4 Tips for Maintaining Eating Disorder Recovery During Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is approaching, and for many people in eating disorder recovery, it is a challenging holiday to navigate. The holiday is centered around food and seeing family, which can be distressing. Families typically cook all day long and come together for a family-style meal. With this meal, unfortunately, diet culture often comes in full swing.
By: Elizabeth Low
Leading up to Thanksgiving and on the day itself, there are several things you can keep in mind to stay recovery-focused.
Try to Plan for Potentially Triggering Comments
Seeing family that you might only see around the holiday season can cause concern and nervousness. Family might talk about things that make you uncomfortable or comment about your food or appearance that are uncalled for. Beforehand, think of something to say in response to feeling better prepared. It may be nerve-wracking to be confrontational, but you deserve to feel safe while meeting with family for a meal.
For example, if someone comments in a judgemental way about the food on your plate, you can say, “I am happy with the food I have chosen.” “This food is not bad. It is delicious, and why are we assigning morality to food?” If someone comments on your body, you can say, “I would rather not discuss my body, thank you.” Another way to respond is to change the subject or excuse yourself. Whatever feels best to you, make a plan for challenging moments to support yourself.
Do Your Best to Tune Out Diet Talk
Sadly, our society encourages this talk centered around food and bodies. Relatives or friends may talk about how they have to go to the gym, are “cheating” on their diet, or how their diet will start after the holidays. They might go on about the calories in a dish or measure their food one way or another. Whatever they do, you can ask them not to speak about these topics; you can change the conversation, explain that you are recovering from an eating disorder (if you feel comfortable doing so), or walk away if needed. Regardless of what you choose to do to tune out diet talk at Thanksgiving, you do not have to put stock into what others say. You are on your own journey.
Employ your Coping Strategies
On a stressful day like Thanksgiving, practicing the relaxation techniques you have learned to help manage complicated feelings is essential. Remember that this meal is supposed to be a vehicle to bring loved ones together and to remember what you are thankful for. Some strategies include breathing exercises, getting fresh air, reading, or listening to music.
Avoid Thinking You Need to Compensate for Thanksgiving
Although challenging, try to treat Thanksgiving dinner like any other dinner and continue to follow the meal plan provided by your treatment team. In her article for Recovery Warrior, Mirjam Mainland reminds us that you do not need to compensate in any way, shape, or form for Thanksgiving dinner. You do not need to skip meals leading up to Thanksgiving to make room for dinner. And, do not skip meals after Thanksgiving to “make up” for it, burn off your meal in the morning, or compensate for it.
In addition, following your meal plan provided by your treatment team, discussing the challenges of Thanksgiving, and having a game plan in place for the holiday will be helpful. Try not to build up Thanksgiving dinner so much. Anticipation is sometimes worse than the event itself. As Carolyn L. Todd says in her article for Self, at the end of the day, it is another meal, gathering, and day you will get through. Hopefully, with some of these strategies, you can minimize stress at Thanksgiving and other holidays or celebrations.
At BALANCE eating disorder treatment center™, our compassionate, highly skilled team of clinicians is trained in diagnosing and treating the spectrum of eating disorders, including anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, compulsive overeating, and other disordered eating and body image issues.
Join BALANCE Program and Admissions Therapist Staci Jacobson (she/her), for a FREE webinar, Expectation vs. Reality: Navigating Festive Food Frustration, on Friday, November 18th, at 12:00 pm EST, to reimagine the holidays in a realistic, recovery-aligned way. In this webinar, you will learn about what’s holding you back from sharing in the joy of the season, understand your experience with social eating and body image, identify the differences between expectation and reality, help cultivate a neutral experience around the holidays with food and body image, and more! Click here to register for the webinar.
This post was written by BALANCE Blog Contributor, Elizabeth Low (she/her).
Elizabeth is currently finishing her sociology degree with a concentration in social interaction and a minor in psychology at San Jose State University. During her undergraduate studies she has volunteered and worked in childcare, and in the food industry. She plans to pursue a graduate degree in Clinical Nutrition or Counseling. She hopes to actively counteract social messaging that is linked to disordered eating, overexercise, and body dissatisfaction. Her interests include cooking, childcare, education, research, and writing. She plans to help individuals have a healthy relationship with food and their body image through counseling in the future.
References
Mainland, Mirjam. “6 Tips for a Stress-Free Thanksgiving Dinner.” Recovery Warriors, https://recoverywarriors.com/eating-disorder-recovery-tips-to-enjoy-thanksgiving/. Accessed October 11.
The Meadows Ranch. “Thanksgiving and Eating Disorders.” The Meadows Ranch, https://www.meadowsranch.com/thanksgiving-and-eating-disorders/. Accessed October 11.
Todd, Carolyn L. “11 Thanksgiving Day Tips for People in Eating Disorder Recovery.” Self,https://www.self.com/story/thanksgiving-eating-disorder-recovery. Accessed October 11.