2023 Anti-Diet Holiday Survival Guide
Photo by Alisa Anton on Unsplash
Going home for the holidays and dreading the potential onslaught of diet culture? Read on for ways to manage (and lessen) the added stress:
Rally your Allies
Have friends who know of and support your recovery from diet culture? Gather the troops! Let them know how you’re feeling about the upcoming holidays and plan ways to connect over the holidays to remind you of the people in your corner. This can be as intensive as an SOS FaceTime session or as fun as sending each other anti-diet meme accounts.
Speaking of anti-diet accounts - check in on the social media folx you appreciate the most and see how they’re offering support over the holidays. Reminding yourself that your values are shared by others and valid is crucial when you’re feeling otherwise surrounded by diet talk.
Set boundaries
I’m talking about internal and external boundaries here. What do I mean? I define internal boundaries as a kind of shoring up of your inner defenses and reminding yourself that your body/eating is your business and nobody else’s.
External boundaries, on the other hand, would be sharing your boundaries with others. (I hear the cries of all the recovering people-pleasers out there! I’m with you!) This might look like telling your mom in advance that you would appreciate it if she did not make comments about your eating or physically removing yourself from a conversation that’s taken a turn towards body-shaming. Your mental well-being is going to be way more important than engaging in those discussions - I promise!
Remind yourself of your autonomy
Yes, you might be visiting loved ones in their houses or don’t have access to your car, but know that you have full autonomy around how you spend your time. No one should feel like they have to subject themselves to environments that are harmful to their mental health. So if you’re staying for extended periods with family, try to take time to connect with yourself and your independence. This might look like going out for coffee, taking a drive with a friend/significant other, or even adjusting how long you choose to stay at a gathering. And know that you do not need any excuse to do any of those things - you’re an adult human who can make decisions because you said so! :)