Turkey Day Anxiety: Part 1

Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching- it will be here in just a few days.. which is kind of hard to believe! It seems like time is flying by, doesn't it? Sometimes it is difficult to know how to prepare for the holiday season because it sneaks up on us so quickly and it is a time that elicits very mixed emotions- excitement, stress, happiness, sadness, irritation, hopefulness, etc.. There are so many different reasons for the range of emotions that are typical at this time of year, but I think the NY Times said it best today in an article entitled Food, Kin and Tension at Thanksgiving:

For Thanksgiving dinner, what side dish would you prefer to accompany your turkey — a serving of well-marinated conflict over how much or how little you eat, or some nice, fresh criticism of your cooking skills?

As awful as that sounds, you kind of have to laugh because there is a lot of truth in such a statement. Whenever families gather together around the holidays (as well as for other celebrations or events), tension and stress are not an uncommon part of the experience. What can add to that stress is the fact that Thanksgiving in our culture has become a food holiday- and if you have struggled with any kind of food issue- anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, disordered eating- even being a picky eater- then the stress can be overwhelming. Or, if you have a loved one who has dealt with any kind of food issue, then you also experience stress at the thought of how to behave and what to say or what not to say come meal time. It can be a tough time for all parties involved.

I am going to provide a few suggestions for how to approach Thanksgiving in light of some of these stressors, but I am going to do that in another post- soon to follow and before Thanksgiving! So check back. In the meantime, read the rest of this article from today's NY Times by following this link. PS- my favorite local hero, Cynthia Bulik, is quoted. She is popping up everywhere these days and that makes me so happy.