The ÍƼöÐÓ°ÉÔ´´ recently celebrated Eating Disorder Awareness Week in a collaboration with on-campus partners. The week was celebrated with events and discussions throughout campus including a resource fair, an inner beauty craft event and the highlight of the week, the Body Positive Pool Party.  
For the University’s Counseling Services, Eating Disorder Awareness Week is more than a week-long event; disordered eating has a lasting impact on students year-round. 
“Between six and nine percent of people will have disordered eating in their lifetime, but college students are actually three times more likely to exhibit disordered eating,” said Susan Chamberlain, Ph.D., one of the eating disorder mental health clinicians, and a licensed psychologist serving students on campus.
“Throughout the U.S., eating disorders are the second deadliest mental health issue behind opioid addiction, so a person dies from an eating disorder related issue every 52 minutes,” Chamberlain said. “It is a huge issue.”
Counseling Services at the University provide a free support group called Nourish and Flourish. This group holds weekly meetings throughout the semester where students are encouraged to bring something to eat and join an informal chat about food. Although the group is open to everyone, Chamberlain felt that attendance was too low. So, Counseling Services knew they needed to create more awareness.
“Eating disorders thrive in isolation,” Chamberlain said. “So healing is really only possible in community and in relationships that recognize you're not alone.”
This was the main goal for the Eating Disorder Awareness Week, to create and amplify campus-wide awareness. 
For many students, disordered eating may not be something they think twice about. However, the issue is a prevailing problem on college campuses nationwide. Cam Beckwith, a peer educator with Counseling Services, said, “There are so many myths about eating disorders. But they come in all shapes and sizes and anyone can have one.” 
Americans have adopted a prevalent diet culture as part of everyday life. This talk around food might feel casual, but diet talk has more negative impact than we think.  
“It's really common for young women to connect around body shape,” Chamberlain said. "So a lot of young women will say ‘I feel so ugly’ or ‘I've been eating so terribly,’ ‘I've got to work out more.’ A lot of times what happens is other women will join in and be like, ‘oh, my gosh, I know me, too.’ That just creates more diet talk and really is just kind of increasing shame around our bodies. So, it can feel like a form of connection, like we're all in this together. But actually, what it does is it makes people feel very shamed and isolated.”
The Body Positivity Pool Party event was not just for those who might struggle with eating disorders; everyone was welcomed and accepted as a part of the community of students working on uplifting one another and promoting self-worth. 
At the Body Positivity Pool Party, the atmosphere was vibrant and students were excited to have a safe place to be themselves. Attendees were greeted by peer educators and counselors with uplifting attitudes who were playing upbeat music. Counseling Services and partners transformed the pool with decorations, a photo booth, outreach tables from the Student Health Center and Counseling Services. Silver and Blue partnered in catering, which allowed students to have a meal as a community, a key tool for helping students who suffer from disordered eating.
The party started immediately with participants in the main pool taking an aerobics class, while some were taking photos, doing laps and others simply enjoying their moment.
“I love seeing all the people that are showing up. I feel like a pool, especially a college pool, can be a really intimidating place to go when you're in a body that isn't necessarily mainstream beauty. And so having this group together that's just here to support each other is really nice,” said Rachel Eves, a party attendee and a science major at the University.  
When it comes to body positivity many students struggle to feel confident. Alexa Alessi, an outreach support specialist at Counseling Services, said.
“I'd say a lot of times our students talk about how they need to wait until their body is different before something can happen,” Alessi said. “So, they have to lose weight before they can wear that skirt or they really want to apply for that job, but they have to clear up their acne first, or they really, really want to join this club or change their major or ask somebody on a date, but they can't do that until they look different. So, I think a really big, important part about this event was creating a space where we really wanted students to come as they are because life happens while you're like waiting around and hoping that things will change.”
Identifying disordered eating
As awareness of eating disorders rises on campus, many students may realize that they or someone they know is struggling with some sort of disordered eating.
“First off, I think it's really important just to be able to say, ‘Hey, I see you I see that you're struggling. I'm concerned about you.’ We do want to be careful not to use judgmental language because that can just make people curl back up into themselves and not want to talk about it,” Chamberlain explained “But if you come from a place of compassion where you're noticing that maybe your loved one is not eating or they are eating inconsistently, maybe they're more irritable, they're more withdrawn. Just kind of letting them know, ‘I see you and I notice you and I'm concerned about you and I'm here for you if you want to talk it is okay, help me understand what's going on with you’ is more of the approach that I recommend.” 
Students can explore the resources at Counseling Services, and they can set up free same-day services on the Counseling Services website. Students also can seek help at the Student Health Center. The Student Health Center additionally offers direct appointments with dietician Renee Bauer, MS, RDN, to learn more about nutrition and nutritional stabilization.
Disordered eating is a struggle that can push people to their breaking points. Counseling Services and support staff are on standby ready to help.
Alexa Alessi said, “You can't hate your body into something you love. I think about that a lot, we do, all of us, no matter your gender, but particularly women, we get messaging about your body is wrong somehow. And one thing I'd encourage people to ask is who is that benefiting? Who is it benefiting for you to feel shame and guilt about your body? A lot of times it's because someone's trying to sell you a product."
