Prioritizing Eating Disorder Recovery when School is Back in Session
written by Abby Smolinske, LMHC-A, ATR-P
According to ANAD, 11% of high school students have been diagnosed with an eating disorder (Dubose, 2017) and in college, 10-20% of women and 4-10% of men suffer with an eating disorder according to NEDA (Jacobson, 2023). With school starting for many just around the corner, you may be asking yourself a few questions about starting school in the midst of eating disorder recovery, either reflecting for yourself or your child. Some of these questions may include: Am I ready for school with where I am at in my recovery journey? Is my child prepared to return to school after higher level of care treatment? How can I best prepare for when school starts?
Assessing Readiness for Returning to School
With these questions coming up, there are a few things to consider when assessing for readiness to return to school during eating disorder recovery.
Support. Support is a large part of success in recovery for eating disorders. Are there helpful, supportive people at school who would be willing to sit with you at meals, provide care and support, or help with other challenges within the school environment? Are these people aware of your recovery journey?
Independence with meals. Do we need extra support around meal times, either with preparing meals or eating them? Will we be able to finish lunch without the support of parents in the room? Or if we are in college, will we be able to shop and prepare our own meals or rely on dining courts?
Being able to identify triggers. Knowing our triggers is essential for going into unfamiliar environments and feeling prepared to handle unexpected things that may come up. Have we discussed with supports or our treatment team what triggers can arise and walk through a plan for how to respond if they do arise?
Coping skills. Going along with knowing our triggers is being able to apply helpful coping skills when the triggers arise, especially in an environment that may cause more stress or is unfamiliar.
Accommodations if necessary. Does school offer accommodations if it would be needed? Do they offer part time or online modalities if more support is required? Will they accommodate for when we have scheduled appointments with our treatment team during school hours?
Discussions with treatment team. What has our treatment team recommended? Have various topics been discussed such as medical stability and relapse prevention? It is important to discuss these considerations with your treatment team so everyone is on the same page and the best decision for you or your loved one is made.
If considerable concerns arose while going through some of these points, it may be beneficial to consider taking time to focus on solely recovery at this point. School will always be there to return to in the future. This decision may be difficult to make, however, taking time to focus on health now may be just what is needed to set you up for success in the future. It is important to prioritize what we need in the here and now, before physical health and mental wellbeing diminish further without the appropriate care. It can be difficult to see in the moment what the priority should be, but remember that nothing should be more important than one’s health, safety, and wellness.
How to Best Prepare for Returning to School within one’s Recovery Journey
If we have considered readiness to return to school and decided that we are in a place to be able to succeed in the school setting, what next? How do we prepare for school? Here are some things to keep in mind:
Transitioning and adjusting to new routines can be challenging in and of itself, rely on support and coping skills and give yourself grace in the midst of change.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Generally, the people around us want to see us succeed and would be happy to help when needed.
Have helpful reminders or a list of coping skills available to you when triggers do arise in order to turn to during those difficult moments.
Be aware of the boundaries we want to keep in place. Whether this may include not wanting to be around food or body comments or being unwilling to participate in class assignments that would be counterproductive to recovery (ex. calorie counting), it is acceptable (and encouraged) to be firm with these boundaries.
Continue discussing needs and challenges with your treatment team.
And lastly, keep recovery as the priority- yes, even above school.
References
Dubose, N. (2017). Eating disorders and high school life. Eating Disorder Hope. https://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/blog/eating-disorders-high-school.
Jacobson, R. (2023). College students and eating disorders. Child Mind Institute. https://childmind.org/article/eating-disorders-and-college/
