My name is Christine Naismith. I’m one of the cofounders of Eating Disorders Families Australia. We’re a support organization for families, parents, partners, carers of people with eating disorders.
June 2 is World Eating Disorder Action Day, and we’d really love to invite you to help us in our campaign to raise awareness about the prevalence of eating disorders.
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We invite you to start the conversation so that we can get more people having early intervention, which will lead to a shorter duration of illness and less suffering for the whole family. Part of the eating disorder is all about sharing information.
Why the Baton?
The baton represents having a whole team around you. It’s really important that someone with an eating disorder feels supported by a team that shares information with each member of the team, and that they’re all on the same page.
They treat the person with love and compassion, letting them feel safe. We really want families to be included in these treatment teams. It’s very important that they are part of the planning because they’re the ones that are doing the hard work at home to support their loved ones.
The idea of the baton is that you’re sharing information, you’re passing it along, and you’re staying on track. We know that this is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. These are serious brain illnesses, and can last for many years and put the whole family under a lot of strain and stress.
Raise awareness
We want to raise awareness that families need more support and they need to be part of a team. And on June 2, we just ask you to start the conversations.
You could help us by passing on a virtual baton of sharing information.
Let people know that…
- eating disorders are biological brain illnesses that can affect anyone of any age, any gender, any body type, any socioeconomic or cultural background.
- they just don’t discriminate.
- you never know when someone might be impacted because you can’t tell an eating disorder by physical appearance.
We want to use this opportunity to raise awareness about the dangers and prevalence of eating disorders and the fact that families need more support.
So if you can do your bit by sharing some information or reaching out to somebody that you know is looking after someone with an email, just saying, are you okay…
…and would you like some help?
Or how can I be of some assistance to you?
You have a voice. We really appreciate any support you can give us.
Posting to Facebook or Instagram?
Please use the hashtags
#passthebaton #passthebaton4eatingdisorders #World EDday2022 #Care4U
