UI takes part in Eating Disorder Awareness Week
Mimi Price started eating less to follow in her older brother’s footsteps.
Her brother struggled with anorexia nervosa when they were both in high school and Price, now a junior at the University of Idaho, was diagnosed with bulimia nervosa her senior year of high school.
Price and her brother are just examples of many people in the world who struggle with eating disorders, and she said she still struggles with it every day, despite being recovered for three years now.
Amelia C. Warden | Argonaut
Mimi Price (left) talks about her experience with an eating disorder while she works at the Women’s Center on Friday, Feb. 20. Price had an eating disorder during high school, and is on her third year of recovery. Jessy Forsmo-Shadid (center) is an Argonaut columnist.
“Relapse is always an issue,” Price said. “There’s no ‘I am recovered’ date, there’s just, ‘I am more recovered than I was yesterday.'”
This week is Eating Disorders Awareness Week, and the Women’s Center, Vandal Nutrition and the UI Counseling and Testing Center have teamed up to run events throughout the week, including hosting free eating disorder screenings on Thursday.
Sharon Fritz, psychologist at UI, said the screenings are just one of the resources available for students year-round at the Counseling and Testing Center.
At 6 p.m. Tuesday the Women’s Center will show the film, “Dying to be Thin,” which focuses on dancers and the pressure put on them to be thin. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday in the Idaho Commons volunteers will run an informational booth about body image. At 12:30 p.m. Thursday in the Women’s Center two students will give a presentation on body image and eating disorders called Body Revolution, and from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in Bob’s Place free eating disorder screenings will be available for students to take.
Bekah MillerMacPhee, assistant director for programs for the Women’s Center, said the week’s events focus on body image and maintaining self-esteem, along with breaking down stigmas surrounding eating disorders and the people who suffer from them.
“We really just want to let people know that this is an issue,” MillerMacPhee said. “Let people know that it’s not a black and white issue … And also to try to take some of the stigma way from eating disorders.”
Price said the stereotypes and stigmas people had about eating disorders was the hardest part about battling bulimia. She said her brother was bullied because he was a gay male with an eating disorder, which was only one of the many preconceived notions Price said some people have regarding the issue.
Price always felt hesitant to share her story with others because of stigmas associated with her disorder. She said one of the biggest issues was people who didn’t believe her when she did open up to them.
“The hardest part about my experiences was people constantly told me, ‘You don’t look like you’ve had an eating disorder,'” Price said. “Or, ‘How can someone call themselves a feminist and have an eating disorder?’ That was a really big one for me. My views on other people didn’t reflect the views on myself.”
Price said it was important for her to open up about her story because she wants to help educate and correct misinformed stereotypes people have.
In addition to the standard issues with eating disorders, Price encountered a series of health problems associated with her habits. She said she had her gallbladder removed along with multiple teeth. She said she still has problems with her teeth today because of her struggle with bulimia.
Despite all of the physical health risks Price endured, she said the worst scenario for her was the constant sense that she was never in control of her own actions or emotions.
“I never felt at any point that I was choosing to feel the way I did,” Price said. “Every night I went to bed and said ‘I don’t want to do this anymore,’ but every morning I woke up and I felt like I didn’t have a choice.”
Campus Dietician Marissa Rudley said the feeling of a lack of control is common among people suffering from an eating disorder. Loss of control, along with guilt, fear and obsession are some of the most prevalent emotions associated with eating disorders.
Binge-eating — consuming large amounts of food in a short period of time, then feel guilty about it immediately following the binge — is the most common eating disorder at UI, Rudley said.
Rudley said most eating disorders are hard to identify in oneself or in others, but binge-eating is particularly difficult to point out, especially in a college setting because it is typical to see students eat excessive amounts of food. Rudley said the eating habits become a disorder when feelings of guilt, secrecy and obsession begin to evolve.
“What’s important to remember about binge-eating disorder is it’s not just the over-eating, it’s a cycle of over-eating that’s also associated with feeling guilt, shame, anger, frustration and a lot of low self-esteem surrounding body image,” Rudley said.
MillerMacPhee and Price both said the best thing people can do is to educate themselves about eating disorders and be there for people who are struggling with one. They said being aware of the facts of the issue is the best way to break down the stigmas surrounding a disorder, and the events for Eating Disorders Awareness Week offer multiple opportunities for people to become educated on the issue.
Rudley said recovering from an eating disorder is much harder and more personal than other health issues because food isn’t something people can simply quit. She said people need to realize food is fuel, instead of the enemy.
“Eating Disorders Awareness Week isn’t just a week, it really is every single day,” Rudley said. “And there’s ways we can help each other every single day.”
Erin Bamer can be reached at [email protected]