Chronic Side Effects and Eating Disorders During the Holidays

By nature, eating disorders are chronic diseases; meaning, they are not necessarily fully “curable” and/or the effects from eating disorders are ongoing. While the debate remains about whether or not a person can be fully recovered from an eating disorder, there is one thing that is certain: your life is absolutely worth fighting for. The recovery journey looks differently for every individual, based on a variety of factors. Eating disorders are complex diseases by nature, and the recovery process is something that is gradual and unique.

Dealing With Ongoing Side Effects

Perhaps one of the most challenging aspects about having an eating disorder is the many side effects that result from these mental illnesses. Many of the physical complications that will occur from eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder can be reversed with adequate care and treatment; however, some may not be fully reversed or may take a significant length of time to be fully healed from.

This can be a challenging aspect of recovery. On one hand, a person in recovery may find that the behaviors from the eating disorder are in remission: there is no active engagement in the eating disorder behaviors, such as restricting, binging and/or purging, for example.

And even while a person may be following all appropriate recommendations for their treatment and recovery, they may find themselves continuing to struggle with side effects from an eating disorder. Some of the lasting side effects from eating disorders include bone loss, cardiovascular complications, and gastrointestinal upset.

Managing Side Effects During the Holidays

Healing from an eating disorder also means working through the side effects from having an eating disorder, including physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual. While you might feel discouraged throughout the process or perhaps feel ready to throw in the towel and call it quits, know that you are doing exactly what is needed for your recovery.

The holidays sometime bring unrealistic expectations for what we should be experiencing or feeling. Stay focused on what you have: your recovering health, the gift of recovery, a body and mind that are healing, even through the devastating tribulations that come with having an eating disorder. Most importantly, stay connected to treatment and keep your recovery efforts a priority throughout the holidays.

Community Discussion – Share Your Thoughts Here!

What has helped you deal with chronic physical side effects in eating disorder recovery?

About the Author: Crystal is a Masters-level Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) with a specialty focus in eating disorders, maternal/child health and wellness, and intuitive eating. Combining clinical experience with a love of social media and writing, Crystal serves as the Director of Content and Social Media for Eating Disorder Hope/Addiction Hope, where her passion to help others find recovery and healing is integrated into each part of her work.

As a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, Crystal has dedicated her career to helping others establish a healthy relationship with food and body through her work with EDH/AH and nutrition private practice.

The opinions and views of our guest contributors are shared to provide a broad perspective of eating disorders. These are not necessarily the views of Eating Disorder Hope, but an effort to offer discussion of various issues by different concerned individuals.

We at Eating Disorder Hope understand that eating disorders result from a combination of environmental and genetic factors. If you or a loved one are suffering from an eating disorder, please know that there is hope for you, and seek immediate professional help.

Last Updated & Reviewed By: Jacquelyn Ekern, MS, LPC on November 30, 2016
Published on EatingDisorderHope.com