I’m really going to have to start writing up more random thought posts because yesterday’s ended up being some serious fun. It’ll have to wait though, because today there actually is something specific I wanted to talk about… See, I’m kind of in need of some advice, or at least someone who can relate and tell me I’m not going crazy.
You’ve all heard of people who experience food-related anxiety, right? Those who get anxious at the thought of having to eat or those who feel guilty after eating? Well how about those who get anxious from not eating? Here, let me make things a bit clearer with an example.
Last night, I ended up having to have 3 bedtime snacks after dinner. Why? To control what felt like anxiety attacks. Not long after finishing dinner, I started feeling a slight anxiousness settling in – not relating to anything specific, but just a general nervousness that I couldn’t quite shake. I tried waiting it out since I’ve always had some issues with anxiety and figured it was just another wave that would eventually pass, but instead of getting better, it just got worse – not only was I feeling more anxious, but now I was getting scatterbrained as well. At that point I knew it wasn’t simple anxiety, so I decided to have some dessert…
Plain Greek yogurt, Deep Chocolate Vitamuffin, caramel pudding.
Why dessert? Well, the last few times that I got my blood checked, my doctor told me that my blood sugar levels were a little on the low side; not low enough to warrant a full on diagnosis of hypoglycemia, but low enough that I could experience similar symptoms if I didn’t keep things in check. Besides, everyone knows there’s nothing that chocolate can’t cure, right? Right. Within 10 minutes of eating, my head cleared and I finally calmed down… at least for a little while. Eventually, the anxiety started to creep back in so I turned to yet another reliable source of calm…
Scrapings of Maisie Jane’s roasted almond butter.
That did the trick, but I still wasn’t done for the night. The jitters hit me one more time while I was getting ready for bed, and because I’m terrified of going to sleep even the slightest bit hungry, a [literal] midnight snack happened…
Plain Greek yogurt, banana, Kashi Honey Sunshine.
After that, I fell asleep without a problem and slept like a rock, but the whole thing was a little more than annoying – especially because feeling like you’re having a full-blown anxiety attack isn’t exactly the most pleasant thing in the world, and I haven’t yet figured out a way to prevent it. I eat balanced, I eat often, and I don’t think I eat too little, but in spite of my best efforts, some days it seems like there’s nothing I can do short of eating non-stop, which I’ll admit is slightly anxiety-causing in its own right. Sigh.
Can anyone relate? Even a tiny bit? Has anyone experienced anything similar and figured out a way to keep it from happening? Help a girl out! Oh, and happy Friday! 😀
I know this was so long ago, but I’m dealing with it now! Did you ever find any ways to help? I truly to snack throughout the day, but bouts with anxiety and depression have made that difficult in the past. I’m working my way back up to having an appetite though.
Also, can someone explain to me what ED means? I know it can’t be Erectile Dysfunction 😂
Re-reading some older posts…This is me to a T!!!! Some of the comments in this post make me mad though…people who have never suffered from anorexia clearly do NOT understand what you’re talking about, but boy, I sure do!!! I experienced the same.exact.thing. Juice became my best friend. I would feel that panic coming on, was too anxious to eat, and so I would drink some juice and it went away completely in like 5 min. I was then calm enough to eat some actual food 🙂 Thank you SO much for talking about this- this is one aspect where I felt ‘alone’, but I see from those in the comments that ‘get it,’ it’s actually common. You rock 🙂
Yes! I have no idea why this happens now because mentally and emotionally I actually am super chill and calm! I’m not afraid of anything and am quiet the dare devil. So this strikes me as odd. If I don’t eat at least 1900-2000 calories a day, I will have an anxiety attack at night. I’ve checked blood levels for diabetes and my blood levels are normal. Is this reactive hypoglycemia ? I can’t find any literature on it yet. I want my life back. Trips to the ER prove fruitless. All labs come back normal. I’m looking into mold poisoning, metal poisoning, allergy, pesticides, hormones, thyroid next, inflammation in the gut possibly. Maybe even a previous toxic chemical that effected the nervous system that I wasn’t unaware about. I’m young and healthy and never had problems before this. I mean one trip to the ER and I feel wiped out for a whole month after that. It takes me consistent eating before I feel normal and my blood vessels feel constructed and sore. I’ve learned Ice packs, cold showers and Ibuprofen can halt a bad panic attack. No sugar, lots of veggies, protein work best. I’d love to hear what anyone else has to say about this.
