Masland Library Blog

 I was shelving books a couple months ago at the library like I usually do when I stumbled across an interesting book. Its title read The Very Private Matter of Anorexia Nervosa. This piqued my interest because all throughout high school my best friend was very skinny and had often been accused of being anorexic. I decided to educate myself on this eating disorder so I checked out the book and I headed back to my dorm room. Once I started reading, I could not stop. It was the author’s own personal story of her struggle with anorexia. In this book the author, Shanon Christian, described every emotion, every thought she had over a 3 year period of her life. It all started innocently when she wanted to lose a little bit of weight but it rapidly became an obsession of counting every calorie and exercising to the point of fainting. Shanon became lost in this cycle and started to lose control. Her hair started falling out, she experienced anxiety and depression, and she had no energy to do anything-except continue to count calories and skip meals. Family and friends tried to help her understand that she was destroying her body but Shanon would not listen. It had become an obsession. As she struggled to get her life back under control she finally hit rock bottom. Shanon cried out to God to heal her and slowly but surely Shanon started to become better. It took quite a while but in time with the help of God, she learned to overcome her anorexia.

 If you or someone you know on campus is struggling with anorexia and is trying to find a way out, there are many places that you can check out, one of them being on our own campus. The Oasis Counseling Center can provide you with private Christian help for no cost at all. You can also visit the nurse to receive information about anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders or check out the website http://www.anad.org/ which is the National Association of Anorexia and Associated Disorders.

~Jenny Dunning