Light a Virtual Candle: NEDA Week

 

ALNEDA (The Alabama Network For Eating Disorders Awareness) 

is once again hosting their  

Virtual Candlelight Vigil 

 for National Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2011. 

You are invited to light a candle in honor of individuals 

who have had their lives touched by an eating disorder. 

Celebrate recovery or show support for those still struggling. 

The colors of the candles and what they represent are:

White: Remembrance ( for someone who has lost their life to an ED)

Silver: Support (for anyone struggling with an ED)

Gold: Celebration (for someone in recovery or who has recovered from an ED)

You can light a candle here.

Click here to see the lit candles.


pic source:http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnera/3984413077/

Healthcare Reform: Help Keep It A Priority

"As he prepares to take office, President-elect Barack Obama faces many pressing issues. And some will urge him to defer efforts to achieve healthcare reform, suggesting that it will be too costly, too difficult, or not a sufficiently high priority."

The above postcard can be found at Mental Health America. Please fill one out and send it to help keep Healthcare Reform a priority.

sources:http://mentalhealthamerica.net/

AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL: America's Obsession With Beauty

The brain child of director Darryl Roberts, the documentary "America The Beautiful" is about the value of physical beauty placed on people in the US. Spurred by an article Roberts read online about a man who killed a model who refused to date him; "She was really attractive,' Roberts said. 'And he wanted to date her, but she wouldn't date him. So he said, if he couldn't have her, nobody could and so he killed her,"Roberts researched the subject, logging over 500 hours of film in the process. Armed with a set of questions, Darryl Roberts first interviewed 200 women. One of the questions he asked was "Do you feel attractive? Do you feel beautiful?" Sadly, only 2 women answered yes.

Traveling the country he set out to uncover why so many feel so bad about themselves. Speaking with those in the fashion industry, experts, plastic surgeons, and ordinary people Roberts collected the honest and sometimes confused views of those he interviewed. He calls the amount of women and girls with eating disorders and "epidemic." One model in the film, six feet tall and 130 pounds who was told she needed to lose weight said, "Health doesn't become an option in this business. If you want to worry about your health, go to college."

In an interview by Euan Kerr of Minnesota public radio, Roberts said, "You have all these multi-national corporations that are making billions and billions of dollars off of people feeling bad about themselves. We are just entering a further and further state of moral decay."

When asked what his goal was Roberts answered, "basically my purpose in doing the film was to put forth the message that we're all beautiful the way that we are ... so that we can recollect our self-esteem and just kind of take it back from the advertisers ..."

"...One of the most important documentary films of this decade.
Absolutely critical viewing." Samantha Urban

"America the Beautiful is funny, shocking, and enlightening and is important enough to merit as many people seeing it as possible." Samantha Urban

"...the shock will keep your eyes glued to the screen for the rest of the film."
Anton S

Viewers said:

"Powerful. Thank you Darryl..."

"Amazing, amazing film."

"Very insightful."

"So poignant. So right on point with his perspective."

"...amazing."

America the Beautiful will be released in theaters this fall.

sources:
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/06/19/americathebeautiful/
http://www.americathebeautifuldoc.com/
http://youtube.com/watch?v=0GXTooMa4go : interview by thebigfanboy.com

NJ Family Wins Major Battle For Those With Eating Disorders

Three years ago, thirteen year old Marisa Meiskin wore baggy clothes to hide her thinning body. What started out as calorie counting and label watching, soon progressed to weighing herself several times a day and throwing her food away. Her parents, finding themselves searching through the family garbage to be sure Marisa was eating, knew they were dealing with a much bigger problem.

Marisa was diagnosed with Anorexia and was treated in a nearby hospital. After several visits her parents realized that with each return home their daughter would quickly lose the weight she had gained while being treated there. Jaundiced and her heart rate dangerous low, they then sent her to a specialized hospital in Utah. When their insurance carrier, Aetna, would not cover the tens of thousands of dollars the facility cost a month they were forced to take out a second mortgage on their home. They filed suit against their insurance carrier. “We had no choice,” Jeff Meiskin, Marisa’s father, said. “If we had not brought her to the Utah facility, we don’t know where she'd be. She may not be here.”

"All carriers that do business in New Jersey had taken a uniform position that all eating disorders were not biologically based and based on that misassumption, they were limiting coverage across the board,” said the Meiskin's lawyer, Bruce Nagel. Aetna has now agreed to pay for eating disorder treatment claims that were denied during the past 7 years, settling the class-action lawsuit. This means that the Meiskins and all 100 families listed in the suit will get reimbursed and other full coverage Aetna members will also be eligible.

Marisa, now 16, is speaking out about anorexia. She wants others to understand that it is not about vanity but a debilitating disorder rooted in control.


sources:www.wnbc.com/news/16518815/detail.html?rss=ny&psp=news
http://www.wnbc.com/news/16518832/detail.html
picture source:http://www.flickr.com/photos/safari_vacation/6260723020/