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Compulsive eating and other bad habits linked to chronic unrealised anxiety?

4 replies

greenglasslight · 15/05/2025 19:22

Recently I've been getting some treatment for acute anxiety some counselling and beta blockers which is helping a lot. However I'm actually noticing that some very long term behaviours I've had for a long time like over eating, not quite binge eating but something like that, chronic addiction to sugar and some other behaviours around doom scrolling and procrastination that have plagued me for years are essentially stopping on their own.

Looking back I can see that often my urge to eat was tied to a restless anxious feeling and you could say the same for my procrastination and other bad habits. I don't think I even realised that I was suffering from anxiety it was just so much a part of who I was and instead I suspected adhd or that I was just a rotten person with no self discipline but now I think I might have actually been suffering from a kind of chronic somatic anxiety much of the time and was basically self medicating with food and other escapist behaviours.

Has anyone else ever noticed these issues, especially compulsive eating liked to anxiety?

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BeetyAxe · 15/05/2025 21:33

I could’ve written this except mine isn’t resolved. Literally just finished a bag of crisps because I feel anxious and restless and I don’t know any other way of dealing with it. I would like some treatment but my son has loads of appointments for his SEN and I’m out of work a lot for those, genuinely don’t know how to fit anything else into my life.

greenglasslight · 15/05/2025 21:41

@BeetyAxe Sorry to hear you have so much on your plate. I didn't seek treatment for compulsive eating but acute anxiety when it got so bad I couldn't ignore it. Weirdly the impulse to eat just calm myself also went.

I am just on a beta blocker and counselling. Things like journaling, meditation, body scanning and even things like lemon balm tea seem to really be helping, the main thing is to pre-empt my anxious feelings with these practices and I guess my medication.

I hope you find time to deal with this soon, I am late 40's and spent all my life feeling out of control of my eating not even knowing I had anxiety. I wish I had realised this sooner as I have spent so long being angry at myself for this.

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BeetyAxe · 16/05/2025 07:39

Thank you @greenglasslight, I should take a leaf out of your book and start addressing it really. I need to prioritise myself otherwise everything’s going to probably collapse!

greenglasslight · 16/05/2025 09:42

@BeetyAxe Yes please do see your GP as soon as you can and good luck!

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