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Top Eight Ways to Be an Eating Disorders Recovery Advocate

by angelique on August 6th, 2008

1. Educate others about the facts surrounding eating disorders. Dispel the myths that surround anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder. Find opportunities to talk with others, whether in small groups at your church or larger groups at a high school.
2. Work on getting healthy inside and out for yourself if you’re struggling with an eating disorder. It’s tough for people to listen to you if you’re not trying to recover from your dance with ana, mia or BED.
3. Learn all you can about eating disorders. If you’re going to advocate for recovery and (hopefully) prevent others from experiencing a struggle with anorexia, bulimia and/or binge eating disorder, you have to understand the ins and outs.
4. Don’t buy into the media’s idea of “beauty”. This is a toughie, especially for women. Everywhere we look, we’re bombarded by the message that being thin is the only way to be beautiful. But if you can rise above all the hype, you’ll be a better recovery advocate.
5. Stop turning a blind eye to eating disorders in those you love. I’m not suggesting that you hold an actual intervention (unless you’re prepared) or you accuse someone of having an ED; however, I am hoping that you won’t simply turn your back on a friend or family member who has an obvious problem. Don’t be accusatory, but do be supportive, nurturing and concerned.
6. Avoid saying things like “I’m so fat” or “I have to lose weight”. Even if you are overweight or want to get into shape, repeatedly saying such negative words will only fuel our nation’s obsession with appearance.
7. Learn more about depression. It’s more than just “the blues”, and it’s suffered by anorexics, bulimics and binge eaters. In fact, I’ve heard of numerous ED sufferers who were able to start on the path to recovery by first tackling their clinical depression.
8. Be patient. For most eating disorder sufferers, it takes years (even decades) to “kick the habit” of bingeing and purging, bingeing or self-starvation. Some days, you can show the most support simply by being the calm in the storm for someone battling ana or mia.

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POSTED IN: Recovery, depression, eating-disorders, intervention, prevention