The National Eating Disorder Association's NEDAwareness Week 2022 takes place February 21-27. The purpose of this awareness week is to shed light on the realities of eating disorders and to provide hope, help, and resources to those with eating disorders and their friends and families. 28.8 million Americans experience an eating disorder at some point in their lives, but with a combined effort to campaign for awareness and change, it's possible to expand treatment availability and allow people to feel more comfortable reaching out for help sooner.
This year, NEDA's campaign is to See the Change, Be the Change. You can see the change by noticing the progress that has been made in eating disorder awareness through the helpfulness and acceptance from our communities and the increase in available resources. There has been an increase in utilization of resources with the NEDA Helpline seeing a 107% increase in usage since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. There has also been an increase in usage of NEDA's Screening Tool, as well as research grants being distributed to researchers.
There is often a stigma and a cloud of misconceptions surrounding eating disorders, and many feel that it is a taboo subject. This leaves those who are suffering feeling helpless and alone, afraid to reach out for help in fear of being judged. NEDAwareness week hopes to squash these misconceptions by getting the community talking about eating disorders and spreading resources. You can Be the Change by educating yourself on eating disorders, utilizing and sharing NEDA resources, and participating in community events and legislative action. Through the combination of these efforts, it is possible to expand treatment availability throughout the nation.
Remember that you are beautiful and strong! You are never alone in the fight. Please utilize any of the resources below or see ways to get involved in this campaign.
Resources:
Screening Tool: https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/screening-tool
Get Involved:
Action Alerts: https://p2a.co/hwzfvkg
Share Your Story: https://p2a.co/etYTUaR
Find a NEDA Walk Near Your: https://nedawalk.org/
Campus Warriors: https://nedawalk.org/campuswarriors
