Navigating Your Eating Disorder on Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving–a holiday filled with fall favorites like turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberries and pies! For many, Thanksgiving Day is a much-loved holiday spent with friends, family, and loved one’s doing one activity…eating. While eating isn’t even a second thought for many, you are feeling the anxiety of a 30-pound turkey sitting on your chest because you are in recovery for your eating disorder.
You might be telling yourself some of these of statements as we get closer to celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday:
Should I eat this or that?
Will my family notice if I eat too much or too little?
I already know I can’t have that food.
What if I start to feel too overwhelmed by the choices in front of me? Will I make the right choice?
Maybe I’ll just eat it all and deal with the consequences later.
All you know is that it is going to be a challenging day for yourself and you are wondering ”how am I going to manage my eating disorder on a holiday that is focused entirely on eating?”
Whether you are fearful of the foods you will encounter on Thanksgiving Day, concerned about how you will manage your eating disorder voice, or just feel anxious about the pressure to eat or not eat, you have the power right now, to prepare a toolbox of coping strategies to pull out of your back pocket when you are feeling overwhelmed and anxious this Thanksgiving.
Here are some tips that can help you this Thanksgiving Day!
Treat the Day like Any Other Day–You don’t have to restrict yourself until the turkey is done to eat! You can fuel your body as normal on that day. Just treat it like any other day by honoring your body and your hunger cues.
Check-in with Yourself Throughout the Day–It is going to be a tougher day and is probably going to feel longer if you are in recovery from an eating disorder. So, encourage yourself to take space to check-in with yourself. Take timeouts to decompress by going for a short walk or practicing deep breathing exercises.
Identify Your Boundaries–Before meeting with your family and friends, take space to acknowledge and identify your boundaries as this can be especially helpful if a triggering topic or comment comes up.
Focus on Eating Mindfully–Be fully present and immersed in the moment around you. Notice what is going on around you, including focusing on who is present, noticing any aromas, colors or textures of the meal and/or taking a pause to truly be thankful for the food you are eating.
Call on Support Systems–If you are feeling extra anxious or overwhelmed, consider reaching out to your support system! Try setting this plan in motion beforehand by letting that person know that you may need their support on Thanksgiving. Knowing that you have someone to turn to when you're struggling can help with this day.
There is so much pressure on this day to restrict until dinner, overindulge, and then feel guilty for eating so much. And when you have an eating disorder, it can be a truly difficult day to manage these normalized expectations and also manage your eating disorder voice.
But, this day does not have to be overly anxiety inducing. You can take the space and power to create a plan that will best help serve you. By being intentional about what you will need, you cannot only feel better prepared to manage your eating disorder and maintain eating disorder recovery but you can help yourself with the feelings you know will be present and even bring back some joy to the day.
