Santa’s Sack of Sanity: Your Christmas Eating Disorder Recovery Kit
Christmas can be a jolly time full of good food, joy, and close family moments, but if you’re in eating disorder recovery, those same experiences can sometimes feel anything but merry. Family gatherings revolve around food. Routines vanish. Comments about bodies or diets fly without warning. It’s easy to feel like you’re carrying a sack full of stress instead of joy.
This season, instead of focusing on what to avoid, focus on what to pack: emotional tools, coping strategies, and comforts that help you stay steady when things get loud, unpredictable, or triggering. Here’s your Santa’s Sack of Sanity, a recovery-minded survival kit for Christmas and beyond.
Why the Holidays Stir So Much Emotion During Eating Disorder Recovery
Eating disorders are rarely about food. They’re about emotions that once felt too big to manage: anger, guilt, shame, anxiety, and the terror of losing control. The holidays throw all of these emotions into the blender with more people, more noise, and more expectations.
When you notice urges or racing thoughts, pause and ask: What emotion might be underneath this? Then reach for the coping tool that fits.
Anger: When Pressure Boils Over During Eating Disorder Recovery
Anger is often the emotion that eating disorder recovery buries deepest. Maybe you were taught to “be good,” “stay calm,” or “not make things worse.” But when someone comments on your body, criticizes your food, or piles on responsibilities, anger naturally surfaces.
Holiday triggers might include:
A relative watching what’s on your plate
Being expected to do all the cooking
Passive-aggressive remarks about weight or appearance
Instead of turning that anger inward through restriction, self-blame, or withdrawal, try letting it move through your body safely.
Coping tools for anger:
Scribble freely in a notebook or tear paper
Throw ice cubes into the sink and listen to them shatter
Punch a pillow or stomp your feet
Make an angry playlist and sing or yell along
Anger is energy. When you channel it safely, you keep it from consuming your peace.
Sadness: When Holidays Feel Heavy
Maybe this year feels lonelier. Perhaps you’re missing someone or grieving the loss of what “should have been.” Sadness is the quiet companion many avoid by staying busy or focusing on control.
Common sadness triggers:
Realizing traditions have changed
Feeling unseen or disconnected from others
Watching joy around you when your heart feels flat
Let yourself lean into it. Cry if you need to. Color or paint using hues that match your mood. Write a letter to someone you miss or to your future self. Take a long shower, sway gently, or sip cocoa while wrapped in warmth.
If you’re not ready to talk, let music speak for you. Make a “sad playlist” that helps you release emotion rather than suppress it.
Sadness isn’t weakness. It’s evidence of how deeply you feel. Allowing it space in your healing journey supports long-term emotional balance.
Shame and Guilt: When “I Should” Takes Over During Eating Disorder Treatment
The holidays are guilt’s favorite playground: I should eat less. I should be happier. I should say yes to everything. Shame adds the whisper: You’re not enough.
You might feel guilt for turning down an invitation or for not being “grateful enough.” These moments are where your recovery meets real-life boundaries.
When guilt or shame hits, wrap yourself in something soft and breathe deeply. Write your inner child a letter of forgiveness. Reflect on small victories from the year or jot down 20 reasons you’re proud of yourself. If words don’t come easily, make a collage or craft titled “I Am Enough.”
You could also:
Text a friend a kind note (kindness heals both ways)
Do something imperfect: doodle, plant, or cook without measuring
Guilt doesn’t mean you’re wrong. It means you’re learning to live differently, with less apology and more authenticity.
Anxiety: When Stillness Feels Unsafe in Eating Disorder Recovery
Anxiety thrives on unpredictability, and the holidays are full of it. Routines vanish, mealtimes shift, and everyone has an opinion. For someone in eating disorder treatment, that unpredictability can feel overwhelming.
Triggers may include:
Not knowing what or when you’ll eat
Traveling or losing alone time
Feeling watched at meals
Sensory overload from crowds and noise
When anxiety builds, meet it with curiosity instead of criticism. Ask: What am I feeling? What am I thinking? Notice cognitive distortions like all-or-nothing thinking or catastrophizing.
Grounding Tools for Holiday Anxiety
Hold a warm mug, listen to calming music, or color a mandala
Send a funny meme to a friend or step outside for air
Anxiety tells you you’re not safe, but grounding reminds your body that you are.
