tips Archives · Alison Pelz, LD, RDN, CDCES, LCSW

Starting a new semester (or starting college for the first time) is associated with many positive feelings and excitement. However, along with these positive feelings, college students may experience feelings of isolation, worry, and sadness that often come along with major life transitions.

Unfortunately, these feelings may worsen eating disorder symptoms for college students who are struggling. When you’re already under stress from school and new social situations, it can be tricky to get a handle on your eating disorder symptoms or to move forward in your eating disorder recovery.

Why is it hard for college students to maintain eating disorder recovery?

Increased demands + independence

Returning to college, or going for the first time is exciting! It’s often a breath of fresh air to see friends you haven’t seen all summer, move into your new home for the year, and get into the swing of a new semester of classes. The taste of freedom and independence that college offers is hard to beat!

If you have already experienced some time at college, though, you know that gaining independence also means more responsibility–which at times can be overwhelming. If you’re attending college for the first time, it’s normal to feel both excited at the opportunity for independence and totally overwhelmed by what that independence means.

It can be challenging to set boundaries for yourself while managing-the demands of being a student, your social life, caring for yourself, and recovery. Increased demands often mean increased stress, which often is associated with an uptick in eating disorder symptoms.

Changes in Routine

When in recovery for an eating disorder, changes in routine can be tough to deal with. Routines allow for some comfort and dependability. When we have a routine, we know what to expect and when to expect it. It cuts down on the level of uncertainty or stress we feel about the unknown. College students often find that it takes a few weeks or longer to figure out their new routine.

Routines also have very practical uses in recovery. They affect meal planning, treatment appointments, sleeping habits, and more, all of which play a role in recovery! Navigating a new routine can be challenging, and can feel overwhelming. Giving care and consideration to what your new routine will be and how it works for you is important.

Diet culture on Campus

On a college campus, you’ll be surrounded by other young people, who are also surrounded by the constant messaging on social media about diet and beauty standards.

Gyms on campus may be full of college level athletes training in ways that other folks who don’t need intense conditioning for a sport shouldn’t be pushing themselves to compete with.

You might be surrounded by fear of the “freshman fifteen”, or feel pressure to skip meals to study for exams with other students. The culture around food and exercise on a college campus may not be the healthiest one. It’s important to prepare for that with a counselor beforehand so you have coping mechanisms you can use when the need arises.

Are you wondering what you can do to support eating disorder recovery at the start of a new semester? Here are 5 things college students can do to stay on track with eating disorder recovery.

1. Continue care with your eating disorder treatment team

It’s important to continue the work you’re already doing with your eating disorder treatment team as you transition back to school. The start of a new semester means a changing schedule, routine, and living situation in many cases. Making sure you have the support of your treatment team can help you weather these changes so you can have the best experience possible at schoo.

If you don’t have a treatment team a good place to start is your college health center. Most colleges don’t provide long-term counseling for eating disorders, but they can put you in touch with providers in the community that can support you throughout the school year so you can get the help you need.

2. Establish a routine

Remember, routines help us all, but they especially help folks with eating disorders. Routines give us peace of mind, comfort, and help us stay on track with eating, which is a crucial part of recovery.

Just as I am sure it took some time to establish a summer routine, it will take a bit for you to establish a school routine as you find what works for you and your needs. Be patient with yourself!

3. Get to know other college students

Support is crucial in recovery, not just from your treatment team but from the people you care about. It’s easy to get so into your school routine that you forget about reaching out to your friends regularly. Make sure to check in with yourself often to see if you are getting enough socializing in (or if you are getting too much – alone time is also important for self-care).

If you are new to campus or find yourself feeling isolated consider joining a club. Most campuses have tons of clubs and organizations that cater to a variety of interests and skills for college students. Consider joining a club for fun and a club that has to do with your major to start with so you meet a good mix of people from inside and outside of your academic department.

4. Go to class

This may sound like a no-brainer. But, it feels like since the pandemic more universities still have a fair amount of classes online. If you have a choice, consider taking all of your classes in person. We’ve done enough online for the last two years. It’s also hard enough to concentrate at times, especially in the middle of a lecture, and it can be even trickier to focus when you have all the distractions of home around you.

Actually stepping foot in the classroom can help you get more in the school mindset, and it can also be a great way to meet other college students.

Additionally, I know it is very enticing to skip classes at times (after all, most professors don’t take an attendance grade). It’s always tempting to get a few more hours of sleep or to use your time for something else, but skipping class has some drawbacks. Missing classes often makes us feel more depressed, isolated, and guilty instead of relieving stress.

5. Practice good self-care

What’s your self-care routine? It’s important to remember that you’re worthy of being taken care of. Self-care can include getting your nails done, taking a hot bath, or using a face mask. It can also include things like getting enough sleep, taking your medication, setting boundaries, and having hard conversations.

