Iowa State's Emily Ryan message on mental health and eating disorders

[mred]

Last season, Emily Ryan missed Iowa State's first 9 games for an unspecified reason and came off the bench for the next 8 as she was eased back into things. Yesterday, we found out why.

World Mental Health Day was yesterday (Oct 10) and in recognition of that, Emily released a video discussing her issues as a high-achieving athlete looking for any edge to get better, which resulted in developing an eating disorder in 2023. ISU's health staff became very concerned about this and pulled her from basketball-related activities a month before the season started to allow her body to recover. After the season, still struggling with mental issues around disordered eating, she spent three months being treated by an eating disorder facility in Denver.

This is the story in her own words (5 minutes long):

 

[Bigboote]

Geez, I’m sorry to hear this. Ryan is a good egg; I hope she’s fully healthy.

 

[cancontent]

This is much more common than we care to admit. Hanna Hall who played for Buffalo went through something similar to what Ryan did. ESPN covered the story during Buffalo's NCAA tournament run several years ago.

This is where I developed a huge appreciation for Coach Legette-Jack because if it wasn't for her, who knows where Hall would be now? Hall now uses her platform and serves as a youth mentor with various programs in Ontario and Canada. Hopefully Ryan will do something similar in the future.

 

[cancontent]

Last season, Emily Ryan missed Iowa State's first 9 games for an unspecified reason and came off the bench for the next 8 as she was eased back into things. Yesterday, we found out why.

World Mental Health Day was yesterday (Oct 10) and in recognition of that, Emily released a video discussing her issues as a high-achieving athlete looking for any edge to get better, which resulted in developing an eating disorder in 2023. ISU's health staff became very concerned about this and pulled her from basketball-related activities a month before the season started to allow her body to recover. After the season, still struggling with mental issues around disordered eating, she spent three months being treated by an eating disorder facility in Denver.

This is the story in her own words (5 minutes long):

Really glad she's comfortable in sharing her story so others can learn from it. This is so important because these women are more than just basketball players.

 

[JellyBean]

Powerful message. Glad that we have players and other professionals who are showing how brave and courageous they are by sharing their battles. I hope that Emily continues to get all the help she needs with this battle and that her story inspires others.

 

[GoUconn7961]

I'm glad she's sharing this difficult story. It's nice that people are more enlightened about Eating Disorders now, but the medical community needs to catch up (a LOT). As one who struggles consistently it is one of the hardest mental illnesses to treat, and has the highest mortality rate. People also don't realize that it can happen to all ages, both genders, and be in bodies of all sizes; not just emaciated bodies. I am in some weird state of limbo right now, half recovered and half still restricting my intake. It's so hard to push through. People used to tell me to eat a cheeseburger, or ask me if I like food (they still do that). It's so much more than that. The mental gymnastics I do, and others like me do, to eat a meal is why suicide rates are so high. I won't share the dark side of my story, but I'm glad issues like Emily's are being shared. It is extremely important to know we are not alone.

 

[cancontent]

I'm glad she's sharing this difficult story. It's nice that people are more enlightened about Eating Disorders now, but the medical community needs to catch up (a LOT). As one who struggles consistently it is one of the hardest mental illnesses to treat, and has the highest mortality rate. People also don't realize that it can happen to all ages, both genders, and be in bodies of all sizes; not just emaciated bodies. I am in some weird state of limbo right now, half recovered and half still restricting my intake. It's so hard to push through. People used to tell me to eat a cheeseburger, or ask me if I like food (they still do that). It's so much more than that. The mental gymnastics I do, and others like me do, to eat a meal is why suicide rates are so high. I won't share the dark side of my story, but I'm glad issues like Emily's are being shared. It is extremely important to know we are not alone.

Wow. Thanks for sharing even this small piece of your story. Glad you're making some progress but feel horrible that it's such a battle.