Editorial: Seeking help when it's around
Issue date: 2/18/09 Section: Opinions
We have a lot to worry about these days. Not only is the economy a mess, seniors graduating in May face incredible uncertainty in the job market. Students on this campus are the kind of people who tend to care enormously: about their grades, about participation in extracurricular activities (Echo editors included) and about larger issues-conflicts across the globe, environmental problems, educational inequality, poverty in Maine. Sometimes, it can be hard to remember the worries and problems closer to home.
This past week, a few different events focused on eating disorders at the College. Eating disorder awareness may seem trite-we all got our fair share of education in high school-but is still a hugely important issue facing college women and men. We've all heard the statistics, but that shouldn't make them any less true or terrifying: up to 10 million American women and 1 million American men may have anorexia or bulimia, countless others struggle with binge eating disorders and 80 percent of American women are believed to be dissatisfied with their appearance (according to nationaleatingdisorders.org).
In the front-page Echo article this week, Director of Counseling Services Patricia Newman made an important point: "Not everyone with an eating disorder looks incredibly skinny. If someone is finding their thoughts and time consumed with food, how much they have eaten, how much they are going to eat…it might be worth it for them to seek help."
Seeking help is what we want to encourage this week in our editorial. It's easy to become caught up in other worries and cast aside thoughts of a friend who spends mealtimes pushing food around her plate instead of eating it or your own obsession with the treadmill's calorie counter. While we may never come up with a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict here on the Hill, we're able to address the problems closer to home, using the College's ample resources.
The Health Center has a team of people who are experienced in addressing eating disorders and other body image issues. While we're here, we might as well take advantage of them, either for ourselves or for our friends.
Of course, dealing with eating disorders is anything but easy. However, it can be made easier. Making use of counseling services and the Health Center is a way to start. Furthermore, the Echo wants to take part in encouraging a supportive and nonjudgmental environment on campus, one where those who need help are not only aware that help exists, but not afraid or embarrassed to seek it out.
We fully support attempts to create a support group for victims of eating disorders and look forward to seeing this initiative fulfilled.
This past week, a few different events focused on eating disorders at the College. Eating disorder awareness may seem trite-we all got our fair share of education in high school-but is still a hugely important issue facing college women and men. We've all heard the statistics, but that shouldn't make them any less true or terrifying: up to 10 million American women and 1 million American men may have anorexia or bulimia, countless others struggle with binge eating disorders and 80 percent of American women are believed to be dissatisfied with their appearance (according to nationaleatingdisorders.org).
In the front-page Echo article this week, Director of Counseling Services Patricia Newman made an important point: "Not everyone with an eating disorder looks incredibly skinny. If someone is finding their thoughts and time consumed with food, how much they have eaten, how much they are going to eat…it might be worth it for them to seek help."
Seeking help is what we want to encourage this week in our editorial. It's easy to become caught up in other worries and cast aside thoughts of a friend who spends mealtimes pushing food around her plate instead of eating it or your own obsession with the treadmill's calorie counter. While we may never come up with a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict here on the Hill, we're able to address the problems closer to home, using the College's ample resources.
The Health Center has a team of people who are experienced in addressing eating disorders and other body image issues. While we're here, we might as well take advantage of them, either for ourselves or for our friends.
Of course, dealing with eating disorders is anything but easy. However, it can be made easier. Making use of counseling services and the Health Center is a way to start. Furthermore, the Echo wants to take part in encouraging a supportive and nonjudgmental environment on campus, one where those who need help are not only aware that help exists, but not afraid or embarrassed to seek it out.
We fully support attempts to create a support group for victims of eating disorders and look forward to seeing this initiative fulfilled.
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