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Eating Disorders

This week we focused on eating disorders.  I sat down with experts from Eating Disorders Information Network, a non-profit organization aimed at outreach to increase awareness/prevention among students in grade school to high school, and helping people identify resources for treatment.  According to the National Anorexia Nervosa Association, eating disorders are a serious problem, with as many as 24 million Americans suffering with some form of disorder from anorexia, to bulemia, to binge/purge, and more.

The problem affects both men and women, children and adults, across all demographics.  And according to Dr. Dina Zeckhausen, founder of EDIN, eating disorders are more deadly than other mental illness.  When you consider dysfunctional eating habits such as overly-restrictive dieting, comfort eating, and others, as many as 80-90% of us are impacted at some time by potentially-problematic attitudes about food.

EDIN is working to engage young people beginning in grade school through high school to promote self-acceptance and to share information about the dangers of risky behaviors such as “clubs” that foster unhealthy choices such as eating crackers and water only for lunch with a group of peers.  Their website describes their mission in this way, “The Eating Disorders Information Network (EDIN) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the prevention of eating disorders through education, outreach, and action.  EDIN is committed to addressing the problem of eating disorders on a societal level.  We are devoted to: 

• Preventing eating disorders
• Increasing public awareness of the personal, familial, and cultural/media influences which contribute to eating disorders
• Helping those already suffering to find the therapeutic services they need

The organization strives to serve as a comprehensive resource and educational guide for those wanting to learn more about eating disorders, those seeking help, and those gathering and distributing information about available treatment options both in the Atlanta area and nationwide.”

Special Guests:

Dina Zeckhausen, PhD, Founder of Eating Disorders Information Network         

• PhD, Clinical-Community Psychology, University of South Carolina
• Active private practice psychologist
• Well-known public speaker on the topic of eating disorders
• Published author and playwrite

Hallie Udelson, Eating Disorders Information Network

• BA, Psychology, Emory University
• 2016 Candidate, Master of Public Health, Emory University
• Developing curriculum for school outreach initiatives for EDIN

Sara Pannell, Incoming Director, Eating Disorders Information Network

• Licensed Family and Marriage Counselor, Trillium Springs Counseling
• MS, Family & Marriage Counseling, Fuller Theological Seminary
• Previous Bi-lingual Clinician I, San Fernando Valley Community Mental Health Center