“I was 16, I was sick with anorexia and my mother said she was crazy, that she saw ghosts”, says Aurora Caporossi before taking a long break. “I’m ashamed to say it – she continues, staring at the table a little embarrassed – but to take care of me, since the waiting lists were long, we had to be recommended. For this reason today I want to help others not to live what we went through. and my family”. So this 24-year-old Roman, with a degree in communication, founded together with two friends Animenta: an association for the fight against eating disorders, part of the Lilla Movement, which gathers 60 volunteers and on Instagram speaks directly to those who suffer from it, putting contact those seeking help with industry experts.
On Animenta’s social profile, no photos of bodies or food are shown, but information is provided, it is explained, false myths are countered, experts in the sector are given a voice. Above all, no advice is given, but many stories of hope are collected and told.
Treatment and representation
“The stories are fundamental, they help us to understand where the care system is still fragile and needs to be improved”, continues Aurora. “A boy had contacted us via Instagram, saying that the doctor gave him Xanax because according to him he could not have an eating disorder, since he was a man. And it was just reading the story of another boy that he realized he had to go to a specialist “.
Personal experiences also have another power: they create representation. The plurality of voices allows us to give life to a narrative of eating disorders in which there is not only anorexia, the best known and from which not only girls, but also boys and adults suffer. “There are underrepresented cases – says Aurora – and when you are not represented you think you are a problem rather than a problem. Reading a story gives you the opportunity to recognize yourself, to understand that you are not alone and to draw, because no, even inspiration and strength “.
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For this reason, between reel and direct, there is also room for the voice of those who are healed. “We want to show that we can get out of it. We receive messages that tell of a life made up of travels and experiences stolen from this dust turbo and that when you are still in the tunnel you no longer believe you can do it. The idea is that if you don’t you can live it, then I’ll show you what’s waiting for you. “
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Collaboration with experts
In one year, over 150 stories have been collected and every day dozens of people write to ask for help, to let off steam or simply to thank. “I am a 38-year-old mother and reading you I became aware that I need treatment”, “I don’t know who to contact, I’m desperate, do you have a good contact in Turin?”, Or again, “During the quarantine I started looking at myself more often in the mirror. The more I looked at myself, the more the image was distorted and I saw defects. I began to eat less, I have lost weight but I see more and more defects.
“When they write to us we never enter into the merits of the issues – specifies Aurora – we are not psychologists, it is not our job. As an association and as a community we can only support and refer to an expert. This is why we collaborate with professionals who also manage centers. of care, among these there are Laura Dalla Ragionepsychiatrist and psychotherapist who founded and directs the Network for Eating Disorders of the Usl 1 of Umbria; Leonardo Mendolicchiopsychiatrist, director of the Rehabilitation of Eating Disorders and Nutrition of Auxologico Piancavallo; Giuseppe Magistralepsychologist and psychotherapist of the Dca Center of Bari. We have contacts all over Italy and they are the same ones we contact for the drafting of scientific posts “.
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Offline activity
However, the association’s commitment is also offline, between the squares with the Lilac Movement and between school desks, where volunteers organize events and training courses dedicated to eating disorders or related topics.
Over 50 activities in just one year, including a theatrical project, Letters to the bodyorganized with Ambra Angiolini. “When you have suffered from an eating disorder – says the actress – and you meet a person with a history similar to yours, an indefinable bond is created because there is something deeper that binds you. For this reason, with the girls of Animenta we have created a project in a magical place, the theater, where we can express ourselves and where we can free our emotions. We collected them in notebooks and every week we shared them with each other. We danced, laughed, sometimes a few tears fell , but above all we welcomed each other “.
“An idea that we would like to replicate this year”, continues Aurora, who still has many projects in mind: “Because when you recover something is triggered, you feel compelled to repay the help you received”.