Body image and eating disorder awareness week

FROM THE BUTTERFLY FOUNDATION

This week is Body Image and Eating Disorders Awareness Week (BIEDAW)!
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Our research shows that awareness of eating disorders has increased but deeper understanding remains low and misconceptions and stigma remain high.

So, this #BIEDAW we're focusing on a series of reminders of things we Kindly Do and Kindly Don’t want people to say, think or do when it comes to bodies, appearance and eating disorders to help us better support those living with eating disorders and body image concerns, and work towards a more Body Kind Australia.
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If you want to give the people around you a gentle reminder of how to sensitively approach these topics and avoid harm, give our posts a share, share your own ‘Kindly Do & Kindly Don’t’ reminders and check out the resources linked in our bio.
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We’ll kick things off....Kindly Don’t comment on my appearance...ever! There’s so much more to me than how I look. #BIEDAW2024 #KindlyDoKindlyDont

https://butterfly.org.au/get-involved/campaigns/biedaw/

For me……

Don’t tell me to ‘just eat’. It is far from being just that simple. Every day is a battle inside my head over my body image, exercise and food.
Don’t judge me when I do eat. That was real hard! Harder than you’d ever know. And I feel extreme guilt over.
And don’t judge my eating disorder by the size of my body. My official diagnosis is atypical anorexia. Exactly the same as typical anorexia, just not underweight. Eating disorders should never be judged by the size of the person suffering. Atypical anorexia is actually more typical that typical anorexia. More people suffer from in. But we live in a society that suffers from fat phobia. I can’t remember the amount of times I have been dismissed and judged by medical and mental health professionals because of the body I live in.
Eating disorders are the number 1 killer of all mental health conditions.