Ask the expert: How to keep stress from controlling eating habits
In times of stress like a full year of coping with COVID-19 many people turn to food for a source of comfort or control. While modifications to typical diets are to be expected, living in a state of tension can cause a resurgence of disordered eating patterns.
National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, Feb. 22-28, brings attention to a specific type of mental illness that affects people from all walks of life and can be fatal if left untreated.
Megan Mikhail, a doctoral student of clinical psychology in Michigan State University’s College of Social Science, specializing in eating disorders, shares some insights on how to avoid letting stress take hold of eating habits.
Dr. Ahmed wears a “Be Kind To Yourself” shirt as part of BANA’s awareness campaign for Eating Disorder Awareness Week which runs from February 1st to February 7th, 2021.
The Windsor Essex County Health Unit announced 41 new cases of COVID-19 in Windsor and Essex County on Friday, bringing the local total to 12,294.
Today’s New Cases
Cases increased from 12,253 on Thursday February 4th to 12,294 on Friday February 5th and 405 cases of COVID-19 are currently active in Windsor-Essex.
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The Health Unit says 11 cases are outbreak-related, 11 cases are close contacts of confirmed cases, 7 cases are community acquired, and 12 cases are still being investigated by the Health Unit’s nursing staff.
Posted: Feb 04, 2021 6:00 AM CT | Last Updated: February 4
Saskatchewan doctors treating eating disorders say the pandemic has led to an increase in children requiring treatment.(Shuttershock)
Two Saskatchewan doctors who treat children with eating disorders say the pandemic has increased patients and those they are seeing are younger than a typical year. More kids are struggling, more kids are being referred for outpatient clinic visits or outpatient treatment, and more kids are being admitted both for medical complications of their eating difficulties as well as psychiatric admissions, said Dr. Ayisha Kurji, a Saskatoon pediatrician.
Kurji said the onset of an eating disorder is typically in the 14 to 15-year-old age group. She said while the statistics are not yet available, anecdotally, younger children are requiring treatment.
CW: Eating disorders
The Students’ Society of McGill University’s (SSMU) Eating Disorder Resource and Support Centre (EDRSC) held a panel discussion on eating disorders and their representation in mainstream media as a part of SSMU’s Mental Health Action Week. Held on Jan. 27, the “Misrepresentations of Eating Disorders in the Media” panel examined the intersections between eating disorders, race, gender, and sexuality. Panellists discussed how these topics are portrayed in popular culture, the effect of stereotypes, and obstacles to obtaining treatment.
Drawing upon personal experiences, panellists discussed how mainstream media tends to portray eating disorders as being the same as experiencing a negative body image specifically as women trying to comply with heteronormative beauty standards.
The Anxiety Project is installed in HUB Gallery and online through March 14.
Image: Ashleigh Longtine
HUB-Robeson Galleries hosts Anxiety Project exhibit, events through March 14
January 20, 2021
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. The HUB-Robeson Galleries presents The Anxiety Project, works by William Doan, professor of theatre at Penn State, on view daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., in HUB Gallery and online through March 14.
Drawing, performing, and sharing have helped Doan – and others – cope, he said. Therapeutic and alleviating symptoms, drawing, performing, and storytelling have helped Doan to imagine his mental health, rather than to be defined by mental illness. The Anxiety Project invites others to draw for their mental health.