Sea Waves

At SEA WAVES, our name isn’t just an acronym — it’s our mission in action.

Each letter represents a core pillar of how we support service members, veterans, and their families impacted by eating disorders.

We’re tackling a crisis that’s too often overlooked in military mental health — and building a future where no one has to face it alone.

🫶 S — Support

Support is more than a phone number or pamphlet.

It’s bridging the massive gap between the military community and the highly specialized eating disorder care they need — care that’s incredibly hard to find.

👉 Many providers don’t understand military weight standards, readiness demands, or the career fears that keep service members silent.

👉 TRICARE can be limited, with long waits and referral hurdles.

👉 Stigma keeps too many from speaking up.

We step in to guide families to trusted civilian experts, specialized treatment teams, and peer support networks who get it.

We also help navigate the financial, logistical, and bureaucratic barriers that stand in the way of healing — because no one should be left to figure it out alone.

📚 E — Education

Education is the cornerstone of prevention and early intervention.

That’s why we created MEDAL: Military Eating Disorder Awareness and Literacy — the only program of its kind designed for military life.

• 🎖️ For military leadership: We empower leaders with tools to recognize silent warning signs, start compassionate conversations, and build commands where troops feel safe coming forward.
• 🩺 For healthcare providers: Most receive less than 15 minutes of formal eating disorder education in their entire training. We help them understand how trauma, strict standards, and deployment stress fuel disordered eating.
• 🤝 For veteran organizations: We equip VSOs with screening tools and referral resources so fewer veterans slip through unnoticed.

Every MEDAL session plants seeds that ripple across units, clinics, and communities — building a culture that sees and supports those struggling in silence.

🎤 A — Awareness

We’re shining a light on what’s been kept in the dark.

Eating disorders are a silent epidemic in the military — masked by outdated beliefs and normalized harmful practices.

💬 Decades of misinformation — from Lifetime movies to talk shows — left people thinking eating disorders were just about vanity or teenage girls.

In reality:

✅ They’re serious mental health disorders, often tied to trauma and stress.

✅ They don’t discriminate by gender, age, rank, or body size.

✅ They’re dangerous at any weight.

In the military, we’ve normalized:

• Starving before weigh-ins

• Wrapping in saran wrap to sweat off pounds

• Abusing laxatives and dehydration tactics

• Exercising through injury to “make weight”

These aren’t toughness. They’re red flags.

Our founder speaks at conferences, on podcasts, and in powerful military forums to break down stigma and start conversations that change lives.

We also partner nationally — like with Face the Fight — to bring eating disorders into suicide prevention spaces.

Because once we shine a light, people see they’re not alone, that “normal” isn’t always healthy, and they start to believe they’re worthy of help.

🌱 W — Wellness

Healing doesn’t happen in a vacuum — it happens in community.

We host and participate in events that center connection, growth, and whole-person wellness, including:

✅ The Women Veteran ENGAGE Conference, where 100+ women veterans gathered for workshops and camaraderie many called life-changing.

✅ The Service to Success Wellness Symposium, with 50+ veteran business owners exploring self-care and entrepreneurship.

✅ And booths and outreach at 12+ other military events, including Military Sexual Trauma Awareness at the Lake Nona VA.

Because wellness is about more than treatment — it’s about empowerment, shared stories, and veterans lifting each other up.

📢 A — Advocacy

Awareness alone isn’t enough — we fight to change the system.

We champion laws like the SERVE Act, which expands TRICARE coverage for eating disorder treatment and mandates education for military leadership.

We meet regularly with Pentagon officials, lawmakers, and national veteran partners to make sure it’s not just legislation on paper, but real change that saves lives.

Our founder also brings these stories to Capitol Hill at Eating Disorder Advocacy Day in D.C., ensuring military voices shape national priorities.

Because long-term change happens when eating disorders stop being treated as fringe issues — and start being recognized as critical to force readiness, family stability, and life itself.

💬 V — Validation

Validation isn’t just listening — it’s proving people’s experiences through data.

In 2025, we launched our own research and data team, partnering with world-renowned doctors and scientists to quantify eating disorders in the military — something that’s been ignored for too long.

Our founder also serves on the PRMP review board for eating disorders, bringing military needs directly into national program designs.

Because when clear data combines with real voices, systems can no longer look away.

❤️ E — Eating Disorders

At our core, we exist because of eating disorders — and because of how deeply they impact military families.

📊 1 in 3 women & 1 in 5 men in the military struggle with disordered eating.

⚠️ Eating disorders have the second highest mortality rate of any mental illness — with suicide as the leading cause of death.

🚨 And still, 90% never receive treatment, with even greater barriers for military families.

Out of 45,000+ veteran service organizations, SEA WAVES is the only one solely dedicated to this issue.

That’s how overlooked it’s been — and why our work matters so deeply.

🕯️ S — Self-Care

Finally, we champion self-care — not as fluff, but as essential prevention.

Through The Lighthouse Project, we integrate peer mentorship, digital campaigns, self-check tools, and workshops that build resilience and foster care long before crisis hits.

Because prevention happens when we create communities of support — and give people the confidence to take those first steps toward healing.