Weight struggles and Mental Health
BoundaryQueen2020
Posts: 19 Member
Hello everyone,
I thought I would start a thread regarding weight struggles for those dealing with a mental health condition. Whether medicated or not, poor mental health can really impact your eating and exercise habits and can wreak havoc on maintaining a stable weight. There is genuine neuroscience regarding this and you're not just "weak" or "making excuses".
My story is that I overeat to calm my internal states (depression and anxiety) and as a way of creating dopamine (the "reward" neurochemical). I have recently started medication that is treating my depression brilliantly - but it's a known appetite stimulant. So now I'm taking another drug to counteract that effect - yay for mental health disorders!
Food is the cheapest and most readily available self-soothing tool we have - making weight management so very challenging for those of us who struggle with emotional dysregulation on a daily basis.
Please feel free to share your story here and know that you are not alone - over 50% of people will experience an episode of mental health ill health in their lifetime x
I thought I would start a thread regarding weight struggles for those dealing with a mental health condition. Whether medicated or not, poor mental health can really impact your eating and exercise habits and can wreak havoc on maintaining a stable weight. There is genuine neuroscience regarding this and you're not just "weak" or "making excuses".
My story is that I overeat to calm my internal states (depression and anxiety) and as a way of creating dopamine (the "reward" neurochemical). I have recently started medication that is treating my depression brilliantly - but it's a known appetite stimulant. So now I'm taking another drug to counteract that effect - yay for mental health disorders!
Food is the cheapest and most readily available self-soothing tool we have - making weight management so very challenging for those of us who struggle with emotional dysregulation on a daily basis.
Please feel free to share your story here and know that you are not alone - over 50% of people will experience an episode of mental health ill health in their lifetime x
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Replies
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I’m with you. I binge. Have just logged decent eating for two days. A few days ago it was a bag of mint milanos. Carbs do for me what drugs and alcohol do for others.10
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I totally understand this. I think I've finally found the right meds to treat my depression and anxiety so I'm hopeful I'll be able to have a successful weight loss journey!9
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I've struggled with binge eating for 8 years now and having anxiety doesn't make it any easier. I'm trying to use different coping mechanisms for particularly stressful or more anxious times, but I'm not always successful. Not using food as a reward is key for me some days! If I feel like binging, I reflect on the triggers that have caused me to feel that way and ask myself if I REALLY need that extra piece of chocolate. Trying to differentiate between hunger, boredom and thirst is also really important as well as addressing the issue that's causing you to feel a certain emotion rather than numbing it with food. And lastly, as someone with a tendency towards OCD habits, I try really hard to stay away from the all or nothing mentality. Everyone finds something that eventually works for them. It's just a matter of not giving up. Thanks for sharing your story!10
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Hey thanks for sharing your stories. 10EsseeLove, I also have BED - it suuuuucks. mpluna64, food comforts me and gives me a feeling of wellbeing that drugs and alcohol can't touch. skbrodie, I really hope you've found the right mix - it can be a long and exhausting journey to get the right meds and the right dose.3
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I'm slowly coming round to the idea that those of us who are emotional eaters (as opposed to people who just don't know how many calories are on the plate and/or eat for boredom) probably do have an underlying mental health issue, to some extent. I mean, no one thinking rationally would use food the way we do - food does not equal happiness, and yet we shovel it down in an attempt to feel happier.6
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misstrakky wrote: »Hello everyone,
I thought I would start a thread regarding weight struggles for those dealing with a mental health condition. Whether medicated or not, poor mental health can really impact your eating and exercise habits and can wreak havoc on maintaining a stable weight. There is genuine neuroscience regarding this and you're not just "weak" or "making excuses".
My story is that I overeat to calm my internal states (depression and anxiety) and as a way of creating dopamine (the "reward" neurochemical). I have recently started medication that is treating my depression brilliantly - but it's a known appetite stimulant. So now I'm taking another drug to counteract that effect - yay for mental health disorders!
