Anxiety - appetite loss?

Hi there.

Have you actually lost your will to eat, or do you simply fear it because of the sensation that you get after it?

There are usually psychological implications when it comes to something as distressing as a panic attack, and it would not surprise me in the least if this has triggered physical symptoms.

I do not know everything about your case, and even if I did I am not qualified to give you advice as a Doctor as I am not an M.D.

It could be something as simple as Heart Burn.

Have you spoken to a GP about the physical symptoms?

Hopefully you are seeing a Doctor, and a good one, as general anxiety type disorders when compounded with panic are very unpleasant indeed, and if you can figure out the root cause quickly without letting it drag on, then you have a great chance of recovering.

You say that you were feeling tired before the attacks. This is a significant factor, especially if you are suffering from anxiety that disrupts your life to an extent, and somebody is hopefully weighing all of these things up.

Thanks for the reply.

I just don't really feel like eating, and when i do, I can only eat a little bit and feel terrible. I have been seeing doctors.. but they're all very little help and I can never get in to see the same one. I have been recommended to a doctor who is apparently very good and have an appointment with her. I feel like doctors do not take me seriously which makes things worse and makes me feel like an id**t!

Hi, I'm a 16 year old male, and i'm pretty much having the exact same problem, about 3-4 weeks ago i had a panic attack and had heart palpitations for about a week shortly after, I visited the doctor as i was worried why my heart beat is pumping so forcefully, and he just said it's anxiety. I felt better for about 2 weeks, but now recently i have quite regular panic attacks over thinking of me having serious illnesses and other things and i've lost my sppetite. Every now and then (mainly when im calm with friends) i re-gain a mass appetite and eat lots, but when i feel worried i completely loss it.

I think we both have Anxiety disorders.. I've read through the symptons and i match each and every one... Hopefully im seeing some profesional help from a psycologist.

I learnt that the best thing to do is just keep calm and do activietys like excerise, reading or games. And i avoic wikipeding diseases, as i tend to get worried i have it.

Reply soon and tell me if you got better! Nik

Hi guys,
I have been dealing with anxiety and panic attacs for about 7 years now. I have been on MANY medications to no avail. I take Xanax daily which helps greatly but I also have the problem with no appetite. When I'm around friends or family its no problem but I find when I'm alone I get very depressed and don't have any interest in eating. I am the mother of two great little boys and I know I need to take care of myself so I can be here for them as they grow. I am hoping that one day I will find something that will help rid me of this terrible disorder. In the meantime I will just hang in there and hope for the best. I have noticed in all my research that there are literally millions of pills for weight loss. How about one for weight gain? There are alot more people out in the world than the "experts" realize. Good Luck and Best wishes.

Hey!

ugh im in precisely the same boat. it is awful! i've had a lot of stressful things to deal with in my life, and have suffered from depression...but this new anxiety is by far the worst thing i have ever experienced. and it is confusing because i was doing so well...being positive and eating healthy and focusing on being positive. but then about 3 months ago i ending up going to er and they told me it was anxiety..i thought i was better but recently it has been coming back up over and over and over again. i dread nighttime because nausea comes and i get the worst headache. I will make dinner and being physically hungry, but the nausea doesn't allow me to eat much. then i struggle to fall asleep, and when i finally do i am completely out and can't get up in the morning.

And I know what you mean about dr's. They are assumptive and turned off. You are just a way to make money to most of them, and 90% of the time they have no clue and mis-diagnose, or don't listen to you and JUDGE and put you on meds which you get dependent on!!!

So I've been trying herbal remedies, but none of them seem to last for long.

I tried Kava, which worked for anxiety but made me feel awful the next day and is pretty sketchy to take (linked to liver problems)

I am going to now try Valerian Root because i have heard very positive things about that
I also drink peppermint, ginger, and chamomile tea..since they are all soothing and calming to your stomach.


The thing is, i feel so out of control. i tell myself to calm down. i go for a walk on the beach, i try to read or distract myself...but NOTHING works.
and that is very very scary.

I would recommend going to the nearest natural foods store and asking them about anxiety (most likely they will recommend kava but id ask for more options)

Holy Basil is supposed to be good...
and finding someone who will take you seriously and just listen to your thoughts and feelings would be a good idea i think.


doctors can help in some cases, but ive seen friends who now are HOOKED on anti-anxiety drugs, and that is not something i want for the rest of my life.

My best friend was doing okay..she had bouts of depression like me but nothing too crazy...she started going to a dr who immediately put her on prozac, among other drugs, and now-6 years later- if she runs out of prozac she literally becomes a suicidal mess..bc her brain is dependent on it to feel okay..she was NEVER that bad before.



Anyways, best of luck....i know just how you feel. hopefully there is a way to escape it. little steps..baby steps..its the only way we get anywhere!

