Tue. Jun 19, 2007 | 5:46 PM

According to self-esteem expert, Jessica Weiner, eating disorders are a serious mental health disease that impacts our best and brightest. Mothers, sisters, cousins, best friends, and boyfriends can all be susceptible to this disease. It is an equal opportunity offender - reaching all races, classes, and genders. Over 10 million women and 1 million men are affected by eating disorders in this country. So, odds are you or someone you know is struggling with this issue.

Today's episode deals with the very emotional but important issue of eating disorders treatment and recovery. It was important that Tyra and Jessica went behind the scenes on this issue and here's why:

Eating disorders are a TREATABLE disease! You can get better and you can recover!

Often times when you see the issue of eating disorders covered in the media - you only see the faces of those who are struggling. Not the stories behind what it takes for them to heal.

And as someone who has over 15 years of personal experiences recovering from eating disorders, Jessica knows recovery can take many shapes in someone's life. It may mean going to an in-patient hospital or treatment facility, like guests Lori and Angela did. For some it can mean extensive out patient therapy either in groups or with an individual therapist. Some people have a combination of these. And unfortunately, some people never get the treatment they need due to lack of education, resources, and money. But most people who get proper treatment for this issue do recover and go on to lead healthy lives. So get the proper information and education on eating disorders by visiting www.nationaleatingdisorders.org

If you want to support other organizations dedicated to fighting eating disorders check out www.freedfoundation.org and www.aedweb.org

You can also join Jessica in Washington, DC on May 2nd, 2007 for Eating Disorders Lobby Day, when families, friends, and survivors gather on Capital Hill to raise awareness for more affordable treatment and better education on this issue in our schools and communities. Raise your voice and be heard! For more information about the event, visit www.eatingdisorderscoalition.org

To learn more about Jessica Weiner, go to www.withjess.com


NEXT: MESSAGE FROM TYRA: Sisterhood Initiative
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hey Tyra, i love watching your show and hearing all of your inspiring words. unfortunatley ever since the episode with the obese teens where one girl had dark color on the back of her neck and said it was a predisposition to diabetes which is true, but i have a disoloration there that is not due to diabetes. its actually a over level of yeast in body. but now people are seeing it and saying stuff (not to me except my friends) i know its good information for others to know for themselves but i feel like people are invading my privacy. why can't people keep their mouths shut and stopping talking about people?
Posted by April 04/14/09 10:16 PM
 
hey tyra, i want to say that i dont have bullemia but i do. i have to face the facts now that i do have a disease. but i am so afraid of telling anyone bc of what there reaction would be. and when i was about 8 yrs old i was diognosed with the wilms tumor and i know how bad it is to have bullumia when you only haveone kidney. but there has been just a really crazy life right now, with me being removed from my house to a foster home...i was wondering if you cvould help me? i would greatly appreciate it. thanks! danielle
Posted by danielle Dugan 03/01/09 2:30 PM
 
heyy tyra (: honestly, i only came here to find informationn on that one show you did about eating disorder clinics. not that i wanna go to one, but any advice or help would be greatly appreciated. you probably won't even end up reading this, but yeah, you never know haha. i'm 14. and i have bulimia nervosa. i've heard going to a clinic would really help, but i cannot take time off from schoool. plus, it would be horrrible if my family were to find out. i've always had some kinda eating disorder since about 5th or 6th grade, but it's developed into bulimia since about 7th or 8th. I NEEED HELP! i binge and purge several times a day uncontrolllaby. i don't know what to do. but it feels kinda good to get this out in the open, sorta haha. welll if you do read this i hope you reply. i r show. thankyou.
Posted by Marie 01/18/09 12:00 AM
 
This is a crucial topic to discuss and i'm glad someone so admired has attempted to help people find strength and support. I am currenly twenty years old in recovery from a several year battle with my eating disorder. I had to hit rock bottom before i began to recover and the bottom is a scary and lonely place, espcially being a teenager. I was bullied and teased for my weight when i was very young which led to my weight obsession and depression. I also suffer from stomach disorders like ibs and bilanary dyskenesia, two silent diseases, that are so hard for anyone, espcially young females, to cope with. if you ever decide to do another segment, please contact me. I'd love to be able to tell my story to help someone else find strength to recover and know they are not alone.. thank you for your support.
Posted by Nicole 11/14/08 2:54 PM
 