Food is the cheapest and most readily available self-soothing tool we have - making weight management so very challenging for those of us who struggle with emotional dysregulation on a daily basis.
Please feel free to share your story here and know that you are not alone - over 50% of people will experience an episode of mental health ill health in their lifetime xmisstrakky wrote: »Hello everyone,
I thought I would start a thread regarding weight struggles for those dealing with a mental health condition. Whether medicated or not, poor mental health can really impact your eating and exercise habits and can wreak havoc on maintaining a stable weight. There is genuine neuroscience regarding this and you're not just "weak" or "making excuses".
My story is that I overeat to calm my internal states (depression and anxiety) and as a way of creating dopamine (the "reward" neurochemical). I have recently started medication that is treating my depression brilliantly - but it's a known appetite stimulant. So now I'm taking another drug to counteract that effect - yay for mental health disorders!
Food is the cheapest and most readily available self-soothing tool we have - making weight management so very challenging for those of us who struggle with emotional dysregulation on a daily basis.
Please feel free to share your story here and know that you are not alone - over 50% of people will experience an episode of mental health ill health in their lifetime x
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I’m also struggling to lose weight due to Anxiety meds I take. They make me sluggish and hungry all the time 😑5
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Yeah it sucks. I think it also sucks that a part of successful weight loss is that self belief... I couldn't successfully lose weight until I had some therapy and started getting into a better head space because the negative thoughts and low self esteem sabotaged me every time I had a week where I didn't lose I started thinking I was crap and not worth it.
You've all got this and should be so proud of pushing through it. A friend once said that food addiction is the worst thing because you can't just give it up and not have it near you - you have to eat every day.4 -
misstrakky wrote: »I have recently started medication that is treating my depression brilliantly - but it's a known appetite stimulant. So now I'm taking another drug to counteract that effect - yay for mental health disorders!
Yep! I started on olanzapine/Zyprexa for depression in 2016 and gained 40 lbs. in a year. Now I'm getting serious about taking it off. I am on metformin to counteract the diabetogenic effects of the Zyprexa, so presumably without it I'd be even heavier. My psychiatrist asks me if I want to try another antipsychotic, but there is no way I can mess with a drug regimen that works!6 -
I have depression, anxiety, BED and a bad stomach. I was on meds for a couple years but eventually the misery they caused my stomach forced me to give them up.
I think the worst part is that people around me always assume the things I do are to fix these problems or will help them at all. They don't. Going to the gym, not going to the gym, being fat, not being fat. Zero impact on my anxiety. If my anxiety is flaring really bad, exercise makes it worse. Being around people can feel like swimming in glass shards.
Chocolate and fast food have been my self soothing tools since I was a teen. Calorie counting gives me the structure I need to stay focused. A huge trigger of my anxiety is feeling like I Don't Know What To Do, so having the flexibility to eat what I love but also knowing exactly what to do has been my savior.10 -
I suffer with mh issues and bED I find it so hard xxx3
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It really is so hard when you've been using food your whole life to self-soothe and so frustrating when people say "Just have some self-control". Yeah, it's not self-control I'm lacking, it's helpful ways to self-regulate myself. Thank you all for sharing your stories. Stay well and feel free to check in here or privately if you need a friendly ear. x5
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Hi, all. I deal with anxiety, PMDD and bipolar-like depression due to a genetic mutation (COMT+/+). I can easily lose and gain 20lbs in a month due to undermethylation of cortisol and estrogen. It's infuriating when people my entire life would tell me "you need to eat less and workout more" when it was the opposite for me. I dropped 65lbs years ago but after having my kids, my issues worsened and a doctor figured out the genetic connection after 16 years of looking for the causes of my mental misdiagnosis'. I'm back up in weight but finally have other areas maintained with supplements. But, its' been my weight vs. my mental health so I'm slowly trying to workout again and get my weight back where it needs to be. Snacking is my comfort in the evening and usually happens from the insomnia. The plus is I'm off rx medication and fully on supplements now. But, the struggles still exist. It's good to know I'm not alone. Feel free to add me if anyone would like to support each other.8
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Hey. I'm 20 and have depression, anxiety, and self esteem issues. I believe my eating habits represent some form of binge eating disorder. When I was 13, my hormones were so imbalanced I would randomly cry at ANYTHING and felt suicidal. I started birth control and antidepressants in the ninth grade. By the tenth grade, I went from 160 pounds to over 200 and have been hovering around there up until maybe a year ago where I started ballooning up to 240. My clothes don't fit. I can't look at my body. I don't recognize what I see. Nobody in my life understands what it's like to be me. To add on, I got therapy when I was 15 but stopped seeing my therapist at 18 due to aging into the adult system. Since then, I've had no mental health support besides still switching up doses and prescriptions to try to find something that helps for once... Bipolar and schizophrenia runs in my family line but I don't seem to meet the criteria for either. My maternal grandmother does have both diabetes and a thyroid disorder so that is also another worry for me. Anyways, I'm hoping if I can actually successfully commit to weight loss, I can at least have improved self esteem.6
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If my anxiety is flaring really bad, exercise makes it worse."
