Our First #endED Twitter Chat Re-Cap
About a month ago, I attended a webinar on Twitter Chats, led by #mefirst creator Rebecca Scritchfield. As I sat listening to the webinar I thought “why isn’t there an eating disorder twitter chat happening?” I’m “newish” to Twitter and was a bit nervous to start one myself. But with the encouragement from my social savvy consultant @elizabetheats (aka @iamguiltless), the #endED Twitter Chat was born!
With NEDAW on the horizon, we new the timing was perfect! The goal of #endED is to bring anyone and everyone together who cares about ending eating disorders. My hope is to end the silence and myths about eating disorders, create a place for honest and informed discussion, while offering hope and encouragement.
Our first #endED chat was an unbelievable success. It left me inspired and excited about the power bringing many voices together who are working toward the same goal. Medicinal Marzipan (a gifted blogger who devotes herself to repairing body image issues) provided a great blog post that summed up the chat. Please check it out, as 16 incredible pro-recovery and positive body image resources that we discussed on the chat are listed there.
Here are the questions we discussed and a VERY brief synopsis of the responses. Here is also a link to the chat archive.
Q1 How big of a problem are eating disorders today?
Big…and growing. Eating disorders are affecting a more diverse population and striking younger and younger. Check out this stats page.
Q2 What treatment options are available for eating disorders?
There are quite a few treatment options, but the #1 limitation is money. Treatment is expensive and insurance usually cuts out way too soon. This is an amazing resource from @VoiceinRecovery.
Q3 How do you help someone you suspect has an eating disorder?
This post sums it up.
Q4 What is the role of body image in eating disorders & How can we improve it?
We live in a toxic culture which promotes unrealistic body ideals that corrode our body image. Poor body image is a universal contributor to the development of an eating disorder and places an inappropriate focus on the value of physical appearance. This is an great handout.
Q5 What is “recovery” and what does recovery look like?
Because psychiatric illnesses are individual, recovery is also individual. But we do know it’s slow, non-linear, and requires A LOT of support.
Q6 What is one thing each of us can do to create awareness about eating disorders?
Talk about it, blog about it, or simply forward this blog post to a friend!
**Stay tuned for details on our next #endED Twitter Chat. Evelyn Tribole, author of “Intuitive Eating” will be our guest expert.
Clueless when it comes to Twitter? I was too! It’s easy. Here’s a primer if you’re interested. You can follow me @marciRD
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This is fantastic Marci! Thank you for bringing this to the world of eating disorders so we can share information and work together to improve the lives of all who are impacted by eating disorders. Becky Henry