This may sound stupid.... :(

[Nyan]

Hi there,

I have suffered from health anxiety for a while now on and off. (Mainly on!)

As I grew up I went through a few bouts of bad anxiety where I just couldn't eat, some lasted for a good 6/7 months and then my appetite eventually came back.

I have gained a bit of weight recently and I have recently become aware of this but instead deciding to eat more healthily I had one of my special moments. I started to feel upset and worry about anorexia. I have never before worried about my weight and during the phases of being unable to eat properly I knew it was just my anxiety. Now, I am finding it difficult to eat and am scared witless that I am becoming anorexic as I have put on weight and found it got me down a bit.

What I can't tell in my mind if this is just health anxiety rearing its head with a new illness for me to worry about (and giving me the symptoms of such as not being able to eat lots and checking myself), or if I am developing a problem. In the past everything that I have been scared I have had have been physical ailments, such as cancer, HIV, ME and fibromyalgia. Being scared of having a mental illness is completely new to me and I am finding it really hard to work out in my mind. Part of me is just telling me the stress of stressing about it has made me loose my appetite, and the other half of me is petrified I am developing an eating disorder.

Any advice greatly appreciated, sorry if this is long and rambely!

Thanks :)

[Jules147]

You have a mental illness. It is called anxiety and is far too common to attract any stigma. It is also treatable.

Anxiety causes your digestion (and therefore your appetite) to be suppressed as part of the fight or flight syndrome. Accompanying depression may cause you to comfort eat. If your Body Mass Index is between 20 and 25 you are absolutely fine. If it is between 25 and 30 you are overweight but not obese.

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/

[Anxious_gal]

anorexia is a mental illness not simply not wanting to eat or losing weight.
When you are anorexic your whole life is dominated by counting calories, worrying about putting on weight,weighing yourself,working out etc..
You are under the false belief that if you loose weight will make you happy, it'll make the men love you, your life will be perfect but of course that never happens.
Also they tend to be into numbers, like 99 pounds is great because it's has 2 digits where as 100 has 3 digits. Or size 0 because zero represents nothingness etc...
just pointing that the fear of anorexia is not the same thing as having it.
anorexia is not just about weight, it's often includes OCD, anxiety,depression and body dysmorphic dysorder where they really do think they look like 200 pounds even though they are very underweight.
You really have none of the signs that you might have this, as for one, you are concerned but in a healthy way.
I lost weight and couldn't eat due to my anxiety, then putting on weight was hard as I felt a bit fat lol but just have to remind yourself you are trying to get to a healthy a weight.
Most people are concerned about loosing weight, so it's hard when you are trying to gain weight as it's more of a lonely experience and not something you can share with people as to be honest most people are struggling to loose the weight.