What can Campuses do?
Combatting Stigma
Stigma is the “experience of shame, discrimination, or social isolation of a person due to a particular characteristic, condition or attribute” (NEDC, n.d. b, para. 4). Studies have shown that stigma is a major contributor to individuals delaying seeking treatment and sometimes not seeking treatment at all (NEDC, n.d. b). Not everyone on campus is in a role that directly supports students with health concerns but everyone on campus has the opportunity and responsibility to combat stigma both at an individual and organizational level.
Staff and faculty on campuses can:
- Increase their own self-awareness and engage in education to learn more about mental health, eating disorders, and disordered eating. Refer to the end of this toolkit for additional reading.
- Work to unpack and challenge their own biases and closely held beliefs about mental health and eating disorders (refer to the section on weight stigma).
- Recognize and learn about the harmful misconceptions about eating disorders that contribute to stigma and prevent individuals from seeking support.
- Be thoughtful of the language used both with colleagues and students. Use inclusive terms that avoid perpetuating feelings of guilt or shame about eating, shape, and weight (learn more about this topic below).
- Work to educate themselves and others on campus about the resources that are offered by their institution to support mental health for students, staff, and faculty.
Harmful misconceptions that contribute to stigma include (NEDC, n.d. b):
- Eating disorders are a lifestyle choice
- Dieting is just a normal part of life
- Eating disorders only affect white, middle-class cisgender women, particularly adolescent girls
- Eating disorders are easy to overcome and can be treated by simply ‘eating better’
- You must look a certain way or be a certain size to have an eating disorder
- Eating disorders are about vanity or attention seeking
- Eating disorders are just a phase
Learn more about these misconceptions and the truth from the National Eating Disorders Collaboration.
To learn more about how we talk about our bodies check out this article on “Body Neutrality”.
Dismantling structural stigma can look like:
- Education and training for front-line staff about eating disorders and stigma
- Creating and maintaining safe and inclusive environments for students accessing mental health services
- Intentionally improve equity of access to health and mental health services on campus and ensure equitable provision of services
- Centre practices of cultural safety in screening for, responding to, and treating eating disorders on campus
To learn more about how to create more accessible treatment, read this article entitled, “Reimagining eating disorder spaces: a qualitative study exploring Māori experiences of accessing treatment for eating disorders in Aotearoa New Zealand”
For more information on cultural safety and mental health in campus settings see this article entitled, “Shifting Paradigms: Taking a whole campus approach to move from cultural competency to cultural safety in supporting international student mental health and wellbeing”
LEARN TO LIVE IN THE GREY:Instead of “all or nothing” or “black and white” thinking, learn to think in shades of gray. This means accepting that all foods in moderation can be part of a balanced diet. | CHALLENGE ONE FOOD LABEL AT A TIME:For many of us, it’s hard to separate these labels from the food. To make the task more manageable, start by challenging one label at a time. The more you practice, the easier it will become. |
FOCUS ON HOW FOOD MAKES YOU FEEL:Give yourself permission to eat the foods you enjoy and make you feel good, without judgment. Eating and enjoying food can be pleasurable. Try to tap into intuitive eating practices. | REPLACE EMOTIONALLY LOADED WORDS:When you find yourself passing judgment on food, replace morality terms with neutral language. For example, if you label pizza as “junk”, think of a neutral descriptive term that could be used instead, such as “cheesy” or “crispy.” |
CHALLENGE YOUR FOOD MORALITY VIEWS:Identify the foods that carry morality for you and ask yourself questions, such as: who or what is the source of this label? What happens if I eat “good” or “bad” food? How would letting go of these moral labels change my relationship with food? These might be hard to unpack, so consider bringing them up in therapy, or to a professional. |
Recommendation
 | Work to combat stigma around eating disorders and disordered eating at the individual and organizational level. |
