Since the Fall semester, the Peer Educators have been giving various presentations to their fellow students about everything from STIs to binge drinking to eating disorders. With the mortality rate associated with anorexia nervosa being 12 times higher than the death rate of ALL causes of death for females 15 - 24 years old, and the fact that 95% of those who do have an eating disorder are between the ages of 12 and 26, we thought making the RU students aware of this disease through Eating Disorder Awareness Week would be a great idea.
The eating disorder presentation that is being given to the students throughout the year is called "No Body is Perfect" and it ends with a challenge from Operation Beautiful (operationbeautiful.com), which asks everyone to leave random sticky-notes of kindness for someone else to find and hopefully make their day a little brighter. Our goal is to make EVERYONE realize they are beautiful, and this is a great way to begin that process.
(click on image to enlarge)
Monday - Thursday of this week from 10am-2pm we will have a table setup in the Bonnie Lobby with information about body image and eating disorders (including new ways of looking more healthily and happily at yourself and your body, signs and symptoms of eating disorders, and how to talk to a friend who has an eating disorder). At our table we also have Operation Beautiful information and materials to make the notes, as well as free bracelets that promote healthy body image. We are focusing on encouraging people to have a positive self image because people with negative body images have a greater likelihood of developing an eating disorder and are more likely to suffer from feelings of depression, isolation, low self-esteem and obsessions with weight loss.
In addition to the table, we are also sponsoring a workshop "Body Outlines" to help people see themselves as others see them. The event is facilitated by Erin Sullivan, Director of Student Counseling, on Tuesday from 12-1pm in Bonnie Room 249 & 250.
Please join us!
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