Every Week is EDAW to Arielle

If you live in the UK, my Eating Disorder Awareness Week posts (a post a day this past week) probably seemed normal. If you live in the United States, you may have been confused. EDAW in the UK began February 20^th, 2012. EDAW in the USA begins February 26^th, 2012. If you live in Canada, I missed the boat. Apparently Canada’s EDAW is always the first week in February, though I know some of the time Canada adjusts for certain US events. If you live somewhere else besides the US or UK, you’re in luck – pick a week. :) My site is dedicated to eating disorder recovery/awareness for everyone.

At first I was puzzled by the fact that this year for some reason EDAW is different weeks depending on location, when usually it is one uniform week for all. But then I decided, this is actually a GOOD thing. Considering that I live in the US, I’m fairly well-integrated into several groups/orgs that originate in the UK. I am also a member of EDAN (Eating Disorder Activist Network), which is international. And I have several good friends in the UK. Furthermore, many of my readers/viewers are not US-based. So, as an American, I hopped on UK’s Eating Disorder Awareness Week.

Now that America’s EDAW is about to kick off, I’m just continuing my post-a-day theme and you’ll get 2 full weeks of concentrated eating disorder recovery/awareness posts.

In short, 2 weeks of EDAW is better than one!

But in discussing EDAW as a theme, I’d like to talk about something important: EDAW to me, is no different than any other week. Sure, I always jump on the bandwagon of extra recovery/awareness collaborations and sharing of special events in honor of the week. But if you visit my site, you know (and have probably known for a long, long time) that eating disorder recovery and awareness is what I talk about EVERY DAY. I don’t devote a week to it. Even while trying to be international, I don’t devote just 2 weeks to it. I devote my year to it... my LIFE to it.

In my world, EDAW goes on all year long. I do the same things during EDAW that I do every week – I speak about eating disorders, I write about them, I give advice, I lead groups, I answer emails and phone calls, I make self-help videos, I try to give hope.

I said in a video from earlier this week that EDAW is your time to shout out eating disorder awareness stuff from the rooftops. Well, that’s what I do each day. It’s my essence. I can’t take time off from something so incredibly important to me, because it’s not only important to me, it’s important for the WORLD.

This isn’t a post to show you how dedicated I am – this is me pledging to you that I will never stop speaking out about issues that are vital. I’m in this for the long haul and I want you to know that if you need to take a day, a week, a month, a year off from the cause, it’s okay – because I will always be here fighting for you and using my voice.

...Because one day I want EDAW to stand for Eating Disorder Awareness WORLD, not Week.

With love and (com)passion,

Arielle

International Resources

I know a plethora of eating disorder resources and can share them with people readily. Those resources (including hotlines, websites, forums, projects, blogs, organizations, support groups, and therapists), however, are only for the United States. And I've been thinking (and worrying) about how disheartening that must be for a lot of people.

A woman commented on one of my videos recently, telling me how she'd been to see a doctor who passed off her bulimia as something that wasn't serious, how she has struggled to get help, how she doesn't know where to turn... because she's in Korea. She pleaded with me to help her - what could she do?, she asked.

Well, I immediately began searching the internet for resources in Korea. And let me tell you what a difficult time I had. I couldn't find a thing. I began to search broadly for eating disorder resources, and all I came up with were American sites, a few UK sites, and even fewer Australian sites. I know part of this is because I am using a search engine here in the United States. But I also know that it must be very hard for people in other countries to find the resources they need.

I couldn't find a single eating disorder hotline that wasn't in the USA or the UK. There's ANAD and NEDA and SomethingFishy's resources... but they can't help anyone who's not in the US.

So I responded to this viewer with encouragement and advice, but with a lack of actual resources of a place she could contact.

Well, after a lot of digging, I found two websites I'd like to share with you, especially as I know there are people from several different countries who read my blog.

The first is: Eating Disorder Hope International Treatment and Resources

This site lists several countries (by no means all, but it's better than anything else I've found) including Austria, China, Italy, and Japan as links, and when you click the link for the specific country, the site will list all the eating disorder resources available. It's wonderful.

The second is: an international links page for a UK Eating Disorders Association

On this page are a variety of services and organizations, marked by the flag of a specific country. Represented are the UK, Germany, New Zealand, the European Council on Eating Disorders, Canada, the US, etc.

Again, there are only a few countries represented here, but it's very helpful.

So, now, two things I'd like you to do if you can:

1) Pass these resources on to anyone you know (or use them yourself!)

2) Please tell me if you know of any other international resources or websites I can add to my list.

Thank you!