With the summer approaching months approaching this time of year typically brings many holiday celebrations with family and friends. It’s a season filled with summer parties, mostly revolving around food. Unfortunately, for many women, the holidays and eating disorders can be a challenging combination to manage. The triggers around food that set off someone’s anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating disorder, can be hard to avoid, resulting in significant amounts of turmoil and pain.
If you’re suffering from an eating disorder, we understand these challenges, and there is treatment available. Contact Crossroads Maine today at 877.978.1667 for more information about our women’s eating disorder treatment.
What Are Eating Disorders?
Eating disorders are complex mental health conditions, which may develop due to psychological, genetic, environmental, or social factors. In some cases, the disease starts in an attempt to get healthy or eat healthier. However, it can quickly spiral into something that you can not entirely control. There are several types of eating disorders, including:
- Anorexia nervosa: A distorted body image accompanied by fears of being overweight characterize this eating disorder. One may severely limit their food intake or exercise excessively in order to maintain a below-average weight.
- Bulimia nervosa: This condition is a serious eating disorder that may include binge-eating sessions, followed by purging sessions to avoid weight gain. In many cases, the person may force themselves to vomit, fast, or exercise excessively to combat their weight gain.
- Binge eating disorder: While other eating disorders involve food restrictions, binge eating disorders involve a condition where the person is unable to control how much they eat. This condition can make the holidays challenging, as this time of year tends to encourage excessive eating.
Sadly, get-togethers with family members during the holidays can involve discussions surrounding a person’s eating habits and weight. In some cases, these discussions can be hurtful to those who have recently developed an eating disorder or those in recovery from an eating disorder. Fortunately, there are ways that you can manage your condition around the holidays.
How To Manage Your Eating Disorder During the Holidays
One way that you can manage your eating disorder this holiday season is to not focus on dieting. When you focus on your weight or limit your food intake, it makes the situation more challenging. If the conversation turns to your weight or food intake, try to change the subject or take a break from the conversation.
It would be best if you also tried to create a healthy and reliable support system. Your family and friends are in an ideal situation to help you through the challenges that eating disorders present. Talk to your spouse, siblings, or friends about how they can support you through the challenges you’re facing.
At the actual holiday event, your support system can help steer you away from conversations about physical appearance. When you sit down to a holiday meal, keep the conversation light and not focus on the food to take the pressure off. Friends and family will be critical in keeping the dinner conversation away from offhand remarks about how much someone ate or how fat they feel. The last thing you want is any more anxiety around your eating disorder. Suggest some holiday activities that don’t involve eating at all, like games, movies, and more. Making the meal a less important part of the celebration can make the holiday something you look forward to without stress.
Create a Healthy Plan for the Holiday Season
Another way to remain in recovery is to work with a women’s eating disorder treatment center, such as Crossroads, to help you create a healthy plan to get through this holiday season and avoid relapse. Your team can help you create coping mechanisms to ensure that you can manage your health and not fall into old habits.
We offer a variety of eating disorder treatment programs, including:
- Residential women’s treatment program
- Partial hospitalization program (PHP)
- Intensive outpatient program (IOP)
- Dual diagnosis programs
Contact Crossroads to Learn More About Eating Disorder Treatment
If you’ve recently realized that you’re battling an eating disorder, getting treatment should be one of your top priorities. We’ve designed our women’s treatment center programs to address the unique needs of women battling eating disorders. Furthermore, we’ll provide a range of coping mechanisms through our therapy programs, such as:
- Group therapy
- Individual therapy
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
- Dialectical behavior therapy
- Trauma therapy
You don’t have to face your eating disorder alone during the holidays. Contact Crossroads Maine today at 877.978.1667 to learn more about what you can do to manage your condition this holiday season.
