Welcome

You have noticed the skipped meals, the new rules about food, the way your teen leaves the table early. You have also rehearsed the conversation in your head and stopped short every time. You can picture how it ends: a slammed door, and a child who no longer trusts you.

That fear makes sense. It is also the reason many families lose months they cannot get back.

By Hope Chookazian, MSW, LCSWA

Trigger Warnings: Suicide, Suicidal ideation, and Suicidal thoughts.

• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988
• Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741
• LGBTQ support call The Trevor Project: 866-488-7386
• The Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860

Content note: This article discusses suicide, suicidal thoughts, and stigma surrounding suicide. If this content brings up difficult feelings, you don’t have to navigate them alone. Consider reaching out to someone you trust or one of the supports listed above. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 911.

Suicide. A word that society has learned to whisper, to avoid, or treat almost as a contagion. Yet silence does not make it disappear. If anything, it can deepen the isolation someone experiencing suicidal ideation may be feeling. Having open conversations about suicide or suicidal ideation is important as

The idea that suicide itself is something that should not be discussed or that simply talking about it risks spreading it, can become a form of stigma. Avoidance can reinforce the negative beliefs and social disapproval that already surrounds those experiencing suicidal thoughts.

Stigma is defined as “the negative social attitude attached to a characteristic of an individual that may be regarded as a mental, physical, or social deficiency,” according to the American Psychological Association. Despite the prevalent societal stigma, suicide remains a major concern worldwide.

More than 720,000 people die by suicide worldwide each year. In 2021, it was the third leading cause of death among people ages 15-29. In the United States, suicide remains the second leading cause of death for youth and young adults aged 15-34, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Episode description:

Social media can shape how we think about food, bodies, and ourselves—but what happens when algorithms actively steer vulnerable young people toward harmful content? On this episode of Peace Meal, Joel Wright, founder of Wright Law Group, joins Jillian Lampert to discuss the legal action seeking to hold social media companies accountable for the ways their platforms can contribute to harm, including eating disorder development and maintenance.

Drawing from his legal work and his personal experience as a parent of a child who has experienced an eating disorder, Joel discusses how algorithms can amplify eating disorder and body-related content, what changes could make social media safer, and why parents and families may need more control over what young people see online. He also shares advice for parents, including the importance of modeling healthy technology habits and recognizing potential warning signs.

It’s arduous work to unlearn the negative self-beliefs and destructive patterns of an eating disorder. Even with robust, specialized treatment, a caring support system, and a firm personal commitment to recovery, many individuals will encounter lapses or relapse as they recover.

Eating disorders are highly recurrent by nature, meaning that relapse can be a normal part of the recovery process. Longitudinal cohort and treatment follow-up studies estimate that 20% to 50% of people with eating disorders will relapse, and the risk is highest in the first year after discharge from treatment. Risk is especially elevated for those recovering from anorexia nervosa.

Given the significant rates of relapse and the cognitive, emotional, social, financial, and medical burdens that come with it, effective relapse monitoring and assessment are vital. As a provider, you are an invaluable ally in helping your patient stay on the path of recovery. When you are prepared to intervene at the first warning signs of a relapse, you can set your patient up for a strong and resilient recovery.

Episode description:

Weight stigma is woven into nearly every part of our society, from healthcare and the media to the design of public spaces and comments made in everyday conversation. Its message to people in larger bodies is that their bodies are wrong, and that the wrongness is theirs to fix. In recognition of Weight Stigma Awareness Week, Jillian follows that stigma into a place it does some of its deepest damage: the development, maintenance, and diagnosis of eating disorders.

Episode description:

Katelyn Olmsted first joined Peace Meal in 2025 to talk about her eating disorder, her time in treatment, and the book she began writing while in care. Now a year further into recovery, she returns to the show as a college student with a second book out in the world. The Recovery Click started with a single text Katelyn sent to a friend from treatment (“what made you want to choose recovery?”) and grew from there: interviews with people in recovery and the therapeutic assistants who watched them pursue it, and reflections from Katelyn herself on the daily practices that keep her choosing recovery too.

You might have started the new school year knowing you were struggling with an eating disorder. Or you might only be beginning to suspect that something isn’t right.

Either way, maybe you hoped the routine would help: that classes, friends, and a full schedule would leave less room for it. Maybe you decided you could manage for now and wait to see whether things got “serious enough.” When getting help could mean missing class or watching everyone else keep going without you, waiting can feel like the safer choice.

Postponing help doesn’t protect your school year from an eating disorder. Left untreated, these illnesses can interfere with everything you’re trying to protect: your focus, your health, your friendships, and your ability to participate in school.

Reviewed by Mindy Elliott, MS, Director of Education at The Emily Program.

The fear of slipping behind in school shouldn’t be a barrier to connecting with lifesaving eating disorder care. While this concern is common and valid, your child or patient’s health must come before any outside commitments or responsibilities—including their education. The good news? Prioritizing health does not have to adversely affect academic progress.

At The Emily Program, we are committed to helping our clients stay on track with school while getting the vital eating disorder support they need. The process of navigating your child’s education and treatment may feel like an impossible balancing act, but we are here to help.