Boo! Are you scared of candy more than haunted houses? Does dressing up give you goosebumps? You’re not alone. 
If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you’ll know how much I love a good Instagram poll. Earlier this month, I ran one about Halloween stressors. I wanted to know what stresses people out most: Is it a) body image, b) candy, c) diet culture or d) none of the above?
Turns out body image is the #1 stressor, with candy and diet culture coming in close seconds. For those who voted that nothing causes you stress during the spooky season, good on you! It should be an enjoyable, fun time.
Body image and diet culture are deeply connected. Diet culture tells us that the ultimate goal is to be the smallest version of ourselves. It’s 100% linked to our appearance and has nothing to do with our quality of life. (If you want to take a deep dive into the health problems with yo-yo dieting, check out this article).
Looking back on Halloween through recent years, it was almost always a stressful time, especially during the worst of my eating disorder. The holiday seemed to have morphed from a spectacularly spooky time to a scarily stressful one. What gives?
In this post, I’ll tackle the top stressors around Halloween and offer suggestions around navigating them.
Body image struggles
The pressures to look a certain way are high at Halloween when the focus revolves around our costumes and bodies. Did it always use to be this way? I’d like to think not — it wasn’t until my teens that I started putting more thought into what I’d dress up as: cat or cowgirl? Creative or cute? Comfy or cool?
- Choose something that makes you feel your best, despite what TikTok trends may tell you.
- Don’t take pictures if you don’t want to!
- Let friends or loved ones know if this year is a particularly hard Halloween. Even someone as simple as saying, “Hey, just a heads-up that I’m going through some mental health challenges and would appreciate avoiding any body or food-related comments. Thank you for understanding!”
By far the best purchase I’ve made was a fleecy cat onesie. It’s super warm, comfortable and easy to wear. I don’t have to worry about fiddling with props or awkward-fitting attire all night. Happy Meowloween indeed.
Candy, candy, candy
Last Halloween, I wrote a post about the challenges of binge eating, especially when candy and chocolate are abundant. I’ve come to understand that binges are a direct result of deprivation. I’d tell myself to “cut back” on treats before Halloween so I can enjoy them more. However, the opposite effect would happen. I’d crave treats so badly that when the 31st rolled around, I’d already devoured the bulk of it — and felt consumed by guilt and shame.
The solution? Keep candy around all year long so it doesn’t feel off-limits. I’ve gotten to the point where I always have some chocolate lying around. It strips away the idea that I need to “deserve” dessert. If it’s always around and available, I don’t need to buy into a scarcity mindset.
What’s your favourite candy to keep around? Let me know in the comments! 
Toxic diet culture
Ah, diet culture. It’s specially bad with this holiday. How many times have you heard someone talking about their “guilty pleasures?” Or a coworker complaining about how much they indulged? Or what about parents worried their kids will eat too much sugar?
Fear and scarcity around food feed into disordered eating. It creates an all-or-nothing mindset around eating, where some foods are deemed good and some are deemed bad. Then, this impacts how we think about ourselves. Remember, food has no moral values attached to it. It simply exists.
My best piece of advice when someone won’t shut up about diet culture? Simply ignore them and change the topic. It sends a clear message that you’re not interested in engaging.
This year, let’s work on making Halloween a stress-free holiday and bringing back the joy we used to find in it. I have fond memories of schoolyard parades, high school dances and trick-or-treating with friends on bitterly cold autumn evenings.
I’m trying to tap into that inner child again who loved running around the house dressed as a dinosaur. To no one’s surprise, I’ll be sporting my cozy cat onesie again this year and worrying less about how I look in my body and more about how I feel in my body.
so much to consider, Chloê ! well done !!!
Thank you, I thought Halloween would be a timely holiday to write about the impacts of body image and disordered eating!
This article is a great read. I so agree with you regarding not denying yourself, or your family, and having treats on hand year round. Sending this article to a few people I know who I think will benefit from it.
Thanks so much for the feedback, Stephanie! I appreciate you passing the blog post along. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who can relate to feeling the stress of Halloween. Normalizing all types of food yearlong can make such a difference when it comes to recognizing body image or disordered eating issues!
Body image and toxic diet culture can be so dangerous! Thank you so much for shining light on them. TBH I don’t love Halloween. The dressing up/body image/photos part definitely give me anxiety. I’m going to go to a concert this year but I’m not going to dress up because I don’t want to because it makes me feel weird and I don’t care what anyone else thinks or says lol
Yes, 100% agreed that the disordered eating issues that come with body image challenges can be dangerous! Halloween is tough because it primarily revolves around food and appearances. I’m with you on feeling anxiety around the holiday, though. So much better to have a low-key, relaxing time than suffering from the stress of societal pressures. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Michelle!