How to enjoy holidays and celebrations when your child has an eating disorder
Holidays with an eating disorder can be challenging for everyone. The person with the eating disorder is stressed and at risk of being triggered by family events. Parents and siblings just want to relax and enjoy themselves. And extended family members and friends may not even know about the eating disorder and might accidentally do or say the wrong thing.
Here are some tips for handling holidays with your child who has an eating disorder. Whatever is going on for your family right now, I hope you’re able to find a way to enjoy yourselves during the holidays.
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How to make Thanksgiving eating disorder safe
Thanksgiving and other holidays can be very stressful for people who have eating disorders. Here are some tips to help make your Thanksgiving eating disorder safe.
A holiday letter to family about body positivity
If you have adopted body positivity this year, it may help to send a letter to your family to share your new lifestyle in advance of any holiday gatherings. Getting out of the habit of talking about diets and weight can be hard for even the most enlightened family. This letter is designed to help you share your body positivity journey with your extended family during the holidays.
Let your kids (and yourself!) eat Halloween candy!
If you’re like many people, you studiously forbid yourself from succumbing to the temptation of candy … most of the time. But there are probably days when you just can’t resist, and then you binge, feel horribly guilty, and pretty sick.
How to handle the Fourth of July with an eating disorder
Depending on your child’s eating disorder and stage of recovery, you may expect them to maintain a rigid meal plan, or you may agree to be more flexible during the event. Either way can work for a medically stable person who has an eating disorder, but make sure the decision is made up front and not in response to the conditions at hand.
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More About Holidays With An Eating Disorder
How to handle the Fourth of July with an eating disorder
Jamie is worried. Her 13-year-old daughter Kayley has an eating disorder, and their annual family reunion for the Fourth of July is around the corner. This event is typically a highlight of their year. Filled with family and friends, four generations, and lots and lots…
Changing family traditions when there’s an eating disorder
This is an interview in which Ginny Jones, founder of More-Love.org, shares her thoughts on how families can cope with family traditions when there’s an eating disorder in the family. 1. Why might the winter holidays be particularly difficult for individuals affected by eating disorders?…
A holiday letter to family about body positivity
If you have adopted body positivity this year, it may help to send a letter to your family to share your new lifestyle in advance of any holiday gatherings. Many families participate in diet and fitness conversations and actively and passively promote the “ideal body.”…
6 tips to handle holidays with an eating disorder
The holidays are typically a stressful time, and it can be even harder to handle with an eating disorder. It could seem like a total disaster, or you could look at this as an opportunity to do things differently. Our kids thrive in a close…
Useful scripts to make Thanksgiving eating disorder friendly
Are you heading into Thanksgiving with a child or loved one who has an eating disorder? It’s important to make an effort to plan an eating disorder friendly Thanksgiving. Food-based holidays can be especially challenging for people in eating disorder recovery. It can really help…
How to make Thanksgiving eating disorder safe
Thanksgiving and other holidays can be very stressful for people who have eating disorders. Here are some tips to help make your Thanksgiving eating disorder safe. Food-based holidays can be hard Often when families get together, the first thing they talk about is dieting and…
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Parent Scripts For Eating Disorder Recovery
Use these scripts:
- At the dinner table when behavior is getting out of control
- When you need to set boundaries – fast!
- After something happened so you can calmly review the triggers and events