Valentine’s Day is upon us! Perhaps because our culture holds romantic love in such high esteem, typically above other forms of love (such as familial love and the love shared between friends), this very reminder of the upcoming holiday carries great significance for many—and not always in the holiday’s favor.

Content warning: This blog post discusses dieting, disordered eating, body image, and weight. 

Ah, diet culture: that insidious, pervasive system of cultural myths that, in one way or another, tells us our health, character, and worth depend upon the fact of whether or not we are thin. Diet culture’s pervasiveness (and centuries-long history, which is rooted in white supremacy, healthism, and patriarchy) makes it so its pro-thin, anti-fat messages are difficult if not impossible to escape. It’s in the air we breathe. 

While you are undoubtedly becoming the expert on how the eating disorder is impacting your family, you may not be aware of some additional complexities. Here is what to look out for . . .

Queer people often struggle with bullying, discrimination, lack of support, body dissatisfaction, and isolation, making them a high risk for developing disordered eating or an eating disorder. 

If every conversation about your eating disorder results in your family talking over each other, shutting down, showing defensiveness, centering themselves, playing the victim, or flat-out refusing to address the issue, open and honest communication may feel impossible.

Tired of facing body comments at Thanksgiving dinner or other family gatherings? Here’s how you can respond to family members who make body comments.

Having a relationship while in eating disorder recovery is not impossible. Here are things to keep in mind if you are dating while recovering from an eating disorder.