Coping Through the Holidays: A Guide for Anorexia Nervosa
The holiday season can be a particularly challenging time, especially for individuals who are recovering from Anorexia Nervosa. With so many holiday festivities revolving around food, taking part in these genial gatherings can be potentially triggering for those with an eating disorder. There are many useful tools to help you cope with the holidays with Anorexia Nervosa.
By: Rebekah Paster
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by weight loss and/or difficulties maintaining appropriate body weight. In many, this eating disorder creates a distorted body image. People with anorexia generally restrict the number of calories and the types of food they eat and sometimes may engage in compulsive exercise, purging, or binge-eating.
Use Your Meal Plan as a Guide
It’s okay to eat more than your meal plan! Meal plans are only a minimum — they’re designed for flexibility, especially during times like the holiday season. If you’re unsure what your meal plan minimum should be over the holidays, you can reach out to a dietitian, recovery coach, or a doctor who is informed in eating disorders.
Walk Away from Diet Talk
Because of how relevant diet culture unfortunately still is, you might hear family, friends, or other loved ones engaging in diet talk- especially when talking about New Year’s resolutions. Remember that this diet talk says more about the person who is engaging in it than it does about you. You can change the subject, or if you feel comfortable doing so, you can explain to your loved ones why diet talk is so harmful. NEDA is a great resource to direct your loved ones for more information on the dangers of dieting.
Make a Coping Kit
What’s your favorite holiday tradition? Is there something that helps you stay calm and grounded? Making a list of your favorite coping skills before the holidays will help those skills be more accessible during times when you’re not feeling your best. Your Life Your Voice has a list of 99 coping skills ideas as well as a free tool where you can create a customized list of your favorite coping skills. You can also make a physical coping kit with your favorite items at home that bring you comfort.
Reach Out for Support
You can reach out for support at any time if you are feeling in distress or in crisis. If you’re not in a situation where you can safely call a crisis line, services like Crisis Text Line and the National Eating Disorders Association offer support via text or chat throughout the holidays. You can also create a safety plan with your therapist and/or recovery coach before the holidays to help you stay safe.
BALANCE eating disorder treatment center™’s clinical treatment team has extensive experience working with clients and their families. Our admissions team is happy to answer any questions about BALANCE’s programs. Read more about our philosophy here or book a free consultation call with our admissions team to discuss next steps.
If you’re looking for extra recovery support during the holidays, BALANCE is offering Winter Break Virtual Support for College and High School Students, with several flexible short-term intensive programming options. All of our programs are offered in a virtual format and will be open on a rolling admissions basis with individualized treatment plans tailored to one's schedule during the holiday season. Click the button below for more information!
This post was written by BALANCE intern, Rebekah Paster.
Rebekah is a second-year MSW student at the Columbia School of Social Work, where she specializes in Advanced Clinical Social Work Practice. She is passionate about eating disorder recovery and plans to pursue a career in eating disorder treatment after graduation. Outside of school, Rebekah enjoys cooking and mindful movement.