Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2015: Speak Up and Speak Out

By Deborah R. Glasofer, PhD

Reviewed by B. Timothy Walsh, MD

This
week marks Eating Disorders Awareness Week. It is a
time to speak up about eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia
nervosa and binge eating disorder. Many of us fall prey to messages about what
is and is not beautiful or healthy. For people with eating disorders, however,
the problem extends far beyond any messages heard from the outside world.
Individuals with eating disorders struggle – perhaps because of their biology,
or as a result of persistent behavioral patterns – with critical messages from
within that define health or beauty narrowly or with great distortion.

Eating
disorders do not discriminate. They impact women and men of all ages, races,
and sizes, although they most often affect girls and women between 12 and 35
years old.

Eating
disorders do not tread lightly. These are dangerous illnesses characterized by
behaviors (e.g., severely restrictive eating, purging) with potentially
life-threatening physical consequences. They can negatively impact
psychological health – obsessing about food, eating, or body size, rigidity in
thinking, overall anxiety and mood – and carry an
increased risk of suicide.

Listen
to learn more about the latest
breakthroughs in eating disorders understanding and treatment, including
cognitive neuroscience and pharmaceutical research. Read up to learn more from
the Columbia Center for Eating Disorders, a part of the New York State
Psychiatric Institute, about spotting an
eating disorder and approaching a
child
(of any age), a teammate, friend, or
loved one
about whom you are concerned. Listen in to learn more about who’s who on an
eating disorder treatment
team,
and differences between treatment
setting options.




Deborah R. Glasofer, PhD, is a clinical
psychologist at the Columbia
Center for Eating Disorders and an
assistant professor of psychology in the Columbia University Department of
Psychiatry.