Those with eating disorders characterized by restriction, such as anorexia nervosa or avoidant-restrictive food intake disorder, may be afraid to eat certain foods, says certified eating disorder specialist Lara Effland, a licensed independent clinical social worker and regional managing clinical director of the Eating Recovery Center and Pathlight Mood & Anxiety Center in Bellevue, Washington. And for people with a disorder characterized by binge eating behaviors, such as binge eating disorder or bulimia nervosa, Halloween may spark worries of losing control around candy and other festive foods, Effland adds. Even though the challenges can differ for each person, there are tried-and-true strategies that can keep your eating disorder fears in check before, during, and after this spooky holiday. RELATED: 5 Ways to Manage Eating Disorder Triggers Outside the Treatment Center
1. Remind Yourself of What’s Most Important to You
According to Effland, pausing to consider what really matters to you today and tomorrow — the present and immediate future — rather than worrying about the past or distant future can help you manage any urges to binge eat, to purge or rid the body of food, or to unnecessarily restrict or avoid certain food groups or ingredients. To start, Effland suggests asking yourself:
Why do you want to maintain your recovery today?Why do you want to avoid turning to eating disordered behaviors today?
Practicing focusing on your personal values ahead of Halloween can help you when the holiday arrives, she adds.
2. Plan to Enjoy Other Treats That’ll Make the Day Special
If you’re worried about acting on eating disordered behaviors on Halloween, Kristen Farrell Turner, PhD, a psychologist at Pritikin Longevity Center in Miami, recommends having a plan to combat boredom and other negative feelings that could surface on Halloween. “Boredom is a stressful condition,” Farrell Turner explains. She suggests writing down a list of activities you can turn to instead of eating disordered behaviors and keeping this list somewhere you can see it. She also recommends limiting your list to three to five self-soothing activities to avoid becoming overwhelmed. Breathing or meditation exercises; visualizing yourself in a happy, safe space; reading a book or magazine; and taking a short walk may all be helpful activities to add to your list, Farrell Turner says.
3. Less Can Be More, So Set Some Limits
“Set some limitations that are, most importantly, in the best interest of your [physical] health, your mental health, and having a good holiday,” Effland recommends. Listening to your intuition, which often results in boundary setting, is a great place to start. Limits to consider when living with an eating disorder may include how long you think you can participate in an activity — whether it’s trick-or-treating, going to a party, or staying home and handing out candy — and how much candy and other festive treats you’re comfortable having in your house, if at all. Effland also suggests setting a time limit on activities. “Know when the Halloween activities are over and stay within a window of time that you feel you are capable of managing rather than pushing it to a place where you can no longer cope,” she advises.
4. Don’t Try to Go It Alone
Let friends and loved ones know if you’re struggling, says Effland. In fact, keeping your eating disorder a secret can give the disorder power over you. “When we try to go it alone or suppress it, that’s when it backfires,” says Effland. She suggests letting at least one loved one know that you’re struggling and asking them for support. Ways to do this can include making plans to go Halloween costume shopping together, sharing a meal before any Halloween events begin, or simply asking them to sit and listen to you without judgment.
5. Keep Your Hands Busy
According to Turner, keeping your hands occupied is another way to avoid unwanted behaviors at Halloween-themed events, especially if you are concerned about binge eating. “Carrying around a bottle of water or something in your hand is usually a great strategy that makes it less likely someone will just grab stuff [like candy or alcohol],” says Farrell Turner. Staying focused on something in your hands may also help you stay grounded in the present moment, she adds. Other items you can use to keep your hands busy are stress balls, fidget spinners, or your cell phone. If you’d prefer a more discreet option, consider trying a fashionable ring with a built-in spinner or a spiky sensory ring.
6. Consider Working With a Mental Health Professional
If you’d like to try exposure therapy, in which you face your food-related fears head-on, consider seeking professional help to guide the process. “This person can give you the space to talk about the thoughts going through your mind,” Farrell Turner explains. “Then they’ll offer other techniques to help you deal with those kinds of thoughts.” For example, this supportive person can give you reminders to breathe when you’re experiencing difficult emotions like anxiety. RELATED: Best Online Therapy Programs of 2021
7. Remember How Far You’ve Already Come
Sometimes triggers still happen, even when we do our best to prepare, Effland says. When you’re feeling triggered or challenged, she suggests thinking about how you want to feel tomorrow — in recovery communities, this is often referred to as “playing it forward.” Then ask yourself what actions or decisions you can make right now to make sure you achieve that goal and avoid eating disordered behaviors, says Effland. “Recall other times you successfully got through a difficult situation and did not use your behaviors,” and trust that you can do that again now, suggests Effland.
8. Use Visualization to Your Advantage
Although learning to stay focused on the present is an important skill in recovery, spending some energy thinking about the future can be constructive, too. Ahead of Halloween, Farrell Turner suggests imagining going trick-or-treating, walking into a party, or handing out candy. “It’s Halloween, so there’s likely to be a bowl of candy somewhere, and somebody is probably going to offer you something like a drink or snack food,” Turner says. She recommends picturing what may happen and what coping strategies you could use in those scenarios, such as “playing it forward.”
9. Switch Up Where (or How) You Grocery Shop
People with eating disorders may find grocery shopping amid Halloween candy displays difficult. For some, this can be particularly challenging after Halloween, when candy goes on sale. Turner advises temporarily buying groceries elsewhere or opting for online grocery shopping. Although online shopping won’t alleviate every trigger you might face, it may make you less likely to encounter overly tempting foods or beverages, says Turner. If you have to buy groceries in person, consider temporarily shopping at smaller chains or grocery stores geared toward organic, whole foods. Turner says these stores may also have Halloween treats on sale, but those displays are typically less front and center.
10. Go for a Body-Neutral Costume
Choosing a Halloween costume and anticipating wearing it on Halloween can be stressful if you struggle with body image issues. Stresses associated with Halloween costumes may include wanting to dress as a particular character whose body type looks different from yours or feeling pressured to wear a revealing costume. And for some people, thinking about how their body will look in a costume may contribute to eating disordered behaviors or interfere with other daily activities. Choosing a body-neutral costume by dressing up as a funny object, such as a jack-o’-lantern, is one way to skirt these pressures, says Effland. She also suggests dressing up as someone you know, such as a neighbor or friend.
11. Practice Self-Compassion and Kindness
If things don’t go exactly as planned on Halloween, remind yourself of your previous successes in recovery and keep moving forward. Practice self-compassion even if you slip. And remember: Recovery from eating disordered behaviors doesn’t happen overnight. What happens on one holiday is less important than the fact that you’re actively aiming to recover in the long term, Effland says. “The beauty of recovery,” she adds, “is that every day’s a new day.”