This actually is what I found out with my genetics on anxiety. Exercise stimulates the release of dopamine and I undermethylate dopamine and overproduce cortisol. I have to do lower activity stuff now when I used to enjoy cardio.
People always seemed to think I didn't want to do the hard work when I had and it caused me to have increased anxiety. ugh..I feel for you.1 -
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I look back now and realise I've used food to manage my depression since I was a teenager. I've had dysthymia and MDD my whole life and it's only just been managed well for the first time. I tried so many different Antidepressants but they either didn't work or gave me hellish side effects. I've now also had genetic testing and have found I'm an ultra rapid metaboliser of most of the meds I've tried - which means they only work at really high doses, hence the crappy side effects. I'm now finally seeing a psychiatrist rather than just my GP and getting the meds right. Getting meds and dosages right is such a tough journey.
As I mentioned, the med I have just tried is a known appetite stimulant and I put on 10kgs within a month of starting it. I said to my psychiatrist, this can't go on - my mental health is intricately tied up with my body image (working on that with my psychologist) so those cure is worse than the disease. Now I'm taking ADHD meds for the Binge Eating Disorder diagnosis and this is helping counteract the antidepressant. Mental health disorders suck and people vastly underestimate the impact it has on seemly basic things like regulating your food intake and getting regular exercise.
I'm super proud of all of you - let's keep checking in with each other because it's journey of a thousand days and some are going to be harder than others x
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I'm one dealing with mental health. I am schizoaffective and have depression. I started back taking bupropion at the same time I started dieting on may 20th and have lost 35 lbs in 6 weeks. I am a very big guy starting at 382 lbs. The first two weeks I lost 26 lbs.5
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I'm one dealing with mental health. I am schizoaffective and have depression. I started back taking bupropion at the same time I started dieting on may 20th and have lost 35 lbs in 6 weeks. I am a very big guy starting at 382 lbs. The first two weeks I lost 26 lbs.
That's crazy! Some of that has GOT to be drug effect. Hopefully it comes as a nice way to jump-start your progress.
