Several University offices are joining to host a series of events for National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, which started Sunday and ends Saturday.
As a precursor event, Dr. Anita Johnston, a clinical psychologist specializing in eating disorders and co-founder of several eating disorder treatment centers across the country, held a presentation on Friday about using mythical stories and folktales to better understand eating disorders and the emotions behind them.
“It’s not about the weight,” Johnston said. “It’s about the invisible forces that are driving disordered eating.”
Johnston said it is difficult to be satisfied with one’s body image these days because of influences from the media. She said it’s important not to let those images have an effect.
Johnston used Princess Diana as an example of someone who successfully dealt with an eating disorders. She said Princess Diana, as well as most people with eating disorders, are “thin-skinned.” This refers to people who are highly emotional, intuitive and sensitive in many aspects of their lives.
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Johnston said Princess Diana had to learn to cope with negativity in her life when she was dealing with body image issues.
“People don’t eat because they (don’t want to) feel something,” Johnston said. “They eat because of the feeling they don’t want to feel.”
She said it is important for people with eating disorders to figure out the feelings behind their body image in order to recover from the disorder.
One attendee of the presentation, Sarah McLean, junior in Business, said she had known about eating disorders for a long time but first learned about this method of treatment on Friday.
“I don’t have eating disorders, but I can see how it hurts people I know,” she said. “I’ll totally think about how I feel before I eat anything from now on.”
She said it is important for people with eating disorders to know what they are going through and what recovery looks like.
Rachel Storm, assistant director of the Women’s Resources Center, which hosted the event, said there will be a series of presentations, workshops and discussions announced this week.
The next event will be another presentation by Johnston on “Breaking Free From Struggles with Food, Fat and Dieting” on Monday from noon to 1 p.m. at the Women’s Resources Center, 703 S. Wright St., on the second floor.
Earn can be reached at [email protected].
