How do you make yourself eat

[anxioussue]

I'm off with stress related issues causing anxiety and depression.i just can't bring myself to eat.i had a slice of bread for breakfast, a bit of instant mash for lunch and nothing else. It's like that most days. I cook meals for everybody else but don't eat them myself.
I expect I'll get told to go to the fridge and just eat but I can't. At best I get a sandwich from the petrol station on a good day.
Roast dinner for the family tonight but I know I won't be able to eat any. I don't have an eating disorder.

I can't eat when I'm anxious either, it all tastes like cardboard. Keep it simple, fruit salad, yoghurt.

If you’re feeling intensely nauseous due to stress, it will be hard to accurately read when your body is hungry. Eat on a schedule. A person’s hunger and fullness cues only regulate when they’re eating consistently. You may need to eat ‘mechanically,’ in order for hunger cues to return. This can mean setting a timer for meal and snack times.
To begin with, focus on breakfast. A good breakfast will boost your mood and it also happens to be one of the easiest meals to prep and make ahead of time.
If your motivation is too low to make food for yourself, keep things simple – porridge with milk, blueberries and honey, or having ready-made, fresh soup in the fridge can be a life-saver. On better days, cook batch meals or homemade soup and freeze portions for days when you are struggling more.
Another good idea is to arrange a meal out with family or your friends.

I do get hungry, really hungry so I feel dizzy and then force myself to eat, that's why I had the bread. It doesn't matter if there is stuff in the fridge, I just can't eat until it's essential. Like I made roast dinner tonight which I love but 8 can't eat it. I just can't be bothered. Nothing appeals. I bought fruit the other day as I knew I should try but gave it to the rabbits. The fridge is full but I just don't want it.

And if the mental block is so great that you can't even make yourself force yourself to eat then you are restricting and you need to see the Gp for either appetite stimulants or counselling.

Op, I’m exactly like you
I go to zero, that thought, smell it sight of food when anxiety is very high just goes I can even dry heave.
I’m hungry but just don’t won’t it
It may be a case if restricting myself
But I just can’t.
I think there lots of people like this
When your anxiety slightly drops again you will eat again slowly building upto normal again.

I suffered from a spell of being unable to eat due to severe stress and anxiety. I had no appetite and then when I did eat, my throat would close and I would either choke the food down or spit it back up (sorry!). It was not a happy time.
What helped was easing myself back into eating with no judgement associated. Any time I noticed a little bit of hunger or appetite I indulged it. That meant peanut butter and jelly toast at 10pm sometimes. It meant a few bites of chocolate donut and a glass of whole milk for breakfast. For some reason, little kid food appealed more to me. I think because it's comforting and simple, but also less pressure to eat than sitting down at a full blown meal.
Is there anything you can tempt yourself with that was a favorite during a simpler or happier time?

I had some tomato soup, couldn't finish it but it's something. The GP knows.

That’s good, OP. When you’re feeling like this a whole proper meal is just too much to face. Could you try a smoothie or rice crispies or something else easy tomorrow? Anything that seems possible.

(Ignore LemonPrism, who is talking nonsense and being unpleasant with it.)

I wish it were as easy as prism suggests. I go and stare at the fridge contents and just don't want any of it. I forced myself to stop at a shop last night to buy a microwave meal or even a snack but there was nothing that appealed. It's pathetic, I cook healthy nutritious meals for the family but never eat it.

It's so difficult. I had a period where eating was incredibly difficult, and it was such an effort to get anything down. All I could do was try and pinpoint anything I remotely fancied and go with it and then also I tried to see food as something functional that I needed to keep me going even though the sheer effort of eating was horrendous. I hope this passes for you soon. It's not pathetic so don't judge yourself for it too, it's just that food is not currently a priority.

What about nutritious drinks? Also if you had some tomato soup - great! What about a chicken soup next time with a little bread? With the aim of building back up to a square meal.

It's not crazy, but the more you focus on it then you fulfil your own thoughts.

Picky food is good, so you're not having to cook (when I'm low the act of cooking for myself, which is an act of self-care, is sooo difficult).

I also do online food shopping (way less stressful than choosing in a shop).

You could do worse than:

Smoothie for breakfast,
Big spoonful of peanut butter for lunch,
Pot of (full fat) Greek yoghurt for dinner.

Loads of goodness there.

I understand OP. If only it were simple as just eating. I used to get told all the time "butter some toast and just eat it" it never was that simple, I would have to wait until the hunger was so intense where I felt dizzy etc and then finally would eat something to stop me shaking.

I found smoothies helped. Felt more like having a drink and taking my time. Would use full fat milk, bananas etc or even ice cream sometimes, I was trying to put on weight at the same time though. This may not work for you but i found making myself a sandwich in the morning and wrapping it up in the fridge, eventually I would eat it because it was there and easy if that makes sense, especially when felt faint and needed something quickly.

If your calories become very low, below around 800 a day, you will go into ketosis (even if you do eat some carbs), this is the same principle people on planned very low calorie diets such as the Cambridge diet etc use to help them stick to the diet. They basically lose their appetite and food becomes less interesting. Getting your calories and carbs up above 1000 a day at least, for a day or so will help to bring your appetite back. Don't worry about choosing something healthy it could be something like biscuits or cake or crisps also sugary drinks, juices or soft drinks or milkshake, some toast anything you can eat or drink to get the calories in. Once you are eating again you can start to be more healthy of course, it will be easier if you feel like eating.

Can't advise op, just sympathise. I can go several days easily without eating or drinking. Take care x

small, high protein, low prep snacky stuff any time i could face it. if i could find something like a ready meal i could manage would have the same thing every day.

if you are lacking nutrition could you get some calshakes or nutri drinks.
otherwise try eating to a schedule.actual times wen you MUST sit down and have 3 meals and 3 snacks.no what your having.even tupperware it for the day.but even if you dont feel like it when the time goes,still continue to sit and do it.

Thank you. I managed a microwave meal with some protein last night.
I will try some smoothies today.

It's better when someone brings you something while your just having a rest in bed. Some cut up melon or a little salad of just the bits you like if that's your thing.a jacket potato, toasted sandwich. Do you have a partner that would understand and might be able to do this? If you are sitting say in bed taking your own time out to relax it might be better. Good luck.

Try small and often. When I had a relationship breakdown the thought of food made me feel sick. My throat seemed incapable of swallowing.

Rather than face a full meal I picked loads of snacky things and I ended up living on Carr's Water biscuits with thick layers of butter, then moved to cheese on top, some bits of fruit, crisps (and err wine)

Anxiety makes our brain go into to fight or flight mode and create hormones that shuts off hunger. It's an evolutionary reaction to stress (when we were hunter gatherers that stress would be because of impending predators) so all your body's resources are pumped into being on high alert and physically ready to flee or fight at a moments notice.

The only long term solution is addressing the root cause of your anxiety or medication that surpresses those anxiety Chemicals.

I've been so anxious it made me feel sick nearly all the time. Every time I tried to eat I threw it back up.
Ended up losing 2 stone, so I looked great and everyone would say, but inside I was in turmoil!
I would say we can survive on very little food. So dont worry. I used complan milkshakes and only ate when I felt able instead of trying to force it down.
Meditation also made a huge difference for me

I keep things snack items like protein bars, biscuits,long life chocolate milk and prewrapped croissants instead of doing full meals.

Just try and take small steps- drinking was easier for me.My local store also started selling premade meal replacement drinks so that could also help make sure you're getting something.