Why Stressful Seasons Can Trigger Disordered Eating Patterns
Stressful seasons – whether brought about by life changes like starting a new job or moving, or by busy holiday seasons – can impact eating patterns and our relationships with food. With stress, often comes disruptions in routine, emotional dysregulation, and social obligations, all of which can impact regular eating habits.
As many of us know, stress is often associated with heightened emotions, like anxiety, grief, irritability, and frustration. These feelings can then lead to emotional overwhelm, making it difficult to tap into helpful coping mechanisms. In turn, we might find ourselves gravitating towards eating disorder behaviors to gain a sense of control around the overwhelm, because those behaviors feel familiar. For some, this might look like restricting, emotional eating, binge eating, or increasing body checking. The need for control can dominate in situations where emotions feel unmanageable and some may not even notice themselves slipping back into old habits. An eating disorder nutritionist can help to point out these patterns and make managing this on your own less challenging.
Routines and habits can be crucial parts of our daily lives, as they give us a sense of predictability and consistency that helps us feel grounded. When we know what to expect, our brains and bodies tend to feel safer. But when routines are disrupted, we may no longer feel that sense of stability. It’s common to notice more irregular eating patterns, compensatory behaviors, or more rigidity around “safe” foods. Because we rely on that structure for consistent nourishment, the stress from changing routines can increase our desire to gain a sense of control and use coping strategies that usually only offer short-term relief.
Even positive and exciting seasons, like weddings or traveling for vacation, can carry stress. These periods often come with increased body image triggers, comparison, and social pressures around food. You may notice heightened awareness of your body while getting ready for events or find yourself comparing your body to others around you. These social situations can also bring added pressure around food – what to eat, how much to eat, or how you’re eating – which can intensify self-monitoring and body checking, especially when you’re outside of your comfort zone or usual routines. Additionally, social settings may bring up uncomfortable conversations, particularly with family members who focus on dieting, weight, or appearance, further contributing to stress.
Signs That Stress Is Impacting Your Relationship With Food
Recognizing the signs that stress is affecting your ability to nourish yourself – and your overall relationship with food – can be an important first step in navigating these situations with more awareness. Common red flags include skipping meals, restricting portion sizes, increased rigidity around food rules, using food as a primary coping mechanism, or engaging in more frequent body checking. As noted above, when we feel emotionally dysregulated, we often default to familiar coping strategies, even if they no longer serve us.
During periods of heightened stress, hunger cues may become less noticeable, making it harder to stay connected to your body’s needs and increasing the likelihood of unintentional under-eating or disordered eating patterns. Alternatively, you might notice that food becomes a source of self-soothing and comfort, leading to eating in response to stress or dysregulation. Others notice that their rigidity increases, including more frequent body checking, stricter food rules, and compensatory behaviors (ex: over-exercise, eating less to “save room” for another meal, cutting out food groups). Everyone’s stress manifests in different ways, and it’s important to recognize how stress impacts your life and what types of strategies you use to cope with the overwhelm.
How Nutrition Therapy Supports Stability During Stressful Times
Nutrition therapy can be a valuable tool for maintaining balance and consistency when life feels overwhelming. Through structured meal support, grounding strategies, and gentle nutrition guidance, an eating disorder dietitian can help ensure your body continues to receive adequate nourishment, even during stressful seasons.
Eating disorder nutritionists in NYC also offer helpful strategies for navigating regular eating patterns, especially in high stress periods, such as building distress-tolerance at meals – being able to sit with and move through feelings that come up around a meal. In simple terms, it’s being able to eat even when it feels hard. You might also develop ways to emotionally regulate before and after you eat through deep breathing, sensory exercises, or supportive self-talk. Others find it helpful to set timers or reminders to eat, rely on “go-to” meal options when decision fatigue sets in, and plan simple, accessible meals.
The goal is to be able to develop realistic strategies and sustainable tools that help you nourish yourself regardless of the situation. Given that life can be unpredictable, knowing that you have the skills to navigate stressful and overwhelming moments can make a meaningful difference when stress or overwhelm shows up.
How to Build a Support System Around You in NYC
Although an eating disorder nutritionist plays a key role in care, having a full support team can make a valuable difference. This can include therapists, primary care physicians, family members, and friends. Should you decide to work with an eating disorder dietitian in NYC, they will collaborate with the other members of your clinical team to ensure cohesive, aligned treatment.
While having a care team is important, it’s also critical to be able to ask for help when meals feel hard. Knowing what type of support you need can be a helpful place to start. You might appreciate eating with someone else, receiving gentle reminders to eat, or going to the grocery store with a friend. Support can look different for everyone and being able to ask for encouragement or name when you’re struggling can make these moments feel more manageable.
Given that stressful seasons can increase eating disorder behaviors, having crisis and relapse prevention strategies is so important. These strategies can help increase awareness of your behaviors and intervene before things escalate. Eating disorder dietitians often use the “red, yellow, and green flag” framework, where clients will write out what behaviors and thoughts look like at varying levels of distress. Recognizing these patterns can also help to identify what type of support is needed and what type of plan to implement given the degree of distress. For example, a yellow flag might be skipping or delaying meals, which might mean increasing mealtime support or having “go-to” meals available. A red flag is typically more severe and usually indicates a high-risk behavior that needs more support, such as frequent restriction, bingeing, purging, and high anxiety around food or body image. When these behaviors arise, connecting with your team, scheduling additional appointments, and increasing accountability at meals can help you navigate these challenging moments.
During moments of crisis, it can be difficult to rely on coping strategies when emotions feel overwhelming. Having a plan in place can help you feel more prepared and supported, allowing you to prioritize both safety and nourishment. Stressful seasons can be challenging, but with support and realistic tools, you can stay nourished and continue your recovery journey with confidence.