Eating disorders linked to fear

Members of SCSU’s Delta Phi Epsilon sorority was compelled to voice their concerns about eating disorders and how these disorders remain problems on college campuses around the United States.

An event titled Raising Awareness for Eating Disorders took place on Tuesday, Oct.20, coinciding with the 12th anniversary of Love Your Body Day on Oct. 21.

The facilitator of the event and president of Delta Phi Epsilon, Allison Goldade, said she felt it was appropriate to show support for the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Eating Disorders (ANAD).

“Since it is one of our philanthropies, I thought it would be an interesting way to raise awareness,” Goldade said. “We plan on doing this again in the spring too.  I think it was just a different way of reaching out to people.”

The key speaker of the event was Jayne Lokken, a professor with the Counseling and Psychological Services on campus.

Lokken outlined the various eating disorders, including Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa, and why it is important to discuss such issues on college campuses in the U.S.

“People from industrialized countries are mostly the ones that suffer from eating disorders [and] 90 percent of those diagnosed are women, 10 percent are men,” Lokken said.

Lokken also discussed the factors in one’s life that can lead to such disorders.

“One way to think about eating disorders is that it is also a disorder of anxiety, where there is an intense fear of something. An intense fear of rejection, an intense fear of judgment, an intense fear of being inadequate or being judged inadequate by other people,” Lokken said. “Eating disorder behavior is a way for people to cope with all of those other feelings of fear.”

The issue of cultural demands, specifically in media, and how they have contributed to the rise of eating disorders was also addressed by Lokken.

“We know that people have a biologic propensity towards depression, towards anxiety and their anxiety comes out in a very specific kind of fear related to the value they have and the way they are perceived by other people,” Lokken said.

“But also, we are strongly influenced by our culture.”

Goldade agreed.

“I really feel like the media influences how we see ourselves as women, as young women, and that none of us can get to that ideal image,” Goldade said. “Of all the magazines and television shows we watch each day, I definitely feel like it effects us.”

Lokken also addressed the impacts an eating disorder can potentially have on the body.

“What happens when you deprive yourself of nutrients is you are depriving yourself of the building blocks for the neurotransmitters that are necessary for your brain to operate normally,” Lokken said.

“The ability to be logical is severely impaired, for thinking, concentration, for decision making. Plus, they [sufferers of an eating disorder] have damage to their hypothalamus.”

Lokken also discussed what others could do to help those who suffer from the disorders.

“If you are concerned about somebody, the best approach is to assume that on some level, he or she wants to face the problem but is basically held hostage by that fear,” Lokken said.

The gathering came to a close as the women in attendance stood in a circle taking a pledge to accept themselves, as well as others, as they are.

To find out more information about eating disorders or to seek help, contact Counseling and Psychological Services in Stewart Hall, room 103.