Depression and loss of appetite

Jessie24330

I dont' know if this is the place to post this or not but I hope someone can give me some insight. In the rest of my life I have always turned to food to comfort me when I was depressed and would binge eat like no ones business. If I was sad, I was constantly hungry and on the prowl for the next snack or carb heavy meal.

For the last two months or so I have been living a much healthier lifestyle and learning self control and making better choices and have found that the food that once dragged me to the weight I am now is not very appealing anymore and my portions are reasonable of the food I do eat. My problem is that now I am very depressed, for reasons I am not going to get into, and I have almost no desire to eat. It not completely gone and what I am eating are healthy choices but I am finding myself lacking in calories a great deal. Right now it is almost 5pm and I have not consumed anything and have no desire to.

My question is, should I force myself to eat or just eat when I am feeling hungry even if I am only getting a max of 600 to 800 calories a day. I am 259 so it's not like I am going to starve to death. Any advise would be most appreciated. Thank you for your time and if anyone feels like saying a prayer for me, that would be wonderful

Annesoucy1957

maybe seeing a medical professiknal is a good idea, dont let the depression go out of control. In the mean time try to meet your nutrition requirements. Good luck and hope you find peace of mind soon.

RodaRose

Forcing yourself to eat feels wrong.
Instead buy little packets of foods you like so you can snack on them during the day.
Or buy bags of stuff and cut it up and leave it around in pretty containers. You might "snack" enough during the day to get more calories.

AliceDark

First of all, it's a great thing that you recognize that the depression is causing your lack of appetite. Depression is a sneaky little b*tch and will tell you anything to convince you that it doesn't exist. When it led you to overeat, it wasn't acting in your best interests, and it's doing the same thing now that it's leading you to undereat. At the very least, you should be giving your body enough nutrition to keep it physically functioning well, and that's not going to happen at 600-800 calories. I'd really urge you to make sure you're getting your required protein and fat, and some servings of fresh fruits/veggies every day. Your body needs fuel, and you don't deserve to get physically sick on top of everything else!

There are a lot of studies that suggest nutrition can effect depression. I'm not at all saying that X food causes or can fix depression -- believe me when I say I WISH that was the case! -- but for some people, it looks like nutritional imbalances can be contributors. If you're one of those people, continuing to undereat could be prolonging your depression.

MKEgal

What Alice said.

If it were just a couple days that you're not feeling like eating, no big deal.
More than that, and you need to slap that depression across the face & tell it it's not going to get away with making you sick.
Some antidepressants also lower appetite. I always found that a bonus, but I was never at your extreme.
If you haven't done so already, contact your doctor.

Find healthy (or even semi-healthy) higher-calorie snacks so you're getting your 1200 cal per day, plus nutrition.
Ants on a log are fun - peanut butter in the trough of celery, topped with raisins.
Nuts.
Get a container of Carnation instant breakfast, and use whole or 2% milk.
An apple & chunk of cheddar cheese. (I have one of those gizmos that will core & slice the apple in one whack, which is fun to use.)
Instant oatmeal, again with raisins, walnuts, chopped up fruit.
Yogurt - full-fat, toss in some fruit, honey, regular oatmeal, or granola.
Sliced turkey from the deli, rolled up with a slice of cheese.

All those things are easy to prepare, have little clean-up, plenty of nutrition & calories.
Don't think in terms of a meal, just nibble. Less energy required.
If you have to, set an alarm so you remember to have a little something every 3 hours. 9, noon, 3, 6, 9 gives you 5 snacks. If you only do 200 calories at a time, that's still 1000, which is closer to what you should be eating.

amywise10

I'm the same- when I'm depressed, my appetite suffers. Same with my two sisters (our Dad passed 2 weeks ago and we've all had a loss of appetite). Just eat what you can, like a banana or an apple. Don't force it, but just know that you need to eat something. Hope things get better for you.

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7elizamae

I went through a terrible bout of depression and lost a hideous amount of weight. I looked positively ill and felt so weak and miserable. It was just so hard to make myself put anything in my mouth.

I found it easier to drink, so I had some high calorie protein shake things. It was hard to choke them down, but not as bad as chewing.

That being said, if you can't eat anything, just be sure to drink water.

Depression is so, so awful. :brokenheart: I hope you'll go to a doctor and get help. Best luck to you.

Jessie24330

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I am under a doctor's care because I have mental health issues so I have to see him every few months anyway. I just don't like to feel like I am disturbing anyone so I don't like to contact them when it is small issues like this, normally I only contact them when I am suicidal and thank God it hasn't come to that yet. This is situational so it should get better sooner or later. I am just trying so hard right now to make my health a top priority and I don't want to mess anything up by not eating enough for too long. I did manage to eat a few high calorie foods today, they weren't the "healthiest" but they weren't complete junk either so I am okay with that.

I am just going to try my best without forcing it and maybe lay off the intense cardio until I am on a better track again. Thank you all for taking the time to respond to my question.

MKEgal, I think I will go by what you say and not worry about eating an actual meal and just try to eat a snack every few hours. It is so weird the way things have changed from before I started on this healthier track. 6 months ago, I would have had trouble eating less than 1000 calories in one sitting while depressed and not the other way around.

AmyWise, I am so sorry to hear about your father. I hope you and your family find peace soon. I'm not close with my father but I can't even imagine how I will deal when my mother passes so I hope you find comfort and peace as soon as possible.

