Students ‘headstrong’ about eating disorder awareness

Cal State Long Beach student Kristin Davi was 500 miles away from her family when she needed their help overcoming her eating disorder.

In 2008, Davi, a senior human resource management major, decided that there had to be something done to provide support for individuals who are suffering or recovering from low self-esteem and self-acceptance issues, both rooted from eating disorders. However, this was just an idea, a dream that needed much work to become a reality.

Finally, in 2009 she established a club but needed an executive board. Not so far away from Davi stood Katie Gaston, a senior communications major who also had the same dream, and with just a phone call, she became vice president of the club, which was named Headstrong.

“I was going through my playlist and ‘Headstrong,’ the song by Trapt, always pumped me up and made me feel better and not to worry,” Davi said.

Headstrong is a new club starting this fall at CSULB that aims to support and advocate for students suffering through low self-esteem due to eating disorders, physical appearance discrimination or other reasons, such as verbal and sexual abuse.

Gaston, vice president of Headstrong, also shares the same experience and goal.

“[Eating disorders] are a very misunderstood problem,” Gaston said. “Some people are not educated on the issue and what an eating disorder actually is. This is why I wanted to create this club to help people understand.”

One of the challenges that Davi foresees in the club’s future is trying to recruit men into the club.

“A lot of men don’t like to admit that they have a problem, even though it’s very common,” Davi said.

Another challenge is obtaining money and spreading the word because “it’s a sensitive issue,” Gaston said.

Despite the challenges the new club will have to undergo, they have received a lot of positive feedback from students.

“I’ve had several e-mails from students who are interested in joining the club. The executive board has not yet been filled but there is a lot of positive energy,” Davi said.

Even though the club is a support group where people can share their experiences and problems with one another, the goal of the club is to further educate people on the issue for those who are dealing with the issue and also for those who just want to learn about the subject.

“It’s a bit challenging to make [the club] sound not so much as a support group where people sit and cry,” Davi said.

She said the club actually is more like a class where the members can listen to guest speakers talk about and explain different disorders and also to make friendships with people experiencing the same situations, according to Davi.

The club will also start an outreach program where the members of the club will go to local high schools and speak about the different disorders and their consequences. Davi and Gaston said they also want to do a lot of fundraising to donate the money to eating disorder facilities, as well to start an assistance program, where scholarships will be given to people for therapy.

“That’s the big problem with eating disorders: They are not covered by insurance, so a lot of people don’t get the help they need because there is no money,” Gaston said. “So the scholarships would cover their expenses.”

It is estimated that eight million Americans have an eating disorder. Of those eight million who are affected, seven million are women, according to the South Carolina Department of Mental Health.

For more information on the club or how to be part of the executive board, contact Davi at (925) 286-9620 or [email protected].