When August rolls around, there’s a certain feeling of wariness in the air. Maybe years of being programmed to prepare for the next big year of schooling have done a number on our collective psyches. Whenever you also start feeling the familiar wave of anxiety that comes around this time of year, know that you’re not alone with this stress. According to research.com, 7 out of 10 teens in the US identified themselves and their peers as dealing with mental health struggles like depression and anxiety, with 80% of students in another study reporting they felt stressed sometimes or often.
Clearly, this school-related stress has affected many students across the country. But what if you’re someone facing even deeper struggles that a new school semester only makes worse?
Dealing with back-to-school triggers in eating disorder recovery can put your healing journey in a tough spot. The added pressure of maintaining educational responsibilities and schedules while dealing with the up-and-down nature of recovery can put a number on your mental health. This season can be difficult to cope with, but identifying your pressure points and reacting in a balanced way can help you feel more prepared and ready to tackle back to school and eating disorder recovery.
The Root of Stress in School
Unfortunately, the way our education system is set up tends to prioritize test results over the actual art of curiosity and inquisitive learning experiences. Students are often reduced to scores, GPAs, or extracurricular achievements, rather than recognized for the effort and growth they’re putting in.
In high school, you’re trying to juggle all the above—getting good grades, excelling in extracurriculars, and still having some kind of social life, plus the added anxiety of college applications and the future getting nearer and nearer. The weight of expectations and achieving your top school and college goals can be completely overwhelming.
The pressure doesn’t often ease up as you enter college. Students, often for the first time, are given free rein over how they manage their time and course load, and with that comes a mountain of first-time responsibilities. For many, they’re living away from home, figuring out finances, trying to choose their future path, and finding themselves in a brand new place with brand new social circles. This time of life can be exhilarating for some, but for others, the weight of trying to pick the “right” major and make huge life decisions can feel like too much to handle.
Anxiety and Depression Can Intensify
Struggling with mental health issues like anxiety and depression can triple these fears, whether it’s not picking the “right” path, not being the best, the smartest, the most likable, and so on. It can feel like a constant race to fulfill your potential, a never-ending treadmill of always running but never getting ahead.
The amount of pressure that comes with being in school is sometimes only alleviated with the freedom of summer. When you’re under constant stress during the school year, the relief of being left to your own devices, away from your peers and grades and schedule can finally give you some breathing room.
But the problem with summer is that it eventually has to come to an end. The window of respite is closing, and so draws nearer the memories of stress and anxiety. This is why the impact of an imminent return to school, a return to stress and pressure, can hit even harder and spike your anxiety as the date to return approaches.
Back to School and Eating Disorder Recovery Fears
For students in recovery from an eating disorder, the back-to-school season is a vulnerable time. Recovery is tough on its own; it’s a daily battle to challenge the thoughts and behaviors that have become so ingrained. Throwing in the stress of school can upset the delicate balance that many have worked hard to maintain. The fear of falling behind or not living up to expectations can stir up the same feelings that led to disordered eating in the first place.
As stress builds up, it can be tempting to revert to familiar habits for comfort or control. What starts as a small slip—skipping a meal, over-exercising, or over-eating—can snowball into a full relapse. Even those who have found a solid ground in recovery can get shaken up by this stressful time of transition. Nobody is completely immune to stress, and going back to school while in eating disorder recovery can feel like a huge test of resilience.
How Schools Can Trigger ED Behaviors
Eating disorders are complex mental health issues that go far beyond food and weight. For many people, disordered eating is rooted in a need for control, especially when the rest of their life feels chaotic or out of control. When life feels like it’s spinning out of control, food can become something concrete to focus on. Restricting, bingeing, or purging becomes a way to regain a sense of power or stability.
When the school year begins, so floods back the wave of academic, social, and existential pressures that the summertime temporarily dammed off. For those already vulnerable to disordered eating, the pressures of school, stress from grades, social relationships, or simply just trying to keep it all together, can trigger old habits or worsen existing struggles.
In this case, food becomes more than just food; it becomes a distraction, a form of procrastination, or a way to cope. Someone might think, “If I’m eating food I don’t need to start that project,” or “I’ll let myself eat once I get all this work done” Unfortunately, even though it seems like a way to cope, it often just makes it more difficult for students to learn how to genuinely cope with stress and their eating disorder recovery.
How to Balance Back To School and Eating Disorder Recovery
Learning how to prepare for the new school year, especially when you’re feeling vulnerable, is critical to staying safe and resilient in your recovery. It’s natural that these types of transitional changes get you feeling stressed and anxious, but there are coping skills to help alleviate if you’re feeling extreme stress and possibly a relapse. Here’s just a few:
1. Create a Steady Routine:
Having a predictable routine can make the school year feel less chaotic. The stress of school can easily affect how and when we eat, so make sure to budget in time for regular meals. Set up a mealtime app as an accountability reminder if you need to. Building time in for meals, study sessions, hobbies, and rest into the day can help maintain a sense of balance.
2. Reject Perfectionism:
Perfection is a tough goal to reach. In our society, we always try to push for ambitious goals that can easily become lead weights if and when we don’t hit our preconceived ideals of “greatness.” Know that it’s okay to let go of this notion. Rather than obsessing over perfect grades or lofty achievements, shift your focus to simply giving your best with what you’ve got. Embrace the process of learning and growing, and remember that it’s the effort and progress that counts most. Sometimes just showing up is enough, and that’s okay.
3. Learn Healthy Ways to Cope:
Mindfulness activities like meditation or journaling can really help ease anxiety and keep you grounded. It’s also important to find joy in things like art, music, or hanging out with friends, as they can provide a much-needed break from the stress of both being back to school and in eating disorder recovery. The key is to find these healthy outlets so you don’t fall back into disordered eating habits.
4. Use Your Support Network:
Having people to lean on is crucial, especially when school becomes overwhelming. Whether it’s friends, family, or a therapist, staying in touch with those who understand and support you can provide strength. Don’t hesitate to reach out when things feel tough; there are people out there willing to help you if you just ask.
5. Seek Professional Help
In the same vein as keeping your support network close, make sure to know when you need to ask for more advanced help. Managing mental health issues on top of an eating disorder can be particularly perilous, as both can cause intense and continual emotional harm that requires serious attention. If you feel you need a higher level of care when going back to school while in eating disorder recovery, try talking to someone you trust about local inpatient facilities or counseling appointments. Many school campuses have a counseling center that can provide free to low-cost mental health resources, so be sure to stop by if you need it!
6. Take Self-Care Seriously:
During busy times, self-care often falls by the wayside. But taking care of your mental and emotional well-being is just as important as your academic performance. Set aside time for relaxation to keep stress from building to an unmanageable level. You’re not “wasting time” by prioritizing rest or periods where you’re doing nothing except breathing. You are not a machine and aren’t able to do everything all the time; let yourself be human and focus on what is best for you at the moment.
Remember: You Can Do This
Returning to school brings pressure and stress. For students dealing with eating disorders, these stresses can feel like triggers waiting to pull them back into unhealthy patterns. But with awareness, preparation, and the right support, it’s possible to manage the stress of school while protecting both mental health and recovery. You can do this!
