If you think you or someone you know may have issues with eating, there is assistance on campus. NYU Student Health Center, Health Promotion & Wellness Services, Counseling & Behavioral Health Services and The Wellness Exchange have providers available with experience in addressing these types of issues. There are therapists, physicians, nurse practitioners and a nutritionist available to assist students with a variety of eating-related issues from obesity and overeating to malnutrition, anorexia and bulimia.
If you are concerned someone you know may have eating issues...
Do:
- Tell them you want to help. Let them know you care. Express your concern candidly and sincerely, but without judgment or criticism.
- Be sure to pick the right time and place to discuss your concerns. Find a time and place that will be free of distractions.
- Try and get them to seek professional help as soon as possible. Suggest seeking a professional who specializes in eating disorders. If they refuse to do this, encourage them to reach out to another helping professional like a teacher, counselor or clergy.
- Learn everything you can about eating disorders.
- Be prepared to hear them deny that there is a problem. People often experience eating disorders as shameful, embarrassing and hard to acknowledge.
- Respond by saying you are still concerned about what you've observed. Let them know that you are there to provide support and help.
- Be patient. Show caring, support and continued friendship by listening and attempting to understand their perceptions about the situation.
- Watch for signs of deteriorating physical or emotional health.
- Refuse to get caught up in battles of will or arguments with the person.
- Be aware of any prejudices or preconceptions you may have about thin or fat people, and think about the way these might be interpreted by an individual with an eating disorder.
Don't:
- Try to solve the problem or cure the eating disorder on your own. These are serious issues which require attention from experts in physical and mental healthcare.
- Make comments about the persons appearance or your own appearance. Comments about weight loss may be interpreted as a compliment and comments about weight gain may be seen as criticism.
- Get involved in discussions about dieting, weight, calories consumed, or particular eating habits.
- Compare the person to other individuals. In general, avoid making flattering comments about thin people or disapproving remarks about fat people.
- Refer to "good" or "bad" foods. Try not to discuss food or reinforce the persons preoccupation with food.
- Try to make the person eat or insist that they gain weight.
- Try to analyze or interpret behavior.
- Agree to keep the eating disorder a secret from significant others when the person's health and thinking are impaired.