I get severe anxiety and may need to take zoloft for it. I’ve tried and tried and tried to overcome it but the anxiety is INTENSE. My doctor wants me on remeron (antideprssant) for sleep,, etc and he thinks that will solve the antianxiety, but I’m stubborn and hate the idea of it…but I may need to succumb to SOMETHING and it seems thta zoloft seems more “realistic ” to me than some of the others that scare me…I hate to take any of it, but I can’t keep living this way (unrelated to food but severe stress).
As for eating, you my dear I would hazard to say are undereating: check out these articles and why its never really over http://www.gwynetholwyn.com/blog/2011/9/14/do-i-need-2500-calories.html
and check out the other articles. Very informative and insightful.
And I don’t know you, so who am I to say, but as an opinion (hey its the internet, what can you expect) there is still a *part* of you trapped in this (I see it in your words, pics, considerations, thoughts, focuses, merely on this blog..or in the many many commenters above who themselves are presently disordered and deny it or cling to certain regimes or “intolerances” as back up). Choose life. Not sinking. Even if sinking only by invisible corners.
Thank you for the link 🙂 I’ve actually been reading Gwyneth’s blog for quite some time and she definitely has a lot of great info on there. And there are definitely still aspects of my ED lingering around, but it continues to get better as time goes on, so hopefully one day I’ll be 99.9% ED free 😉
I’ve actually had a very similar experience a few months ago, but along with my nervousness, I literally felt like I was going to be sick. My stomach started turning…I even got that “taste” in my mouth…you know the one I’m talking about…but at the same time, my stomach suddenly felt empty. So I fixed a little snack of some “stick to the rib” sort of carbs and guess what! 10 minutes later I felt perfectly fine! I never did figure out where it came from or why. :-/
And I definitely cannot go to bed even the slightest bit hungry. There’s nothing like waking up in the middle of the night STARVING!
I definitely know what you mean. I usually get that anxiety after not getting enough sleep though, I tend to freak myself out unconsciously that I didn’t sleep well and that I’m exhausted and I make myself even more anxious because of it. Ive had my fair share of anxiety attacks I’ve been diagnosed with panic disorder last year but I think it might be gone by now, I’ve been really good about controlling it. But food has always helped, unfortunately (for my body) but fortunately for my brain I guess hah.
I have SEVERE anxiety and same problem! Problem is I come from a history of anorexic so I fear food and eating too much then that causes more anxiety and the cycle of anxiety is a vicious circle 🙁 But I understand where you are coming from!
I can understand this – I’ve felt something similar although maybe not exactly the same. A lot of times, especially if I’ve had a stressful day, after I eat dinner, I need to know in the back of my mind that there will be something that I will enjoy available for me to snack on in a little while. If I’m trying not to snack after dinner, or there’s nothing great in the house, I’ll get anxious too.
This is very interesting to read Amanda, a perspective that people don’t often talk about! On that note, I can relate to this. When I get hungry, I start to get uncomfortable, as everyone does, but then the hunger keeps on progressing and in a way I start to panic and get very flustered and anxious…. I NEED FOOD NOW. Yes I am angry as well, desperate even, as though if I don’t get food in my stomach in the next few minutes, something real terrible is going to happen. So yes ha, I can certainly understand this! I always compare my mom in this kind of situation… when she gets hungry, she notices it, but does not freak out and knows there is a meal coming soon. I just can’t seem to be that way. Ahhh yet another thing that leads to anxiety around food!
