Unfortunately, it’s impossible to live in America and not be bombarded with messages about the new diet fad that promises to give you the security of “optimal” health.
As a child, I lived a life of sexual abuse and high school bullying. As an adult, I found myself engaged in a battle with the most challenging opponent, myself.
Feeling scared, helpless, and hopeless, I had lost all control of my life. As anxiety and depression overwhelmed me, I plummeted into an abyss of mental illness that manifested into an eating disorder (ED) to shield me from the inner turmoil I longed to escape.
The holiday season can provoke overwhelm and worry, with regard to food and our relationships. The interplay between our connections with food and people can become accentuated during this season of densely packed party trays and rooms full of revelers. Gatherings with family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and complete strangers can become highly triggering, especially when around a snack or dinner table. Exploring the similarities in our relationships to people and food can be the key to increasing feelings of security.
The holidays are hard. They are hard on so many levels and if you have an eating disorder, especially one that comes with a long-standing inner critic (which let’s face it, most do) the holidays are even harder. The holidays are harder because the origins of one’s ED are often rooted in a family dynamic, a family dynamic that is fueled by a difficult attachment as well as our family’s own ED and fat phobia.
The holidays are meant to be the most joyful time of the year. If you suffer from disordered eating or body image issues, however, the holidays can be stressful, lonely, and difficult. Between Halloween and New Year’s Day, we are subject to thousands of marketing messages that make us question the commitment we make to ourselves to be happy, healthy, and safe. By adapting the following tips to overcome triggers - and leaning on this community for love and support - you can alleviate anxiety and focus on enjoying the magic of the season, instead.
Holiday season is approaching with all the hustle, bustle and social gatherings many of which involve eating. For individuals with disordered eating the holidays are a challenging time of the year. Strategies to assist with making eating-related decisions and manage the anxiety that can accompany them can make a difference in one’s ability to participate in the festivities. Here are some recommendations to assist in navigating holiday eating:
Individuals from lower socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds, including those without health insurance and on public insurance, have extremely limited access to eating disorders (EDs) treatment.
“Pero quiero mas a mis ojos, Pero quiero mas a mis ojos, porque mis ojos te vieron” (But I love my eyes more, because my eyes saw you). I heard this saying or dicho growing up many times. In the Latino culture it is common to use idioms or sayings in times of hardship, joy, and as an everyday expression.
Athletes devote a significant amount of time and resources in pursuit of maximizing performance in sport. Athletes’ bodies are used as vessels to compete in sport and, when nourished and nurtured, the human brain and body are best equipped to perform optimally and consistently over a prolonged period of time. An athlete’s heightened attunement to their body and associated body cues are both critical for sport performance, but the increased awareness to one’s body can also pose notable diffic
From increases in depression and anxiety symptoms (Hawes et al., 2021) to rising rates of adolescent suicide attempts (Yard et al., 2021), youth experienced a plethora of adverse mental health effects as a result of the pandemic. Eating disorders were no exception. Treatment waitlists grew quickly (Nuffield Trust, 2022), and hotlines for organizations like the United States’ National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) and Canada’s National Eating Disorders Information Centre were flooded with requests for support (Martinson, 2020; Kindelan, 2020).