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Eating disorder and anxiety

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
in Health & Wellbeing
Hi - so I have a question that no one seems to be able to answer. I have FAED (food avoidance emotional disorder). My anxiety affects me so much that I lose my appetite and therefore eat less, and my weight plummets. It is also to do with my phobia of vomiting, so in general when my mental health worsens my weight gets dangerously low. Everyone seems to associate ED's with body image, but for me its not to do with that at all... I desperately want to gain weight, and I'm trying so hard. But my emotions and anxiety cause this eating disorder!

Anyway my question is, has ANYONE ever heard of FAED? or anything similar? does anyone have anything similar? I feel so alone in this!

Thank you <3

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    independent_independent_ Community Champion Posts: 8,615 Legendary Poster
    Hiya,

    I haven't heard of it but I can assure you you're not alone. I'm so sorry to hear what you're going through. Do you have any RL support with this or not?

    I dont have much advice for you but do stay strong xEleanor!
    “Sometimes the people around you won’t understand your journey. They don’t need to, it’s not for them.”
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Thanks Eleanor :)

    I do have support for this, but only from family and friends recently - the doctor knows and I'm hoping to get therapy soon...but its hard just waiting for help to arrive :/
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    SienaSiena Posts: 15,497 Skive's The Limit
    Hey

    To answer your question -I have heard of this and this was nearly my very wrongly diagnosis. But was diagnosed with restrictive anorexia nervosa. I'm not sure if it's similar tbh but had very very little to do with body image -to start with and wasn't exercising but avoiding food. There is a lot of anxiety that can be around food with people with eating disorders.

    The only advice I could give to you is to try BEAT website. If you haven't already. Is For eating disorders. Which also have a message board. And other support. You're not alone.
    “And when they look at you, they won't see everything you've been through. They won't see the **** that turned to scars that began to fade with time. They won't see the heartbreaking things that shook up and changed your entire world. They won't know how many tears you cried or even what it was you were crying about. They won't see how strong you had to be because you had no other choice. What they will see though is how compassionate you are because you experienced pain. What they will see is how kind you are because you experienced how cruel the world is. What they will see is how good you are because you've seen how bad things or people can be. The difference between you and your experiences are who you choose to be, despite everything that could have turned you cold and unkind.You are the good the world needs and the best of us.” ~ Kirsten Corley
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Thanks Shaunie, I'm sorry to hear you suffered with restrictive anorexia nervosa - I have never heard of that particular ED but the anxiety and avoiding food sounds similar. I hope things improve for you. I will definitely check out that website :)
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    This year was really hard for me and I was suffering from depression for a few months and it got really bad towards the end but i am no longer depressed. I am 13 years old and with my height I'm very under weigh and I started loosing a lot of weigh when I got depressed but I'm not depressed anymore and I'm still acting the same towards food. I don't feel hungry anymore and I always need to remind myself to eat. Most days I don't eat breakfast and I barely eat lunch and I have no snacks in between the main 3 meals of the day. I don't have anorexia because I do realize how skinny I am and I want to gain wait but I really can't. I also have a lot of axiety and i think that could be a cause but I'm not shure. I feel very weak and I'm always tired. It feels good to know I am not the only one and I will look into FAED because I have never heard of it before. Thank you
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    MatinaB wrote: »
    This year was really hard for me and I was suffering from depression for a few months and it got really bad towards the end but i am no longer depressed. I am 13 years old and with my height I'm very under weigh and I started loosing a lot of weigh when I got depressed but I'm not depressed anymore and I'm still acting the same towards food. I don't feel hungry anymore and I always need to remind myself to eat. Most days I don't eat breakfast and I barely eat lunch and I have no snacks in between the main 3 meals of the day. I don't have anorexia because I do realize how skinny I am and I want to gain wait but I really can't. I also have a lot of axiety and i think that could be a cause but I'm not shure. I feel very weak and I'm always tired. It feels good to know I am not the only one and I will look into FAED because I have never heard of it before. Thank you

    Hi, I'm sorry to hear of your depression - I'm 19 and I reckon I felt similar to you at your age - I did get better for a few years, so I am proof that you can get better - but just recently i have relapsed. It's a relief that someone else has a similar thing, although I really hope you find help for it. When I was your age I had psychotherapy , and that REALLY helped me for a few years - maybe you should try that? I feel the same though, I want to gain weight but i just cant :(

    But it sounds like a similar thing to me, and the lack of hunger is probably because of the depression and anxiety - because they can have physical symptoms like loss of appetite. My advice is try to eat little and often, and sometimes eat even when you're not hungry. (Can't believe I'm dishing out this advice when I get so tired of people telling me this lol) but it may help you.

    Anyway I hope things improve for you, I'm sure they will. And thank you for the reply to my post, I really appreciate it <3
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    JustVJustV Community Manager Posts: 5,306 Part of The Furniture
    How are you getting on, Ellen? :)
    All behaviour is a need trying to be met.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Mike wrote: »
    How are you getting on, Ellen? :)

    Hi, thanks for checking in - I'm still underweight, but the sunny weather and being at home for summer is making me feel less anxious, I think :)
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    DreaDrea Posts: 292 The Mix Regular
    Hey Ellen,

    Well done for posting on here as we know it can be hard to write about these things! FAED isn't something that many people know and I haven't personally heard of it until your post. The phobia of vomiting I personally empathise with because I have the same problem! You mentioned that you are waiting for therapy which sounds good! There is a specific form of therapy known as CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) and has been known to be successful at helping things like anxiety. Anxiety can be such a pain. There are some tips for trying to reduce anxiety in the moment which could help you until you do get a therapy session. A good way of distracting yourself from the point of panic is to look at any object around you and try to describe it in as much detail as possible. Could be down to the simplest of things like colour or how many sides it has, or the position is it in. I often did this with my exams if I felt anxious. I would look at a sticker on the table and just explain how it was white or had 4 sides, or it was a rectangle etc... and that way reduced my anxiety really well! You could potentially try this when you are eating? You could try to describe the food as you're eating it so it feels like you're doing something and not having to think so much about the concept of having to gain weight but just carrying out a task. For example, have a bite of whatever you just described. You can give it a go if you're comfortable to do so!

    Hope you feel better soon, and the sun is definitely helping lift my mood too! We are all here to talk! Speak soon!

    Drea:heart:
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