National Eating Disorder Awareness Week

National Eating Disorder Awareness Week kicks off today. The aim of NEDAwareness Week is to ultimately prevent eating disorders and body image issues while reducing the stigma surrounding eating disorders and improving access to treatment. Eating disorders are serious, life-threatening illnesses — not choices — and it’s important to recognize the pressures, attitudes and behaviors that shape the disorder.

The picture above was taken while I was at Renfrew, which is an eating disorder treatment facility. I signed up for a phototherapy class, and as a group we decided to photograph all of our hands together. To me it symbolizes reaching out for help, accepting each others differences, and gathering strength from each other. Living with a group of women who were all suffering from similar things was very powerful and helped me to not feel so alone.
I have posted this poem that I wrote to go with the photograph before, but I thought this week would be a good time to repost. Eating disorders thrive in isolation and silence. If you are feeling lost and alone, please reach out and ask for help.

Together We Are Strong

Arriving alone, shaken and scared
it didn't take long for your hands to be there
Reaching out through the pain
Holding on to all who came

And together we were strong
Each voice shared a different song
We grew in strength in our own time
With helping hands we could choose to fly

There are times when I falter, fearing that I may fall
I remember those hands when I'm feeling small
And together we are strong.

Angela Minard 2008©