Creating A Mobile Application For Eating Disorder Recovery

When I quit gymnastics late January of 2019, I had given up six years of my life, with the hopes of starting anew, one free from the deprecating comments and looks of disapproval I got about my bigger body. But I soon realized, that life outside of the gym was no different, that people would continue to snark and comment, but this time in whispers and hushed voices. Although the fight against body image issues have significantly improved throughout the decades, the stigmas behind eating disorders and getting help have not necessarily gotten better as society fails to understand and help victims, forcing them to secretly struggle with it all on their own. I had watched some of my own teammates fall trap to these stigmas, as they were forced to learn to deal with their sufferings and fight their battles alone. Staying idle remains as one of my biggest regrets after leaving the sport, and the prospect that others may also be secretly enduring such hardships is one that I wish to change.

Living as a teenager in a rapidly developing and evolving 21st century, I was taught from an early age of the abundance and importance of technology to our everyday lives, and how it is with technology that society is able to advance in the fast paced way we know now. Seeing young pioneers take on the world with their technological innovations, I too was inspired to make a difference in this quickly changing world through communicating with the universal language of coding.

It is with my concerns on said issues combined with my interest to pursue coding, that my personal project will be to learn the basics of coding/ app development through a series of online courses and self-learning methods in an attempt to develop a mobile app advocating and supporting victims of eating disorders. However, creating an app with such ambitious end goals would be a highly challenging undertaking for me as coding is essentially a whole other language that I will have to learn and apply in such a short time frame. But rather than seeing it as a tribulation, I will instead take this project as an opportunity, to develop my research, technical and creative thinking skills for a good and passionate cause.

Global Context

With the goal of my project clearly targeted to support victims of eating disorders and to shed light into body image issues, my personal project would be delving into the Identities and Relationships global context. It will be aimed to help with the recovery of a victim’s damaged personal, physical, mental and social health. My project will also be exploring how human relationships in communities and cultures affect internal relationships. As eating disorders stem from unrealistic societal standards, it is important that my product is able to combat such issues.

Product

By the end of January, I created the self care mobile application, Imable. With its principal goal being in support of victims of eating disorders and their journey towards recovery, I had successfully incorporated appropriate self care methods as well as an abundance of credible resources into the application. Imable consists of four main features which include; Daily Missions that encourages its users to partake in growth development through the use of miniscule self-care missions and activities; Daily Logs, a feature that tracks meals, moods, and journal entries; Check Up, a preemptive quiz to raise the user’s self awareness; and Find Help which directs them to seeking professional help.

My product directly correlates with the global context, Identities and Relationships through its purpose of rediscovering one’s identity and sense of self from the warped and toxic association most victims of eating disorders have with their self worth/ image. The self care methods Imable provides, enables the user to improve their personal, physical, mental and social health, users are able to start their journeys towards finding this new identity. Moreover, the constant support Imable provides to rediscover this new sense of self and take measures to explore and improve one’s self image, also adds to the inquiries of the global context.

Reflection

The duration spent working on my project introduced and expounded my knowledge and understanding of its corresponding global context, Identities and Relationships. I learned the interrelated connections and influences society has on the individual and how the initiative of one person can help reverse society’s faults as seen through my own efforts with the creation of Imable.

I believe the app itself was able to suit my goal statement through its demonstrated impact for the eating disorder cause and my own learning curve with coding, which I find myself to be comfortable working with. My research skills were also magnified as I spent three months learning to master and comprehend the complex areas of my project. My artistic skills were strengthened through the copious amounts of graphic design sketches I created. And my self management skills were tested through the mountains of procrastination that would consequent both my product and myself as an individual, teaching me the hard lesson of how important it is to stay organized and timely.

In retrospect, this personal project was able to break me from my shell of comfort and into the world of the unknown and new. Seeing the world in a different lens, be it through the eyes of a programmer or through the eyes of someone struggling with an eating disorder, I have learnt to appreciate the strengths I have developed and embrace the IB learner inside of me, allowing me to grow as an individual willing to make a change in this ever changing world.

IB Learner Reflection

Throughout the course of the seven months allotted for my personal project, I was able to discover and explore a number of skills that have strengthened my characters as an IB learner. Creating an app from scratch in a position where I had little prior knowledge was a prodigious risk considering the limitations and conditions of the current time. However, embodying the risk taker profile, I was willing to face the challenges that came my way as I ventured into the unfamiliar world of coding. And with my perseverance, I was able to become exponentially more knowledgeable on the field and more caring on the subject of eating disorders. This project was an opportunity to not only develop my skills as a communicator through the language of coding, but also through the language of sensitivity and empathy that I grew to be open-minded with as I worked to understand the difficult subject of eating disorders. Furthermore, the interviews, surveys, and constant emailing and text messaging with professionals, teachers, and students alike cemented my communication skills as a whole.