On Eating Disorders: Unpopular Opinions, Neglected Topics, and Non-normative Experiences

Welcome! The following survey has a few questions that I'd love to get people's feedback on.

Basically: The questions in this survey are inspired by those I've asked on my SEDs Tumblr as well as responses from my previous survey.

My motivation is pretty simple: I want to "collect" answers to these (and other) questions to be able to showcase the broad range of experiences that individuals with eating disorders go through. I want to be able to show the diversity of experiences, thoughts, and feelings (relating to EDs).

Important things to keep in mind:
This survey is anonymous. The answers will not be used for academic research purposes. I am not affiliated with any research institution.

This is how they may be used:
1) I may combine different people's answers to the same question and make pretty images to post on Pinterest/Tumblr (see example) and
2) I may quote the answers and/or parts of the answer in a blog post

The reason for 1) and 2) relates back to my motivation for making this survey in the first place.

So, in responding to the questions: DO NOT write anything that you would NOT write on a public online forum. That is, DO NOT write anything you would NOT write in an anonymous comment on Tumblr/blog post/news article. DO NOT write anything that may be used to identify you (if you are concerned about that).

This survey is completely voluntary. You can answer as many or as few questions as you want. Hopefully it does not need to be said, but just in case: You don't need to have been diagnosed with an eating disorder. If you feel like you have/had one (not necessarily DSM-defined, either), then I want your opinion :-).

Feel free to interpret the questions in ANY way you'd like. There's no right or wrong. I'm just interested in people's experiences.
If you want to talk about something tangentially related to the question without answering the question itself, go for it.

If at any point you feel triggered, please please please quit/exit the survey.

Thank you!

Sincerely,
Tetyana

Science of Eating Disorders || www.scienceofeds.org

1. How old are you? Please select the appropriate age range.

2. What are some misconceptions about eating disorders and/or eating disorder sufferers that you've encountered from healthcare professionals (particularly those who are in the mental health field)?

3. Have you ever felt that your experiences or feelings (with regard to the ED/ED recovery/ED treatment) were neglected or dismissed by ED professionals? What about in recovery communities (in real life or online)? If so, could you expand?

4. When it comes to your experiences with ED professionals, have you at any point felt "boxed in"? That is, have you felt that they were making assumptions about you, your history, and/or your experiences? What were those assumptions? What do you think is the best way to tackle them?

5. Do you have any opinions about eating disorders (causes, maintaining factors, recovery, treatment) that you would not feel comfortable voicing (online or in real life) for fear of upsetting others, causing disagreements or provoking arguments?

6. How do you feel about externalizing the eating disorder in treatment/discussions? That is, the idea of an "ED voice" as some separate from the non-ED aspects of your identity? Has it played a positive, negative, or neutral role in treatment?

7. What is the relationship -- if any -- for you, between your sexuality and/or sexual orientation and your eating disorder?

8. Use this space to let me know anything else you'd like or to provide feedback/suggestions. Thanks!

On Eating Disorders: Unpopular Opinions, Neglected Topics, and Non-normative Experiences

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