02/24/2026
For Eating Disorder Awareness Week, El Hyder Kim, LCSW, wanted to share three things they wish people understood about eating disorders:
1️⃣ What I wish the general public knew:
Eating disorders do not only affect thin, white girls.
They are more common than people realize.
They are not just phases, diets, or vanity struggles.
They often develop as coping strategies in response to trauma, anxiety, perfectionism, or living in a culture that scrutinizes bodies, especially marginalized bodies.
Healing requires understanding, compassion, and safety, not judgment.
2️⃣ What I wish someone struggling with an eating disorder knew:
Eating disorders often thrive in secrecy and shame. Recovery is possible.
By learning skills to tolerate distress, you can repair your relationship with food and your relationship with your body.
Your body is a home you deserve to live in. I’m so grateful it has kept you alive, and I want you to have a life worth living while you’re in this body.
3️⃣ What I wish emerging clinicians knew:
1 in 10 people will meet criteria for an eating disorder in their lifetime.
This work requires more than meal plans or weight monitoring. It requires:
• Curiosity
• Cultural humility
• Anti-diet awareness
• Willingness to meet people where they are
We need to be ready to support people through recovery with compassion, skills, and respect for identity.
Sometimes the lessons we learn come from unexpected teachers. El's therapy rabbit, Donut, shows us every day that healing and growth happen at your own pace — one bite at a time. 🐇
At Unleashed Counseling, El practices in both PA and NJ and provides DBT-informed, trauma-aware, LGBTQIA+ affirming, animal-assisted eating disorder therapy for kids and adults.
Limited availability is currently open in NJ for clients seeking support.
