Anxiety and Undereating

I have awful anxiety too, and I don't like to eat while I'm having an episode, the above poster is right, you have to put it on your list of chores....

I always drop weight when i'm stressed, but tracking my calories helps in the sense that I know i'm supposed to get to my calorie goal, so it forces me to eat.

Set an alarm on your phone at what you consider 'meal times" so it goes off at 12:00 so you eat something at lunch time, and again at 6:00 so you eat something at dinner. Maybe you can get into a HABIT of eating at certain times that way.

I was so bad for almost a year. I couldn't drive, I couldn't be by myself. I was basically lying on my couch every day thinking I was dying. Went to emergency room 10 times in that year, probably had 200+ full blown panic attacks. They were happening multiple times daily for a while. Tried different drugs, they just made it wayyy worse for me.

Anyway I finally got over it, by eliminating most of the stressors in my life, therapy, lots of reading about panic disorder, eating well and probably most importantly exercise.

You need to do all of these things to really treat your anxiety. It's great you're in therapy that's so important. You need to understand your anxiety and how it escalates. Everything just starts with a simple feeling/thought and your mind escalates it so quickly and your body releases a bunch of stress hormones to deal with whatever it is your freaking out about.

I know for me and most people it's usually a physical response to a physical symptom escalated by your thoughts so obviously you treat it by being cognoscente of your thoughts. Your therapy will cover that.

it's way easier to deal with when you eliminate the physical part of it and have less physical symptoms, less physical symptoms = less triggers.

Now how you control those physical symptoms is through diet and exercise. You need to eat regular meals. Every 3 hours to stabilize your blood sugar. Eat lots of veggies and fruit, panic disorder is very demanding on your body and uses a lot more vitamins and minerals then normal.

You have to exercise every single day. Start off small, do as much as you can even if it's 5 minutes of sit ups and push ups. Try and do it with a good intensity even if it's for a short duration and just increase the time as you get more comfortable. Eventually just work up to being as active as possible.

I think it's pretty common for people with panic disorder to become exercise junkies, 15-30 minutes right after an intense workout is the most anxiety free you will ever feel and you will learn to love it.

I started off with very light exercise eventually I felt comfortable enough to do more intense exercise, once I did that I started feeling somewhat normal again, still had some panic attacks though but way less. Finally I read a book on anxiety(I had reads lots online in the year before that but its not laid out as well as a good book), then finally went to therapy. Now I exercise basically every day probably around 6-10 hours a week and try to do as many physical things as I can.

On a final note make sure you eat before you exercise every single time! Use your anxiety free window following your exercise as a good time to chow down lots of calories

Good luck!

If you are attempting to do this 'yourself' (ie - 'taking care of yourself'), this might work (the alarm).

I know when I was admitted into hospital and then into the OP program (for anorexia), they advocated 'mechanical eating'. We would all eat Breakfast at 8am - 8:30am - snack would be 10 - 10:15 am, lunch 12noon - 12:30pm, snack @ 3 - 3:15, dinner @ 6pm - 6:30, snack at 8:00pm - 8:15pm. We would have to complete EVERYTHING included in the meal or we would have to have 'Ensure' (a horrid, nutritional 'shake').
Glad you are already seeing someone for your anxiety, but you sound like you should try to seek out your city's support for ED.

Set an alarm on your phone at what you consider 'meal times" so it goes off at 12:00 so you eat something at lunch time, and again at 6:00 so you eat something at dinner. Maybe you can get into a HABIT of eating at certain times that way.

Typically with anxiety, I found I would have more panic attacks because I was under eating. So if your calories are low...I am sure it is contributing to the anxiety big time.

One book that really helped me was the "Anxiety and Worry Workbook" it was yellow with blue writting on the front.

David Clark and Aaron Beck.

I'm just going to leave these here...

www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/
www.youreatopia.com

^^^ This. And keep talking to your therapist. This sounds like a therapist kind of issue.

