This week is National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. There are a variety of events, and probably even more blog posts to support the discussion this week. I encourage everyone to read up and learn some of the facts and maybe even warning signs so that they can be aware of when friends, or loved ones may be struggling.

Nearly 10 million females and 1 million males suffer from eating disorders. These can include, bulimia, anorexia, and binge eating.

Personally, I’ve struggled with my body image since College. As I move to a desk job, I gained weight and have both lost and gained. In fact, just this morning I signed up for Weight Watchers. For me, it’s to lose 10-15 pounds to hopefully assist with trying to get pregnant. But also, I would like my clothes to fit a little loser. I have started to notice that too many of my clothes are snug. So it’s time to do something about that. Luckily for me, I’m able to approach my weight loss with healthy ideas. Others are not so lucky.

When I was younger, I participated in this hobby called Cosplay. The word comes from Japan and basically means costume play. You create or buy an outfit typically that represents your favorite animated character and play dress up. There are varying amounts of authenticity, but it’s incredibly fun and can also be dangerous on the self esteem. Characters are drawn with unrealistic proportions and costumes. But in Cosplay, cosplayers (the people wearing the costumes) attempt to get as close to matching the character as possible. While it’s a celebration in being creative and sewing abilities, it can also be an instant feed to the ego because if you look good, you get more pictures taken of you. Recognition is the name of the game. This can be the darker side of cosplay. The less you wear, the thinner you are, the more pictures are taken. At one point when I was cosplaying, I remember that I knew a rather large group of women that would crash diet or even not eat at all in order to look good in their costume. This would repeat for each convention. Not everyone falls into this. But it’s easy to see that this can spark unhealthy behavior. Someone I know has serious bulimic issues and crash dieting that starts with cosplaying but ends up being a year round obsession. And it’s hard. It’s hard to see someone that is beautiful, and thin, see themselves in this manner. Unfortunately, I stopped caring. I stopped talking to her and was no longer there to try and support her. Hopefully these days she’s healthier.

NEDA week is not only about yourself. It’s about learning the warning signs or learning how to help your daughters and sons grow up with positive body images. It’s about learning how you can tell media influences that you’ve had enough of unhealthy body images. It’s time we all take a stand. Learn the warning signs and learn how to approach a friend who may have an issue. I will always regret not helping someone more.

“Most models are thinner than 98% of Americans. Instead of trying to change our bodies, how about we try to change our culture?” #NEDAwareness