Christmas Dinner Anxiety

[Jake]

Hi all,

I'm a long time sufferer of anxiety and panic attacks mainly triggered by eating out. I simply can't do it. If i attempt too my mind is flooded with anxiety and I lose all appetite & have to leave. Fortunately I hardly ever find myself in the situation but I'm posed with one situation I can't easily get out of... Christmas dinner with the girlfriends family for the 1st time. :scared15:

She knows my issue & has been good to me but she's become unsympathetic & not willing to let me make another excuse. I don't blame her really because I haven't attempted to sort myself out, it's been far to easy to not face it but now I feel like I'm going into a boxing match having not stepped foot in the gym.

I could do with some guidance or any suggestions to help kerb my anxiety without losing appetite. I have got some Diazepam but a bit scared to take it.

Thanks :hugs:

[rachelkookoo]

oh dear i know exactly how you feel. its a tough one, eating when anxious sucks. i can't give you advice but ill tell you what i would do, take the diazepam and have a nice dinner! sip on soda water or something fizzy but light on the stomach to keep things feeling ok.

hope it goes well for you!

[Dan1975]

Hi all,

I'm a long time sufferer of anxiety and panic attacks mainly triggered by eating out. I simply can't do it. If i attempt too my mind is flooded with anxiety and I lose all appetite & have to leave. Fortunately I hardly ever find myself in the situation but I'm posed with one situation I can't easily get out of... Christmas dinner with the girlfriends family for the 1st time. :scared15:

She knows my issue & has been good to me but she's become unsympathetic & not willing to let me make another excuse. I don't blame her really because I haven't attempted to sort myself out, it's been far to easy to not face it but now I feel like I'm going into a boxing match having not stepped foot in the gym.

I could do with some guidance or any suggestions to help kerb my anxiety without losing appetite. I have got some Diazepam but a bit scared to take it.

Thanks :hugs:

Why don't u try and eat out a few times between now and then

[vicky23]

Hi,
yikes that's a scary one. But you can do it I'm sure, first time I met my now husband's parents we stayed at theirs cos they live quite a few hours away and of course had a few meals. It was really anxiety provoking but they were so lovely and in a situation like a Christmas meal there is so much chatter and other things going on that you can probably get away with going unnoticed.

I find it helpful when I'm anxious to write things down, that may I can analyse my thinking and replace some negative self talk with more positive stuff.

For example, 'arrghh this is going to be horrible' becomes 'I know anxiety isn't pleasant but I've experienced it plenty times before, I'm looking forward to how proud my GF is going to be of me'

If you know why eating out triggers the panic you could perhaps put some things into place that would help you become more comfortable. Coping strategies they are called I think and they just help you feel more prepared. That way when the thoughts of 'what would I do if this happens?!' come you have an answer to that and you can move on as opposed to sending yourself into a panic of 'what WOULD I do? I don't know, I can't do this'

Hope this helps
Merry Christmas