Anxiety and Undereating

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  • amanda4335
    amanda4335 Posts: 10 Member
    edited June 2016
    My goal is not to gain weight, but I can understand what you are about not eating because of anxiety.
  • mreichard
    mreichard Posts: 235 Member
    My teenage son also sometimes forgets to eat. He used to get headaches and went through a period where he was losing weight and growing at the same time, so his doctor got a bit concerned. We would remind him to eat, which helps, but is not great --- he's often not hungry when we remind him.

    One thing that's helped him is getting Mass Gainer from GNC -- they have various options ranging from 700 calories per shake to 1350. We opt for the 700 cal version b/c it doesn't have creatine and some other stuff that I'm not sure he needs. He has a mass gainer with whole milk for breakfast and still feels OK throughout the day if he doesn't eat or picks at his lunch. If you need less than 700 cal per serving, so you could just vary how many scoops you use -- 700 is 4 scoops. Tastes much better than ensure.
  • sdosdo
    sdosdo Posts: 3 Member
    I would be remiss to not speak up here with a different perspective on the "medication as band-aid" issue. No one would ever say, "Oh, don't try that thyroid medication for your hypothyroidism; you're just masking the problem." Mental disorders like anxiety are neurobiologically-based illnesses, and both medications and therapy alter the neurobiological process that perpetuate them. Of course, I think the first-line treatment for anxiety should be evidence-based psychotherapy. That being said, if you and your doctor and/or mental health clinician discuss trying medication, I see absolutely no problem with that. Although the stigmatization of mental illness is decreasing, our society is still at a point where psychotropic medication usage is perceived as a manifestation of weakness or lack of effort. If anyone who is reading this takes anti-anxiety medications or antidepressants that mitigate their anxiety symptoms, I encourage you to feel no shame, and I admire your bravery in seeking treatment.

    Yes, I think the pharmaceutical industry is less than ideal, and yes, I think medications are often over-prescribed, and at the same time, I think psychotropic medications can be life-bettering and life-saving treatment tools.

    (And, side note: many selective-serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) --antidepressants that are often used to treat anxiety symptoms -- often increase appetite, which could jumpstart your development of regular eating habits.)
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