---
title: Holidays and Special Occasions 
description: Eating disorder recovery support during the holidays: stories, tips, suggestions
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date: 2012-09-19T06:45:54Z
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Before you sail into fears about food, eating, bingeing, purging or compulsively eating this holiday season, I invite you to look at what really helps you develop through your eating disorder. If you pay attention to the nonfood areas of your life, you may be surprised at how well you can survive the coming holidays.

### Holiday Challenges: The usual suspects

Yes, holidays are a challenge. The presence of family can be triggering. The absence of family can be triggering. The pressures of your own internal fantasies about what holidays should be and how they actually are may be strikingly different pictures. This can bring up anxiety and deep sorrow.