To me, “not one more” means that person of an ethnic minority does not continue to face an eating disorder without treatment, because of cultural stigma. Cultural minorities, particularly women in the Indo-Caribbean culture, grow into what becomes their cultural norm to engage in disordered eating habits that are often a result of being bullied about their weight and body image, more often than not, by family and relatives. This distortion can cause a seemingly endless and exhaustive cycle of trying to accomplish stereotypical “perfection” of what their body “should” look like and feel like. This stigma says, “You will not be seen or heard or even valued if you do not look small and eat small.”
What that does is creates negative beliefs about body image that can, in turn, perpetuate disordered eating habits and eating disorders that are often left untreated. Many individuals of ethnic and cultural minorities end up in my therapy office in an effort to gain insight on this exhausting cycle. They end up facing serious eating disorders which are often disguised as anxiety disorders or even obsessive-compulsive disorders.
The diet culture and weight and body image stigma attached to minority groups are largely what contributes to the challenges they face in accessing eating disorder treatment. Eating disorders are an isolating, deadly illness and is often accompanied by shame, making it all the more challenging for an individual in an ethnic minority group to get help.
“Not one more,” to me means not one more individual of an ethnic and cultural minority group will continue to struggle with an untreated eating disorder or have difficulties accessing appropriate care due to the stigma attached to them.
Discovery Behavioral Health’s eating disorder treatment division, Center for Discovery, takes pride in our inclusivity initiative, making treatment and education around eating disorders as accessible as possible to our community and we work tirelessly to ensure “not one more” person with an eating disorder has to face it alone.
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Alana Sadhu, MA, RMHCI has been rigorously involved in the field of mental health treatment for over a decade. From pioneering peer-based programs in Broward County to help young adults who were victims of domestic violence to co-founding and operating a successful intensive outpatient treatment program, Alana is passionately invested in bridging the gaps in our behavioral healthcare system. Alana earned a dual-bachelor’s degree in psychology and criminal justice from Florida International University as well as a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling from Argosy University. Currently, she also proudly represents Discovery Behavioral Health as the Clinical Outreach Territory Manager for the Southeast region. Alana is recently married to the love of her life, and they share two fur-babies, Whiskey and Bailey. She currently resides in Orlando, the heart of Central Florida. For more information about Center for Discovery, please visit centerfordiscovery.com.