Eating Disorders and Food Holidays: Halloween Candy
BOO! Are your clients afraid of Halloween Candy? Or, have they already been buying that candy, justifying, “I’ll get this shopping for Trick-or-Treaters done now, I’ll hide it on the top shelf of the pantry until Halloween,” only to feel frustrated, disappointed, and ashamed by binge-eating all of it within this first week of October (or possibly, today). Of course, the candy aisle at the grocery store is always there, but it doesn’t have to be ventured down by your clients if candy is triggering for them right now. However, it’s especially challenging when there is an entire display aisle devoted to Halloween, including those big bags of candy. Plus, that candy is on many of the end-caps of other aisles. How can your clients cope? One strategy includes guiding your clients to create special Trick-or-Treat gift bags for themselves, decorated as they choose, filled with messages related to any of the five EDIT™ Principles. For example, “I Give to My Self by enjoying what’s inside my gift bag, and I am so Grateful!” Or, “I Am True To My Self by snacking on the ’scary-foods-with-boundaries’ which I’ve chosen.” Then, using the EDIT™ Worksheet “Making Peace With Food,” your clients can select a few snack-size treats, and also some “safe foods” to enjoy on Halloween.
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Eating Disorders and Food Holidays: Thanksgiving Feasts
Why has the “tradition” about Thanksgiving become “permission” to get more stuffed than the Thanksgiving Day turkey? This Food Holiday can be especially triggering for clients who struggle with eating disorders, as they may be surrounded by family members who can literally feed their eating disorder behaviors. “Is that all you’re going to eat? Here, have this, I made this just for you!” Aunt Sally remarks. “Are you really going to eat all that? You’ll get fat like me!” Uncle Sam chuckles. What happened to Authentic Gratitude on this day, especially in support of Eating Disorder Recovery? From Anorexia to Binge Eating to Bulimia any anything in between, this Food Holiday of Thanksgiving can be supported through coping skills and a specific EDIT™ Worksheet in a future blog post. Bookmark this page!
Eating Disorders and Food Holidays: Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa (and more)
Although there can be many spiritual blessing associated with these Religious Holidays, these typically involve gathering with family (hello again, Aunt Sally and Uncle Sam) – and food. Navigating these Religious Food Holidays take some special recovery skills, which will be shared in a future blog post, along with an EDIT™ Worksheet! Stay tuned for more.
Are You HUNGRY for MORE EDIT™ SKILLS NOW?
Feed Your True Hunger, Here’s How!
1. Come to the FREE WEBINAR with Dr. Dorie on October 13th SIGN UP
2. Attend the ART AS THERAPY event with Dr. Dorie on October 20th LEARN MORE
3. Join the EDIT™ CERTIFIED LEVEL II online training with Dr. Dorie October 29-30 ENROLL NOW