“To reduce eating disorder risks and to support those who may be suffering in silence, we need to keep talking and promote awareness of the issues while clarifying long-held misconceptions about eating disorders. We can’t help those who do not feel able to speak up. We can’t help people that speak up and can’t access treatment. We can’t help when we constantly contribute to the problem through the cultures we create and perpetuate.

With awareness of these concerns, we must use our voices to improve the culture of medicine and the military, including combating harmful messages around weight that instill shame and avoidance while lacking evidence-based rigor to back up their claims.

We must reduce mental health stigmatization and the shame associated with asking for help. We must create psychological safety to talk about the hard things and end anyone’s suffering in silence.”

Jillian Rigert is an oral medicine specialist and radiation oncology research fellow.

She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, “Military and medicine: 10 shared risk factors for eating disorder development.”

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Hosted by Kevin Pho, MD, The Podcast by KevinMD shares the stories of the many who intersect with our health care system but are rarely heard from.