My Eating Problems

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Hello. This is my 3rd topic on WrongPlanet forums. I would like to rant about my eating disorder which stems from my terrible anxiety. I can't help but eat lots of junk every day, and that has led to obesity. My mum has resorted to changing all passwords on my bank account, taking my bank card away (both of these to stop me from going to the shop) and hiding food, though I keep finding ways around that like taking from the change jar. I can't stop eating so much all the time - I've tried dieting several times but it never pans out, and I lack the motivation to stop because of my anxiety and depression. I find that nothing distracts me from eating and I always feel the need to munch on something. I think that maybe my loneliness has something to do with that as well. I honestly don't know what to do about it anymore.

I see two possible approaches:
1. Behavioral: learn techniques to control your unwanted behaviors (e.g. CBT)
2. Psychodynamic: try to find the source of your anxiety and depression and treat it in hope it would make the eating disorder better.
I guess you also can attack the issue from both angles simultanously.

Magz

Neither cbt nor Prozac "helped" me stop overeating

Reducing stressful situations did

Some sources of stress, you can't predict, much less eliminate

Someone could always fire me from work, hit me with a car, frame me for a felony.

I am very bad at dealing with stress

Nature versus nurture

I have General Anxiety "secondary" to ASD. There is this helplessness or rage that I am "keeping at bay". Instead of being stuck (current avoidance) or self harm (past "coping" skill), I would like to take action or accept. Perhaps start with little actions. Instead of eating this chip, I am going to walk the stairs two times. I'm one to talk --- I am currently avoiding a big change I need to make by burying myself in "work" (less calories, but similar results - anxious and stuck). I have two therapists right now and two support groups. Past experience says I will take the action, but it's amazing to me that I can't quite clear my invisible hurdle (of self depreciation).

Wishing us love and wellness.

Have you tried getting treatment for your anxiety & depression OP If you haven't, therapy &/or medication might be of help. The antidepressant Wellbutrin/Bupropion can help with weight loss. It acts kinda like a stimulant & may decrease appetite & maybe increase metabolism. Stimulants for ADHD can do the same thing & they can also treat depression but they're more risky & used less for depression. Stimulants & Wellbutrin tend to make anxiety worse thou so trying those meds is kinda a gamble. The seizure med Topamax/Topiramate can decrease appetite & it might could help with OCD. Antidepressants in general thou(excluding Wellbutrin) tend to cause weight gain but they're the meds most often used for depression & anxiety things like OCD but if you overeat cuz of the anxiety & depression, you still might lose weight, especially if your able to exercise or be more physically active with reduced anxiety & depression.

Have you tried to treat your anxiety and depression? I suppose that is a source of your eating disorder and so, maybe some certain medication or therapy would help you to fight your eating habits. All people have different reactions to stress and anxiety. Personally I can't eat at all when I'm depressed. So in such days, I lose weight and after that, it's hard for me to bring it back again. I think that dieting probably is not the right thing for you, because it could only worsen your emotional state, I mean because your body is also under stress when you try to limit yourself and eat less. So, try to find some exercises or sport you want to go in for and then, adrenaline, that your brain produces when you stressed, will stream out into your workout and you would become calmer and less depressed.

The only thing I've done that reigns in my nervous eating a bit (not totally) is, frankly, bribery. All my spending on fun stuff like books and music now comes out of my "Frivolous Purchase Fund," which is basically pocket money I give myself for good behaviour. The amount I put INTO the FPF depends on a running tally in the back of my diary- say, 1 point for avoiding the snack machine at work, 1 for No Other Unauthorised Snacks During The Morning, one for excercising, one for sleeping at a sensible time.... etc. etc. My points are currently worth £0.40 each.

The prospect of some tangible reward can help me hold out just a bit longer. It's no "golden bullet" for the problem, but it has reduced my overeating from the apocalyptic levels it hit during my 20s. (Like the time I ate two 12-inch deep-pan pizzas one after another during a panic attack.) I tweak the points value according to how well things are going and how broke I am, and I do have to suspend the game for a week or two when most severly depressed.

Not sure if this helps, but you might be able to use this or a similar system to build up your resistance!

I think you need to work on reducing the anxiety. Gardening works for me, as I am lucky to have a yard to play in all by myself. Maybe some sort of craft activity? I've found it helpful to assemble jigsaw puzzles. At work I found it helpful to "stim" by listening to the same song on "loop."