![]() Most importantly, if you are suffering, you are worthy and deserving of help….regardless of your size or whether or not you fit within the narrow DSM-5 diagnosis criteria. It is real and can have serious health consequences. The truth: the suffering that people can endure cannot be measured by body size. Feeling invalid only hurts more, and can make those suffering to not want to reach out to others for help because they're worried about being told, based solely on their body size, that they aren’t sick enough to need help. This lack of representation can cause people who do not fit that image to doubt whether or not they have an eating disorder because they feel they are not sick or thin enough. Eating disorders can be widely misunderstood in part because of the specific images and ideas that the media spews about what a person with an eating disorder looks like. This year’s theme is Come as You Are: Hindsight is 20/20, emphasizing the steps individuals have taken towards recovery as well as continuing to encourage those from all walks of life and stages of recovery to continue overcoming their challenges. National Eating Disorders Awareness Week (#NEDAwareness) is February 24 - March 1, 2020, and as it approaches, it is important to remember that no matter what your size, gender identity, background, age or ethnicity, your story is valid. Shout out to my lovely student intern, Sarah Butler, for her contribution to this blog post! She is a current dietetic student at my alma mater, Simmons University, and I am so grateful to have her. ![]()
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