“Everybody Knows Somebody” is the theme for the 2012 National Eating Disorder Awareness Week.
From February 26through March 3, thousands of people from all 50 states and close to 30 countries will be participating in the week-long event created by National Eating Disorder Awareness, or NEDAwarness.
Olivia Gardner, President of Women’s Issues Group, is organizing all the events happening on campus. She actively participated in eating disorder awareness events all throughout high school.
Eating disorders, like bulimia, anorexia, and binge eating, are diseases that have the highest mortality rate for a mental illness each year. An estimated 8 million Americans suffer from an eating disorder; most of them are women.
Getting help on campus should not be a scary thought. McDaniel has staff in the Wellness Center to help treat students with an eating disorder.
“The Wellness Center would be a great place to start for students on campus,” said Gardner. “They have all the therapy and psychiatrists there to help. Also, if the staff feels the patient would benefit from more treatment, they can refer that patient to another doctor.”
There will be a table outside of GLAR all week with more information about the National Eating Disorder Awareness Week at McDaniel College.
Women’s Issues Group will be hosting a screening of “MissRepresentation” on Monday at 7 PM in PA 187, and a panel discussion on Thursday at 6:30 in Decker. Email Olivia Gardner (ojg001) for more information.