My mom is the same way, and she never quite understands when I start getting anxious about being hungry. I think it’s just one of those lingering annoyances from the days where we starved ourselves… It’s like our body panics at the slightest chance that we might be going back there. I honestly believe it’ll fade with time, though 🙂
I can definitely relate! For me, snacking after dinner has become a pattern that I think stems from two things: 1) not eating quite enough during the day and 2) the culmination of the day’s stressors building on top of one another. I have low blood sugar, so I try to eat every 2-3 hours, however sitting in 3-hour classes and getting lost in research writing in the library doesn’t lend itself well to consistent and balanced eating. Luna bars are my best friend right now because they’re convenient, but they’re just not as satisfying as a real meal. When I arrive home hungry at 11pm and have access to the entire contents in my fridge, you better believe I’m going to have a snack…or three. The nighttime eating does stroke the anxiety fires a bit, but I know that my body needs the nourishment, so I do it anyways. I agree with other commenters that food shouldn’t be used exclusively to numb feelings of anxiety, however I don’t think the lines are so clear cut. I believe that food feeds the body AND the soul, and that finding comfort in food is both a physical and emotional phenomenon, that, more often than not, happens simultaneously.
Oh my gosh…YES!! In particular if I stay the night somewhere. I am always TERRIFIED that I might go to bed hungry and not be able to sleep. I have had insomnia in the past so end up freaking out about anything that might stop me from sleeping…ticking clocks, snoring, being too cold or hot, lumpy pillows…etc etc…
Having a cup of tea/honey and lemon/hot milk or something else warm and soothing really helps with the pre-bed ‘am I hungry?’ jitters. While I sit and slowly sip on it I have time to listen to my body and figure out what it is I need. Sometimes all I need is a glass of water! Sometimes I really have let my food slip during the day and need a substantial snack with some protein to fill me up, sometimes all I need is some fruit to lightly fill the sweet spot.
Thinking about being anxious gives me anxiety! But, in sitiuations like you explained I get where you are coming from. I try to have an emergency snack on hand at all times, but feel CRAZY and never see anyone else with a baggie of almonds stashed in their purse. It is great to have a fast metabolism, but at the same time hunger pangs can come on at the wrong time and when they are uninvited because you are thinking about being hungry. There is absolutely nothing wrong with listening to your body & feeding it with delicious food to avoid the feeling. No shame 🙂
So I’ve been a long time lurker on your blog for a while now and have never really left a comment. However, I really felt the need to say something on this topic as I’ve been going through pretty much the exact same thing. I’ve recently shifted over from following a meal plan to eating intuitively and, as a result, have been eating more than I used to based off hunger cues. Particularly around dinner, I find myself eating a “normal” sized meal than snacking until I can reach a feeling of satiety or fullness (and by this I mean a comfortable, satisfied fullness, not overly stuffed), especially since I’m still fearful of eating too little. While this often causes an unbelievable amount of anxiety, particularly since I’m eating more than I was previously maintaining on, my weight has not budged. I can then only conclude that my body does need this food and that I don’t necessarily have to be starving or empty to justify eating. So, based off my experience with this, I think your post dinner snacking was just your body telling you it needed more food. I also really wouldn’t try to stop yourself from eating if you feel like you need to or blame it on “other anxieties”. To me, this just seems like another form of restriction and giving in to ED caused anxiety. But bottom line, from what I’ve seen on this blog, you definitely don’t have an over eating problem and I see no reason to worry about snacking after dinner. I think your doing wonderful and are huge inspiration to others. Just trust yourself! Even if that means eating 3 post dinner snacks. You likely need it 🙂
Thank you for your comment and advice, Mandi! 🙂
I’m dealing with this right now. I think it started with mold poisoning. The first time I had panic attacks lasting 8 hours every night for a week and my whole body was vibrating and I had POTS like symptoms. I overcame that but just recently learned that the first 3 nights of my period I get these anxiety attacks if I don’t eat enough. Oh how many nights have I sat at a dimly lit table with my blood sugar monitor and eating anything I could find to stop the anxiety, even eating through nausea and even after vomiting to stop it. Food works. And I’m happy to if found it helps. All labs come back super healthy. I do not want to do meds. I want my body to heal. I’ve lived with this for two years now and I keep getting better. My next move is to do labs for hormones and see if there’s neurotransmitter issues. I will also seek a functional medicine Dr as they seem to be able to help people recover from mold poisoning.
