Eating Disorder Resources for College Students
The Renfrew Center, the nation’s leading network of eating disorder treatment facilities, aims to tackle the concerns of eating disorders in college students.
While students on campus start to adjust to campus life from home life, there can be many feelings of stress and anxiety that can lead to mental health issues and poor eating habits. That’s why this year, Renfrew Center leaders created an online college resource center designed to be a one-stop shop for students to better understand and recognize the signs of various eating disorders.
The Renfrew Center offers four different levels of treatment: in-person, virtual, day treatment, and outpatient treatments. While they do offer one-on-one services, they also offer a free resource for students 18–24 years of age to connect with people of similar situations.
The holidays, in particular, can create added stress—between comments from family members, feelings of emotional regression with family dynamics, and changes in routine. The added stress of family dynamics while adapting to a new routine can cause anxiety. With the Renfrew Center, you can talk one-on-one with a clinician to discuss these thoughts and feelings.
Major life adjustments like graduating and living independently can also be a major contributor to eating disorders. It is important to recognize signs of eating disorders such as a fluctuation in weight, avoiding social outings with food, and changes in personality.
Social media and social media trends can also cause anxiety around the holidays. Renfrew Clinician Alexandra Poole suggests students be mindful of the media they are consuming. This may include unfollowing creators that spread negative content or making sure to report harmful posts. Be mindful of how you can better yourself, take breaks, and spend time with yourself.
The Renfrew Center has an in-person location just 44 minutes away from Bridgewater. This location features day treatment as well as intensive outpatient care. If you aren’t able to make it to an in-person location, you can access the Renfrew Center’s website at https://renfrewcenter.com/locations/boston-ma/ for virtual treatment and additional resources.
