This article contains mentions of the following: Food, eating, and anxiety.
Most of us will have experienced anxiety at one point or another. You might be surprised to know that it is something that connects most human beings together! The fact is that most of us will know what it feels like to feel anxious.
To find out more about the function and purpose of anxiety, click here.
We also all have a threat system inside of us that is woken up when our body experiences danger. The most commonly talked about threat responses are the fight, flight, and freeze responses. There are others, but for the purpose of this article, we will only mention those three.
The function of these threat systems dates back to our animal ancestors, when having a highly alert threat system meant that you were more likely to stay alive. This high alert is what’s known today as anxiety. It helps us to understand when we are in danger. Unfortunately, for some people, these threat systems seem to stay on, constantly telling your body it is in danger when there is no immediate threat.
And, as if this was not enough to deal with, anxiety triggers your body into survival mode. It takes energy from the systems that use the most energy to save it and get you out of the emergency threat situation.
Unfortunately, the system that takes the most energy is our digestive system. This means that when we are highly anxious or stressed the energy is drained from that system, reducing our hunger signals and our ability to take in food. Do you recognise that tightness in your tummy when anxious? That’s a sign that your threat system is being turned on.
If you are someone who loses their appetite when anxious or stressed, you are not the only one.
According to the American Psychological Association’s 2015 survey, 31 percent of people said their eating has reduced because of stress.
Now, I know it might sound a bit scary, but this is a very normal part of being a human being. The good thing about knowing all of this is that you can keep an eye on it and find things to help.
As we mentioned earlier, when you are anxious and stressed, it is more difficult to notice your body’s hunger signals. Sometimes, your body has actually shut them off in preparation for survival mode.
Because of this, you won’t always notice that you have not eaten or that your body is hungry. Therefore, it is important to check in with yourself. With no pressure, simply ask yourself, “When was the last time I ate?” If you can’t remember, maybe ask someone who has been around you. If you can’t remember, they can’t remember, and you have been anxious or stressed, this could be an indicator that your body has gone into fight-or-flight mode. If this is the case, you might want to take a moment to find something manageable to eat (we will talk more about this later).
You might also want to take a moment to acknowledge that a loss of appetite can happen when people are anxious or stressed. You have not done anything wrong.
This can be really helpful, as it can reduce the anxiety you are experiencing and help your body out of fight-or-flight mode. Now, this is not always easy, and just because you have identified what is causing you to feel anxious does not mean your anxiety will automatically reduce. However, the Kooth team is here to support you. Between 12pm and 10pm on weekdays, and 6pm and 10pm on weekends, the Kooth team is here to support you with any concerns or troubles you may be experiencing. They can help you talk through what is making you anxious and support you with tools like Creating a comfort bag that may help reduce your anxious feelings.
Resting and getting enough sleep can really help reduce your anxiety symptoms. When we are anxious and/or in fight-or-flight mode, our bodies use a lot of energy, which means we can get tired a lot quicker. Put this together with not eating, and it wouldn’t be surprising if you were feeling exhausted. Therefore, it is important to try and get enough rest, so that your body can recover.
If you are finding it difficult to remember to eat, then setting yourself reminders can help. You can do things like use your phone or your school/college/university timetable to schedule meals.
What is important is eating what you can, rather than focusing on how much. If you find that you don’t have the energy to eat certain things, that is okay. Stick to what you can manage while you are experiencing a loss of appetite due to anxiety, and then you can add to it as things change. You might also want to make a note of the things you are able to eat, so that you can remember them if it happens again in the future. If you need help with this, it would be good to speak to a trusted adult, so they can support you with this. You can also talk to your doctor.
There are lots of things that help people manage stress and anxiety. Sometimes, it can take some time to find the right one for you, so we have listed some below to get you started.
The following exercises, activities and support tools can all be accessed for free inside Kooth.com – you can log in or sign up for free.
Reach out to friends and or family
Having a reduced appetite for long periods can result in other health complications or issues. If you feel you have been experiencing a loss of appetite for two weeks or more, or are in any physical pain, then it would be good to consult your doctor.
We hope you have found this article useful. As always, we’d love to hear from you. Let us know about your experiences in the comments below.
*Please note, not everyone will respond in the ways mentioned. Everyone’s responses to stress are different and individual to them. This article speaks generally about the way anxiety can affect appetite. It may not reflect your experience, and that is okay. If you would like to share your experience, please do so by creating an article or commenting below. Sharing experiences is a great way to support others and help inform the ways people understand the impact of anxiety.
In addition, if you have found any of the information shared today triggering, please contact the team for more support.
Register anonymously, and for free. There are no charges for using Kooth. Ever.
Explore Kooth’s activities, articles and resources . Read inspiring stories and try calming exercises.
Check in – whenever you feel like you want to. Kooth is here whenever you need us.