I have hypoglycemia and do get the not enough food anxiety…it can get so bad that they turn into full blown panic attacks. Oh man, its quite brutal to deal with! I’m guessing its just our bodies saying it needs the calories, because it must be pretty close to empty if its reacting that way? Who knows, the body is an interesting thing!
Maybe try eating more during the earlier part of the day? It can be hard when sometimes you are busy, and not occupied by food (thankfully) and don’t feel super hungry all the time… but maybe you are just slightly under eating, not enough to cause crazy hunger pains, but just enough for your body to scream out at night for a bit more. Or maybe not, I am not trying to diagnose you at all girl, just thinking of a possibility. I know those shaking nervous anxiety things are no fun at all and sometimes figuring things out isn’t easy. But adding more nutrient dense things to your day, as to not make you feel super full/ over stuffed but give you more calories, can be pretty easy to do and might be worth a shot to test it out. I wish you all the best, keep us updated (if you want)…love your blog and so glad you are back and sharing all that you do 🙂
Thanks girl! I’m thinking that’s probably what it is, so I’m going to try eating more and hope for the best!
I have had this experience several times before. The combination of feeling really stressed out and eating (healthy) sugary food caused my blood sugar to drop. I always got shaky and needed some food immediately. Now I don’t have it anymore and I think it’s because I do breathing exercizes and eat more healthy fats.
Good luck!
GAH I wish I could relate, I get anxious not eating HEALTHY sometimes..like if I don’t get enough fruits or veggies I have to shove them into my body or I get anxious. I’m sorry you were up all night, that’s never any fun!! I do say that your snacks look delicious!
I feel like this ALL the time…especially at night. It’s hard a lot of times to distinguish whether it’s true hunger, or just anxiety. But I DO notice that eating causes the feeling to dissipate. If I know I’ve eaten enough for the day, I often will brush my teeth and lay down, grab a book, or drink a cup of tea. But if it keeps coming back I try to listen to my body, and if that means feeding it…that’s what I do.
I don’t know how you feel about medicine, but I talked to my psychiatrist about this and she prescribed me Klonopin for times like this. It relieves the anxiety and crazy thoughts, so I can then tell if it’s actually hunger or simply anxiety. Just something to think about!
<3
I’d rather not go on any medication for now, especially since eating something always seems to solve the problem. I’ll try eating a bit more for a while and see what happens.
It’s definitely a personal choice. I just hope you’re able to figure it out!
hmmm this is interesting. I dont have a fear/anxiety of going to sleep hungry, since I used to do it so often, but I do get that anxious/nervous feeling many times throughout the day for what seems like no reason at all. Maybe I should try some sugar? Obvoiously I do my best to limit my sugar intake, but maybe at night I should just give in a litte? The issue is that if I eat late at night (like after 8) I literally CANT sleep. My body is digesting, so my energy levels are up. Ive noticed the later I eat the later Im up, which is why I try to eat dinner around 5 and a snack at like 7!
Mm those yogurt bowls looks so good!
Sometimes I get anxious as well, like when I miss out an ingredient or eat something lesser than usual, or something small like that! I guess it’s because of the days when I didn’t eat enough – now it just seems scary to deprive my body of anything! I’m getting over that slowly though, it’s not something that always happens anymore 🙂
Have a great day girl! xo
when that happens to me, i actually wake up in the middle of the night and grab a spoon, literally! i think the best thing you can do is really think about why you are hungry. And if your body is still needing calories, it will damn will yell at you, right? easier said than done i know!!
