Happy Halloween Without Food Anxiety

Yes, this post is a day early so that you can see this on Halloween! Speaking of which...HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

It's that time of year again! The time that the holiday season really kicks off! Halloween is a time that can be super fun, spooky and filled with lots of delicious treats! 

This year, I want you to return to a Halloween from when you were younger. What memories do you have of Halloweens that were joyful, and not anxiety-provoking? What was it like? Did you trick-or-treat? Did you get lots of candy? What was your costume like? What did you treat bag look like?

Was there anxiety at that Halloween? Did you have judgments around the candy (other than the fact that some are delicious and some simply were not your favorite!) I would love if you shared some of your non-Eating Disordered Halloween memories with me! 

Here are some of my favorite Halloween memories around food:

• My Grandma, who lived in Pennsylvania (as you know, I live in NY), would typically come up around this time each year and would make spider cookies, graveyard cakes and ghost lollipops with my siblings and I!
• We had a neighbor, an older couple, who told my sisters and I to come back at the end of the night to give us all of their leftover candy...ca-ching! And to make an added bonus, they had the best candy AND full size boxes...ca-ching ca-ching!
• When my sisters and I (my brother was born much later) came back from Trick-or-Treating, our annoyingly responsible parents would make us pour our candy out to inspect each and every single one for tears and, of course, throw out all of the candies that weren't sealed; goodbye tootsie rolls & lollipops!
• The traditional sibling fight would occur over trades because everyone wanted the Reese's and Kit-Kats!
• A more recent memory I have was bringing my Grandma's tradition to my nieces and nephews. We made spider cookies and they had a blast! Some were too young to fully get the concept and some were simply too excited to eat the cookies and candies...the end goal was simply too far!

Most of us would love to return to a simpler time before our minds and diet culture interfered with our innocent view of food and candy. Today, I challenge you to return back to that time. Remember the fun times you had on this holiday and consider learning more about Beginner's Mind which is the tool I'm touching upon today.

If you are struggling today, I would encourage you to check out my post from last year to help you get through it or watch this video for some tips!

I need your help to spread that message and to help protect the future generations from Eating Disorders. I want to share your stories to help spread this message also! Please, if you feel comfortable, sharing your story, I would love to hear them. If you’d like, I would love to share them here also. No matter what part of your journey you’re in, your story can help others! Let’s build this recovery and prevention community!
 
You can leave a comment here, or send me those stories (or any questions/requests) by E-mailing me or DM-ing me on Instagram!
 
Be sure to subscribe to my E-mail list for additional helpful resources sent to you every week, as well as sneak peaks and new exciting announcements!

I wish you a HAPPY, NON-ANXIETY PROVOKING, HALLOWEEN on your way to finding your State of Balance!

You can also check out my YouTube channel for more inspiration!