The Holiday Season and Eating Disorders

Thrive • November 5, 2020

How Intuitive Eating Can Help Brighten the Holiday Season

Festivities, friends, and family give the holiday season a cheerful glow and wraps a bow around the past year. We treat ourselves to mellow winter days and partake in merry meals surrounded by loved ones.

But unfortunately for individuals struggling with an eating disorder, the holiday season can be the most dreaded time of year, partially because there is such a large emphasis on food. Most gatherings center around food and drinks. And everywhere you look, there are pictures, commercials, and billboards of holiday feasts, fancy silverware, sweet treats, and new recipes. Seeing, hearing and/or talking about food during the holidays is almost unavoidable.

For many of us, this is a joyous time, and we look forward to gathering around the dinner table, eating a holiday feast with our loved ones. But for those battling an eating disorder, the season’s emphasis on food can increase fear, anxiety, stress and even the symptoms of the eating disorder itself.

Fortunately, intuitive eating can be used as a healthy strategy for individuals with eating disorders to cope with food anxiety and embrace the holiday season. Intuitive eating is an approach to food that has nothing to do with diets, meal plans, discipline or willpower. It teaches individuals how to get in touch with their body cues, like hunger, fullness and satisfaction. The concept challenges the false notion that there is good and bad food. Instead, there is no such thing as good or bad food, and all food is beautiful. Realizing that all food is beautiful opens the door to a new food journey. By listening to what the body is craving, and paying attention to hunger and fullness cues, individuals can begin to develop a healthy relationship with food and their bodies.

Another important aspect of intuitive eating is to practice mindful awareness by tuning into your senses. Notice how the food smells, tastes, and makes you feel. Appreciate the different colors and shapes on your plate. By tuning into their senses, individuals are more likely to enjoy the dining experience and be satisfied with their meal. Mindful eating can help all of us honor our body’s hunger and fullness, and allow us to nourish our bodies, minds and spirits with sustenance that we need and enjoy.

How to Support Someone Struggling With an Eating Disorder 

We always want what is best for our loved ones, especially during the holidays when we center our activities around family and friendship. When a loved one is struggling with an eating disorder, we need to act as a support system for them. Here are some ways to help a loved one through this difficult time:

  • Educate yourself on eating disorders. The more educated you are, the more likely you are to understand and identify the difference between facts and myths.

  • Be honest, and use “I” statements. Honesty is always the best policy. When addressing your loved one, use “I” statements so they do not feel attacked. For example you could say “I feel like you have not been acting like yourself lately” instead of “you are not yourself anymore.”

  • Be patient, kind and supportive. Your loved one cannot heal their relationship with food overnight. It takes time, and there will be good days and bad days. You need to be someone who will encourage them, not criticize them.

  • Encourage them to seek professional help. Eating disorders are complex and greatly impact physical and mental health. Instead of facing an eating disorder alone, individuals should rely on specialists to help them heal. Seeking professional help is the first step to recovery.

We have your back!

Thrive’s team of mental and physical health professionals specialize in treating eating disorders. Because eating disorders affect your mental and physical health, we use a holistic approach that examines the individual’s physical, emotional, social and spiritual wellbeing.

We offer an intensive outpatient program (IOP) and a partial hospitalization day treatment program (PHP) designed to support those struggling with eating disorders. We also host a free eating disorder recovery support group that meets every Tuesday at 5 p.m. To learn more about our programs and support groups, click here. Let’s get through this together!

