Tag Archive for: eating disorder awareness

How Should Eating Disorder Recovery Stories Be Shared? Q&A with Dr. Quatromoni

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This is part of a Q&A series with leading expert in eating disorders and sports, Paula Quatromoni. For more Q&As click here.

Q: How should eating disorder recovery/stories be shared in presentations? How do we share properly, avoid triggers, address concerns, and raise awareness?

A (Paula Quatromoni, DSc, MS, RD, LDN): I was recently looking for something on-line and came across some “guidelines” for eating disorder prevention talks in schools and one of the top recommendations was to not bring in an individual to tell their recovery story. I wish I could remember the source of that ‘tip,’ but clearly, I dismissed it because in my opinion, “it depends” entirely on the audience and also on the individual sharing their story.

I do not believe in making a hard and fast “no, don’t do it” declaration. At the same time, I would not give an unconditional, “do this!” recommendation either. What works for one person and in one setting may not work for another. There are never any guarantees that what we deliver in an educational session will meet everyone in the audience’s needs. One speaker may do a great job and a different speaker may not do the topic justice at all. That is true in any educational setting and the same can be said of teachers, in general. It is also true of counselors, therapists, dietitians, doctors, etc. Some patients or clients may describe their interactions with a health professional as “outstanding” or “super helpful,” but others may find their interactions to be not very therapeutic, effective or individualized to their personal needs.

What we do need to ensure is that first, we “do no harm.” So there are some important considerations and a need for heightened sensitivity when a recovery speaker is planning to address a school community.

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Guest Post Sara Brekke Part II: Increasing Awareness

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In the last Running in Silence guest post, Sara Brekke spoke openly and courageously about her eating disorder journey. In her original post (sarabrekke.blogspot.com) she made additional points about eating disorders that I felt were extremely important to share here in a post of its own:

1) Eating disorders are not reserved for self conscious girls who strive to have a body like those in the magazines. They affects all genders, races, and ages and don’t need to stem from a desire to be thin. In fact, I became extremely self conscious of my thinness. I feared being seen in a swimsuit or sports bra knowing that every vertebrae and rib in my body being visible made me appear more reptilian than human. To hide my emaciated body, I have worn two pairs of pants and baggy long-sleeves to hide my knobby elbows and jutting hipbones.

I did not develop anorexia because of the models in magazines. I was confident with my body up until sixth grade and ate anything and everything–never giving a second thought about the appearance of my body. While I do believe that society gives an incredibly detrimental message to young people, females especially, in what their body should look like, a full blown eating disorder for me was a combination of underlying mental illness and these societal ideals.

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Guest Post Sara Brekke Part I: Breaking Through Fear

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Running in Silence reader and eating disorder survivor Sara Brekke made the bold move to share her story with the hope that it would encourage more of us to find ways to stop running in silence. She says, “I am thankful that I have gotten to a place of recovery after all of these years to be real not only with others about the illness, but with myself.  More than ever society needs voices to speak up about eating disorders and mental illness as a whole to better our understanding of other individuals and the disease.”
You can read her original post at sarabrekke.blogspot.com. 

Posting this is terrifying.

Like, I was driving home from Madison by myself on a mild March day not too soon after getting my license when mother nature decided to unleash a spontaneous snowstorm. Before gathering awareness of the elements, I fish tailed off the road. After regaining control, I continued to drive at a measly 15 mph on the highway, but kept losing traction and decided it wasn’t worth it to keep going. I pulled into a side road, fully prepared to sleep in my car for the night–just as an ambulance came roaring by with its sirens blaring, soon followed by an oncoming car spinning completely off the road. The trip took three extra hours, but I eventually made it home crying tears of relief as I pulled into our driveway.

Posting this is still scarier.

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