Happy Hump Day! Today’s message is super important, so I didn’t want to delude it with a bunch of outfit details; my (peacock-inspired) dress will be live on Diary of a Debutante later this week. February 24th is a very special day for any and all advocates, vocal or silent, for eating disorder awareness, and we desperately need your help. Today, Wednesday, February 24th, is Eating Disorders Day of Action. Let’s work together to advance early intervention and access to treatment for eating disorder sufferers. Call, write, tweet, and post your support for H.R. 4153, H.R. 2515, and S. 1865– three pieces of federal legislation that call for accessible education to prevent the international epidemic of eating disorders.

I’m certainly not suggesting that you pledge your support blindly either. Here’s some basic information on what each of the aforementioned pieces of legislation entail:

• H.R. 4153 is known as the Educating to Prevent Eating Disorders Act of 2015, and it was formally introduced to Congress on December 2, 2015. This bill would require an amendment to the Public Health Service Act to establish a pilot program to test the impact of early intervention on the prevention, management, and course of eating disorders.
• H.R. 2515 is called the Anna Westin Act of 2015, and it was introduced to Congress on May 21st of last year. This bill requires the Office on Women’s Health of the Department of Health and Human Services to revise, promote, and make freely available the BodyWise Handbook and BodyWorks obesity prevention program. The handbook must include information about eating disorders relating to males as well as females.
• S. 1865 is a Senate bill to amend the Public Health Service Act with respect to eating disorders, as well as for other purposes. It was introduced on July 27th of last year, and no progress has been made since its introduction.

Write to your local and state representatives asking them to take action now! You can look up your legislators here. You can also write them directly through the NEDA website with a pre-written thank you or support request template; they’ll even direct your email to the appropriate person automatically.

Also, remember that the NEDA is encouraging the public to take just 3 minutes to complete the confidential online eating disorders screening at screening.mentalhealthscreening.org/NEDA. Taking 3 minutes to complete the screening will help determine if it is time to seek professional help– and if you’re feeling particularly passionate, post a selfie of you holding 3 fingers up!

For more information on how to be an everyday advocate for eating disorder awareness, check out this post. Happy Eating Disorders Day of Action, recovery warriors!