Not as good as i would have liked but here it is :)
Hi Natasha
Thanks for you reply. I honestly don't know who I am mad at more: the media or the public. If the readers want pictures of us at our worst, I think it highlights even more that we need to promote awareness and show people that eating disorders are a serious mental health issue and not something to be taken lightly.
I am positive that me and the other 70 young ambassadors do not wish to give out photos ever. I explained to Katie why we do not want to talk about our lowest weight nor give out photos. Showing photos of us at our illest just sensationalises the story and makes out that eating disorders are all about weight. Another reason is these photos can act as triggers to other sufferers: we want to help others not make them feel worse. I would like to include some comments off other ambassadors on this subject:
"
what, so you woul dlie and make up something as serious as an eating disorder if you didnt show photos?! For goodness sake, I don't know if I feel more disheartened by the media response, or the public right now!!! That is about the most ridiculous thing ever..."
"To be honest, I think it's disgusting. If you are a good journalist, you can portray a picture through words, without it being triggering to the reader. Including pictures, I think only makes things worse, and individuals may feel that they 'have to look that thin to have en ED' whereas you can have an eating disorder at any weight - it's classed ... See moreas a psychological problem and weight, I think, is just a physical symptom. I did have an argument with a journalist a few months ago. As I'm a twin, and my twin is also ill, they were very interested in a story, up until the point where I said I will not be giving over any 'unhealthy photos' and surprise surprise, they didn't want to run the story. However, a few weeks later, I worked with a fantastic journalist from my local paper who portrayed my story so well.....with a healthy picture. If they want to use any of us for stories, they need to accept we are not going to hand over our unhealthy pictures. Not only can they be triggering for readers, we don't need reminding of how ill we were - sorry for the rant - us beat girls, we stick together "
"I agree with you all entirely. It really proves that this world we live in is.. well I don't even know how to word it. They are just obsessed with glamouring mental illnesses, especailly when it comes to eating disorders. It does nothing to help us and other people out their struggling. Just because a person may look 'healthy' it doesn't mean they ... See moresuffer any less. Then there's the whole competitive side to eating disorders, seeing who can be the thinnest etc. Showing photos of people when they were ill isn't saying anything. Kerry, like you said 'weight is just the symptom.'
I don't really know what else to say, things really need changing. They are still far too many people who are naive to the illness. It's like my friends and family, they see me now and see me as a healthy, happy 19 year old; Living, laughing, eating. But they don't seem to realise it's not always that simple. Just because I look healthy doesn't mean I suffer any less. Yea I have good days, but I also have bad days and I - and I'm sure you all do at times - have to fight it every day. I may have gone off the subject a little there but it makes me so angry!"
I really hope that you can help us by passing our comments on to the publications you work with so that maybe they may start to do positive recovery stories instead of all this negativity!
Regards
Rachel
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