Added support for eating disorders

BY WENDY SMITH

An extra $20,000 in provincial funding this year for Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia (ANEB) Quebec means that more West Islanders who are suffering from eating disorders can get help immediately and free of charge, the organization’s executive director said.

ANEB will begin offering two support groups in the West Island next month. “One is for family and friends, and one is for people touched directly by eating disorders,” Josée Champagne said.

The specific location where the groups will meet is yet to be confirmed, but Champagne said ANEB is eyeing the YMCA on Brunswick Boulevard in Pointe Claire.

Although ANEB’s headquarters are located on Donegani Avenue near the Valois train station, locals have had to trek downtown in order to attend the support groups it offers.

The new groups are free and there are no waiting lists, Champagne stressed. People who want to join don’t need a formal diagnosis. “The most important thing is for them to realize they need help,” she said.

Quebec’s estimated 65,000 eating disorder sufferers — 10,000 of whom live in the West Island, according to the West Island Community Resource Centre — often find that the help available through medical channels is scarce, Champagne said. They either wait up to eight months for treatment that is covered by Medicare, or pay through the nose for private services. “Maybe they’ve called somewhere and they were told, ‘We’ll put you on a waiting list for a year.’ Then they get discouraged. It could take a few months for them to get the courage to ask for help again.”

ANEB plays a vital role by providing immediate support to someone on a waiting list who is “in crisis,” Champagne said. “They need to find alternatives in the community and we fulfill that urgent need.”

Eating disorders, if left unchecked, can have severe consequences. Anorexia nervosa is one of the deadliest of all psychiatric illnesses: 10 to 15 per cent of sufferers eventually die from suicide or starvation. Bulimia nervosa, characterized by periods of binging on large quantities of food followed by purging through vomiting, taking laxatives or exercising excessively, can cause electrolyte imbalance and lead to heart failure. Recovery can take years.

Champagne also believes the statistics under-represent the actual number of Quebec residents afflicted with anorexia and bulimia. The numbers don’t account for women over 45 or girls under 12, both age groups that are not immune to eating disorders, she noted. “We also know many people suffer in isolation,” she said, adding that one of ANEB’s main goals is “the development of relationships to break that isolation.

“We often hear people who come to us and say they discovered they weren’t alone.”

The increase in government funding — up to $50,000 from $30,000 last year — coupled with more money from West Island Community Shares has also enabled ANEB to extend the hours of its toll-free helpline. Currently the helpline is operational only during business hours but will be open to calls until 9 p.m. beginning in February, Champagne said.

ANEB is also hosting a series of conferences next week in honour of Eating Disorders Awareness Week, including a free public talk by Dr. Mimi Israël, psychiatrist-in-chief at the Douglas Hospital and attending psychiatrist at the Douglas Eating Disorder Clinic. Israël will speak at the Dollard des Ormeaux Civic Centre next Wednesday at 7 p.m.

For more information about ANEB’s services and other special events taking place during Eating Disorders Awareness Week, call 514-630-0907 or visit www.anebquebec.com.">www.anebquebec.com.">www.anebquebec.com.