Please can i have some advice on how to eat again

Hello.

I am a 27 year old female and i moved house about 8 weeks ago with my very loving partner. It's like a dream come true, apart from i never realised how stressful doing up a house would be.

About two weeks ago i suddenly just couldn't cope anymore and had some random mini break-down and since then i've been suffering with awful anxiety and complete fear and worry. I have had a stomach upset ever since then. Now i'm not eating. Well only a very small amount of rice crispies with water.

I haven't been going to work and am staying at my boyfriends dads house to get a break from the work that is going on at our house.

Has anyone got any advice on what i could try and eat. I'm scared because the other night i ate 5 roast potatoes and a yorkshire pudding and then i was sick. The being sick scared me alot. (but i do wonder now where my common sense was that night as i'm guessing fatty roast wasn't the best thing for my upset stomach!)

I'm pretty desperate to get better and start eating again so any advice on what to eat would be great.

Hi Beautygirl

Two things...

Firstly, it is not uncommon to lose your appetite when you are anxious. I have had episodes in the past where I have gone for weeks being unable to eat anything like a full meal. My advice would be to try to eat several small snacks rather than big meals. It is a biological fact that when you are anxious there is less blood available for your digestive system - it's the way we are built.

Secondly, when it comes to the house, try to remember that you have plenty of time. Yes you want a nice house but you don't have to do everything overnight. Your house isn't going to disappear and, if your partner is as nice as you say he is, then he isn't either. It can be very daunting looking at the whole house as a project - just like looking at a big plate full of food - but it you take things a bit slower, is it really going to matter?

Chris

Hi Beautygirl,

I understand you completely because that is what happens to me when I get stressed. I can not eat. I tend to lose weight VERY rapidly. Friends and doctors have worried that I am bulimic or anorexic, but that is not the case. I don't care about my weight. I just want to feel healthy.

2 years ago I had lost ALOT of weight due to stress and anxiety. What I did was to try to eat small meals or snacks all day. I drink juices and when I feel really low I take a multi-vitamin with ginseng in it for a couple of months.

Try to take it easy. I know that sometimes sounds impossible. I find it is important to remember to stay as positive as possible. Always try to remind yourself of the things that you are grateful for. It is sure to put a smile on your face.

Ok stay cool. Be happy. You'll find your way, I'm sure.

Greekgirl:)

Small meals are a good idea. Things I find easy to eat when I'm anxious are bananas, crackers, risotto/rice, baked potatoes, chocolate (especially chocolate mousse), soup, pizza, quiche, anything soft. Things that are hard to eat are salad and hard foods, curry, chewy meat. I used to have trouble eating in front of people and things like baked potato were easier to eat for me.

Lisa
x

Hey, when my anxiety gets bad then I also lose my appetite (often completely) and find the less I eat, and the longer I don't eat for the worse it gets. I usualy end up feeling extremely weak and faint, which scares me even more. I find that the best thing I can do is to force myself to have something very bland, like plain pasta. Starting with tiny amounts and building it up, then try having is with a sauce etc. Also I try to eat fruit that isn't too acidic or sweet. Once my tummy gets used to me eating again I find I can regain a bit of normality :]

I think the important thing to remeber is that if you havn't eaten much for a while, your stomache will not be used to coping with loads of food, so I find it wise to start with just small portions of plain food, then build it up gradually. This should prevent you from getting ill or anything.

That's a good point, eat small portions and often. One thing I did find out about anxiety is that because you feel tense you don't breathe properly. Beathing is linked to taste & smell, because you don't breathe properly your taste & smell is affected, so you don't appreciate the taste and smell of good food. Therefore, you're not particularly fussed about eating good food.

That makes anxiety worse, because you have to eat properly, and if you don't eat properly you can feel nauseous and ill, which keeps your anxiety going (you worry about getting physically ill, it's not just an irrational worry anymore, you actually are getting physically ill).

The fear of throwing up is a problem. I found that eating small portions every 3-4 hours (plus multi-vitamin pills), fruit juice & fruit helped me build up a good digestive system again.

im a guy so naturally i know about food (though never fry egs right) anyway

ive got a great thing for you to try (in my eyes atleast though id reccomend it to everyone)
tuna and pasta salad, dead simple

its quick, easy very healthy, and dead morish lol

everyone knows how to do pasta just boil water (with a pinch of salt) in a pan

add the pasta till it goes soft then siv it and put into a bowl

add some tuna and half a tin of sweetcorn (this will do you and your hubby)

stir and serve ina bowl, have as much as or as little as you like though like i said its morish...

even if you dont get your appetite back quickly it will help you keep healthy untill you do

, also you could take up professional cooking as a hobby taking your time making perfect meals, even if you couldnt eat it all (hubbys dad even?) it will focus your mind and maybe relax you, plus it might help regain your appetite (amazing what good food can do)

anyways aside form that take a ood look in the mirror and *be positive* youve got a great partner a new house/your very own castle thats yours to do what ever you wish which noone can take away from you and like its been said, take things at your ow pace, dont rush and you probably wont worry

i hope we can help however we can
though im sure youll be ok in time

like lisa simpson said "beleive in yourself and you ca achieve anythign"
we beleive in ya....
tc x

Do you know a correct way to accomplish that?
from youtube, vimeo etc on my mac?