by Anna Hampton
Daily Lobo
UNM is offering eating-disorder support groups for the first time in several years, said alumna Amanda Dreyer.
Dreyer fixed the problem by starting two groups that met for the first time last week.
One group meets on Tuesdays from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. for people with eating disorders.
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The other group meets every other Saturday from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. for friends and family of people with eating disorders.
"One of the biggest issues with eating disorders is that they make you feel very isolated," Dreyer said. "The most important thing is for people to know they are not alone."
Both groups will meet in the Women's Resource Center in Mesa Vista Hall.
Since Dreyer used to have an eating disorder, she can be an example for people who attend the support group, she said.
She said the main objective of the support groups is to raise awareness about the disease and make it easier to talk about it.
"Our goal is to help these people who are suffering realize that it's not about food," she said. "It's one of those diseases that you have to admit to on
your own."
Dreyer said support is the best way to help someone with an eating disorder.
"Be strong for them, because they can't be strong for themselves," she said.
Summer Little, program services coordinator for the Women's Resource Center, said there are a variety of on-campus resources for people who have eating disorders.
The center offers information, referrals and crisis-intervention programs. Counseling and Therapy Services and Manzanita Center offer counseling.
The Student Health Center offers support from a variety of physicians and peer health educators.
Dreyer said people with an eating disorder are encouraged to seek therapy.
She gave a list of recommendations for confronting someone who has an eating disorder.
"Don't make accusations," she said. "Don't tell them to just cut it out. They will push you away. Someone with an eating disorder needs to make the decision to stop."
It is important to be patient, calm and careful, she said.
"People need support, and people need help to get out of it. It's not just a vanity issue," Dreyer said.
Two of the most common eating disorders are anorexia and bulimia, Dreyer said.
Both can begin with obsessive dieting and an inability to accept one's body image, according to the UNM Student Health Center's Web site.
"These issues can be swept
under the rug," Dreyer said. "Once you have an eating disorder, it's hard to stop."
Symptoms for anorexia and bulimia can include abnormal weight loss, self-starvation, excessive exercise, binge eating, self-induced vomiting and laxative and diuretic abuse, according to the Web site.
Although the disease is thought of as a women's disease, men are also affected, Dreyer said.
"I know there are men out there, and I know it is stereotyped as a women's disease," Dreyer said. "Our support group is open to anyone of any gender. Everyone is susceptible. The disease doesn't discriminate."
