My name is Emi Berger. I am a 34 year old woman, veterinarian, athlete, musician, daughter, sister, friend and advocate. This fall, I am riding my bike across the USA, from the lighthouse in Montauk, NY to San Diego, CA. I hope to push my body and mind to its limits, see parts of this beautiful country I’ve never seen & raise money for a wonderful organization called MentorCONNECT.
The idea to bike across America came about last year after a conversation with a friend. We both shared a love of endurance sports and felt biking across America would be a great way to tap into our endurance potential while raising money for causes that were dear to us. So we began brainstorming routes across the country and organizations we could raise money for. Right away I knew the type of organization I wanted to support... I just had to find the right one.
When I was in high school a dear friend of mine developed bulimia. For over 15 years she battled with recurrent bouts of binging and purging and was literally consumed by the disease. It took a tremendous toll on her emotionally, socially and physiologically. She battled with daily self-loathing, self-doubt and shame. Her days were spent calorie counting, fending off the negative voices that whispered in her head that she wasn’t good enough and a constant feeling of guilt. She relied on the scale for self-worth and could never really convince herself that she deserved to eat.
Thankfully, she is in recovery now but she profoundly mourns the loss of so many years spent consumed by the disease instead of living and enjoying her life. Through her, I have been witness to the terrifying and devastating effects of an eating disorder. And, over the years, I have met other women and men from all walks of life who struggle with eating disorders. Eating disorders do not discriminate and those they affect suffer deeply and often in silence. For many it is this silence that is the biggest hurdle to overcome. I believe that there needs to be more public awareness of eating disorders and more opportunities for those suffering with them to reach out for help.
After spending much time researching various eating disorder organizations, I found a great one called MentorCONNECT. MentorCONNECT is a non-profit organization that provides an online support system for people with eating disorders. MentorCONNECT is the first organization of its kind to use online mentoring and relationship building as a means by which those afflicted with an eating disorder can get help,and those in recovery can help others. Members share personal experiences, provide feedback and encouragement and help each other through their recovery. MentorCONNECT provides those struggling with a safe and easy way to ask for help, confront their disease and, with the help of a community of others, find ways to recover and rebuild their lives.
