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I get tears in my eyes every time a high profile person comes out in public and talks about their struggles with food.
It takes so much courage.
The courage to stop being famous for being one of the best tennis players who ever lived and to just tell people – I’m human and I struggle everyday like you. That goes so far in the battle to reduce the stigma surrounding eating disorders.
Monica has teamed with two great non-profits and the drug company Shire to sponsor the spots and to further the dissemination of information about B.E.D.
The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) is one of the largest eating disorder non profits in the world. A combination of many other non-profits merging together, and headquartered in New York City, NEDA has evolved as a leading voice for those with eating disorders.
Chevese Turner founded BEDA the Binge Eating Disorder Association in 2008. She felt people with Binge Eating Disorder (B.E.D.) needed a separate voice. It turns out her intuition was right. In the last seven years it has come to light that B.E.D. is probably a larger issue, by percentage of the population, than all other eating disorders combined. It was just recently officially entered into the DSM 5, the as an official diagnosis.
Shire is a worldwide drug company launched in the UK in 1986. They employ over 5,000 people in 29 countries.
The television commercial is a huge step in the right direction. Monica’s honesty and her ability to convey the pain BED caused her and her desire to, by going public here and in her new book, helps others with their struggle.
By leaving her worries about “what will people think?” at the door and just talking honestly – Monica Seles has advanced the cause of reducing the stigma of binge eating disorder by years. Now we can focus on healing it for the millions still suffering.
Our congratulations to all involved.
I have insomnia and can’t stop eating at night.
My friends and I have been discussing over the last few years how we have struggled for years in the past with binge eating and nobody ever discusses it or refers to it as an eating disorder. Though we are fairly under control we still have had slips. Thank you. I’m hoping I can find someplace in my area to work on this.
I was clinically diagnosed with B.E.D. by my dietician. I told my G.P. the next time I saw him, and he pat his tummy, laughed, and said “I have that too, hahaha!” I am super happy that the message of B.E.D. is getting out there.
Your experience with your GP is common, sadly.
Thanks for the kind words