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CAUGHT BETWEEN CULTURES: DISORDERED EATING IN ASIAN AMERICA

For the children of immigrants, the coinciding of two seemingly disparate cultures with equally unattainable beauty and “wellness” standards can shape a multi-faceted struggle with disordered eating and body image. 17-year-old journalist Serena Li describes her journey to find HEALing from diet culture and navigate her identity as a young Chinese American woman.

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WHAT THE DSM-5 GETS WRONG ABOUT EATING DISORDERS

The DSM-5 is often hailed as the cornerstone of clinical psychology and psychiatry. Yet Project HEAL Ambassador Regina Colie illuminates how the DSM-5 often upholds structural oppression in the mental health space and imposes rigid labels on what are in fact deeply individualized struggles influenced by socio-political factors. As a future clinician, Regina harbors so many critical insights.

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CATALYZING ACCESS TO COMMUNITY-BASED HEALING

Having underwent inpatient treatment while in recovery from an eating disorder, Tori understands firsthand the importance of community-based, group support for catalyzing HEALing. That’s why she founded Sesh, a mental health platform that renders group support more accessible than ever. Project HEAL is proud to partner with Sesh, and we completely agree that cultivating safe, equitable spaces for storytelling and recovery is absolutely paramount.

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BODY IMAGE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

Many people are growing increasingly cognizant of how the “thin ideal” permeates every facet of society. HEALers Circle member Allyson Ford reminds us that intersectional systems of oppression inject many other “ideals” in our individual and collective psyches as well; thus, our bodies are inherently political. While body positivity is not truly possible without liberation for all bodies, we can work on body neutrality, and as an eating disorder therapist and survivor, Allyson provides invaluable wisdom regarding this.

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HEALING YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOD & BODY DURING RECOVERY

Healing from an eating disorder often elicits complex emotions of confusion, frustration, and self-doubt; distressing thoughts about “not being sick enough” or “not recovering the ‘right’ way” are unfortunately all-too-common. HEALers Circle member Katy Gaston shares the incredible insights she’s derived from her own recovery journey and her abundant clinical experience, assuaging these concerns and reminding us that healing is never black-and-white.

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CHATTING WITH CLINICIANS: DIET CULTURE, SOCIAL MEDIA, AND SELF-LOVE

Project HEAL Ambassador Regina Colie sits down and interviews three NYC-based therapists who specialize in eating disorders. They highlight everything from the anti-Black roots of fatphobia & the perils of social media to the limits of preaching “self-love” & the significance of curiosity in recovery. We truly appreciate the insights and experience they bring!

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HEAL Week: Nnenna’s Recovery Story

Former Project HEAL beneficiary shares her recovery story and the impact that the Cash Assistance Program had in her life. “As a Black woman, I never thought in a million years I would have an eating disorder. So when I applied for support from Project HEAL to pay for therapy & nutrition, I thought I’d never get it because I didn’t look like the ‘eating disorder type.’ But guess what? I did! Thank you, Project HEAL, for all you have done in helping with my recovery. I couldn’t have done this without you.

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HEAL Week 2021: October 4-10!

Every year, Project HEAL sets aside the first week of October to raise funds for a specific project or initiative that is attuned to the most urgent needs of the eating disorder community. This year, we are fundraising for our 2022 Cash Assistance Program.

Project HEAL CEO, Rebecca Eyre, shares more about how you can make a huge impact in people’s lives this week!

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NAVIGATING ED RECOVERY IN A LARGER BODY

Due the virulent anti-fatness that permeates society, we tend to praise restrictive eating disorder behaviors that result in weight loss while vilifying binge-eating and weight gain. Project HEAL Ambassador Lexie Manion relays how she was consequently deemed “gross” and “unworthy” when struggling with a debilitating eating disorder. Through the fat liberation movement, she was able to find a supportive community that catalyzed a transformation in her understanding of weight and “health”. We are reminded that all individuals with eating disorders deserve unwavering compassion and equitable, life-saving care.

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FREE TO BE ME: CONFRONTING THE STIGMA

Due to our cultural fixation with “clean eating”, we often praise folks grappling with life-threatening eating disorders for their “discipline” and commitment to wellness. In this latest blog post, Jason Wood boldly shares his struggles with orthorexia and his difficulty finding treatment as a male with an illness completely unrecognized by his clinicians. He furthermore details how the shame he felt as a gay man directly translated into feeling a need to suppress his pain and appear more “masculine”. We are so grateful to Jason for sharing his powerful story.

