Siavonh Lenaburg is ready for the truth. As someone who has experienced eating disorders firsthand, she knows how insidious the secret world of disordered eating can be, how easy it is to drown in denial and how isolating such a personal struggle can be. And she wants to change that for as many people as she can reach.
Lenaburg, a psychology and family and human development junior at Arizona State University, is spearheading a multi-pronged attack on eating disorders in metropolitan Phoenix and at ASU. After years of education, therapy and personal healing, she is taking action.
“Body image is something that, whatever age you are, whatever size you are, you experience it every day,” Lenaburg says. “Whether they’re overeating or are on really strict diets, there are a lot of people out there who are struggling and need help, and who don’t even realize they need help.”
This year, she started Eating Disorders Outreach, an organization devoted to spreading awareness of eating disorders, providing a safe space for people to share their stories, hosting support groups and helping people find resources and methods of healing. Lenaburg also masterminded the EDO’s latest project, a multifaceted awareness campaign called Tell the Truth. Rather than relying solely on the posters and lectures typically associated with such campaigns, Lenaburg has crafted an innovative approach involving events ranging from yoga and belly dancing to concerts and life-drawing classes, targeting people from the high school level up.
“We’re trying to reach out also to a younger population and take a different approach,” Lenaburg says. “By reaching out through yoga, dance, art and music, we’re seeking a holistic range of expression. We’re trying to speak to all different people and populations in different ways, in whatever way we can.”
The campaign, like its moniker, is focused on overcoming taboos and encouraging open dialogue about eating disorders, especially at ASU.
“It’s not something to be ashamed of, you can speak out about it without people looking down on you,” says Diana Inzunza, a dietetics sophomore and vice president of EDO. She too is in recovery from an eating disorder.
“Just because you struggled with an eating disorder doesn’t make you worse than anyone else, or weaker,” Inzunza says. “It’s never too late to ask for help. They (students) should tell the truth and be real about it because it’s not worth going through college and dealing with that stress and an eating disorder. You can get help and you don’t have to go through it alone.”
Brent Egeland, who plans on transferring to ASU from Paradise Valley Community College, wears many hats in EDO. He is in charge of booking bands for coming benefit shows (including his own, Wide Eyed, and The American Standard, a band known for its philanthropic efforts), fundraising and supporting Lenaburg – the two have been dating for over a year.
“Probably about a year ago she started talking about outreach and getting the ball rolling,” Egeland says. “She’s quite resourceful … She’s in that bracket of people she wants to reach, so following her own interests, like yoga and dance, is the best way to reach the people she wants to reach.”
Egeland has also struggled with eating disorders.
“When I started playing guitar when I was around 13, I was pretty overweight,” Egeland says. “For two months I did that (micromanaged his food consumption). I did lose about 20 to 30 pounds, but I caught myself early and then I found music as an outlet.
“I think music is definitely a universal language and an eternal healing thing. It’s a good way to draw people into the cause as well. The music itself is great, but it can also be a catalyst for people to use for self-discovery and healing,” he says.
In a similar vein, Lenaburg connected with Jason Savaglio, a well-known life-drawing artist and instructor, to include life drawing in the campaign.
“Fine art and the culture of the true arts community typically do not care about the same set of ideals that pop culture does,” Savaglio, an ASU alum, says. “There’s an entire community of people who see beauty in everything.”
Savaglio pioneered the first life-drawing class in a publicly funded high school during his tenure as an instructor and principal at the New School for the Arts and Academics in Tempe. He will coordinate artists and nude models for a life-drawing event that will celebrate “a variety of body types … to show that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.”
Attendees can participate as artists or, for the brave, as models. Lenaburg says the artwork can be purchased or donated to EDO.
“We express our purpose through drawing real people,” Lenaburg says. “The goal is to bring the drawings together into a collage that will show the beauty of the body and how our appreciation for all body shapes and sizes need to be expanded.”
These events are still in the planning phase, but Lenaburg hopes to finalize dates and times for November. They will combine the fun activities with serious outreach efforts.
“We will be offering resources and references for people who come and ask for help,” Lenaburg says. “We have created a database of resources in Arizona so that we can help people find what they need.”
In the meantime, she is recruiting members for Researching Eating Disorders Awareness and Literacy (REAL), the ASU club she started this semester to augment her work with EDO. She has also begun the arduous process of converting EDO from corporation to nonprofit organization.
“I will definitely be working with eating disorders my whole life,” Lenaburg says. “Talking about it constantly forces you to realize your own self-worth.”
For more information you can visit EDO’s Facebook page or email eatingdisordersoutreach@gmail.com.
Contact the reporter at llemoine@asu.edu
