Hollow under eye/eyes

[Rachel W]

Hello all,

I have been messaging for a number of different things lately and have been 'extremely' stressed.

I must admit that I tend to stay on the computer as late as 3am or so, but get up at around 11am, so I have been getting sleep, albeit perhaps restless.

I have noticed hollows under my eyes (not dark circles) and am now really worried. It is more noticeable with my left eye. Can stress and using the computer (my eyes have been unhappy with this), cause this? I have started to take vitamins every day and have been drinking only decaf.

I just feel that it is yet something else for me to worry about and I cannot stand it. I fear that it may be a sign of facial wasting which can be caused by certain illnesses. I am overweight right now, but my face and shoulders do not look it as I tend to hold my weight in my stomach, butt and chest. I know that high levels of stress can cause fat to centralise in the abdomen area, and I have always tended to have this, but if I lose weight it always seems to come off my face first and when I lost 7 pounds before Christmas, my cheeks looked a little hollow, but may be more so than in the past with such a little amount of weight. I have heard that cortisol (stress hormone) can take away collagen from under the skin, and I must admit that after I went through health anxiety last year I did tend to lose thickness in my skin in my hands (they look quite slender), but now I fear that all this could be a sign of something serious...

I know my Mum also tends to lose weight off her face first. I am also 39 now and I know that changes like this may be just getting older???

I want to go on a diet (I have to lose about 20 or so pounds) and am terrified and have been purposely not doing so.

Please, any insight....

[LisaLisa]

Hi there

I have this issue too with loosing wieght from my face first and looking too thin because of it. Even weirder i used to gain weight on my legs and bum and hardly had any on my stomach. However when all my anxiety started that changed and now i out on weight in the same way that you describe. Interestingly though i did read recently read that when you loose weight it comes off in layers like peeling an onion and the most recently gained weight goes first.

I can now see the veins in my palms more now and all my skin is very pale and almose see through, especially on my face. This all came on with first major anxiety spell in 2004. But i did feel better that my brother is the same now and he has been very stressed for ages. Also when i told my therapist this he showed me his palms and they were the same

Lisa
xxxx

[Rachel W]

I was wondering whether anyone else has had hollows appear under the eyes from too much stress and computer use (I don't know how I can reduce the latter though as I have so much work to do for college). Did it go away? I am worried that as it is here, it could mean that fat has disappeared from this area and will never come back. Please help, it is not getting better after two weeks and may be a little worse...