During holiday celebrations, people come together around food. Many times there is talk of dieting, weight loss, weight gain, and New Year's resolutions. For people with disordered eating, food or body image issues, holidays can be the toughest seasons, as loneliness, strained relationships, and other stressors trigger their eating disorder behaviors, leading to more guilt, shame, and isolation. Many people that you minister to may be dealing with eating disorders or food issues. Eating disorders affect roughly 9% of the population and are among the deadliest mental illnesses with one death every 52 minutes, second only to opioid overdose (National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders).

This tool will help you prepare people struggling with disordered eating or in eating disorder recovery for the holidays. You will learn to walk them through the principles of intuitive eating, an alternative to certain harmful diet mentalities, so they can lovingly set boundaries with others and navigate their relationship with food and their bodies in a healthy way this holiday season.