A college campus issue: eating disorders among students

It was during my freshman year in college my anorexia started escalating beyond my control. Trying to fit into my new college environment came at a high price, I wanted to achieve so much and be successful in so many areas at the same time; academics, social life and varsity track, so I almost ended up killing myself in the journey there. By the time I was admitted to an eating disorder treatment program the scale showed I had lost 40 pounds over the course of fall semester and was severely underweight. I had been so determined to not gain the feared freshman fifteen that I had ended up losing the double by the means of starving myself, purging after meals, using laxatives and running on the track two times a day. A series of events and a way of living I would not even wish upon my worst enemy.

Newly graduated high school students are right now having busy days arriving at college campuses all over the country to start their first semester away from home. Housing forms and meal plan papers are filled in and doorm rooms are decorated and furnished. Expectations are high and the process is many times as exhilarating as nervous, we all know that coming to college is supposed to be a life-changing experience. My college years were no exception, but it did not happen in the way I had planned it all out and I certainly did not count on having to be admitted to a hospital before the end of my first year.

I remember my freshman orientation week and the lectures we received regarding safety, avoiding drinking and driving and resisting overeating in the all-you-can-eat dining halls. Very legitimate warnings, but it makes me wonder where the ammunition is to fight the increasing prevalence of eating disorders among college students? The United States is a world leader in counts of deaths due to eating disorders and anorexia has the highest mortality rate of all mental illnesses and is the 3^rd most common chronic illness among adolescents. Entering college I knew neither of these things, nor did my parents. But we would soon find us more familiar with this issue than we had ever wanted or expected and we want to prevent other families from having to face the exact same battles. We need to fight the stigma that surrounds talking about mental disorders and we need to put prevention on the campus orientation curriculum. We owe it to the millions of young men and women around American college campuses that compromise the future of our nation.