Workshop: The Myths and Realities of Eating Disorders

This week I went to the workshop in the Tech Pride room that was on the “Myths and Realities of Eating Disorders. The speaker was a really nice woman and she began her PowerPoint presentation by asking us questions and seeing who thought was the correct answer. It was funny because usually the audience was about fifty fifty in answering the questions correctly. It showed how ignorant we are about eating disorders in general. This workshop really answered some questions that most people think about but do not ask. For example, both men and women can have eating disorders and eating disorders are medically considered an illness. This workshop was really informative and went through all eating disorders like anorexia, bulimia, and compulsive overeating. You usually hear about anorexia and bulimia, but I did not realize that compulsive overeating was even termed as an eating disorder. The speaker gave us a lot of handouts that explained signs of eating disorders and what to do if you see signs of this in a friend. At the end the speaker game time for the audience to ask questions and people's questions were very interesting. One person asked how do you know if you are a compulsive overeater. It surprised me to know that there is actually a list of signs to look for in a compulsive overeater. I am really glad I went to this workshop because I learned much about eating disorders and I do not feel as ignorant about the subject. I had a friend in high school that had an eating disorder and I wish I could have known some of this information so I could have helped her out more. Overall this workshop was beneficial because now I am more informed about illnesses in our world today.