December 16, 2004

Preparing a holiday dinner for your in-laws or attending your supervisor’s New Year’s Eve party may trigger it. Or, perhaps it was cramming for finals before winter break or the not-too-subtle comment about your weight from a well-meaning relative that sparked it.

Sufferers of eating disorders tend to struggle more with these ailments near and during the holidays, according to Santhi Periasamy, multicultural fellow at the University of Houston Counseling and Psychological Services Center. Periasamy also leads an eating disorder psychotherapy group for students, faculty and staff.

“The period between mid-November and the end of December is a hard time,” Periasamy said. “Some people face stress over family conflict. Students are coping with stress because of finals.”

Ineffective ways of dealing with stress, especially stress caused by family relationships, may lead to eating disorder episodes such as severely restricting food intake (anorexia), bingeing and then purging (bulimia) and excessive exercising.

“Learning how to enjoy the holidays without experiencing an episode can be a major challenge for those with eating disorders,” Periasamy said, adding that confronting that challenge is the first step. Easing stress through relaxation and talking to a trusted friend, family member or professional therapist also are crucial.

Periasamy also advises relatives or friends of sufferers to be supportive and avoid discussing weight gain or loss. They also should refrain from asking questions about eating behavior and suggest professional counseling if warranted.

“An eating disorder is not about food. It’s about underlying issues,” said Periasamy, who likens the illness, which provides a false and temporary sense of control, to smoking, alcohol and drug addictions. “There is one important exception, it is not an option to abstain from food as one may choose do with drugs or alcohol, which can make recovery from eating disorders more challenging.”

It’s normal for people to seek comfort food, but eating disorders go beyond eating a bowlful of ice cream after an argument with a partner, she said.

“An eating disorder is a complex cycle. First, food provides comfort and then, when it provides discomfort, you might restrict the amount of food you eat. You might binge and then purge, or you might just purge. You might overeat even though you have health problems, or you might over-exercise,” Periasamy said.

In the United States, eating issues affects approximately 30 million men and women of all ages, according to Periasamy. She noted that the average age of her UH clients with eating disorders is late 30s and early 40s.

Yet, many Americans don’t realize that they suffer from eating disorders, primarily because they don’t identify with portrayals in the media that often depict white adolescent girls with severe cases.

“When we think of a person with an eating disorder, we think of an undernourished teenaged girl who refuses to eat until she is hospitalized, or a young woman who binges and then forces herself to regurgitate, however this is not the typical individual dealing with an eating issue,” Periasamy said. Often, we may not believe we have an eating issue if we are not as extreme as what is portrayed in the media as the standard for eating issues.

Francine Parker
fparker@central.uh.edu