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August 21, 2025
When Emma was 8, her parents noticed her food choices shrinking. At first, they assumed it was just picky eating — “She’ll outgrow it,” friends said. But by 10, Emma would only eat crackers, cheese, and chicken nuggets. Family dinners became nightly struggles, her growth slowed, and she skipped birthday parties to avoid “strange food.” Her parents felt powerless, her brother grew frustrated, and outings dwindled. What began as food avoidance soon reshaped the rhythm of the entire household. When children avoid food, most parents expect it’s a passing stage. But when restriction deepens, shrinks to only a few “safe foods,” and begins affecting growth or health, families suddenly find themselves in unfamiliar territory. This is often where Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) emerges — with effects that extend far beyond the plate. As providers, we need to be attuned to these patterns. It’s tempting to dismiss them as “no big deal,” yet for many families, they are life-altering. Sadly, Emma’s story is not unusual. Mealtimes as Battlegrounds Families living with ARFID often describe mealtimes as emotionally charged, exhausting, and unpredictable. What should be a chance to connect around the table can feel more like a negotiation or even a standoff. Parents wrestle with whether to push their child to try a new food or give in to the same “safe foods” again and again to avoid tears, gagging, or complete meltdowns. This ongoing tension can make mealtimes dreaded rather than cherished. Siblings, too, are affected. Some may feel resentful when family meals are limited to what only one child will tolerate. Others may act out in response to the constant attention the child with ARFID receives. Over time, the dinner table shifts from a place of nourishment and bonding into a stage for conflict, anxiety, and guilt — a pattern that can erode family cohesion and resilience. Social Isolation and Missed Experiences ARFID impacts more than what happens at home; it influences how families engage with the world around them. Everyday events — birthday parties, school lunches, vacations, even extended family dinners — become sources of stress. Parents may pack special foods to avoid confrontation or, in many cases, decline invitations altogether to protect their child from embarrassment or overwhelm. This avoidance can lead to an unintended consequence: isolation. Families miss out on milestones, friendships, and traditions because of the unpredictability surrounding food. The child may feel left out or ashamed, while parents grieve the loss of “normal” family experiences. This social withdrawal can compound the anxiety already present in ARFID and deepen its impact across generations. Emotional Toll on Parents The emotional strain on parents navigating ARFID is significant. Many describe living in a constant state of worry — Will my child get enough nutrients? Will they ever grow out of this? Am I doing something wrong? This worry often spirals into guilt and self-blame, particularly when outside voices dismiss the disorder as mere “picky eating.” In addition, the pressure to “fix” mealtimes can strain marital relationships, creating disagreements over discipline, feeding strategies, or medical decisions. Parents may also feel emotionally depleted, pouring all their energy into managing one child’s needs while inadvertently neglecting themselves or their other children. Without support, this chronic stress can lead to burnout, depression, and disconnection within the family system. The Role of Providers For clinicians, ARFID must be viewed not only as an individual diagnosis but as a family-wide challenge. Effective care requires attention to both the clinical symptoms and the family dynamics that shape recovery. Parent Support: Educating caregivers that ARFID is not their fault, offering psychoeducation, and helping them reframe mealtime struggles as part of the disorder — not a parenting failure. Family-Based Interventions: Coaching families in structured meal support, communication strategies, and gradual exposure work so parents don’t feel powerless. Holistic Care: Involving therapists, dietitians, occupational therapists, and medical providers ensures that the family does not shoulder the weight of treatment alone. When families are validated, supported, and given practical tools, the entire household can begin to heal. Treatment is not only about expanding a child’s food repertoire but also about restoring peace, resilience, and connection at home. Moving Forward ARFID may begin with one individual, but its ripple effects are felt across the entire family system. By addressing both the psychological and relational dimensions, providers can help transform mealtimes from a source of conflict into an opportunity for healing and connection. For those who want to go deeper, we invite you to join our upcoming training on ARFID , where we will explore practical strategies for supporting both clients and their families.
July 30, 2025
How to Recognize Overlapping Behaviors + A Case Study and Screening Tools to Help
July 17, 2025
As a parent, noticing alarming behaviors around food or routines in your child can raise some important questions. You might be asking yourself, “Is this an eating disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), or something else entirely?” Understanding the signs and differences between these disorders is key to getting your child effective, timely treatment. In this blog, we’ll break down the overlap between OCD and eating disorders, what signs to watch for, and how to get professional help. If you're a parent wondering “Is my child’s eating disorder actually OCD?” or “OCD vs eating disorder in teens,” know that you’re not alone and you’re in the right place to find specialized care for your child. What Is OCD? Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a mental health condition where unwanted thoughts (obsessions) cause anxiety, leading to repetitive behaviors (compulsions) intended to ease that anxiety. OCD can be focused on any subject. Common obsessions include contamination, perfectionism, scrupulosity, and harm, but sometimes, the content of obsessions can be focused on food, body image, or weight. What Is an Eating Disorder? Eating disorders , like anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) involve disturbed eating behaviors and intense concerns about body weight or shape. These conditions go beyond dieting or “picky eating” and can become life-threatening without professional intervention. The Overlap: Why It Can Be Confusing OCD and eating disorders often share similar symptoms : Ritualistic eating (e.g., needing to eat foods in a certain order or at a certain time) Rigid rules about food (like only eating certain food groups or certain amounts of food) Excessive checking (like weighing food or body or repeated checking of expiration dates or thorough cooking) Avoidance behaviors ( like avoiding carbs, fats, or other food groups or avoiding places or objects that can trigger obsessions) Distress when routines are disrupted (either around mealtimes or exercise routines) So, How Can You Tell the Difference? Use the following chart to compare and contrast symptoms of OCD and eating disorders.
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