through a link on the counseling center's Web site. There is the option of a person to person screening, but participation in that has been limited. Online is offered specifically for the benefit of anonymity.

National Eating Disorder Awareness week takes place from Feb. 24 to March 1.

There will be an information booth, provided by counseling services, in the student union that Monday, and the counseling staff will be available to talk to classes if professors request them.