Traveling with eating disorders

“Talk to your body in a loving way. It is the only one you have; it is your home, and it deserves your respect.” - Iskra Lawrence

We are travellers of all shapes, sizes, colours, backgrounds, personalities, and health histories, and all of these things influence our travels. For many, summer means a long-awaited break from work, a vacation... It's a season of sun and carefreeness. But for millions of people with eating disorders, summer often means something much more difficult than carefree leisure and freedom.

Whether you're planning a vacation to a warm destination or staying at home, vacations and everyday life can be very stressful. For individuals who are treating and struggling with various eating disorders, taking breaks and socializing can be especially difficult.

There are many things you can do before you go on your trip that will help you cope better. Thinking ahead and preparing for food-related challenges can help reduce travel anxiety. Even in permanent recovery, unpleasant thoughts and triggering events happen, and they happen a lot during the journey, but don't allow yourself to give up then, because you deserve to overcome it and start living the life you want.

Be kind to yourself and love yourself. It's always frustrating when it slips up. Slips happen in all the different stages of recovery. Remember that a slip is not necessarily a relapse, and it doesn't mean you've stepped back, because you're on a journey, you've come this far to travel abroad, and you're maintaining your health on your own. Stay strong and allow yourself to continue day by day.

Take today's post as encouragement, because we believe that exploring the world is, in a sense, part of recovery - travel when you are ready and have the support you need so it can be part of yours too.

Till next time. :)