The whole process of recovery can take up to seven years, sometimes longer. That can seem like a daunting task for those facing the road to recovery. "People have a tendency to lose some faith and get frustrated with it but my job is to try to keep instilling hope for them. Walk with them on their journey," says Mary Dressing, a mental health counselor with Sanford Women's Health.

As someone with extensive experience in the treatment of eating disorders, Dressing knows treatment and recovery can be long and stressful. However, the idea is to start out slow. "We like to start with the least invasive; so hooking up with your dietician, a physician and a counselor. If outpatient doesn't work maybe look at medication."\

At some point, an inpatient treatment program may be necessary. "They're going to be there two to four weeks, sometimes more, and they'll work on these issues 24/7," says dressing, who says its an incredible feeling when a patient recovers from an eating disorder. "Its very rewarding because working with eating disorder clients is a long haul; it's painstakingly slow progress.

The aim of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week was to increase public knowledge of eating disorders, which compared to other prominent diseases, is underfunded. There are more than 10 million Americans with eating disorders, compared with 4.5 million with Alzheimer's and 2.2 million with schizophrenia. The latter two receive nearly one billion combined dollars in research funds, while eating disorders receive just 12 million.

For more on the week devoted to raising awareness of eating disorders, visit the official website of the National Eating Disorders Association