The Link Between Anxiety and Disordered Eating

Whether you have been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder or experience the occasional bout of anxiety, you have likely experienced first-hand how anxious thoughts can impact your eating habits. For some, this can mean a loss of appetite and skipped meals, while for others it can mean increased food consumption and “binging” in an attempt to cope with unwanted feelings. Learning coping techniques to effectively manage anxiety, and developing healthy eating habits can help to mitigate this, and prevent the cycle from perpetuating into an eating disorder.

Most of us, at some point in our life, have engaged in emotional eating. This most often happens when we feel anxious, worried, stressed, sad, or nervous. Once in a while, this is not an issue, but if you are constantly eating in an attempt to mask your feelings it can be problematic. We often reach for food when we are experiencing these emotions because food can provide short term relief. There is a reason it is not typically an apple or carrot sticks that we reach for, but rather sugary, salty and/or fatty, more indulgent foods. Consuming these foods causes the release of dopamine, which is the pleasure/reward neurotransmitter that helps us to feel good, temporarily. This is the same mechanism that causes drugs to be so addicting. The problem with using food to cope with emptions is that the effect is very short lived and our dopamine levels actually drop below baseline shortly after. This usually results in repeated behaviour, meaning that we overindulge or binge on unhealthy foods to restore the feeling. However, this is typically followed by intense feelings of guilt, which combined with spikes and dips in both blood sugar and dopamine, can easily make anxiety worse.

On the other hand, anxiety can cause us to skip meals, both unintentionally and intentionally. For many people, anxiety can suppress appetite resulting in a lack of hunger or motivation to eat, as well as simply forgetting to eat. For others, skipping meals may be deliberate, as eating when anxiety is high can trigger undesirable digestive symptoms. Regardless of the reason, skipping meals and going prolonged periods without eating causes a drop in blood sugar which can make anxiety worse, and can also impact mood. Skipping meals and undereating can also cause nutrient deficiencies that can directly impact anxiety, as well as set you up to binge on less healthy food later on.

The best way to support your health and manage anxiety is to develop healthy coping techniques, and fuel yourself with regular, balanced healthy meals. Here are 6 tips to help you manage your anxiety, regulate your eating habits, and improve your relationship with food.

1. Pay attention to internal cues (such as heart rate, tension, nervousness, sweating and breathing) to identify when you are feeling anxious. Rating your anxiety on a scale of 1-10 (often referred to as Subjective Units of Distress) can also be helpful to gauge where you are at and prompt you to utilize strategies to manage it before it spirals out of control.

2. Identify the source(s) of your anxiety. Understanding what is causing you to feel anxious can help you to identify the best way to help manage it. If the source of your anxiety is unclear, you may want to work with a counsellor or psychologist to get to the root of your anxiety. Keeping a journal can also be a useful way to explore some of the patterns and triggers. Nearly anything can trigger anxiety, and there may not always be a specific cause, but a few common triggers include health, social situations, busy places, work, school, negative thoughts and finances. Certain drugs, lack of sleep and a poor diet can also contribute to anxiety.

3. Utilize coping strategies to manage your anxiety. Food can provide temporary relief, but is not an effective long-term strategy and usually creates more issues than it resolves. Coping strategies that can be effective long term include diaphragmatic breathing, grounding (to shift focus to the present), meditation, talking to someone, journaling, engaging in a creative task, and exercising.

4. Prioritize eating regular meals and snacks, and make it routine. Skipping meals earlier in the day makes you much more susceptible to binging on less healthy foods later in the day. To help offset this, plan to consume breakfast every day. Carve out 5-10 minutes to sit down to eat something before work, or bring something with you. Overnight oats and chia pudding are great on the go breakfast options. If you are someone who often works though lunch because you do not have time to leave to pick something up, start packing a lunch. Make extra for dinner so you have enough for leftovers. Until it becomes habit, set an alarm in your phone as a reminder to stop what you are doing and eat lunch. Do the same for breakfast and snacks if needed. If you are unable to find the time to eat during the day, consider what might need to change to allow you this important time for self-care (yes, nourishing your body is an important form of self-care!). For more information on nutrition for anxiety, be sure to check out the blog post How to Manage Anxiety Through Nutrition as well as Nutrition and Anxiety: 5 Common Eating Habits That Could be Contributing to Your Anxiety. Panorama Wellness Group also has a nutrition course that covers the Foundations of a Healthy Diet.

5. Learn to pay attention to and honour your hunger and fullness cues. Making it routine to eat at regular intervals throughout the day will help with this, but it is important to also eat intuitively, honouring your hunger and eating until you are satisfied but not stuffed. This also becomes helpful if you find yourself reaching for food to help cope with anxiety. If you are not physically hungry, consider whether there is a more effective approach to managing your anxiety.

6. Sit down and eat mindfully. When we are anxious it is easy to do things quickly and mindlessly, eating included. Instead of eating in front of the cupboard, over the sink, in front of a computer, or while driving, take a moment to slow down and eat mindfully. This means eating undistracted, using a bowl/plate, sitting down, chewing thoroughly, and paying attention to what you are eating. This will naturally help you to eat more intuitively and can also serve as a mental break that can help manage anxious thoughts.

Like most things, it takes time to develop healthy eating habits that support your mental and physical health. Navigating this on your own is often challenging and overwhelming. Working with an expert in nutrition and mental health can be helpful to break it down into smaller goals that are realistic and sustainable, as well as provide support, guidance, and accountability to help you reach them. If you are interested in learning more about the services offered by Christy De Jaegher, book a free 15 minute consultation to learn more