NEDAwareness Week 2012 Highlights!

National Eating Disorder Awareness Week is a week when
everyone in the eating disorderrecovery community partners up to spread
awareness. This year, an overwhelming about of awareness was spread by
activists, those in recovery and even celebrity’s! Demi Lovatto, singer,
actress and former Disney star who is in recovery for her eating disorder sent
out the following tweets on Twitter last week to her 6 million
followers:

Actress Demi Lovatto speaks about her eating disorder

“24 million Americans are affected by
eating disorders. Everybody Knows Somebody. #NEDAwareness.”

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

And

“Research funding per individual:
Alzheimer’s $88, Schizophrenia $81, Autism $44. Eating disorders? $0.93.
Insufficient. #NEDAwareness.”

Along
the same Social Media bandwagon many bloggers took the time to spread awareness
via posts on their blogs. One very popular Mommy Blog, Rage Against the Minivan
posted an article about Preventing Eating Disorders in Children. As well as
various posts by Pyschology Today and Psych Central.

Rage Against the Minivan talks about eating disorders in children

Everyone’s
favorite eating disorder prevention non-profit Rewrite Beautiful held a School Program with the Costa Mesa High
School Cheerleaders and Ensigh Jr. High School. Founder, Irvina Kanarek and
Board Member Robyn Baker spoke with the students. The students heard an eating
disorder recovery story, the physical trauma of eating disorders, participated
in a Q&A panel and the opportunity to Rewrite Beautiful about themselves.

Rewrite Beautiful speaks with Costa Mesa High School

Across the country people organized NEDA Walks. Walks were
held across the country, from Portland, Oregon to New York, New York.  At the walks different college sorority’s,
community groups and activists pledged money and walked for eating disorder research
and treatment.

NEDAwareness Walk in Tampa, Florida

Did you also hear that the Empire State building was lit up one night in honor of NEDAwareness Week?

Empire State Building, lit up for NEDA Week 2012

The award for the edgiest of all awareness strategies goes
to Rewrite Beautiful for creating street art to bring awareness to eating
disorders. The non-profit group held a Street Art Workshop on Sunday with their
supporters. They took old CD’s and CD cases and spray painted them. They
assembled them to spell Rewrite Beautiful, spray painted them and then asked
the participants to write what makes them Creative, Kind and Strong on the CD’s.
The street art was placed in front of Newport Harbor High School with sharpie
markers for other participants to also find their own beauty; creativity,
kindness and strength.

Rewrite Beautiful Street Art – NEDA Week 2012

If you missed out on NEDA Week, don’t worry! You can still
spread the word! Awareness is always needed. If you read an interesting article
about eating disorders or hear about prevention, share it with your twitter
followers and facebook friends. People always need to be educated. The more
awareness the more lives that will be saved from the horrific disease.

Happy Recovery,

Irvina