This is a crucial topic to discuss and i'm glad someone so admired has attempted to help people find strength and support. I am currenly twenty years old in recovery from a several year battle with my eating disorder. I had to hit rock bottom before i began to recover and the bottom is a scary and lonely place, espcially being a teenager. I was bullied and teased for my weight when i was very young which led to my weight obsession. I also suffer from stomach disorders like ibs and bilanary dyskenesia, two silent diseases, that are so hard for anyone, espcially young females, to cope with. if you ever decide to do another segment, please contact me. I'd love to be able to tell my story to help someone else find strength to recover and know they are not alone.. thank you for your support.
Posted by Nicole 11/14/08 2:54 PM
 
dear tyra I want to go back to normal all i think about is food. I eat no more than 900 calories a day. i count ever thing i eat i dream about food. i avoid going to the grocery store its depressing i feel like killing myself when i see all those shelfs of food. even if i dont eat all day if i eat a sandwhich i will imediatley throw up anything thats not fruit or vegitables. if i eat meat or bread or sweets the guilt i feel is unreal.. i want to stop but i cant make those feelings go away. i wake up in the middle of the night tasting my own stomach acid my teeth feel thin.. im 21 im so afraid they might fall out.. food is all i talk about and think about. when i eat what others would consider a normal meal i feel stupid and weak i can actually feel the food sitting in my stomach growing and making me fatter... whats wrong with me am i bulimic or anorexic i dont know anymore i have lost alot of weight in the last couple of weeks but i still avoid family and friends i wear sweatshirts to cover my body im sooo ashamed and sometimes i feel numb...the smell of some foods make me nauseous and i get sick when i watch others eat. How do I go make to normal... someone please help me
Posted by B.D 10/22/08 7:21 PM
 
where all the same, know ones perfect, it's to late anyway, to save everyone, the ones with an eating disorder, theres to many of us, and when kids get older, some grow to know the disorder, it comes a part of them, a part that can take there life, as sad as it sounds, this is just the way the world is, it's like..it's to late to go back into histroy, besides god gave us life, to work as a whole, to make the earth a balnce of love and peace, but it's to late, look what wev'e done, the earth is ruined, so many people sick, and without homes, this is just the way life is, I want to help others, so many kids I know want to make the palent better, but we don't have the strength, because we can bearly take care of our sleves, Eating disorders kill, but so dose muder, drugs, abuse, and many other things, sorry to say..it's now to late. Tyra keep doing what you're doing, aleast someone has some power to make peace, love ya tyra..big fan!
Posted by victoria 10/16/08 8:20 AM
 
"Eating disorders are a TREATABLE disease! You can get better and you can recover!" Well, too bad the people suffering with an eating disorder don't generally believe this.
Posted by Anonymous 09/21/08 8:13 PM
 
thank you so much! I was dealing with anorexia back in November. At first I only wanted to loose 10 lbs. I was always a muscular girl who loved to eat. I didn't over eat, I just didn't have a fast metabolism and I ate junk food. Then things got worse in December. I stopped eating almost everything. I would only eat around 300 calories a day--mostly an apple and some cereal. By February I'd lost nearly 32lbs, weighing only 106 lbs. I was tired all the time and irritable. Then on February 29th I was sitting down, exhausted from only walking downstairs and I sat there and say "What have I done?" So I went upstairs and had dinner of fish sticks and corn for the first time in 4 months. It was great. Then I started eating better and EATING. But then I saw that I was gaining weight and started excersising ALOT. I would run nearly 90 minutes a day or more! I would count calories and worry about what I ate--only eating 1,000 calories and burning 700. I would work out all the time and soon I developed fractures and strains and couldnt run track. Now, I'm better with the help of my friends. I dont worry about calories and I eat healthy--even if I have ice cream once in a while I dont "burn it off". I look at myself in the mirror and tell myself I'm beautiful. I still think about starving myself everyday but I dont. I just think about how miserable I was and I never want to go back there. As long as I eat healthy and am active daily, I'm fine. And to those wanting help, listen. I've been there and I know what it is like. Get professional help
Posted by Bethany 07/02/08 7:07 PM
 
