NEDA Awareness Week Post #2: Eating Disorders Don't Discriminate by Age

One of the biggest misconceptions about eating disorders is that they are a problem for the young.  After all, the movies and TV shows usually portray the high school aged girls as the ones starving themselves or throwing up in the bathrooms-- and stay tuned for my post this week about how males can get eating disorders too.

But the truth is, eating disorders don't discriminate.  Though I expected to be greeted by a group of college students when I entered treatment: There were only two of us.  In fact, throughout my journey, I've met women in their 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s.  Just like me, a lot of them turned to their eating disorder (E.D) during times of extreme trauma and stress.  Some had only recently fallen into the E.D., but there is a dismally large number that have been dealing with E.D for years.

These are the people I admire so greatly, because they fight tooth and nail to break the patterns that have been in place for decades.  I am so grateful to fight alongside them because they also offer a great amount of wisdom.

Though I wish that E.Ds stayed segregated to a particular age in life, the sad truth is that they span all ages.  From young children to aging seniors: The broken world around us leads to great heartache.  And if one is predisposed to an eating disorder as I talked about in my post yesterday, a series of crises can create the perfect storm. (RELATED: Let's Talk About Eating Disorders)

So before you go thinking that E.Ds are only for the young, take a look at the world around you.  Men and women of every age are struggling to stay afloat, to cling to hope, to love themselves.  Part of NEDA Awareness Week is just that: Letting people know that if they are older and struggling with an E.D, they are not a freak.  They aren't weird or abnormal, they are valued and seen and loved.  Furthermore, the more education we can spread about eating disorders, the more disorders we can catch at a young age so that less and less men and women are living for decades with an eating disorder before getting treatment.  We can save time and more importantly, save lives, by spreading the news about eating disorders. (RELATED: Types of Eating Disorders)

Love,
Hannah

Check out Post #1 for NEDA Awareness Week, HERE
And click HERE for  post #3 on the different types of eating disorders.