worried as not eating properly

[Soph18]

hi everyone. So as some of you know I have moved to uni now. Moved in this weekend. The room and town is fab. Room mates understand of my condition as had an attack on my first night.

The only thing is that I'm not eating properly. As in Im not hungry at all and Im really shakey. I am not sleeping well either and not feeling too great about myself either. Im not socialising every well and it is horrible. I feel like im being boring and everyone is going to judge me.

I really not like it and I just feel like I shouldn't feel like this as Im making a fresh start and Im just going backwards :(

[AlexandriaUK]

Please try to eat as being malnourished will increase your anxiety by loads, try not to worry too much as your anxiety when moving will be raised which will be quite normal.
Enjoy your time at uni it will fly by and will be great once you get used to being independent

[Soph18]

thanks Alexandriauk. It is just so hard as it is the second night in and Im so scared and upset and I just don't feel like eating. x

[AlexandriaUK]

Try some cereal or soup and remember your body is like a car no fuel and it want run properly x

[Soph18]

I know. I have been having some sweets and crisps here and there but nothing proper. I just don't know what is wrong with me. Im really worried xx

[AlexandriaUK]

That's what's wrong with you, you are worried and that in turn will upset your stomache which in turn creates more anxiety and as we all know that joins the circle so you need to break it by feeding your body and by excepting the fact that you feel anxious like most young people in new situations, anxiety is mostly a normal body response to the unknown

[Sunflower2]

Just eat bits and pieces until you feel more comfortable I get the same in new places I just don't want to eat, which is bad! But don't worry in the short term it won't do any damage just try to slowly increase what you and eat more often. Get some fruit and nuts to graze on to get more nutrients. My very long eating problems thread actually has some very good advice from when I was barely eating. I still don't like big meals and still don't eat enough but I try to have snacks a lot just to get some more calories. Sure it's not great in the long term at all but better than nothing!

That's good you're settling in with your flate mates though

The anxiety won't magically go away, you've got to keep going with fighting this and not let up now!

[Soph18]

Thank you both. Means a lot. I just spoke to my Resident Assistant and she is going to help me be more comfortable with myself and the building and try to get me out as not been out unless I have to be. I feel rather sick but that from not eating.

just to let you know I wont be on properly cuz I don't have internet till next week or till I talk to the helpzone to get a laptop.

Sorry if I have worried anyone. Im just really worried myself so don't help. x

[Carnation]

Hi Sophie. Pleased you got there ok. Give it time to settle in and remember there are others there in the same position as you. The others are right, just keep snacking throughout the day. A chocolate bar here and there will not harm you and will help to keep you energized. See how you go through the week and try not to worry about everything, let it take it's natural course. Sending you a Hug.

[Oosh]

SOPHIEEEE !

I was getting a bit worried about you, you disappeared.

I feel better knowing youre at uni now, that explains it.

Do not worry Sophie, you are exactly where you should be right now.

You are here to build confidence and self esteem and learn what you need to learn. That means that on arrival, youre going to be low in confidence and self esteem and its going to be horrible.

What you do is you stay in there and allow yourself to change, to grow in confidence and change the way you feel about yourself and others.

You feel anxious, you feel boring and you carry on. You think of better ways to see yourself and all of this and you learn to cope, learn to enjoy, learn to like yourself, build belief in yourself and change yourself for the better forever.

Stay in there and youll slowly experience things that will change the way you feel.

When i started college feeling as low in confidence as you it wasnt until the end of the first year and going into the 2nd year that i started to change, feel more confident and enjoy myself. And that first year was hard.
I was avoiding things, feeling rubbish about myself and not fitting in and that really really bothered me.

But i started mixing a bit, listening in, contributing where i could. The next thing i was enjoying the others and that started to have a big impact on me. I stopped feeling so boring. I stopped worrying about not fitting in.
I began to learn new things about myself. I learned that the negative ways id learned to see myself over the years werent true,

In a second i could feel different, just by observing myself enjoying the others and laughing or thinking of something funny and having the confidence to say it and getting a laugh.
Then id go home feeling ten times more secure and confident in myself.

By the time i finished the second year i felt more secure and confident in myself than i had for many years and i knew i was going to miss the other people on the course. I was really sad the course ended.

So you hang in there and build your confidence from here Sophie.

Try and find at least one friend you feel you can trust and things will improve hugely.

Give yourself plenty of time.

Keep us updated.

Dont live on sweets and crisps. Its bad for anxiety for a start plus youre going to deteriorate if youre not getting any nutrients in your food. Soup, sandwiches, snack on nuts, plenty of water, keep eating !