*HUG*

Friends I m former sufferer of anxiety and have gone through a bad phase of depression and panic attacks. First and foremost, I want to state that never look for a cure outside yourself if you have suffered from any of these disorders. I didn't, survived and came out of it and never had even one pill. Remember, you suffer from these disorders because you FEAR - something that doesn't even exist. WORRY for something that will never trouble you. DREAD going to a place you hv always been when you were ok. Say to yourself - I AM NOT FALLING PREY TO THIS FEAR - the next time you feel anxious. IGNORE the sensation and the feeling. BREAK the thought and the fear that is forming in your mind. Occupy your mind in something else. Immediately call up a friend, Solve a Sudoku, Read a book, watch a movie, Write something - within minutes you will realize that your body aborted the panic attack because you moved out of its way. Its simple - you have to be smarter than the fear which forms inside you. The trick is to beat it and get the better of it. IGNORE these feelings which form inside you - IGNORE THEM. This is one of the proven relaxation techniques for anxiety to get a lifetime of happiness and get rid of anxiety disorders. Some people feel they will go crazy or have a serious illness like a heart attack or cancer but believe me the moment you will ignore these feelings and focus on something else you will never go crazy and will never have a heart attack. There is nothing serious about these anxiety disorders and they are not permanent in life, you just need to face them and fight them off. I hv managed to get rid of them and now realize how stupid I was to believe in these fears. It took me 7 months to learn to overcome them but now I have no problem - I know it is useless to worry.

hi im 18 years old. my first anxiety attack was easter 2007
i was eating at my grandmas. came home.. started having some leftovers
as a snack before bed. normally i would be fine... then i just felt funny.
i think i was eating garlic bread. im italian, and its never bothered me before. so i stopped.
my dad came home, i just went upstairs, called my boyfriend.. to try and keep my mind off of it. it was the weirdest feeling.
i was on the phone with my boyfriend for maybe a minute, and said i had to go. and i hung up. i started having these weird thoughts, i couldnt even think straight, i was gaging, burning up sooo bad. so i went outside.[still without telling my dad, i thought it would pass, and plus i didnt even know what to tell him was going on. i didnt even know what was happening.
being outside, my thoughts just wouldnt clear, and it was getting scary, my heart was beating soo fast, and i wasnt cooling off being outside.
my arms were tingling. i couldnt even register it all. so i went and ran upstairs, threw my clothes off, turned the shower on COLD COLD COLD, because i felt like i was burning up so bad, i was in there for maybe 30 seconds before i went down stairs, sat on the ground in my towel, and said dad take me to the hospital. [i never thought i would say that, i dont like hospitals] it was just horrible, his gf asked me if i was pregnant.
it was just stressing me out sooo much cause my thoughts were all messed up. he asked me if i was on drugs, asked me what i was feeling.
i didnt even have the words. he told me i might be having an anxiety attack.. but that everything that was happening was not actually physicall. it sure felt real to me... like i felt like i was on fire... it was far more than physical pain for me. knowing that it was a mental thing.. didnt make me feel that much better...later that night to calm me down i had to tell me dad that i smoked.. so that i could go and have one...to see if it would calm me down.. it didnt really. but talking to my dads gf kind of distracted me. but it was akward cause we dont really have a close relationship. and it kind of stressed me out more. i just kept smoking one after another to try and make myself tired, then she put on a movie that i could fall asleep to.. she said it was good. it was a scary movie which i normally love, but i couldnt even watch it, it was making me worse.. i finally fell asleep.. which was extremely agonizing laying there. the next day i woke up and i wished it was just a dream. i didnt want to eat anything... my dad made me some soup... five minutes later.. the feeling came back.. i threw up.. started having an anxiety attack. then he had to leave. so i was sitting at home alone.. having an anxiety attack. for my second time. i just didnt know what to do... till this day.. i still get them.. im mostly just really anxious all the time.. distant from most friends.. family.. not outgoing anymore.. i suffer from depression as well.. it interferes with alot.. i cant eat much... because im scared... of having another anxiety attack... im anxious at night the most.. for some reason and and when trying to sleep.. i've had many attacks while trying to fall asleep.

I am a 32 year old male that suffers from anxiety disorders. I have been suffering for the last 20 years. I have breathing techniques to calm myself but those don't always work. I start by feeling a loss of appetite, and like my head is floating a few feet above my shoulders. I get the chills and start shaking. It can continue to a headache and my jaws will become clinched. I have vomited, get sulfer smelling stools, and have passed out. Valerian really helps me manage my anxiety, especially at night. If you can find some that also has Hops to sooth the stomach, and St. Johns Wort to promote emotional well being it can really help. Another thing is talking about the situation. When I start to feel an attack, I tell my wife that I am in phase one, she will ask why? and I will talk about what is going on in my messed up head. The hard part is when I don't eat, it makes me worried about not eating, and the first domino is already in motion. I hope that you can all find a way to manage the situation quicker than I did, I can't count the number of times I lost a chance at a good memory because of anxiety

I have also struggled with anxiety for 20 years. I was on prozac and it made it worse. Then I got on something else for a few years that pulled me out of it. But I still relapse.. Most of the time I can psyche myself out of it, but (like tonight) I am having a problem.. I have had 3 panic attacks in the last 5 years that sent me to the hospital, that was scary stuff.

