NEDAwareness Week Organizational Partner

National Eating Disorders Awareness Week #NEDAwareness

Monday, February 21 – Sunday, February 27

ASPIRE is a NEDAwareness Week 2022 Collaborator again this year. National Eating Disorders Awareness Week (NEDAwareness Week) is an annual campaign to educate the public about the realities of eating disorders and to provide hope, support, and visibility to individuals and families affected by eating disorders. NEDAwareness Week 2022 will take place during the week of February 21 – February 27, 2022.

This NEDAwareness Week, we invite you to See the Change, Be the Change. #NEDAwareness Week 2022 is an opportunity to #SeeTheChange by recognizing change within the ever-evolving eating disorders field, and to #BeTheChange through advocacy, awareness, and community building.  

Please learn & share information on PANS and severe restrictive eating.

One of the primary symptoms of PANS is Severe Eating Restriction. Over 50% of PANS patients will have non-life-threatening eating restrictions but more severe than picky eating. While 17% will experience such severe eating restrictions that it has become life-threatening due to extreme and rapid weight loss of at least 10%-15% of their body weight. The reasons for the disordered eating in PANS PANDAS patients vary from patient to patient. For many, food restrictions are firmly rooted in OCD, a primary PP symptom; there are often fears of contamination, vomiting, choking. Another symptom of PANS PANDAS is sensory processing issues, affecting eating due to swallowing and texture issues. PANS PANDAS patients can also have a distorted body image.

Much more awareness of eating disorders resulting from PANS/PANDAS needs to happen to prescribe proper diagnosis and treatment. Remember, treating PANS/PANDAS is a three-pronged approach: 1) remove the source of inflammation, 2) treat dysregulated immune system and inflammation 3)treat the symptoms. If PANS patients with eating disorders are not diagnosed correctly, their treatment protocol is not based on the three treatment prongs of the diagnostic guidelines; only implementing psycho-therapeutic interventions will not be enough for lasting recovery. Learn more about PANS and Eating Disorders today.

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Articles, Handouts, Posters, Patient Stories

• PANS & Eating Restriction Main Article & Toolkit
• PANS & Eating Restrictions at School
• PANS & Restrictive Eating Poster
• Family Story – Severe Eating Disorder Due to PANS PANDAS
• Personal Story – PANS PANDAS Can Start as an Eating Disorder

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Social Media Images