We often have an idea of self-care as fun little treats or splurges, but self-care isn’t only about spending money. It’s about taking care of your emotional and physical needs.

Self-care can mean different things at different times. Sometimes it might mean decompressing by yourself in front of the TV. Other times it might mean making time for friends and social events with other college students. Try to check in with yourself regularly and ask what your self-care needs are at the moment. Remember, it’s not selfish to take care of yourself- it’s necessary.

Navigating school while in eating disorder recovery can be challenging for college students, but it can be done especially with some planning and the support of a treatment team. If you’re interested in learning more about how I can support you as part of your eating disorder treatment team, contact me here.

When you hear the words “eating disorder” what comes to mind? More often than not, eating disorders are associated with teenage girls. While it is true eating disorders often develop in adolescence, adults can have eating disorders, too.

It’s possible for eating disorders to initially develop later in life, not just during adolescence. It’s also possible that adults suffering from an eating disorder developed it during adolescence and never fully recovered. Life stressors (like a pandemic, for example!) later in life can also cause a relapse of eating disorders.

Eating disorders develop for a variety of reasons including genetics, temperament, gender, and dieting history to name a few.

It is less important why and how the eating disorder developed, and more important to focus on supporting your loved one in their eating disorder recovery.

If you love someone in eating disorder recovery, here are four ways to show your support:

1. Think about an eating disorder like a physical illness.

An eating disorder, like cancer, is not a choice. This is often misunderstood. If it was as simple as just choosing to eat more food, far fewer people would suffer with eating disorders.

If your loved one was going through treatment for cancer you may do some of the following: learn about their diagnosis, take them to treatment appointments, provide support, and check-in with them more frequently.

You can do the same with eating disorders. Eating disorders are dangerous and can cause long-term health effects and even death, and they should be taken seriously. See what you can do to understand that eating disorders (EDs) are a physical as well as mental illness.

2. Get educated on eating disorders.

Learning as much as you can about eating disorders is another way to support a loved one in recovery. Eating disorders on the surface appear to be about food. But, make no mistake, while food issues are part of the eating disorder, eating disorders are psychiatric illnesses that must be treated by experienced clinicians. Here are some resources to learn more about eating disorders:

The National Association of Eating Disorders
The Eating Disorder Sourcebook by Carolyn Costin
Eight Keys to Recovery from an Eating Disorder by Carolyn Costin and Gwen Schubert Grabb
Skills-based Learning for Caring for a Loved One with an Eating Disorder by Janet Treasure, Grainne Smith and Anna Crane

You can also ask your loved one if they would like for you to attend treatment appointments with them so you can get a better understanding of their treatment plan and goals.

There are also resources on social media sites like Instagram that offer helpful information about eating disorders, diet culture, and recovery. Make sure to check that the information you’re getting is coming from a reliable source – there are lots of folks out there who borrow language from body positive and anti-diet circles but who are still pushing intentional weight loss or food restriction. It can be really eye-opening to learn about the root causes of eating disorders, in addition to being a great way to support someone you love with an eating disorder.

3. Learn how to communicate with your loved one in a supportive way.

As with most things, supporting someone in eating disorder recovery requires communication. The best way to find out how to support them is to ask! Ask them directly what would make them feel supported or what they’re struggling with. Find out what they would find helpful or for ways you can provide support (or adjust your support if necessary).

It can be tricky to communicate about such emotionally charged topics. Statements such as these can feel supportive to your loved one.

“I know this is hard.”
“You can do hard things.”
“I am here if you would like to talk about it.”

There are a lot of ways to be supportive, but some statements aren’t helpful for folks in ED recovery. Unhelpful statements that you may be tempted to say (remember the ED is not only about the food)

“Just eat.”
“I don’t know why this is so hard…do what I do [insert advice about food, exercise].”

Remember, eating disorders are not just about the food. Everyone’s body is different, and most of us aren’t qualified to give out medical or nutritional advice anyway – we can leave that to the folks on the treatment team.

Another thing to keep in mind is that mealtime can be particularly stressful for those with eating disorders. Some meals and foods may be easier or harder for your loved one to eat. If you eat with your loved one at mealtime it may be helpful to focus on light conversations that have nothing to do with their eating disorder.

4. Be patient.

Eating disorder recovery is a marathon, not a sprint. Recovery is not linear, in fact, it can get quite messy. It requires lots of learning and unlearning, as well as patience and self-compassion.

Don’t give up, and keep checking in with your loved one. Get support for yourself if you need a space where you can process the emotions of supporting someone through recovery. It’s okay to recognize that supporting someone sometimes means asking for help yourself. The National Alliance for Eating Disorders has free support groups for loved ones.

If you are looking for more ways to support your loved one in eating disorder recovery, talking to a therapist may help. Please call for a free 15-minute phone consultation to learn how I work with clients with eating disorders and loved ones.

Tag Archives: tips

5 Tips for College Students in Eating Disorder Recovery