can't eat when depressed

[xSleepy]

when im depressed i have a really hard time eating. i dont have an appetite at all. I have to force myself to eat. sometimes i will make something but not be able to eat it even if i havent eaten all day. and im already really thin, so not eating is really bad. ive lost almost 10 lbs in the past month. i feel so disgusting and look horrible.

so i was wondering if anyone else has the same problem and if theres anything i can do to help increase my appetite. i really dont want to take pills, like anti depressants. im not even sure if taking pills would help me eat more. i really dont know what to do. i really hate forcing myself to eat.

 

[Lea]

What about drinking milkshakes with vitamins? Anyway I wish I had your problem..

 

[Danfalc]

I have the same problem sleepy :: Ive always struggled with eating since ive been depressed,and people find it hard to believe but ive actualy got to the point i can go a week or longer before i eat anything at all.

It is really hard and there is no easy option,you do need to just force yaself to eat.The longer you leave it the harder it will get because your stomach shrinks and gets use to having no food.Exercise can help...but still its a case of just forcing yaself to eat untill your body gets use to food again.

Maybe just try small things at first,stuff you can pick at over time....go shopping and really treat yaself to somthing nice.There are special build up drinks you can get aswell to help maintain your weight.Your doc might be able to perscribe them...there called ensure over here.

 

[Rise Against]

I honestly think that you should get help. If you have been so depressed that you haven't really eaten anything for over a month, i would advise taking pills. I used to be really depressed to the point where i couldn't eat anything and didn't even want to get out of bed in the morning, i felt hopeless and worthless, but then i went for help and was prescribed lexapro. I dont have any side effects and am very thankful that i decided to try the medicine. Within a week i was a new person. Now i feel better and more confident than i ever have.

 

[gsmax5]

I've known family with the same problem; some people think it's a problem with self-image, but with my own experience with my family, it's really just an unrelated loss of appetite. It's really terrible what can happen to your health and how much money goes down the drain (to the doctor) when people lose their appetite.

I'm the opposite though; I overeat when I'm depressed/stressed. Somehow, I'm still extremely thin.

 

[xSleepy]

well i am trying to get help... which has actually made me more anxious and depressed. because i dont think anyone can help me and i'll just end up disappointed. i am starting to consider taking meds. but ive heard that pills can make you feel worse at first. which is really scary. i cant imagine feeling any worse than this.
And i didnt know your stomach could shrink from not eating. that could explain why it takes less food to make me full now. i used to eat really good... before i had to move in with my mom and her husband. things are just harder on me here. it really sucks.

but thanks for the advice, i really appreciate it.

 

[Rise Against]

i am starting to consider taking meds. but ive heard that pills can make you feel worse at first. which is really scary. i cant imagine feeling any worse than this.

When i started taking meds i noticed an immediate change. I felt great, and now i feel better than i ever have. I dont know what i would do with out them. I think it would be in your best interest to give them a try.

 

[RND_CHR]

loss of appetite is a common symptom of depression. I get it too when I get really depressed. You should just find any food you really like and try eating it, like ice cream, or something. Maybe it'll help start your appetite. Or you could smoke some weed. That'll give you the munchies. lol. I know what you mean though. I got so much anxiety once I couldn't eat for a week.

 

[antman]

i share your pain. i've recently experienced similar symptoms. over the last couple of weeks i've been experiencing a severe loss of appetite. and that was soon followed by upset stomach, strange pains im my chest that feel like intense heart burn. and i think i hope its all surfacing due to my current anxiety. though i;ve had anxiety before,. this time around its hitting me in a more subtle fassion, which is more dangerous in my book. i've become self obsessed with my body constantly observing my appearance and physical condition. and i'm convinced that all my symptoms are a result of a real condition and not just psychosematic (all in my head)

everything i'm feeling is telling me that either is something deeply wrong with me physically or i'm suffering from a deep level of depression. either way it has consumed my way of life and has taken away all my ambitions.
just freaken sucks, i hate feeling like this. its funny cause i sit here hoping preying for this feeling to go away, thinking everything would be right in the world, thinking life would be this happy place if this one horrible feeling was just lifted from my brain.

 

[redski]

I sort of have the opposite. When I am unhappy+stressed I compensate with food
and when I an feeling good I am not so hungry

 

[Mermaid~81]

I have always all my life used food as a method of comfort. Not good! I ate a load of ferrero rocher just ten mins ago (wrappers to my left) and i'm still feeling like i want to go eat everything, as im feeling down right now. Could be as i havent eaten today properly though (contradicting myself i know)
I have work to do but dont wanna do it. And this place needs a tidy, so i'm going to get off my ***/* whatever you want to call it and clean. A messy room doesnt help a already messy mind after all.

 

[melsmood]

When I am unhappy+stressed I compensate with food

i'm a little like this - when I'm unhappy/stressed I just want to gorge myself with comfort food. I know I'm really depressed when I lose my appetite altogether. Don't have the problem of being underweight though. Must be really hard because society is so focussed on losing weight and being thin, instead of aiming for a healthy weight.

 

[redski]

i'm a little like this - when I'm unhappy/stressed I just want to gorge myself with comfort food. I know I'm really depressed when I lose my appetite altogether. Don't have the problem of being underweight though. Must be really hard because society is so focussed on losing weight and being thin, instead of aiming for a healthy weight.

I have noticed when I am not hungry usually that means I have a women on
my mind and I am still in that hopeful state

 

[Shift]

I don't eat when I am depressed either... A month ago was really bad. I was down to like 85 lbs. I have been making myself eat everyday and taking vitamins to get back up to a healthy weight.

 

[gingergirl]

dEfinently agree with whats been said.When i have felt depressed i have no appetite-i can go without eating then i'll think-hey i havent eaten today.

 

[BlueDays]

I sort of have the opposite. When I am unhappy+stressed I compensate with food
and when I an feeling good I am not so hungry

I'm the same as redski::
I know the grass always looks greener on the other side, but I would gladly swap your undereating with my comfort eating anyday!

 

[Noca]

What about drinking milkshakes with vitamins? Anyway I wish I had your problem..

no you dont

 

[Noca]

I am chronically depressed with no appetite. I struggle to eat even the simplest of foods. Everything tastes like cardboard to me. When I dont eat, I just get even sicker and more nauseous. Nausea then causes me to eat less. Its a vicious cycle which I struggle with everyday. People who say they want this problem DONT know what they are talking about.

 

[BlueDays]

I am chronically depressed with no appetite. I struggle to eat even the simplest of foods. Everything tastes like cardboard to me. When I dont eat, I just get even sicker and more nauseous. Nausea then causes me to eat less. Its a vicious cycle which I struggle with everyday. People who say they want this problem DONT know what they are talking about.

yes I do actually. About 10 years ago I starved myself to get thin. I loved being thin. I think the nausea and feeling faint (which I have experienced) was worth it to be thin
I only wish I could do it to be thin again now.

 

[illuminationSP]

I have struggled with keeping a healthy weight for most of my life. I was very chubby as a kid, but ever since high school, I've been very thin. Thing is, it has all been attached to how I feel. For as long as I can remember, I either binge and eat like an animal, or barely eat at all. At one point, I was forced to drink shakes with vitamins. Within the past year, I revamped my diet while eating healthier and that has urged me to "want" to eat, as I think I will feel better afterwards. A little "trick" that has worked for me. Granted, I still struggle, but it has improved some.