Building Cozy Recovery Rituals for Eating Disorder Support
Rest and comfort can feel foreign for people recovering from eating disorders or complex trauma, but rest isn’t laziness; it’s healing.
Create a five-senses “cozy comfort plan”:
Touch: fuzzy socks, lotion, pet cuddles, or your favorite hoodie
Sight: candles, twinkle lights, or a comforting show
Sound: soft playlists, white noise, or a crackling fire
Smell: cinnamon, pine, vanilla, or coffee
Taste: something warm and grounding, such as cocoa, soup, or mint tea
Set up a cozy corner in your home with a blanket, journal, candle, and something that feels like you. Let it become your daily reminder that safety and comfort are allowed.
Practical Food Grounding Tips for Eating Disorder Recovery
While emotions are the heart of recovery, nourishment is the foundation. Skipping meals or “saving up” for big events backfires; it increases anxiety and triggers urges.
How to Build Food Stability During the Holidays
Eat regularly: consistent fuel keeps your mood steady
Balance your meals with protein, starch, and fat for energy and satisfaction
Pack snacks for travel or events so you don’t go long stretches without food
Have a pre-meal snack if big gatherings feel chaotic; it helps you stay grounded
Engage your senses while eating: focus on the aroma, taste, and warmth of food
Nourishment isn’t about control; it’s about care. Every bite that supports your body is a small act of courage in eating disorder recovery.
Closing the Sack: What True Sanity Looks Like
Your Santa’s Sack of Sanity isn’t filled with willpower; it’s filled with grace. Inside are messy journal pages, a half-empty mug, a playlist that makes you cry and laugh, and maybe a few broken sticks from releasing anger. It’s not perfect; it’s real.
This Christmas, you don’t need to earn your seat at the table by shrinking, performing, or pretending. You only have to show up with gentleness, humor, and the tools that help you stay grounded when the world gets loud.
The holidays may always carry a touch of chaos, but your cozy, compassionate recovery kit proves that peace is possible, one breath, one meal, one act of self-kindness at a time.
Find Compassionate Eating Disorder Treatment and Support at Bloom Psychological in Tampa, FL
If the holiday season feels overwhelming, you don’t have to face it alone. At Bloom Psychological, our trauma-informed team offers specialized eating disorder treatment and support in Tampa, FL, to help you navigate triggers, restore food trust, and rebuild emotional safety.
Whether you’re seeking eating disorder therapy, complex PTSD treatment, or compassionate trauma counseling, our clinicians walk beside you with warmth and expertise.
This season, give yourself the gift of peace, not perfection.
Let us help you find your glow.
Learn More About Eating Disorder Therapy at Bloom Psychological in Tampa, FL
Schedule a Free Consultation
Take the First Step Toward Recovery Today
Other Therapy Services at Bloom Psychological
At Bloom Psychological, we know that trauma can impact every part of life—far beyond food or body image. That’s why, in addition to Therapy for Complex Trauma and Eating Disorders, we offer specialized support for individuals navigating a wide range of emotional challenges.
Our trauma and complex PTSD therapy helps you safely explore painful past experiences, rebuild trust in yourself, and create a foundation for deep, lasting healing. We also offer eating disorder therapy and support, and individualized support for UCF students facing stress, identity questions, and mental health concerns in the midst of a pivotal life chapter.
Wherever you are in your healing journey, Bloom Psychological offers a compassionate, trauma-informed space to be seen, heard, and supported.
About the Author
Though I now call Florida home, my Jersey roots still shape who I am—honest, grounded, and unafraid to show up as my real self. That same authenticity guides the way I work with my clients and the way I write pieces like this one. Around the holidays, when emotions can run high and expectations feel heavy, my goal is simple: to remind people that it’s okay to slow down, to feel, and to care for themselves with gentleness.
Outside of my professional life, I’m a mom, a pet lover, and a person who has personally walked through the complex terrain of trauma and eating disorders. I don’t just understand these struggles from education alone—I’ve lived them, faced them, and found healing on the other side. That lived experience fuels my compassion and my belief that recovery isn’t about perfection; it’s about presence and self-kindness.
If you’re navigating the holidays while working toward eating disorder recovery, I hope this guide feels like a comforting reminder that you’re not alone. Healing takes courage, and even in a season that celebrates giving to others, you deserve to give yourself the same care and grace.