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Phrick

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I am under a doctor's care because I have mental health issues so I have to see him every few months anyway. I just don't like to feel like I am disturbing anyone so I don't like to contact them when it is small issues like this, normally I only contact them when I am suicidal and thank God it hasn't come to that yet. This is situational so it should get better sooner or later. I am just trying so hard right now to make my health a top priority and I don't want to mess anything up by not eating enough for too long. I did manage to eat a few high calorie foods today, they weren't the "healthiest" but they weren't complete junk either so I am okay with that.

I am just going to try my best without forcing it and maybe lay off the intense cardio until I am on a better track again. Thank you all for taking the time to respond to my question.

MKEgal, I think I will go by what you say and not worry about eating an actual meal and just try to eat a snack every few hours. It is so weird the way things have changed from before I started on this healthier track. 6 months ago, I would have had trouble eating less than 1000 calories in one sitting while depressed and not the other way around.

AmyWise, I am so sorry to hear about your father. I hope you and your family find peace soon. I'm not close with my father but I can't even imagine how I will deal when my mother passes so I hope you find comfort and peace as soon as possible.

That's why they are there for. That's their job.

This! I have been on the depression-leading-to-suicide ideation-train more times than I care to count. It finally occurred to me once that my doctor would much rather "be disturbeed" at a much earlier point in the process because ultimately it saves time down the road! It takles a lot longer time, a lot more frequent appointments, and a lot more money spent on medications (and for me even several hospitalizations) once it gets to the suicidal point - and multiply that exponentially if you get past the ideation to an actual attempt at suicide. My doc used to get so frustrated with me for NOT calling and for letting it get to that point! As MrM27 said, she would point out to me that it was her JOB to HELP me, and she couldn't do that if I wouldn't let her! I know, first hand, how hard it can be to pick up the phone and make the call. I'm the queen of "call after hours and leave a message and if she feels it's an issue worth pursuing then it's up to her to call back," which may not be ideal but honey it is so much better than simply not calling until you're feeling ready to end your life. Even if the dep-ression is situational you deserve the best tools to get through it and you're only goinng to get those once you get brave enough to get past your hang up and contact your doc. ***hugs to you*** and please call your doctor, please.

Jessie24330

You know, and this may sound stupid, but I haven't really ever thought about it like that before. I think part of my issue is that I have been hospitalized so many times before that I am scared that if I reach out for help, at any point, that that is going to be their first response. I know by know that my current psychiatrist is not like that but it is still an instinctual reaction due to the people I used to see in Virginia. They put me in the hospital what seems like every time I wasn't on cloud nine. If it doesn't get better soon than I will call. It just terrifies me. I am fine going for preventative measures, and God knows I need them, but to ask when things aren't all peachy keen is terrifying like I said.

lemon629

I have had this problem in the past. When I was in college, I lost around 20 pounds due to depression and got very thin.

Try to make yourself eat a little more. Eating a little more probably will help the depression somewhat, and will help you sleep better. But be gentle with yourself-- make an effort, but don't force feed yourself.

Back when I had this problem, I remember I had problems with anything very chewy. I also could not make myself eat bananas. But I could usually eat soups, chicken, toast, carrots, nuts, and generally dry crunchy stuff.

Maybe get a protein/meal replacement shake. Drinking might be easier than eating.

Also get outside more, and get plenty of exercise. Those things should help your depression as well and more exercise will probably increase your appetite.

Have you had your thyroid and vitamin D levels checked? Low levels can cause or contribute to depression.

So far as hospitalization is concerned, no one can hospitalize you against your will unless you have threatened or attempted suicide, or pose an imminent threat to someone else.

AliceDark

That's why they are there for. That's their job.

This! I have been on the depression-leading-to-suicide ideation-train more times than I care to count. It finally occurred to me once that my doctor would much rather "be disturbeed" at a much earlier point in the process because ultimately it saves time down the road! It takles a lot longer time, a lot more frequent appointments, and a lot more money spent on medications (and for me even several hospitalizations) once it gets to the suicidal point - and multiply that exponentially if you get past the ideation to an actual attempt at suicide. My doc used to get so frustrated with me for NOT calling and for letting it get to that point! As MrM27 said, she would point out to me that it was her JOB to HELP me, and she couldn't do that if I wouldn't let her! I know, first hand, how hard it can be to pick up the phone and make the call. I'm the queen of "call after hours and leave a message and if she feels it's an issue worth pursuing then it's up to her to call back," which may not be ideal but honey it is so much better than simply not calling until you're feeling ready to end your life. Even if the dep-ression is situational you deserve the best tools to get through it and you're only goinng to get those once you get brave enough to get past your hang up and contact your doc. ***hugs to you*** and please call your doctor, please.

+1. This is why I keep a monthly check-in appointment with my therapist, even though my depression is almost entirely seasonal and for nine months out of the year, I'm largely okay. I like having an outside observer whom I trust to say "this is an issue you can handle on your own...but this is an early warning sign that your depression could be sneaking up on you, so let's talk about preventative steps." It's a million times easier, both for me and my therapist, to try to see the holes ahead and avoid them rather than trying to dig me out once I'm in one. It's even a lot easier to get out of a little hole rather than wait until I'm at the bottom of a pit.