Hi, Tyra! I love your show and all you do to inspire young women in our world today! I'm a 22 year old wife and mother to a 3 year old son. I've been struggling with bulimia since January of this year and i have withered away to 95 pounds. I basically am hanging in the balance between life and death at this point. Is there any information I can find on local treatment programs? Help.
Posted by Nikki 06/25/08 11:43 AM
 
well ii just wanted to start off by saying handling an eating disorder is not easy at all.. when i was 13 i faced anorexia... i thought i had it all under control but truth be told i was loosing myself more and more evryday. i told myself just a few more pounds and ill stop... but when i was just 81 lbs and had no more strength to do the things i loved to do let alone get out of bed in the morning i landed myself in rehab... but evry one always wondered why i would fall into this??? i was such a happy child from what evrybody else saw... but no1 knew that my own father was the major influence on my eating disorder... he abused me sexually physically and emotionally... and after all that all i could think of was winning his exceptance and his love...i wanted him to love me .... so i accepted and took everything he did to me not knowing in the long run what affect it would have on me... i never told anybody about this until a few months ago when i told my mom what my dad had did to me... it was so relieving for her to finally know why i starved myself... and now i want to speak out for teens who are being sexually aboused and are scared to tell some one... im only 16 and i deal with this pain everyday but what didn't kill me made me the person i am today... strong
Posted by sahar 06/08/08 8:28 AM
 
hi tyra well ive been suffering from bulimia for over two years now im 16 and in 10th grade i first became bulimic in 8th grade around febuary wen i was a child i would hate to eat and therefore was relay thin but then i began to gain weight around 4th grade at first i didn't even mind or notice but then id hear people around me say stuff to each other about my weight i was at a pool once and i was waiting in line for the waterslide when i heard a kid say "im in line behind the fat girl" and id hear those type of comments since then but i didnt do anything about it in 8th grade i got realy sick around january for 2 weeks. when i was sick i lost alot of wieght because i didnt feel like eating. thats when my struggle to loose weight and keep it off began. i found myself bulimic and have been since. i throw up atleast once a day. and when i dont throwup i just dont eat. i dont eat when i am out or with friends or family. they often bother me and try to make me eat and it hurts because i cant tell them. sometimes i am ok with being bulimic. but i know i need help. i want to be able to live without thinking about eating or not eating or my weight. i wanna be able to eat and live and not think about it. last september i weighed 95 pounds and i was 5 feet 4 inches tall. ive gained weight since then and it kills me. i keep telling myself ill loose the wieght. and i gues im going to try this week. im going to try
Posted by teah 05/26/08 2:55 PM
 
Hi tyra thnak you for listin to me and what I have to say I love watching your show I watch it every chance I get. My name is Lori and I live in Monticello MN I'm 27 years old and I have been dealing with a eating disoder for about 8 years and it is killing me inside. My mom and dad can't find a way to help me I have tryed a lot of things I have gone to a eating disoders clinic and that did not do very good for me and I just daon't know what to do. please can you find some way that I can move on with my life. Love Lori Anderson
Posted by Lori Anderson 05/15/08 8:54 AM
 
Hi Tyra, I'm 24 years old and I struggled w/ anorexia at the age of 14 and then at the age of 18 w/ bulimia and since then I'm in this ratrace that seems to be like this forever...I need help but I dont know what is the right desicion and I tried many times to stop it but I always go back to the same...If you know any good place in Florida please let me know..Thks
Posted by Monica 05/12/08 7:02 PM
 
dear tyra, i am 16 years old and am a junior in high school. i was diagnosed with anorexia september 2006 and hospitalized in decemeber of 2006, i was 15 years old at the time. i was 5'7 and weighed 87 pounds. i was diagnosed with depression and anxiety and felt as though i could never get better, but i did. i have been symptom free now for a year and have never been happier or stronger, due to my experience through recovery. i am aware of the fact that most don't know how much of a struggle recovery from an eating disorder is and i thank you for having an epoisode where this subject is talked about. it effects more people than most know and in ways that no one can believe. unfortunately, i missed the episode but am thankful that you were able to have a segment on eating disorders and that it was able to maybe clear up questions fans may have had before. thank you again, you are truly an inspiration. all the best & more, E.
Posted by E 05/10/08 2:18 PM



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