Managing Eating Disorders in the Summer

This weeks blog is around managing eating disorders in the hotter seasons. Before I start with this topic I’d like to apologise for the inconsistency of these blogs recently, and I’m going to try to send them out weekly again (:

Summer (or in England any season that decides to bless us with heat), can be a tricky time for those with eating disorders. This could be trying to manage with staying hydrated, or wearing more revealing clothing to regulate better with the heat. Adapting the amount we drink can be unsettling, as in colder months we may drink less. Though it is important to stay hydrated, I think it’s important to acknowledge that this can be tricky for those with eating disorders. I’m also autistic and for me this means I don’t usually get signals of dehydration for my body, so it can add a little extra barrier to staying hydrated. Some suggestions I have that have helped me are: to set a reminder (this could be hourly or every few hours) on your phone so you have an added reminder to drink. Another suggestion would be to bear in mind that when it’s hot, we sweat more. This means our bodies may need some additional drinks throughout the day to replenish themselves. Clothing in summer can also be difficult. We may have to wear shorts or vests in order to stay cooler. I haven’t got many ideas that may be helpful for those who are especially conscious of how they look/feel in smaller clothing. However, I would say to try and remember that everybody is too worried about how they look to notice how you look (I hope this is a helpful statement, however I appreciate it may be received in a negative way). Our bodies are the least interesting things about us, and this may be hard to remember, however I’d say to try and focus on what positive attributes we have inside rather than out.

I hope this weeks blog has been helpful in some way, and I hope to see you back here next week (:

-Leah