I just turned down an invite to join the "wellness" committee at work. They need to have some events/supports directed specifically at mental illness, but they don't want to! I am sure they do great work, but from a time management perspective, I don't want to get involved if they're not specifically targeting psych difficulties.0 -
My weight dropped so fast because I stopped eating garbage and sugary drinks. I stopped eating pizza every day at work. I work at a pizza place. I did almost no exercise. I did cut my calories way too low the first week averaging around 1400 cal. I'm supposed to be eating 2470 for my weight loss of 2 lbs per week. The bupropion is also used to help people quit smoking and one of the side effects is weight loss. I've gained 40 lbs in 4 or 5 months in the past on other meds like risperdal and invega. I'm averaging 2200 cal a day now.I have just really started going for longer walks and stopped eating frozen meals. I have picked up my weight loss again after it had about plateaued after one month. I have lost 7 lbs this week. I'm also able to get a good night's sleep. I used to wake up every 1hr 1.5 hrs to either go to the bathroom or eat something.3
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New to MFP... after a 25 pound weight gain due to the stress of lockdown and covid I finally realized I was eating when I was sad or anxious. Eating at night when nobody could see me. Lots of ice cream. On an anxiety med that causes weight gain and makes it really hard to lose weight. Looking for support and to give support to those with meds and mental health symptoms that make maintaining a healthy weight difficult. I have a 30lb weight loss goal, and I'm going to start with drinking more water. If I can do it, I will cut down on the ice cream. That is my weakness! Doesn't help that growing up, if I cried a lot my parents would get me ice cream. So I need to stop using it as a way to feel good...the hard part is finding things to keep my mind and body occupied in a healthy way. Just wanted to say hi to the group and thanks for sharing your stories.1
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Anxiety disorders, depression and trichlotillmania along with other diseases. Working out has helped me a lot to focus on something else other than what is going on mentally. I0
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How's everybody doing? x2
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Hanging in there, thanks for asking! I need to call my psychiatrist already to get some refills and a new appointment. I hope everyone is doing as well as possible. Feel free to friend me if you like!0
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So I ate some ice cream over the weekend- totally stress eating. The sugar tasted so good. I had done a good job of cutting down on sugary things by not buying them for a few weeks, but I went out to Coldstone Creamery and got something good. Lesson... keep SOMETHING sweet around to help prevent a full-blown ice cream half-pint!4
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silverpl2525 wrote: »So I ate some ice cream over the weekend- totally stress eating. The sugar tasted so good. I had done a good job of cutting down on sugary things by not buying them for a few weeks, but I went out to Coldstone Creamery and got something good. Lesson... keep SOMETHING sweet around to help prevent a full-blown ice cream half-pint!
Yes indeed. The only way to do ice cream is in a retail establishment. I can shut down a pint of ice cream at home without even blinking, so I just don't buy it at the store, no can do. But a single serving of ice cream, even a big one, is by no means a disaster.
I let my main medication run out and I have to bother my psychiatrist over the weekend to call in a refill. I'll plan better next time.1 -
I gained 60 pounds 18 years ago when I started taking antidepressants At that time I was told the meds do not cause weight gain. Ha! Even though I have been off the meds for over 10 years my weight has bounced around and I'm still struggling. One of the many problems is that it's hard to be mentally well when your physically unwell. I want to get back to when I was eating healthy, feeling good, and not even having to think about food. I know the first step would be to log ALL my food and cut out so many of the carbs.2
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Once thing I've noticed about some psych meds is that not only do they directly cause weight gain, but they seem to turn off the switch in my brain that says I'm full. So I can keep eating and never feel full...or until my tummy gets upset! So....ya.....sometimes I need to just tell myself to STOP and digest a meal.planktonbye wrote: »Yes indeed. The only way to do ice cream is in a retail establishment. I can shut down a pint of ice cream at home without even blinking, so I just don't buy it at the store, no can do. But a single serving of ice cream, even a big one, is by no means a disaster.
As for ice cream, I agree, if I buy a pint to have at home, I tell myself at the store that it will be a few servings. When I actually have some, I eat the pint every time. So now I've stopped buying pints like you.
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I know that where truama is present there is always addiction. I eat to fill the space where my brain like to tell me that I am 2 steps away from having nothing, a full tummy, a full fridge (for me a seeing a full fruit bowl is very satisfying), means security to me. I understand it's not real security but it's just a lie I tell myself to help me feel safe in a body that is constantly worried and anxious about my lovely life falling apart...1
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I'm one dealing with mental health. I am schizoaffective and have depression. I started back taking bupropion at the same time I started dieting on may 20th and have lost 35 lbs in 6 weeks. I am a very big guy starting at 382 lbs. The first two weeks I lost 26 lbs.
Do you have any side effect from the bupropion ?1
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