Eating Disorder Awareness: ‘How I Got Through Thanksgiving When I Was Anorexic’

Thanksgiving can be a stressful time of the year, and for someone struggling with an eating disorder, a holiday centered around so much food is especially tough. It’s easy to instruct light eaters to “just eat more” or “just eat normal,” but for a person suffering from anorexia or bulimia, the truth is, these are serious mental illnesses that don’t take a rest on holidays.

With an estimated 10 million women struggling with an eating disorder in the U.S., it’s not unlikely that you or someone you know will struggle with an eating disorder over the holidays. Cynthia M. Bulik, Ph.D., director of the University of North Carolina Eating Disorders Program and author of Crave: Why You Binge Eat and How to Stop told the Huffington Post:

We start prepping people [we treat for eating disorders] for Thanksgiving about a month ahead of time. Being around so much food is like someone with acrophobia leaning off the Empire State Building. It is being surrounded by your biggest fear for an entire day. For someone with anorexia it’s the fear of being expected to eat and enjoy it. For someone with bulimia or binge eating disorder it is being able to control urges to binge or purge when you’re completely surrounded by triggers.

We talked to three women who’ve battled anorexia or bulimia about how they dealt with Thanksgiving and the time of year where food was the focus. It’s our hope that these women’s stories will open the discussion about this disease, raise awareness and possibly enable you to help a friend or family member who is going through this:

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	Banning Skinny Models Could Curb Anorexia, But The Media Needs To Take Responsibility Too
	Eating Disorders: 10 Warning Signs You Need To Know
	You Won’t Believe How Many Boys Now Suffer From Anorexia

Emily, 25, former anorexic

Thanksgiving was a total mind-trap for me when I suffered from anorexia. I was in a bad head space in the days before and after. I tried just putting smaller portions on my plate, but couldn’t get away from the scrutiny of my family members – especially my grandmother, who does the cooking and does not shy away from piling more food on your plate whether you ask or not. To get through the day, I would spend the morning of Thanksgiving at the local gym…burning as many calories as I could before they closed early for the holiday. Then, I’d do things like squats and leg lifts in the bathroom every time I excused myself. I’d take stairs two at a time and try to burn as many excess calories as possible when no one was looking. I’d also make sure to hit the gym the next morning as soon as they opened.

How I conquered this was by, one year, seeing a personal trainer the day after Thanksgiving instead of hitting the elliptical right away. With him, I discussed my goals and ideal body. He assured me that one Thanksgiving
dinner wouldn’t be enough to throw me off track, so long as I stayed with his plan. Today, I’m getting married to a chef and no longer fear food in the way that I did. I no longer dread holiday meals or big get-togethers that are centered around massive amounts of eating. I eat what I want until I’m satiated, and then I get right back to my health plan.

Laura, former bulimic and compulsive eater