Anxiety and not being able to eat properly

[TheMT]

I am finding a strong link between anxiety and eating issues. I tend to get very anxious when I start to get hungry, which I think I have developed from my bodybuilding days (I would get it into my mind that getting too hungry would mean losing progress at the gym). I am finding that If I am eating and do not have a distraction, I will tend to start feeling sick but never end up being sick at all. I am scared to death of sickness and vomiting. I am beginning to think I have created this fear in my head and its what ends up reducing my appetite to nothing. I was diagnosed with gastritis a while back which I recovered from but I am relapsing again but only during a panic attack. I do not think I have gastritis at all. Can anxiety cause severe eating issues like this? I have a history of anxiety and depression in my past (a big episode that lasted for months), but have only recently began getting anxiety when I eat.

[Teacher9]

I know that when i'm really anxious my stomach is in knots and its so hard to eat. I'll be chewing a million times to get it down, or sometimes i can go a whole day without eating much. Its terrible...i can lose kgs over a few days but it takes months to put it back on. I've never vomited, but dry retching in the morning before work i have.

[Chris_B]

Hi TheMT,

Thanks for posting in the forums.  Nausea is certainly listed as one of the symptoms of anxiety, like depression the symptoms can come in many forms and just because you've experienced something one way earlier in your life doesn't mean that it'll be the same if it happens to you again.

Here's the section on our website relating to anxiety symptoms:  http://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/anxiety/signs-and-symptoms

Are you being treated for anxiety at all currently?  Regardless of what's causing your nausea, I'd suggest getting back to your doctor asap, the less you eat the worse you will feel physically, and that will have a snowball effect on your mental state.

Please let us know how you are going.

best
CB

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Online Community Manager

[hanna562]

Hi theMT, 

When ever I get anxious I always get really nauseous and worry I'm going  to vomit. So then I worry about that happening, which then becomes it's own self-fulfilling prophecy. I make it happen by being afraid of it. It's take lots of practice and time  talking to a psychologist but I have been able to reduce the fear of being sick by trying to get myself used to the sensations, really get to  know it and give it a funny name even so that I may look at it more objectively . Also apply mindfulness techniques have been very helpful for me from the book 'the reality slap' I found very good. It's about noticing the sensations as they come and go, not judging them, but just letting them pass as they cannot hurt you despite how real and strong they seem. 

Hope I've been able to help you a bit. Let us know how you get on.

Hanna