I have this problem. I keep a food journal where I record my mood/feelings associated with meals (I think I got this idea from the intuitive eating book?), and it’s helped me really pinpoint when these feelings arise and develop strategies to deal with them. I don’t have much anxiety – my behaviours like this tend to be related to acute stress or loneliness – so I have anything specific to recommend since I’m not in your head or body. Hence I don’t know if this is a result of undereating during the day or something else. I am wondering, though, if there could be a connection between these feelings and a need for more serotonin? My husband has OCD, which is really an anxiety disorder at its core. Although he’s not always aware of what he’s doing (I find men tend to not overanalyse these things like women – or even analyse them at all – but that might be an unfair stereotype based on my personal experience.), he does a similar thing to you when he feels anxious. When we first started living together, I noticed that he often undereats during the day because I think the generalised stress/anxiety while he is working blunts his appetite, but then as the evening approaches he tends to snack on carbs repeatedly. I make him homemade bread, and he’ll eat an entire loaf every two or three days. Sometimes a whole loaf in a day! From what I’ve read, and after discussing it with him, I think it’s because his brain wants the serotonin, and the carbs provide that. He’s thin as a rail, so it hasn’t negatively affected his weight, but I think it explains why he always reaches for the carbs, almost like clockwork.
I can’t say that I’ve ever experienced this because my anxiety tends to come about due to events or thoughts in my head. At least you were able to figure out what helped your anxiety!
In order to help stop the anxiety from coming on full force, I start taking really slow and deep breaths, close my eyes, and even lay on the floor sometimes, just to literally ground myself.
Anxiety is so freaking annoying but you just gotta learn different ways of how to deal with it. <3
hmm. I feel your pain here. But I think using food to soothe your anxiety isn’t healthy, just as abstaining from eating to soothe anxiety is unhealthy. I’m not talking about unhealthy as in how that affects your weight (because it might not) – I’m just saying that using food to soothe general anxiety is really just avoiding the ACTUAL reason you’re anxious, and I think it’s worth getting to the bottom of that rather than using food to mask it. And if fear of hunger is the reason behind anxiety, then I think there are other ways to cope (aka, to get over that fear) than eating. I might be completely 100% off base here, but I know for me, when I eat for any other reason besides hunger (which includes “i’m not really that hungry but I’m craving ____ like mad”), it’s really me just using eating/food to avoid the real issue. I dunno. For me, I deal with anxiety by going for a fast run or bike ride, or by calling my mom, painting (I suck at art, but it’s soothing, i dunno lol), watching a brainless chick flick, or going for a walk. It might be worth trying that out! Otherwise you might get trapped in this vicious cycle of…eat to soothe your anxiety, but then get more anxious because you just ate….if that made any sense haha. Anyway I’m always available if you want someone to try to work it out with via email or something!
Thanks love, and those are all great tips for dealing with anxiety, but I’m pretty sure that the anxiety was caused by low blood sugar levels, making food the only real answer. My doctor mentioned to me that, while I’m not full-out hypoglycemic, my blood sugar levels are kind of on the lower side and I might experience some of the symptoms like: trembling, heart palpitations, anxiety, confusion, and irritability. He told me that whenever it happens I should have a glass of juice or a spoonful of honey to get my levels up… I was just wondering if there was a way to keep it from happening in the first place.
OOH gotcha. In that case, I definitely think it’s worth rethinking what you’re nomming through the day! It’s not even necessarily calories – you seem to eat pretty intuitively – but if you’re still occasionally having this issue, maybe it’s worth sneaking in some extra simple carbs during the day? like putting honey on some toast for a snack or a glass of juice with any meal…not all the time and I’d guess you don’t need a lot extra, nor would you need extra every day, but maybe just paying more attention to that could stave off the drop in blood sugar a bit! Hope you figure it out, that’s gotta be obnoxious at times!
I can relate and I actually get these after I fall asleep sometimes and wake back up, like two hours later in the middle of the night where I feel an anxiety moment coming on. Usually making me want to eat. I think it is our bodies not used to this whole, hey we are going to listen to you know thing. I get frustrated though, a lot with it. Love any advice you have.
