Though eating disorders are common, they are also hidden behind stigma and misinformation. That’s what makes National Eating Disorder Awareness Week so significant, so vitally important. Occurring this year on the last week of February, National Eating Disorder Awareness Week serves as a critical season of insight, education and awareness raising.

You can learn more about the week, and the role you can play in it, by visiting nedawareness.org. But we want to highlight something in particular about this year’s week—namely, its theme. The tagline for 2016’s National Eating Disorder Awareness Week is this: 3 Minutes Can Save a Life. Get Screened. Get Help. Get Healthy.

The point is basically this: It only takes a few minutes of your time to get screened for an eating disorder. It’s easy and completely painless. In fact, you can get screened online, completely anonymously. Alsana is proud to present a patient screening portal, which you can access here.

Screening allows for early detection and intervention. This also help determine if it’s time to seek professional help and provides you with the information you need to start your recovery process now rather than later.

Remember that eating disorders can be lethal—but recovery is always possible. The first step is just to admit that you have a problem, and to gain some sense of what you are up against. That’s exactly the kind of clarity you can get from a screening.

And again: It’s free. It’s easy. It’s anonymous. And it could save your life. So this National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, get screened—and help build awareness but encouraging others to do the same.

[cta] Have you been screened? Share your story with us on Facebook! [/cta]