[Thom_Book] Thom Rutledge may be best-known to the eating disorders world these days as Jenni Schaefer’s therapist, but Jenni is just one of literally hundreds of folks who credit Thom for life-saving guidance, mentoring, and support.

When I first published Beating Ana and launched MentorCONNECT, I was pretty starry-eyed around folks I considered to be “eating disorder celebrities”. So when I first started getting email from Thom himself, I nearly fell over.

But he liked what we were up to with MentorCONNECT, and proposed a collaboration. His idea involved “teleconferences”, which made technologically-challenged me feel a bit faint for other reasons. His part would be to lead them. My part would be to run the teleconferencing program.

Needless to say, it took awhile for us to get the thing up and running.

But to date, Thom has presented 9 amazing teleconferences for us, and the 10th is right around the corner on February 9th.

My dear friend and colleague, Chevese Turner, is the founder and CEO of BEDA, the Binge Eating Disorder Association.

BEDA is the first national organization dedicated to providing those who battle binge eating disorder with the support and resources they need and deserve, free from weight stigma and bias.

Now, this week, from September 26-30, 2011, BEDA launches the first-ever Weight Stigma Awareness Week.

According to BEDA’s official press release, “the objectives of this event are to build awareness of what weight stigma is, the harmful effects weight stigma can have on people of all ages in all environments, and what can be done to stop it.”

Mentoring is a gift that gives in equal measure to both giver and receiver. By giving in small ways, each and every day, we give so much….and receive even more.

This is why I love the message of this year’s National Eating Disorders Awareness Week – that we can each do “just one thing” to raise awareness of eating disorders.

This message recognizes that we have busy lives. It recognizes that we may already be doing many other things in other ways. It understands that we come from varying means, varying stages of recovery, varying degrees of help.

This message reminds us that our “one things” really do count.

It also encourages us that, for one special week each year, we can stretch just a little bit further and do just one MORE little thing that can have a huge impact in the lives of others who struggle with eating disorders.

This message hits home with a particular importance for me today, because today marks the start of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2011. And this week, the nonprofit I run, MentorCONNECT, has decided that our “just one thing” is to partner with the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) to launch the first-ever “Virtual Walk” for eating disorders awareness.

What is the one thing that seems to consistently cause the most trouble on the road to recovery?

REACHING. OUT.

How hard is this to do? Not very – in theory.

How hard is this to do in practice? VERY hard.

“Ed” (our eating disorder) does not want us to reach out. In our minds, we are worthless, helpless, hopeless, without.

In reality, we are priceless, courageous, trailblazers, warriors.