Kicking Off NEDA Week 2013

Today kicks of National Eating Disorder Awareness Week 2013.  

Last year I was deep in the depths of my ED, and NEDA week 2012 helped me push through some sticky spots.  This year I'm in a very different spot recovery-wise, better in some ways, the same in others.

Eating Disorders are serious.  They are not something people choose to have.  In fact, eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness.  But there is help.  And there is hope.  Recovery IS possible.  And the first step is telling your secret.  After struggling for more than half my life, I told my secret.  And you can too.

Considering this blog started as a recovery project, I am kicking off NEDA week 2013 with a 30 day recovery challenge.  Danielle over at Recovery is Worth The Fight led me to this challenge, and after speaking it over with my dietitian, today seems to be the perfect day to kick off the challenge.

There's a pretty good chance that you know someone who has an eating disorder.  You might not know who, but with the prevalence of EDs...... Visit NEDAs website for tools that will help you, or someone you care about, overcome an eating disorder.  It is possible!

Each day of NEDA week I will feature a recovery blog that I've found helpful.  This first blog, Surviving ED by Jessica Hudgens, is an eye opening look at eating disorders from inside and out.  She's a great writer, and I find her posts easy to read, and helpful in realizing that I'm not alone.

Stand Up for Mental Health

Do you remember the time, way, way long ago, when cancer was considered a "taboo" word?  No one talked about having cancer.  It was as if cancer was contagious, and if you talked about it, you'd catch it.

Same with diabetes.

Same with autsim.

Same with many, many, health challenges.

But time passed, people became more educated and aware, and now, it's nothing to walk by two people in the coffee shop and hear them discussing cancer, or a child with autism, or any other plethora of health issues.  People talking about those formerly taboo topics have taken the shame, taken the power, away from them.  Now mainstream conversations, and publicly supported challenges, all were once like the elusive forbidden fruit - you knew it was out there, but no one ever spoke of it.

So now it's time to do the same thing, shed the same light and awareness about mental health.

C'mon.  You know what I'm talking about.  The stigma of having a "mental issue" is shrouded in shame.  Embarrassment.  The fear of being ostracized, of having your "secret" ruin your life.

It's time to make a change and time for mental health conversations to move from private offices and whispered corners.  It's time to help those with mental challenges the same way we help those with cancer, and other serious illnesses.  No one ever asks for diabetes or cancer.  Well it's the same with mental health.  No one asks to be bipolar, or to have depression.  No one.

If you're so inclined, please check out the Stand Up for Mental Health campaign.  You'll find a ton of resources for those suffering with mental illness, for those supporting those with mental illness, and for those interested in helping mental illness become less taboo.

Additional resources...

Mental Health Statistics and Facts

Where to Find Mental Health Help

Join the Stand Up for Mental Health Campaign