Anybody else completely unable to eat when they're anxious?

[Andy]

You shouldn't be eating if you are under a stressful situation anyway, because your "fight or flight" mechanisms are put into play and the blood goes away from the organs and into the limbs so you can run faster jump higher, punch harder etc. in doing so your digestive system slows down, and eating food will likely bring on indigestion.

If you have to eat at all, eat small "nibbles" of foods such as nuts, berries, crackers etc. and eat them very slowly! Once you begin to relax again your digestive system should work properly, and you'll be able to eat proper meals again.

 

[MuFu]

Try apples. When I am anxious it is the only thing I can force myself to eat.

Yeah, I could definitely eat apples. Or salad, crisps, peanuts, five whole cucumbers etc... anything light. No probs.

Anybody else had a similar problem and managed to deal with it?

Yep, I totally have the same problem when I'm seriously worried and/or nervous, so I sympathise entirely.

WAHOO! Seriously though, we are most definitely not alone - I know about 4-5 people who have experienced the same thing, either through anxiety or after some kind of medical trauma (one guy had a life-threatening stomach ulcer and even after it had gone he was spooked into not being able to eat). They all seemed to get over it after time though. I guess I'm just impatient.

These days I hardly ever have a problem with it for the simple reason that I hardly get stressed about stuff these days, but when I do it really sucks. I had a couple of days like this a few weeks back where I had some really bad news and could barely eat for the period until I got a grip of myself.

I can't really suggest a 'cure' at all, apart from trying to just eat light foods when you feel that way, and to try and relax as much as you can beforehand in any way you can - Excuse yourself to go hide in the toilet and take some deep breaths if you have to! Just relax your body and don't tense up and the whole situation becomes far more manageable in my experience.

EDIT: Oh, and I personally found 'concentrating on the moment' to be the worst thing to do, as you end up focusing on how much you don't want to eat and feel even more sick. For me personally, letting my mind concentrate on anything other than what you're eating and what's worrying/stressing you was the best way forward,

That all sounds very familiar. As for "concentrating on the moment", I don't mean focusing on your mental/emotional situation; I just mean trying to view the act of eating as something purely mechanical. Put the food in your mouth, chew, swallow - feel it going down your throat etc. It definitely helps, (although obviously not as well as completely distracting yourself, of course).

You shouldn't be eating if you are under a stressful situation anyway, because your "fight or flight" mechanisms are put into play and the blood goes away from the organs and into the limbs so you can run faster jump higher, punch harder etc. in doing so your digestive system slows down, and eating food will likely bring on indigestion.

Well indigestion is something I pretty much never have. I'm lucky enough to be able to eat pretty much anything I want and not suffer for it. It's just getting it into my stomach in the first place that's the problem.

Thanks alot. Like I said, all this sounds very familiar, but it's good to hear it spelled out from time to time. I think I'll be alright a year or so from now.