How to Handle Thanksgiving

Hey everyone! I hope your week went well. I spent my week job hunting (fail), biking, going to therapy, and doing school work. I am writing a novel right now for class, and it will hopefully be published within the next year or two. It is about the past 8 months of my life, and my journey through it all.

Since Thanksgiving is right around the corner, today I want to talk about how I am going to get through it, and give a few tips. So to be honest, I am a little worried about Thanksgiving as a recovering anorexic. I currently have 134 days without any eating disorder behavior, and although I haven’t acted on behaviors, I am still haunted by thoughts. I am haunted by memories from the past when I was knee deep in my eating disorder. I would sit at the table crying because I couldn't eat and because I was being bullied by my anorexia. I sat there crying because my mom and I would fight about how sick I looked. I remember one time my sisters made Chocolate Chip Cookies and I locked myself in my room and cried because I couldn't even eat a cookie. I was so frustrated with my eating disorder, and I just wanted it to be over. It was a terrible experience, and I hated every minute of living with my anorexia.

The eating part was the easiest part to break. The behaviors were the first to go, while the thoughts are still sometimes with me. I think that even though Thanksgiving may seem a little overwhelming , I have the power to make it a positive experience. I also struggle with anxiety around loud noises and a lot of people, so I decided that I would try to help others out by giving some tips on how to get through this Thanksgiving…and not act on urges.

Take a break- if you are around a large group of people, or have a challenging meal in front of you, excuse yourself from the table and take a few deep breaths. Tell yourself that you are strong enough to get through this.

Acceptance- use some radical acceptance to accept the fact that people can’t change how they act, and in that moment you can’t change what is happening with the people around you. You can’t change the fact that it’s Thanksgiving, but you can change how you act in the situation.

Shut it out- if you know that Thanksgiving is going to be hard for you and your eating disorder, before the day starts, close your eyes. Imagine putting your eating disorder in a steel box. You lock it up and imagine throwing the key away. You put the box on a shelve and you do not open it up. If this doesn't work, and at the table your eating disorder starts to call you names, just tell it to shut up.

I hope that this is some help, and that it can be used if needed, on Thursday. I want you all to take a moment and think about what you are thankful for this year. I am thankful for my health, my friends and my family. I wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Stay Strong