Eating is becoming a problem!!!

[bellesmummy]

So i'm not sure which anxiety i have, i thought it was just general but am now wondering if it is health or even both?! Every time i eat i feel anxious!!! Which makes me feel nauseous which makes it hard to eat!! I am at the point where i am only eating when i'm starving hungry as i know i need to eat to survive!! I have lost a stone in weight, which is a good thing for me as i was a little over weight but i have always loved my food and now i just don't enjoy it at all!! Is there anyone else like this? What do you do? I feel theres nothing i can enjoy anymore! I don't drink or smoke and now even eating is a stressful event for me!
Please help me!!!

[emlica]

Oh, I feel for you :( I think it's a bit of a vicious cycle - anxiety can make you lose your appetite, and then you get anxious about your loss of appetite, and then eating becomes this huge 'thing'. And like you said, if you've always been someone who enjoyed their food, it's quite depressing to suddenly be only eating because you know you're meant to rather than because you've thought 'ooh yummy, I could just fancy a...'.

I've had trouble with my appetite recently - bit of a combination of things for me, as I've been having some gut issues after a tummy bug and to begin with I just didn't fancy eating, I guess because my stomach knew it wouldn't be happy afterwards! But then it became a bit of a habit, combined with the fact that I got really anxious about my ongoing stomach issues, so I wanted to eat even less, and then because I was eating less I was starting to lose a bit of weight and feel a bit faint on occasion, etc. And I'd always LOVED food - I mean, my socialising tended to revolve around food, my day at work was improved if I knew I had something nice for lunch, wandering round supermarkets before dinner was dangerous as I'd spend so much money, etc.

The only thing that helped me was making myself relax. It might have been coincidence, but my appetite was crap for weeks, and then literally the day I went away on holiday, the evening we arrived at our apartment, I suddenly thought 'blimey, I'm hungry'. It just happened - even earlier that day, I'd had a sandwich for lunch because I knew I ought to eat something, and it hadn't made me feel sick, but I hadn't really fancied it either. For most of the holiday my appetite was completely fine, and it stayed OK for the week or so after we got back (I was at the point where I could have a fairly generous portion of lasagne and still think 'ooh there's yesterday's apple crumble in the fridge, yum', which is basically back to normal for me). Then I had a little blip in terms of my digestive symptoms (think I ate something I shouldn't have done) and almost immediately dinner became a struggle again. Ugh. But this time, it's got a bit more normal again more quickly. Not entirely right again, but knowing that it has been right is really helping me to focus on not panicking about it, if you know what I mean?

In short - you *can* get there. Tricky without knowing your circumstances but is there a way you and your partner or friends or family can 'get away from it all' for a few days? Don't put pressure on yourself to eat, just go and do whatever might relax you - spa treatments, long walks, all that jazz, and see if your appetite just creeps back?

[bellesmummy]

Funny you should say that but we are on holiday at the moment!! Me Hubby and my 2 kiddies!! I am trying to stay relaxed and enjoy the holiday, which i am to a certain point then it comes to a mealtime then i'm all anxious, i say to myself i don't have to eat it if i don't want to but then i feel so hungry i have to eat it but it can be a real struggle! Its a nightmare when we go out for the day which we will be, eaing a picnic in public makes me feel anxious just thinking about it!!