A recent New York Times health headline asks, “Is the economy making you ill? An economic crisis can exact a toll on health, especially those people who already occupy the lowest rungs of the socioeconomic ladder. Eating disorder treatment can be costly and difficult to wrangle with insurance companies even during boom times. As insurance rates soar even as coverage declines, when companies lay off workers or close doors altogether, as home prices plummet, foreclosures rise and credit becomes something of the good old days, how is the economic recession affecting people with mental health problems at a time when they need help the most?
So, for those of you currently in recovery for your eating disorder or other mental health issues, in what ways, if any, has your treatment plan been affected by the economic recession?
Cross-posted on www.the-f-word.org
This is a blog where a roster of three regular writers and several guest writers comment on the latest news about eating disorders. It isn’t just a news feed, nor a personal journal – it’s a hybrid of both. We discuss the news with our own personal spin.
We aren’t journalists or outsiders looking in. We have eating disorders. We know about this illness because we live it. Some of us are thoroughly active in our eating disorders while some are in recovery. Most are in some state in between.
Nothing is off-limits in terms of coverage. We write about everything from the onset of eating disorders to the long-term consequences thereof. We write about all eating disorders, not just anorexia and bulimia. And we write media reviews, short stories, and whatever comes to mind in relation to current events.
This does mean, however, that we may bring up some sensitive topics — things like abuse, rape, self-injury, etc., so tread carefully. We’ll tag posts with the appropriate warning label whenever possible.
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