Perspective

Something new is happening in eating disorders. The voice of eating disorder patients is less stereotyped, more empowered, and less victimized. Why? I attribute the changes to two separate but interacting elements: the cross-pollination of the Internet, and the shifting narratives of the treatment community.

Before the Internet, our exposure to literature about eating disorders was limited to the few books that happened to be on the bookstore shelves that year and the occasional magazine article. Now we can search for information in a deluge of competing sources and even talk back to them: commenting and quoting and blogging and even interacting with the writers. Treatment providers are also being exposed to and seeking out a new variety of both professional and anecdotal sources.

Katie noted when she introduced me and others to another great blog, "It's wonderful when I quite randomly stumble across other bloggers who think the same way as me."

Comments

  1. Thank you for sharing this!

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  2. Is it bad that I get all star struck when my name is mentioned in your blog :P apologies in advance if I turn into a burbling crazy person when I actually meet you in November!

    It does feel like progress is being made slowly. I am a bit impatient about it all, but I can see improvements. It's largely down to people like you and other activists who won't be happy until their jobs are redundant.

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  3. Katie, would have linked to you but didn't want to breach the Facebook/Wider internet barrier....

    Now linked.

    And thank you again for the great lead. I love the way we all get to share what we find!

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