Navigating the Holiday Season and Eating Disorders

The holidays are upon us with the party season in full swing and it can be a frightening time for someone suffering or recovering from an eating disorder. Most of you must know by now that I consider myself recovered and that I've maintained recovery from bulimia for over 5 years. However, that is no to say that I don't have some moments or even days when I feel more vulnerable to some potential eating disorder triggers; especially during the holidays where an abundance of food, alcohol and festivities seem to be the norm for a few weeks. Here are a couple of tips on how to cope with an eating disorder during the holiday season.

Be Honest About Your Eating Disorder History

I tend to grab the bull by the horns in pretty much everything I do in life and maintaining recovery has been no different. For example, if I find myself feeling uneasy or stressed at a social gathering with acquaintances, I may share that I suffered from an eating disorder, typically when I explain my experience as a mental health volunteering in the community. This usually happens if I don’t really know these people, the evening involves food and drink (Coping with Food Anxiety in Eating Disorder Recovery), and I feel they can be compassionate towards my history with eating disorders. Even if the people aren’t that open, I’d usually rather speak up about having an eating disorder than risk getting nervous at times throughout the event, given the context, and trigger myself, as well as give the wrong impression to people, especially to the host if the event is privately held. In my opinion, I find it better to speak up about having an eating disorder and perhaps be labelled by my peers, rather than struggling on my own, while surrounded with people and risk continuing to have negative thoughts sometimes combined with thoughts of self-harm, especially knowing this situation can be managed by being proactive.

Be Prepared to Deal with Raw Emotions Surrounding Your Eating Disorder

During the Holiday season, say from mid-November until January 2nd or so, I also take preventative measures. I try to take more time for myself to relax, so that if there are a couple of dinner parties and outings that week, I at least can go into the event less stressed. This is especially necessary if you find yourself traveling and meeting a lot of people in the context of your career or studies. Also key is during that downtime, I give myself an inner pep talk. That way, I am comfortable and ready to face the public. I've already shared with you some of the inner dialogue which I feel is crucial to have on a daily basis to maintain recovery, but what you should also know is that I, too, have to work extra hard around this time of the year to manage my eating disorder triggers.

For example, a big trigger for me, is the fact that I feel guilty being around so much food, alcohol and overall abundance of all good things. As a result, I tend to want to restrict because I feel I don't 'deserve' access to all these things, considering my history with body image and self-harm. Of course, being able to rationalize my thoughts when this happens is necessary: I tend to immediately take some time alone to reframe all of this, even at times rushing to the nearest restroom or quiet place to calm down. Even better, I'll do the following if I can:

If I'm with someone I trust and feel comfortable doing so, I tell them I'm struggling and need to talk about it.

I've been surprised at how someone who loves me, cares about me or even someone who's simply an acquaintance can be helpful in times like these, and bring a fresh perspective on my struggles.

The more I share my experience as an eating disorder survivor, the more I realize that once I open up when I face a difficult situation, it is completely manageable to maintain recovery. There is also something very humbling about being able to reach out to others and admit I can't do it alone. Perhaps that is something to be thankful for this Holiday season; my relationships with people, even strangers, have taken on a different meaning since I've opened up about my history with bulimia.

(Also read: Surviving and Thriving During the Holidays With An Eating Disorder)

You can also connect with Patricia Lemoine on Google +, Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin.