Sorority promotes eating disorder awareness

Lacie Buckwalter, a former Pitt student, knows the struggle of having an eating disorder. For… Lacie Buckwalter, a former Pitt student, knows the struggle of having an eating disorder. For the past two or three years, she said, she has had one year left of classes to complete in order to graduate. However, despite four separate treatments that lasted about one month each, Buckwalter said she has been unable to complete a semester without a relapse into anorexia nervosa and/or bulimia. As her parents remortgage their home to pay for some of her treatments, Buckwalter remains hopeful. ‘I used to not remember a good day,’ she said. Now she’s improving ‘moment by moment, but it’s worth it.’ Students paid homage to those suffering from eating disorders at a candlelight vigil Friday night hosted by the Delta Phi Epsilon sorority. The evening culminated Pitt’s observance of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. The event, which the sorority has sponsored for years, was held indoors for the first time at Nordy’s Place in the William Pitt Union. With features like representatives from health-oriented campus organizations, a speaker from the Pennsylvania Educational Network for Eating Disorders, testimonials and a ‘True Beauty’ art show and competition, the event highlighted the need for increased awareness of the severity of eating disorders. ‘The situation has not gotten better … it has gotten worse,’ said PENED founder Anita Sinicrope Maier. Referring to National Eating Disorders Association statistics, Maier said between eight and 10 million women and about one million men struggle with eating disorders in the United States. It is also estimated that one out of five women exhibit disordered eating patterns, the precursor to eating disorders. Despite the widespread presence of diseases like anorexia and bulimia, Maier said that people remain relatively uninformed of the gravity of the conditions. ‘The most common causes of death … are cardiac arrest, kidney or liver failure and suicide,’ said Maier. ‘Females between 15 and 24 years old who suffer from anorexia nervosa exhibit a mortality rate associated with the illness that is 12 times higher than the death rate of all other causes of death.’ By improving and spreading knowledge about eating disorders, Maier hopes that more people will contribute to lobbying efforts against insurance companies and the state legislature. Because eating disorders are frequently viewed as mental health issues, it is extremely difficult for those seeking help to receive financial coverage from insurance policies, despite their need for physical treatment, said Maier. ‘Pennsylvania has continued to limit access to care … by allowing loopholes to be created by the insurance industry, which discourages and denies necessary treatment,’ she said. Maier’s own interest in the subject arose when her daughter began to show signs of an eating disorder. Since then, she has been speaking at events for more than 25 years and led a support group at Pitt for 10 years. ‘One of my focal points is to be able to serve Pitt,’ said Maier. She estimated that one-third of her private-practice patients are college students. A patient of Maier’s for the past four years, Seton Hill University junior Cassie Ellson reaffirmed the importance of Maier’s statements by giving an account of her own struggle with anorexia. ‘I refused to see it. I was in control, I thought,’ said Ellson. ‘It takes over your mind … It’s actually really phenomenal.’ An athlete in high school, Ellson was forced to quit basketball and track when her disease became so severe that she was unable to function normally. It took continual confrontation with her friends and parents before she admitted her illness and sought treatment. Upon learning the danger of her physical and mental states, Ellson extended her therapy program, which Maier said is common, and contributes to the need for insurance policies that support such programs. ‘I had to quit college before I even started … All my plans changed,’ said Ellson. ‘But it was worth fighting through and fighting for.’ Not all treatment sessions end happily, though. Many people suffering from eating disorders experience what Maier calls the ‘swirling-door phenomenon,’ in which patients are discharged from their programs prematurely, enter relapse, are readmitted and resume the cycle. Societal pressures have become a large contributor to the development of eating disorders, and the winning submission to the ‘True Beauty’ art exhibition aimed to reflect the trend. The digital photo, designed by Pitt student Mikaela Alger, showed the face of a woman with layers of ‘unrealistic expectations and impossible standards’ peeling away from her revealing the true beauty beneath. Sorority sisters Nichole Huff and Janine Glasson planned the exhibit, and contacted ‘every art department at every college in the Pittsburgh metro area,’ said Huff. They received about 20 pieces, which were presented around the room during the vigil. The art will be on display in the Kimbo Art Gallery in the Union until March 6. In addition to the art exhibition, Pitt student Allison Kobren gave a live performance of songs that highlighted the emotional aspect of self-image. She donated all proceeds from her album sales of the night to PENED. Maier was pleased to see the turnout for the event and was encouraged by the support shown, saying that it’s often difficult to get people to go to such events, unless they’ve experienced the effects in some way. ‘It’s not about food, it’s not about eating,’ said Buckwalter. ‘The only time someone can fail [recovery] is if people give up on them.’