Making eating disorders visible brings many benefit
By John Dyson
Last year I was invited to attend the annual garden party hosted by the Waterstone Foundation focusing on helping people with eating disorders. This fundraising event held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, brought a lot of people together whose lives have been affected by eating disorders. Also in attendance were caregivers and professionals who want to help people with eating disorders.
This event gave me an opportunity to talk about making the invisible, visible! This was very empowering. I have spent a good chunk of my life battling with mental health issues, eating disorders, PTSD, diabetes — invisible challenges that have affected my life. Given an opportunity to make these challenges visible is making my life meaningful and purposeful. I want to encourage people who battle with these invisible health issues to understand that there should be no shame or stigma in making their illness visible.
My eating disorders and other mental health challenges have not gone away. I believe these challenges will be with me for the rest of my life. With organizations like the Waterstone Foundation, there is hope for people who battle with this challenge. Waterstone’s programs support patients needing urgent care who fall through the cracks of our public health care systems. I want to encourage people to support this amazing organization. Waterstone Foundation has developed education programs for professionals and provides funding to current programs to expand their services, and assists people to obtain treatment that would not otherwise be available to them.
If you had told me some years ago, that I would stand in front of this group of people and disclose that I have an eating disorder, I would have laughed, saying “Not a chance”.
Today, because I did speak up, there is a lot more support out there to help people who battle with eating disorders. I especially want to give this message to other males who have eating disorders. There is no shame in disclosing your illness and getting help. Eating is an essential part of life. Please don’t hesitate to speak up. The life you could be saving is your own and also you will be helping to save many others who are battling this illness.
We have an election in the province of Ontario in September. Let’s make sure that this mental health issue is visible to people who are going into the legislature so they can talk about challenges facing people in Ontario, and find ways to provide support for those with mental health challenges. We MUST be seen and heard.
I will continue to do anything that I can do, to help with making these challenges visible.
I created a T-shirt design to make my challenges visible and I’ve been amazed at the feedback received from people when they read the message on the shirt.. Let’s continue to do what we can to make this challenge visible.
About John
John lives and works in Southwestern Ontario. He has bravely made his challenges visible so that other men and women will feel safe following in his footsteps. John started the campaign ‘Making the invisible, VISIABLE’ early in 2017. Follow him on Facebook as he continues to break the stigma and bring mental health challenges into the public eye! John is actively involved with the Waterstone Foundation and is featured on their website at
John says: “I am a passionate advocate for individuals with eating disorders, particularly men. When you talk openly about invisible disabilities and share they become visible. Doors open to support and networking.”