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HEALING IS IMPERFECT

Oftentimes, we think of recovery as culminating in a golden moment where we’re suddenly liberated from the chains of our eating disorder and everything is forevermore good and well. In this piece, Naomi Devlin reminds us that this couldn’t be further from the truth—HEALing is messy and confusing, and that’s totally okay. We can be struggling AND worthy at the same time, and embracing our human “imperfection” is incredibly freeing.

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ASIAN AMERICAN IN A WHITE-DOMINANT TREATMENT CENTER

Neutrality is often upheld as a key tenet in clinical spaces. Yet as Rachel Wang illustrates in this piece, the pernicious dogma to “stay out of politics” causes tremendous harm to folks who fall outside the dominant eating disorder narrative. After all, one’s identity and culture are inextricable from their relationship with food. Rachel thus underscores the importance of anti-racism and cultural humility for providers and reminds us of our collective duty to dismantle the treatment barriers faced by Asian Americans.

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REPAIRING MY RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOD

In this deeply impactful piece, Sydney Johnson highlights the link between obsessive-compulsive disorder and eating disorders, instigating a conversation sorely needed in recovery spaces. We are furthermore taken on her courageous journey to find her most authentic, liberated self—the self that makes lifelong memories and empowers others to wholeheartedly embrace themselves.

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“BODY POSITIVITY” OR THINNESS CONFIRMATION? ANTI-FATNESS IN EATING DISORDER RECOVERY SPACES

In recent years, the body positivity movement has achieved great prominence, with many regarding it as a means of promoting self-love and hence minimizing its social justice roots. As Project HEAL Ambassador Grace Bragdon illustrates, the co-opting of body positivity by thin folks epitomizes a deeply problematic trend in which those with certain privileges capitalize on movements established by and for individuals with marginalized identities. We are reminded that what many deem “body positivity” is virulent anti-fatness, just glamorously concealed and repackaged.

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A PATHWAY TO FREEDOM

Rarely do we explore the intersection of pregnancy, parenting, and eating disorders, yet Amber probes this oft-neglected junction through powerful storytelling. In this piece, she relays how she navigated eating disorder treatment as an expectant mother and relentlessly strove for freedom — freedom from her disorder AND freedom to live her own life. She continues to approach this journey with valor, vulnerability, and compassion, leaving us deeply inspired.

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THE REALITIES OF TREATMENT AS A BIPOC

What does it mean to be a BIPOC with an eating disorder? How does a BIPOC navigate the tricky waters of receiving an eating disorder diagnosis and subsequent treatment? In this brave story, we are reminded that all individuals have the capacity to develop an eating disorder; we are held accountable to the fact that we need to do better to support BIPOC with eating disorders.

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COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: “I LOVE ANA,” A SHORT FILM BY AYLSSA MULLINGS

A beautiful and heart-wrenching look at one woman’s struggle with her body and her eating disorder. As a first-generation Jamaican woman who has recovered from an eating disorder, Alyssa Mullings has crafted a wonderfully layered narrative about a young girl who joins an online chat group that supports people engaging with their eating disorders. Watch the video and read our Q&A with Alyssa afterwards!

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ONE YEAR LATER…

In honor of BIPOC Mental Health Month, Project HEAL’s CEO reflects back on a year of learning and action following our pledges in the summer of 2020 to do better for the Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) in the eating disorder community. Here, Rebecca “shows our receipts” so that we may remain accountable for the work we promised to do and continue to do.

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Press Release: Equipped to HEAL

Through Equipped to HEAL, Equip will be providing free treatment to at least five Project HEAL beneficiaries per year whose family is low-income or facing extenuating financial circumstances; experiencing medical or social discrimination related to their identity or appearance; and don’t currently have quality eating disorder treatment options through an insurance provider.

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SUBMIT A GUEST BLOG

Project HEAL would love to share any and all stories that are aligned with our mission, vision and/or values. If you have struggled with an eating disorder, have experienced and/or overcome barriers to accessing treatment, or are an ED provider and/or recovery advocate — we want to hear from you!

We are especially interested in sharing stories from voices often excluded from and/or underrepresented in the eating disorder recovery community. Submitting a blog proposal does not necessarily guarantee publishing — we reserve the right to respond with proposed edits (for your approval) or pass on publishing your proposed content.

Thank you in advance for wanting to share your story with us and our community!