Walk about it

Eating Disorders Awareness Week aims to start journeys to healing

February 26 marks the start of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. The National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA), whose theme for the year is “Let’s Get Real,” hopes to ensure that those who suffer from eating disorders don’t have to do so in silence and to help those victims start on the road to recovery by raising awareness, challenging negative stereotypes, and getting people screened.

Founded in 2008 to give sufferers and their families a central location for recovery resources and access to providers, the Oklahoma Eating Disorders Association (OEDA) is hosting a slew of events across the state throughout the week. In Oklahoma City, they will screen the film “Embrace,” a documentary following a body image activist’s exploration of body-loathing around the world. Additionally, high schools and colleges will host panel discussions, speakers, screenings, and other events. Locally, OSU-Tulsa and OU-Tulsa will have information tables in their student unions throughout the week.

The main event in Tulsa for Eating Disorders Awareness Week will be the NEDA Walk on Sunday, Feb. 25 at Southern Nazarene University. The walk, in its fourth year, began in 2015 when Grace Evans, a therapist for adolescents in the Laureate Eating Disorders Program at St. Francis, was approached by OEDA. The event intends to raise $15,000. Like many of the walk’s participants, Corina Holtzhauer, who heads a walk team, struggled with an eating disorder herself.

“Almost losing my life and feeling that I was alone is one of my top reasons for advocacy,” Holtzhauer said. “My family was lost in knowing how to help me. My hopes are that raising awareness can create more support groups for families that suffer from a loved one having gone through this.”

An estimated 30 million Americans will suffer from eating disorders at some point in their lives.

“The misrepresentation that everyone and every body is the same is such a hard thing for a young child or young adult to understand,” Holtzhauer said. “I continue to advocate for those in hopes that they will soon believe that they are not defined by a number.”

Tulsans looking to participate in the NEDA Walk can register online before Friday, Feb. 23, or at the event itself.

Visit nedawalk.org/tulsa2018 for more information.