I def can relate to feeling just plain weird about going to bed without a snack. To me, it’s like a routine — ha, yet ANOTHER routine or ritual even though I’m past my darkest ED days. I always have to end the day with a snack or two right before bed or else I wake up hungry at night and that’s no bueno.
But I also think you probably aren’t eating enough… it’s a hunch (esp because I’ve gone through this and still do every once in a while). It isn’t to say you’re undereating by a lot either! It really could just be a 200-300 calorie deficit that if covered would take away the anxiety or what maybe is just plain hunger. Sometimes for me, hunger isn’t a feeling in my stomach, but rather my mind constantly thinking about having “just a little more.” Well, if I ignore it, it gets worse, and if I give in, it’s usually okay. This shows that it probably is a mix of hunger and a craving.
It could definitely be that. I know this sort of thing used to happen to me a lot more when I was sicker, and more food was always the answer. I’m going to give it a shot and see if it helps.
Good! I’m glad, because I know how hard it is to think that you’re doing everything the right way and striving to be healthy and balanced and then your body throws you for a loop and you don’t know what’s up. I know I eat enough for someone my age who does a mild amount of activity, but I’m still into exercising about 5 days a week and there are definitely days where I’m feeling SO hungry and end up giving into late night snacks because -what do you know- I didn’t fuel myself properly throughout the day when I needed it most! (Still having a hard time adjusting to that, as you can tell!)
It could also just be your body’s way of trying to make up for a few days in the recent past where maybe you didn’t eat much or did a little more physical activity. If that’s the case, everything will once again regulate itself if you just give your body what it’s asking for right now.
The exact same thing happens to me! I always thought it was bc I wasn’t eating enough or maybe my overall poor health or my body going haywire. I’m at quite a loss as so to what to do so if u find any solutions let me know? I get quite scared when this happens to me which is almost every day. At one point in my anorexia I wassooo scared of eating or godforbid gain weight, now I’m more afraid of having done permanent damage to my body…or dying or illness. 🙁 not a pleasant place to be. So u r defintey not alone. Love you my sweet girl xoxo
I’m pretty sure more food is the only solution, love. I know that this sort of thing used to happen to me WAY, way more when I was I was sicker and eating something always made/makes it go away. There’s no messing around with health, because yeah… we can do some permanent damage that we’ll have to live with for the rest of our lives. Don’t be afraid of food, hun… it’s good stuff 🙂
I think I know what you’re experiencing, and I think I’ve had the same thing going on with me (although less since I began letting go of the ED and feeding my body, upping my cals, etc. I honestly think that my ED caused my GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder), which has almost disappeared since I have been taking care of my body and feeding it, and cutting way back on exercise although the reasons for my ED were a whole different monster). I used to have constant anxiety that seemingly only was quelled by food most of the time, but I think it was a survival mechanism my body used to send me the message that I needed to EAT. And low and behold, once i started listening and eating, surprise, surprise, no more anxiety. Anyway, even with eating more, sometimes I feel like the anxiety sneaks back around, especially when I’m undereating. Just some food for thought. 😉
Also, I should add that eventually I think this for a while scared me, since it almost at times would induce near binges, but again, I think it was my body sending me a message and since I’ve been feeding it regularly, this has stopped, too!
I can definitely relate to a fear of going to bed hungry. No matter how full I am I always have something to eat before bed just because I am Sooo fearful of waking up hungry like I did when I was at my worst. Now I actually feel guilty and anxious if I don’t have my snack! I think it’s awesome that you can listen to your inner self and trust yourself. Not to worry I’m sure your not alone!! 🙂
I’ve come a long way in the recent years dealing with food. To me, it’s just food. Eat when hungry, stop when full. Simple and it works for me 🙂
wow. you state this like it is such a simple thing. what you have achieved is what we all strive for. getting there…
You’ll get there! Just don’t over think it 🙂
Oh, I’m sorry for you feeling anxious at times! You deserve to be in a happier place.
