This week marks National Eating Disorder Awareness Week around the country, and NC State organizations are using the week to promote and educate students about eating disorders and related mental illnesses.

The Women’s Center, Counseling Center and Student Health are among the event organizers behind NEDA Week events on campus, which included Trash Your Insecurities Tuesday and Feelin’ Myself Friday. In addition to these events there is a lunch-and-learn on Thursday that will address the topics of eating disorders and body positivity.

“I think it’s essential to bring attention to really an epidemic and to demonstrate that there’s nothing to be ashamed of in seeking help and resources,” said Rebecca Schwartz, the NC State Counseling Center’s eating disorder coordinator and staff psychologist. “We’re here to support students and guide them in the appropriate direction.”

Eating disorders have been said to have the highest mortality rate of all mental illnesses. With the topic being very important to several students and staff members, this week has allowed certain campus resources tied to eating disorders to become more prominent.

“The Counseling Center has a lot of great resources,” said Charlotte Rogus, a third-year studying animal science. “They provide brochures and you can go in and talk to people. There is also [the] nutrition section in the NC State Health Center. There are three nutritionists who work there that are very good at giving advice and can refer you to outside sources in the Raleigh community.”

Schwartz further explained what the Counseling Center provides to people who may be in need of treatment and other outlets available to students.

“We offer individual therapy, group therapy and a variety of outreach programming around eating disorder awareness and body image positivity,” Schwartz said. “At the very least, we offer screening or referrals. Another fantastic resource that isn’t connected to the Counseling Center, but that’s part of the treatment team, is the nutrition counseling through our registered dieticians, and they’re fantastic.”

Research shows that about 20 percent of college students had or are still struggling with an eating disorder.

“We know that people who are struggling with disorder eating experience relapse in symptoms around transition periods, and we know that college is a huge transition period,” Schwartz said. “It’s often times that we work with students who are in the midst of that transition, and for the first time having to navigate deciding what they choose to eat, whether that’s going to the dining hall or cooking for the first time. They don’t have mom and dad doing these things for them, and it can feel overwhelming.”

Rogus, who previously suffered from an eating disorder, also places some of the blame for eating disorders on the culture that surrounds students.

“As a society, we see lots of very thin models which gives the notion that you have to look a certain way in order to be perceived as beautiful and worth something,” Rogus said. “That is not true at all. There are so many more body types than just the skinny, frail model. College is already a very stressful environment especially for freshmen trying to fit into new social groups with all of the other anxiety and fitting in.”

Through different resources, such as the Women’s Center, Counseling Center and the Eating Disorder Recovery Group on the second floor of Student Health Services, there are plenty of ways to combat eating disorders and find help and support.

“One of the roles in my position is running the Eating Disorder Treatment Team,” Schwartz said. “We meet biweekly and it’s myself and some other counselors and also medical providers. Evidence suggests that the best way to treat eating disorders is through a collaborative, team-based approach, and we’re doing just that. In those meetings we really discuss cases in the most appropriate treatment and making sure that no one.”

As NEDA Week continues, students with possible eating disorders are encouraged to find treatment and support with the resources available to them.

“Advice I would give would be don’t be afraid to get help,” Rogus said. “You do not have to be at a certain size or weight or appearance to be suffering from an eating disorder. That was something that held me back from getting help because I didn’t think I looked skinny enough or sick enough. There is no ‘enough.’ If you think you are suffering, go get help because your life will be immensely better for it.”

Students can make an appointment with the Counseling Center on its website. Students who would like to get involved with the Eating Disorder Recovery Group can call 919-515-2423.