Holiday breaks can be a much-needed rest from a busy semester schedule, but stressful family gatherings, heavy meals and days on end with nothing to do may leave students more restless than rejuvenated.
Even if your Thanksgiving holiday was less than relaxing, it’s not too late to make sure the most wonderful time of the year lives up to its name.
Family meals
Ashley Broadwater, a senior studying public relations, is co-chairperson of Embody Carolina, an on-campus organization that teaches students how to be compassionate allies for individuals with eating disorders.
“Around the holidays, there’s a lot of focus with families on someone’s weight changes, or how much they’re eating,” Broadwater said. “We want to shift the conversation to being thankful for what our bodies can do.”
Broadwater said family members should work to ensure everyone feels comfortable around the dinner table, and that no is shamed for their weight or eating habits.
“Eliminating weight talk, not moralizing food as good or bad, things like that,” Broadwater said.
Too much quality time
Mitchell Smith, a UNC alumnus who graduated in 2015, currently lives and works in Raleigh. Though Smith is no longer a UNC student, his schedule tends to include holiday breaks. Smith said he sometimes feels overstimulated after a trip to visit friends or family over the holidays.
