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As part of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, Gloria Oladipo explores the challenges of receiving treatment as a black woman and how treatment can and should be improved by attacking her. colonialism and white supremacy.
By Gloria Oladipo
My experience As a black woman, the treatment of eating disorders is difficult. At the different levels of treatment I've been to, in the different centers I've been to, eating disorders programs continue to be mostly white spaces. In the United States, at least 30 million people suffer from a eating disorder. Contrary to common myths that eating disorders have a disproportionate impact on young white women, research shows that women of color develop eating disorders at similar rates. However, despite this fact, women of color are often diagnosed less often than their white peers.
According to the National Eating Disorder Association, in a study presenting identical case studies involving eating disorders, 44% reported that white women's eating habits were problematic, but only 17% acknowledged that their eating habits were messy. In addition, while Hispanic women and black women had significantly higher rates of bulimia than white women, the studies concluded that they were much less likely to be questioned by a doctor about the symptoms of breast cancer. eating disorder. Global, the treatment and diagnosis of eating disorders continue to be extremely laundered, excluding women of color from the impartial care they desperately need.
During my participation in various treatment programs, I met with white therapists, white behavior counselors, and leagues of other white mental health professionals, many of whom were proud of the way in which Anti-blackness and my eating disorders interacted. Most of the people who were being cared for by me were Caucasian, only confirming my misconception that there were no eating disorders among blacks. My various meal plans and nutrition groups focused on American cuisine and the fact that incorporating this kitchen was the only way to maintain balanced eating habits. The food of my Nigerian culture never fits into my meal plan, which is built around pancake and sausage breakfasts with meat and potato dinners only.
Most of the time, whites think that our calls for more diversity are nothing more than complaints about racial aesthetics.
Obviously, the ability to go for treatment in and of itself is a huge privilege. Of the 30 million Americans who suffer from a eating disorder, only one in 10 will receive treatment, an even lower percentage receiving sufficient coverage to receive the drug. all the necessary treatment. However, when important elements of your eating disorder imply a feeling of worthlessness because of racial discrimination, a version of racially neutral treatment becomes ineffective. People of color and I deserve a treatment of eating disorders that recognizes how our racial identities actively shape our lived experiences, as well as our interpretation of value and self-esteem. Therefore, we need and merit treatments for eating disorders that recognize and interact with this truth. So, knowing the various shortcomings of eating disorders specialists in the treatment of people of color, what changes can be made to force the treatment of eating disorders to take into account our specific needs?
Eating disorder treatment centers need to deliberately engage more counselors and color mental health professionals. Most of the time, whites think that our calls for more diversity are nothing more than complaints about racial aesthetics. White patients and providers questioned, "If eating disorders are universal diseases, why is increased representation important?" Is the main qualification not to find someone who understands the fight of the disease? Of course, real-world experience and knowledge of eating disorders is an essential qualification for providers, but representation is also an essential tool.
White professionals do not understand that racism itself, is a trauma that can easily trigger a eating disorder.
The lack of representation highlights the difference between feeling comfortable telling one's therapist that one's eating disorder stems in part from a desire to integrate with one's smaller, white peers, rather than staying silent about this factor because a white therapist will probably not understand. . Representation is the difference between being understood and sympathetic when you complain about the lack of racial diversity among staff and your peers, compared to the invitation to "treat" and "no longer look for differences". Representing means frustration and anger shared between counselor and the person advised when another white resident drops the word-word instead of making you say that you say "Becky" (in reference to the real name of someone else). ) is also a hateful insult (this is not the case). Of course, many people "understand" eating disorders, but not enough white mental health professionals understand the implicit power relationships that are at play during treatment and how these relationships may be felt and are often racial. White professionals do not understand that racism itself, is a trauma that can easily trigger a eating disorder. This knowledge and understanding should not be optional when working with black or brown patients, but rather as an essential part of the relationship to our experiences.
Nutritionists employed in treatment centers need to significantly expand their understanding of what constitutes a healthy diet. Nutritionists often use resources provided by the government, such as MyPlate, a nutrition guide provided by the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. These resources use almost exclusively American food, apparently white, to structure meals, using main courses such as pizzas and burgers to teach nutritional value and meal planning. The concept of using only US foods to demonstrate nutrition is inaccessible to many color patients, especially those with international experience. My family does not eat pork chops with a serving of mashed potatoes; We dine garri, a paste made from cassava and spinach egusi Stew. I remember going back home after a treatment and coming up with the dishes I once cherished with concern. I did not know how to adapt it to my meal plan; I did not know what nutritional value they could provide me. I even asked my dietitian to help integrate these products into my menu. She was confused as to the nature of these dishes and suggested me to choose something more "familiar".
Often, meal plans for recovering patients simply do not favor the eating habits of some people of color. For example, many of the centers I visited indicated that dairy products were an essential part of my meals. However, I, my family, and many other Africans often do not consume milk every day because we have adopted a low calcium diet. In fact, according to the National Center for Disease Information, no less than 75% of African-Americans and Native Americans and 90% of Americans of Asian origin suffer from a form of diabetes. Lactose intolerance. Trying to force colored patients to participate in a white American diet erases our traditional and cultural needs that manifest themselves through food.
For color patients, providers need to distinguish between recognizing the similarity of experience of all Eating Disorders patients and the role played by race, gender and other identifiers in creating different experiences.
Eating disorder programs need to find ways to certify that patients of color feel a level of community within the program. Basically, this is achieved by creating expectations that ensure a safe community, with a strong emphasis on group therapy and connection, and by providing opportunities for participants to learn and build relationships. For color patients, providers need to distinguish between recognizing the similarity of experience of all Eating Disorders patients and the role played by race, gender and other identifiers in creating different experiences. Providers should remove phrases such as "look for what you have in common" or "emphasize our similarities", allowing discussions about race, privilege and other scenarios that affect an eating disorder to unfold. freely.
I am extremely grateful to the many mentors of my life who recognized my eating disorder and respected my recovery process. I am very grateful for the opportunities to receive a significant number of treatments at the appropriate level of care, especially given the high cost of full-time facilities. However, the highlight of each treatment step was the validation of my experience as a black woman suffering from eating disorders, the personalized information that was given me that applied specifically to my story. I remember the times when a therapy group discussed the timeline of body image ideals in black communities, and I'm very grateful for the appointments where my dietician would ask what my the family would eat instead of distributing a generic meal plan filled with hamburgers and hot dogs. Even more recently, I have never felt more cherished than when a part-time employee working in my hosting center read an article about intersections of anti-darkness and my disorder from food, telling me that it had affected her and shared it. with my peers.
That's what it looks like to use our positions as people of color to inform our care. For the treatment of eating disorders to be truly effective for all, instead of shaming people of color who are discussing our trauma and racial experiences in a racist society, the treatment programs for disorders of the eating disorder are the most effective. Food must find creative and thoughtful ways to include a racial perspective in their care.
If you or someone you know is struggling with eating disorders, call NEDA's hotline at 1-800-931-2237 or visit their web page. right here.
Gloria Oladipo is a Black woman, a second year student at Cornell University and a permanent resident in Chicago, IL. She enjoys reading and writing about race, gender, mental health, and so on. You can send him an email at [email protected] or follow her on Instagram at @glorels.
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