Help for people who have crossed the thin line

Who would want to see a one-woman show about eating disorders?

Apparently, lots of folks, because hundreds of Ohio Northern University students, faculty members, and community residents filled the McIntosh Center Ballroom on Tuesday to attend two performances of the play, "The Thin Line."

"The Thin Line's" playwright and executive director, Cathy Plourde, is a member of Dramatists Guild of America, and an Adjunct Artist in Residence at the University of Southern Maine. Following the performance, Plourde explained to the Ada audience that the play was birthed from her experience as a former English teacher who observed her pupils struggling with eating disorders and other issues.

Professional actress, Megan Hart, of New York, captivatingly performed the one-woman show portraying the roles of "Ellen," a young woman struggling with an eating disorder, Ellen's mother, Ellen's friend, and the internal voice of Ellen's eating disorder. The attractive brunette actress used eyeglasses, sunglasses and a rust-colored sweater to indicate a character change.

With a disarming voice, Hart portrayed Ellen's seemingly constant cry for help, leaving her audience spellbound and occasionally wiping away tears.

"Ask me, ‘Why I don't want to live?' Of course, I want to live," Ellen said almost pleadingly at one point in the play.

The veteran thespian evoked anxiety and anger in the crowd as she depicted the tormenting and taunting internal voice of Ellen's eating disorder. Yet, concern, confusion, and frustration filled the actress's desperate voices of both Ellen's mother and her friend.

"My best friend is dying a slow death right before our eyes, should I risk my friendship and tell?" asks Ellen's friend.

Her mother sadly laments during one monologue, "It's awful to see how little there is of her body. ... Ellen's been cutting herself, more torture, more pain."

The play's program explains that "eating disorders include: anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder."

According to www.webmd.com, anorexia is "characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss," and can result in damage to the heart, bones, etc. and "has the highest death rate of any mental illness."

Bulimia "involves binging on food followed by purging, [which] can cause gum disease, osteoporosis, kidney disease, heart disease," and can be fatal. The Web site's statistics also estimate that 4 million Americans suffer from "binge-eating" disorder, defined as "binging without purging."

A panel of professionals took the stage for questions immediately following the half-hour play. According to panelist and ONU faculty member, Dr. Natalie DiPietro, "eating disorders affect both men and women.

Panelist and Lima counselor, Arlett Pollock-Evans, explained that "20 percent of bulimics are men or young boys, and 10 percent of anorexics" are male, as well.

"I'm seeing a lot of athletes with eating disorders," she said. Although, puberty has historically been indicated as the prime time for an eating disorder to develop, it is being diagnosed "younger and younger," said Pollock-Evans.

DiPietro cautioned that "anyone at any age of life is susceptible of having an eating disorder. [An] eating disorder gives you a false sense of control," she said.

According to Rebecca Diller, assistant director of the ONU Counseling Center, "Research shows that about 20 percent of college students suffer from eating disorders."

When asked about signs and symptoms, Diller replied, you "might notice a change in their mood, depression, irritability ... [or] if you see signs of skipping meals, irregular eating patterns, or going to the bathroom" immediately after eating. The latter is especially symptomatic with a bulimics need to purge.

Pollock-Evans also said "excessive exercising" can be a part of the problem, and that "most eating disorder order clients are in normal [weight] range." She adds, "Every sign and symptom is a cry for help."

When panelist, Dr. Michael Schafer, director of the ONU Counseling Center, was asked about stages, he said that "unhealthy eating occurs on a continuum" citing the "insidious progression of an eating disorder."

He explained the need to be compassionate to those struggling by using the analogy, "We get frustrated ... [and] say why don't you just eat? Same thing to tell a homeless person, why don't you just build a house?"

All of the panelists agreed that the issue must be confronted, because an eating disorder can be life threatening.

"Like many problems earlier intervention results in better treatment outcomes," Schafer said.

The panel's message rang out loud and clear, there is help available if you or someone you know has crossed the thin line.

Christina Ryan Claypool is a freelance journalist and inspirational speaker. Contact her at christina@christinaryanclaypool.com.