An eating disorder is a serious mental and physical illness that affects your relationship with food, exercise, and body image. Eating disorders impact approximately 30 million people in the United States. The impact is felt by people regardless of race, gender, socio-economic status, disability status, religion, sex, age, etc.
There are unique stressors within the disability community that can cause the development of an eating disorder. There are groups within our community that are unfairly harmed by eating disorders.
Why are there unique stressors for people with disabilities?
- Ableism – prejudice, oppression, and exclusion faced by people with disabilities.
- The media in the U.S celebrates similar, tall, and slender bodies. The many different shapes, sizes, and abilities of bodies found in the disability community are rarely celebrated.
- There are barriers to finding support and treatment for eating disorders.
- Medical providers encourage diet and weight loss without considering if their patient may have an eating disorder
- Medical providers overlook signs of an eating disorder if they are masked by symptoms of your disability. Symptoms of a disability that are also symptoms of an eating disorder can be weight loss or muscle atrophy
- Physical access to treatment may not be available
- Treatment plans can interfere with activities of daily living
- The cost of treatment and support is challenging
- Eating disorder specialists don’t always have training in working with people with other disabilities
Recovery from and eating disorder is possible and there is hope! If think you may need help with an eating disorder, take this simple screening tool or call the NEDA helpline. Also, explore free, and low cost supports available.
Still have questions?
Contact us to see if we can help!
803.779.5121 | advocacy@able-sc.org
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