Boy, I know what you're talking about. I'm so happy to read all these responses from other people who know what you're talking about! I'm not alone!! I've had anxiety and panic for 18 years now. It gets really bad when change is happening at my life and settles down when things are calm and steady. That's tough esp because I have a special needs daughter. LOTS of ups and downs at my house. I've developed IBS which is a big pain in the butt (literally)!! Drs will always say to try antidepressants. My counselor says don't unless you absolutely have to because its a bandaid. In the end I've never taken the meds because I felt the same way. Band aid. My friends who take them have so much trouble if they try to get off. So why take them if I can still basically function?

Exercise and cutting out caffeine and processed foods helped me tremendously! Exercise in the morning burns off my extra adrenaline and cuts WAY down on the anxiety. I never realized how much caffeine effects it either. But it really does.

As far as eating goes, when I'm anxious my IBS flares up and I eat very little. It's a vicious cycle. I feel in some ways that I've cheated with my weight loss. In the beginning I was just sick a lot and couldn't eat and dropped a lot of pounds. But as I kept exercising and eating healthy I felt so much better and more in control and confident. My IBS would settle and I could eat more normally.

Logging in your food several times a day is a MUST. Many, many days I got to the end and realized I really hadn't eaten enough. I had lightheaded and dizzy days too where I'd check my log and realize I wasn't eating. So yes, log in and log in your exercise too.

If you want to friend me you can!!

And with the intrusive thoughts...the meal plan helped with that too. Because I knew what I needed to eat so when mind got going or said I was too lazy to eat or whatever..I just said...nope this is my meal plan, I am just eating my meal plan. I have ignored hunger so long I need to honor it even when I just think its hunger so my body can learn to trust me again. Feel free to friend me/message me for more.

I have had anxiety & depression since I was 5 years old after suddenly losing my father and am now 60. I've been on medication because without it I can't function or leave the apartment. It's genetic in the women in my family. Hopefully, you feel comfortable with your therapist and also think she/he is truly in-tune with how you are feeling; if not then I would try to find a person who's really listening to what is making you anxious. I guess basically what I'm saying is if you can get to the bottom of why you are feeling anxious and get that under control my hope is that you will get your appetite back. Usually one connects with another. OBVIOUSLY THIS IS NOT MEDICAL ADVICE, BUT I HOPE IT HELPS

Maybe you could set your alarm, which is a terrific suggestion on here, to eat smaller meals and more often. If you have a good friend who understands what you are feeling ask them to go with you on a walk. You'll have someone there to support you if you start to feel anxious and my hope is getting fresh air, exercise and pumping adrenaline into your body will help ease your anxiety. I use meditation and deep breathing to help me when I'm starting to feel anxious.

I just moved about 40 miles away from my family, which are part of my stressers, and I feel like a bird that was set free. They thought I needed someone to "control me" and I was suffocating. Now I'm able to do more driving than I have in many years. I would love for you to have the same freedom and be released from the anxiety you are feeling. Remember to keep telling yourself that you are worth fighting for so you can be healthier. Please feel free to request to be my friend if you choose. Sometimes mental health issues are left unsaid because of what other will think; we have to take care of ourselves and try not to worry about the people who are not educated to understand how we feel! I wish you the best because you deserve it.

Chris :flowerforyou:

Bump, my brother has anxiety and I want to know how to help him, but he does the opposite he eats a lot.

I commend you on your stance against anti-anxiety drugs! I never have resorted to any type of anti-anxiety or anti-depression, etc., drugs, and I never will!

Loss of appetite due to stress is normal. When I am super-stressed, I hardly eat. Anxiety is normal if you have a difficult life.

The only solution to your problem is to delete people or situations from your life that are creating your anxiety. It may not be possible to get rid of all of them. Delete as many stress factors as possible, so that you can focus on resolving those that remain.

The only way to be delivered from anxiety is to resolve the issues that cause it. Focus on them and confront them head-on!

I have anxiety just thinking about eating. But I used MFP as a tool, I stopped worrying about calories and started to think about nutrition. I started by eating 600 calories then once i was getting the hang of it, I started to eat 800, then 1,200. I am not at 1,400. Its really the constant effort that I take to really check up on myself. I do work out, but I really emphasize the diet part. I used to have a hard time eating with others, and I am a college student so that social scene is important. I am now able to eat out and have fun, but i just look online at the menu before hand and add it to my MFP that way I am not confused once I get there.


Hope this helps