Happy Holidays from BALANCE! The holiday season is an invitation to connect and celebrate your loved ones. It might be overwhelming to choose the perfect gift, especially if your loved one has an eating disorder or is in recovery.
Below are some tried and true categories that can make gift-giving much easier this holiday season!
Give An Experience
Experiences, while not things that can be held and kept, create memories that can last a lifetime. Give the gift of an experience. Plan an outing, a lesson, or an adventure that your loved one has always wanted to try. Consider painting classes, fencing lessons, a visit to a local museum, or a trip to a nearby destination.
Give Your Time
Offer your loved one the gift of your time and support. This might look like sharing that you are always available for them to confide in and vent to. In another sense, you can also give your time by volunteering for an important organization to your loved one. This is also something you can do together!
Give Something Helpful
Has your loved one mentioned a need for a new kitchen gadget? Maybe they need a new organizer for their desk or a new calendar to plan for the new year. Consider what would be useful to this person (unrelated to food or clothing, which can be triggering). This kind of gift also shows your loved one that you care and that you are in tune with what they need.
Give Support
If your loved one is struggling, the best gift may be the gift of support. Offer to accompany them to treatment, be there for them during a consultation, and ask how you can support them in their ongoing recovery from an eating disorder. Recovery is a gift, and getting the right support can make all the difference. You or your loved one can reach out for help by calling a trusted medical professional to or connecting to a treatment facility like BALANCE.
You may notice that eating disorder triggers and urges seem to come up more frequently, especially with the holidays right around the corner. BALANCE’s new 12-Day Winter Break Eating Disorder Treatment Program can guide you toward lasting recovery. Reimagine the joy of the holidays with expert guidance, eliminate being overwhelmed with food and body distress, and reconnect with yourself before the new year. Learn more about our limited-time Winter Break 12-Day Intensive here.
Our admissions team would happily answer any questions about our programs and services. Book a free consultation call with our admissions team below, or read more about our philosophy here.
This post was written by BALANCE Blog Contributor, Korie Born (she/her).
Korie Born is an educator turned Intuitive Eating Counselor with passion for eating disorder treatment and recovery. She earned an undergraduate degree in French at Sonoma State University, then after several years teaching middle school French and English, pursued a Master’s Degree in Education specializing in the overlap between eating disorders and education. Korie has worked to ensure that students and her Intuitive Eating Counseling clients feel supported in making diet culture and disordered eating a thing of the past. As an educator, she honed her content creation skills to share about Intuitive Eating with students in different settings, and through curriculum development for multiple anti-diet and self-esteem boosting curricula for nonprofits in the field.
