1. Walk for Her
Whether it is in New York City or Podunkville, Oklahoma, eating disorders
torment people everywhere. Walking downtown, passing person after person—
what about her? Does she have one? Or maybe that woman over there, the one who
looks as though a slight change in the wind might knock her frail figure right out of
her chair? Considering that there are over 30
million documented cases yearly in the US
alone, the answer could very likely be yes.
But here’s the catch: no one talks about them.
"I have always felt that eating disorders suffer the most persistent
discrimination within the mental health community in both insurance coverage and
research funding,” said former Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy.
They are often greatly misunderstood because of
lack of research, but the eating disorder recovery
community can’t get support or funding because
people don’t see or don’t understand the severity of
the issue—it becomes a nasty cycle.
But the National Eating Disorder Association
is working for change, and Kennedy recognizes that.
FACT 1: 1 in 5
women struggle
with an eating
disorder or
disordered
eating
2. “I commend NEDA for raising awareness to these issues and for setting the stage for
progress."
NEDA’s
members are speaking
up, fighting back—and
want anyone and
everyone to join them!
NEDA hosts NEDA
Walks all across the
US to raise funds to
back their mission:
supporting individuals and families affected by eating disorders
and serving as a catalyst for prevention, cures and access to quality care. On Oct. 16,
those who want to join the fight will have a chance to do so by participating in a
NEDA Walk in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“Even though my daughters are in recovery, eating disorders are mental
illnesses, so they don’t just go away—I have to sit back and watch my girls battle
their illnesses daily,” said Lori Stewart, the mother of a daughter diagnosed with
anorexia nervosa and another daughter with bulimia nervosa.
Illness Prevalence
NIH
Research
Funds
(2011)
Alzheimer’s
Disease
5.1 million $450,000,000
Autism 3.6 million $160,000,000
Schizophrenia 3.4 million $276,000,000
Eating
Disorders
30 million $28,000,000
3. “I always felt so helpless. All I wanted to
do was find some way, any way, to help my
girls, to make it all okay, but I couldn’t. I still
can’t take away their illnesses, but by being a
part of the NEDA walks, I am actually doing
something to work for a future where girls like
mine, boys too, don’t have to suffer this way. No
parent should have to feel so powerless, just
watching their child suffer, and I want to do
what I can to make sure that one day they won’t
have to.”
Stewart also pointed out that this doesn’t have to apply to just parents and
children, siblings, spouses, etc.
“Everyone knows someone with an eating disorder; everyone has a reason to
fight this mental illness. It’s a taboo topic, one that people would rather not talk
about, or maybe they don’t know how to
react, what to say, what to do.
Meanwhile, the pretty girl who stands
laughing in a circle of friends, who has
straight A’s and a crazy funny sense of
humor, suffers silently. No one knows the
FACT 3: Anorexia is
the 3rd
most
common
chronic illness
among adolescents
Fact 2: Of
those with
bulimia,
only 6%
obtain
treatment.
4. incessant thoughts that run through her mind, the way she counts every calorie in
and out, the way she sees her self through a distorted fun-house carnival mirror.
Walk for her.”
This year, the Tulsa NEDA Walk, hosted in partnership with the Oklahoma
Eating Disorder Association, will take place at Lafortune Park, 5202 S. Hudson Ave,
on Sunday, Oct. 16. Check-in will begin at 2 p.m., the opening ceremony will be at
2:30 p.m., and the walk will end at 4 p.m. Registration is $25 for adults, $15 for
students, and $10 for children. Individuals and teams are encouraged to get others
to sponsor them, helping NEDA continue on toward the fundraising goal.
For more information, visit http://nedawalk.org/tulsa2016. To register for
the walk, visit http://www.nedawalk.org/register?fr_id=4238. Or, if unable to
participate in the walk but still want to help out, make a donation at
http://www.nedawalk.org/donate?fr_id=4238.