Actually, a similar thing happened to me tonight. While I felt alright and like I had eaten enough during the day, I got incredibly hungry and unable to focus shortly ago. So I tried to listent to my cravings, ignore ED’s nasty ramblings and have the oddest thing ever that I really happened to “need” in the end. When trying to pinpoint out why of all times this happened today I remembered what I had eaten the past days. As I’m still tracking my intake – mostly to make sure I’m eating enough because I noticed I was way overestimating – I knew I hadn’t eaten the amount of calories I’m striving for due. While I hadn’t felt hungry when going to bed these last few days my body seemed to catch up tonight. Also, this seems to be the case most of the time when I’m having these issues: Several not-that-hungry days are followed by a ravenous one.
Do you think you might have had less hungry days recently, too, and it was your body’s way of making up for it? Sorry I can’t be more helpful.
It could definitely be that! I don’t track my calories anymore, so this was probably just another way for my body to tell me it wants more… Always something new to learn 😕
Hmm, I don’t think I can be of much help:/. But if it makes any difference, I ALWAYS have multiple munchies after dinner/before bed .
I just sense a smidgen of doubt, when you say you don’t think you eat too little. I guess it is a possibility that you aren’t eating enough for YOU. I mean , how much to eat ,is such an individual thing, and pretty dang pretty dang hard to figure out. I guess the anxiety you are experiencing could be a hunger signal, even if you aren’t getting straight up tummy rumbles. When you mention ‘scatterbrained’- for me that can often mean not enough food.
I hope whatever it is gets sorted soon:).
Xxx
There’s always some doubt, right? I mean it’s hard to be able to tell for sure, but I’m thinking that it definitely has something to do with my blood sugar levels, so I’m going to try switching some things around and see what happens 🙂
I can definitely relate to having to deal with anxiety. Usually mine stems from feeling weak or trapped, essentially lacking control. I have had a range of full blown panic attacks, and mild shakey anxiety for several days. It is no fun, that I am sure you know! The funny thing is I have mistaken anxiety for low blood sugar before, because the feeling can be so similiar! Perhaps it is possible that the low blood sugar was making you feel anxious? Good luck with trying to figure it out! 🙂
Yeah I know how unpleasant panic attacks can be 🙁 And I’m pretty sure it was definitely low blood sugar that brought on the anxiety, especially because it would go away whenever I ate… I was just wondering if there was a way to keep it from happening in general.
Hi, do you still have this? Ive been suffering from this anxiety related to not eating enough for years now :(((
That is definitely quite the conundrum! (I love having an excuse to use that word. It’s awesome).
The only explanation I can think of is that maybe your body could be still trying to “make up” for calories missed during that period of your life? I’m just glad you were able to keep a handle on them and do what you needed to do to calm it down – chocolate is pretty much the cure for everything. 🙂
Possibly. I’ve always had an issue with this kind of thing, but my ED definitely made it worse. Seems to be getting better slowly, though, so here’s hoping time [and chocolate] will heal all 😀
hmm interesting! I definitely feel like food sometimes is a crutch for dealing with my anxiety! One of the keys for me is finding other ways to get comfort! Things like cuddling up and watching a movie, drinking, tea, reading a book, or playing with my puppy! Finding those non food distractions seems to help!
Those are all really great tips on dealing with anxiety 😀 But I’m pretty sure mine was caused by low blood sugar levels, since that’s one of the symptoms, so eating is pretty much the only thing that would help 🙁
OMG YES I have a crazy hardcore fear of going to sleep hungry too. I think it stems from constantly going to bed starving during the worst of my ED days…the mind numbing hunger pangs in the middle of the night were just so unbearable. I never want to experience that EVER AGAIN. Uggh it gives me the shivers just thinking about it!
I’m sorry to hear about the anxiety you experienced, but I’m glad you were able to listen to your body and realize the frets before they spiraled out of control– I think that’s probably your best defense. It just goes to show how much you’ve grown my friend! 🙂
Enjoy your weekend, lovely!