I always had major stomach and eating issues with anxiety. My "normal" level of anxiety and depression makes me comfort eat. But it's funny- when I get close to a panic attack, it's like my digestive system shuts down. No appetite at all, and diahrrea. Fun. There are certain triggers I have that I try and avoid, but when something triggers me, it's difficult to get out of the anxious spiral until the thing that set it off is resolved.

But yeah, anxiety is a great weight loss program but the trade off is not worth it! I hate feeling this way, and it's bad for my body to not eat then binge.

Having a loss of appetitie can be both a symptom of depression/anxiety or could just be because of stress. But, when a woman goes through PMS, she can sometimes lose her appetite. Try eating smaller meals and see if that helps. Don't load up on carbs, and eat lots of protein (peanut butter/celery is a good combo). Dont fret.

i too suffer from anxiety at times. started 3 years ago skipped a year then the last two i have had it, Always starts in the winter and then goes away after may sometime. The bottom line is to beat it you cant fear it. Also you need to accept it as part of who you are and know that by accepting it you wont fear it, its just like any other disease. if you fear cancer then it will destroy youre life but if you accept it and fight it you will live much happier. You cannot run from it, its there, fight it face on and you will learn to cope with it. This is my third bout with anxiety and i will win! i will lose 30 lbs and feel like c**p for a few months but hopefully my past experience will again get me thru it and each time i get it, it will be a shorter duration. We all learned to be anxious and fear the feelings, and we all must learn to beat it and retrain our minds to not fear it.

Bottom line is that anxiety sucks but we cannot let it run our lives. we must own it and show it whos boss, dont let it stop you from doing things and dont consume your thoughts with it. I used to think by going on the internet that i would find all the answers but the truth is that it makes it worse, because you are again thinking about it. Hope of better days is all we need and consume yourselves with things you love, it WILL GET BETTER!

Hi im a 16 year old male and since about 4 days ago i havent eaten a lot all i have eaten is breakfast and not much else normally i cant stop eating and it is starting to worry me, i cant sleep as easily as i used to and im not usually one to moan but i seem to be increasingly irritable but just can help it

Hello there! I can definitley comprehend what you are feeling. I had my first real panic attack last year around summer time. And got through it after losing weight and being depressed. I thought it wouldn't come back. But my anxiety came out of a bad relationship. After I got out of the relationship I was fine. I was always anxious before parties and meeting people which is something that I am hoping will get better with experience and age. But after my boyfriend breaking up with me after 5 months, I put myself back into that hole and it was horrible. We ended up getting back together after just 2 days of being apart, which maybe was a bad idea. I was feeling paranoid and insecure in the relationship which made me very anxious. Now we have broken up it hurts a lot. And my anxiety is now about different things, like having to face him and having to be in the same room as him. I have lost about half a stone in weight and this doesn't help anything. My anxiety is almost always relationship based and maybe that is something I need to get help for. But bad experiences in the past just come back to haunt you and if you are ever in a similar situation then I guess the emotions you felt then all come rushing back. I find that writing things down is helping. But you do need to IGNORE the feelings. I know it is so much easier said than done! But if you dwell on your symptoms it will only make them 100x worse. At the end of the day, your anxiety is something you create. And it's like anything else, you need to break the habit! Trust me! I KNOW IT'S HARD. Because I have yet to do it. But you need to understand that only you can help yourself. Keep eating regularly and you will find your weight will get back to normal. Don't binge eat and don't eat vey sugary things. Just eat healthily. I am so determined to get back to normal and to talk to counsellors about the root of the problem. Because you can mask it up and it can go away for months but it does come back if you aren't careful. I hope that helps. And if anyone knows how to help me then please let me know.
Just remember that you aren't alone. Anxiety is just a way of dealing with stressful situations and some get it more than others, but you can get stop it. It takes patience and time.
Belinda

I m having the same problem. I m so anxious all the time when I m alone. Whenever, I get anxious I get breathing problems and I breathe so hard that I feel I m running out of it. My heart rate goes up and because of anxiety I can't eat well but I force myself which is not good at all. My anxiety comes from thinking that I have some serious illness going on. I have seen 3 doctors by now but they all told me that i have anxiety disorder and i get panic attacks. Btw I m a nursing student and whatever I read about the diseases I feel like I have it and I start getting anxious that I will die from them. Ugh its just bad. I hope something can help me with it