A picture is worth a thousand words is the old saying. As a wedding photographer I get the chance to photograph people on the greatest day of their lives and give them memories they can cherish forever. Beyond that my work is not life changing. Hannah, a friend from grad school recently started a blog about her battle with anorexia. She was brave enough to face her demons publicly and has recently started treatment. She is a high school science teacher but choose to put her career on hold to get treatment for a disease that she has been battling for half her life.
I was amazed by her strength and courage for seeking help publicly and offered to do some photos of her so that she could have them for her blog in order to promote eating disorder awareness. Perhaps someone who also suffers from ED will see the photos and read Hannah’s day to day account of her struggles and seek the help they might need.
It is a tight rope people are walking in today’s society in terms of what is a healthy body image and what is unhealthy. As a middle school teacher I see it everyday, even as young as 6th grade.
I am dedicating this unconventional post to eating disorder awareness and hopefully can do my part to raise awareness.
Here are some facts about eating disorders from http://www.eatingdisorderinfo.org/
*Eating Disorders affect up to 24 million Americans and 70 million individuals worldwide.
*It is estimated that currently 11% of high school students have been diagnosed with an eating disorder.
*The most common behavior that will lead to an eating disorder is dieting.
*According to a recent study, over 1/2 the females between the ages of 18-25 would prefer to be run over by a truck then be fat, and 2/3 surveyed would rather be mean or stupid.
*Anorexia is the 3rd most common chronic illness among adolescents.
*Bulimia often occurs in athletes such as gymnasts, wrestlers, dancers, horse jockeys, football players, and runners.
2% – 5 % of the American population experience Binge Eating Disorder
*A Study conducted by Cornell University found that 40% of male football players surveyed engaged in some sort of disordered eating behavior. (Newsweek, 1994)
Eating Disorders are often called a “silent disease” because those affected never speak of it and often times do not show visible signs of a problem. Hannah choose to speak out….
To read about Hannah’s journey towards recovery check out her blog at http://balancingontwofeet.wordpress.com








Balancing on Two Feet…




She had a picture similar to this on her blog that were not her feet that she liked.. These are her feet.

Hannah did a wonderful job in front of the camera! I admire her courage and wish her the best on her road to recovery.

::Doug::