They affect between five and 10 million females and one million males. They ravage the lives of 7 percent of America's undergraduate population. The mortality rate of one of these demons is near 20 percent, the highest of any mental disorder. And the University of Our Lady is shutting its ears to the silent screams emanating from the victims' mouths.

These tormentors are eating disorders and they prey on college students. The college atmosphere is highly conducive to these illnesses. Students at this point in their lives struggle with gaining acceptance from peers, living away from home, and trying to leap over the chasm between adolescence and adulthood. Most victims of eating disorders are in the age range of 14-25 and are typically achievement-orientated, affluent, type-A personalities. Honestly, do you know anyone under the Dome who fits that description?

I see; maybe eating disorders are part of the rest of the cosmos and so not enter our little golden bubble. Don't we all wish. Since college, particularly Notre Dame, is the ideal setting for eating disorders to develop, why is our University neglecting to inform students of this reality?

Notre Dame's efforts at informing and supporting students dealing with eating disorders are inadequate considering their prevalence in this atmosphere. Saint Mary's is forming a discussion group to deal with body image and eating issues, but Notre Dame students can not participate due to liability reasons. The University Health Center offers counseling only for later stages of recovery and instead refers students to agencies in South Bend. There are programs on campus that offer help in dealing with smoking, alcoholism, sexual abuse and even less grave problems, such as time management and writing skills. Yet, people suffering from eating disorders, who could comprise up to 10 percent of the student body, have nowhere to turn. As mentioned above, anorexia has the highest mortality rate among mental disorders; how many students have died from poor time management?

Maybe the University is not entirely to blame for the insufficient resources for those suffering with eating disorders. Victims often do not realize the seriousness of their altered eating habits or are not able to admit their problem. Our society has a faulty perception of eating disorders. Anorexics are not merely the skinny girls who eat a piece of lettuce for dinner. Bulimia is not about vomiting and purging. They have nothing to do with food. They are about guilt, insecurity, fear and becoming reconciled with the past and hopeful about the future. They have to do with getting up every morning and looking into the mirror and ultimately accepting what is staring back at you.

The frightening reality about eating disorders is that they are rooted in the brain and then take their toll on the body. They have all the troubling psychological elements of a mental disorder, plus the detrimental physical effects of other illnesses.

Curing these diseases must begin with the victims admitting the problem, and this can only be accomplished when they are familiar with the disorder. Recovery can not happen alone. By providing educational information and stronger, supportive programs, the University can help students to gain back their bodies, minds and lives.

But before this can happen, the victims must regain their voices.

Anonymous

September 26, 1999

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