Chavel @Amsterdam Marathon
Charlotte Veldkamp is raising money for Beat
Story
In October 2018, I will run my first marathon in Amsterdam. I am using this dreadful, grand, stupid occasion to raise funds for an important cause: anorexia. I am running for BEAT, the UK’s leading charity for eating disorders (UK inasmuch as I do not identify with just one nation).
The fight against anorexia is for many a personal one, but beyond the individual it undoubtedly remains a political, societal (and feminist) cause.
Tired of stereotyping, tired of a deeply off-putting lack of funding / appropriate treatment / specialism, tired of restrictive gender norms, I want to be proactive in raising (a better type of) awareness. I understand that anorexia, of all eating disorders, is granted the most compassion. But the light shed onto the illness is harsh and too often misplaced. Financial interests trump accuracy and understanding, and dramatize, romanticize or glamorize what is, ultimately, an issue of psychological suffering for all parties involved -far deeper than superficial beauty ideals! I am aware that anorexia affects a limited portion of society, predominantly upper (-middle) class, predominantly female (but not only), predominantly Western. But I also know anorexia is still the psychiatric illness with the highest mortality rate, and that ignorance stunts progress.
Running a marathon is a symbolic step. Help me take the space to grow and the necessary empowerment to play my tiny part in supporting others.