Dealing with stress-without food...

citygal · June 15, 2010

So my work world has taken a challenging turn and I'm in the pressure cooker right now. I am feeling tons of discomfort and in the past I would be pacifing myself with food during the day. Last night I did my 3 mile walk and ate dinner...but when I got hom I wanted to eat again. I wasn't phyiscally hunger...I was just uncomfortable.

As I was struggling with the desire to eat...I just decided to go to bed early. food wasn't going to relieve my stress and if anything I didn't need to make myself sick or uncomfortalbe.

It's clear I have used food as a narcotic and I am in withdrawl from the numbing effect food has had on me. I have an appointment with a therapist on wed of next week and am trying to make sure I walk everyday to relieve some of the tension in my body....

Tiffykins · June 15, 2010

Get a massage, even if it's just 15 minutes, do it. You'll be amazed with how much better you feel. I hated going because I was overweight. I would go to the massage therapist at the local chiropractor's office, and he would massage just my back and shoulders. I kept my bottom clothing on, and it was fabulous.

Also, take a hot bath, if you can play soft music while you actually bathe, light a few candles, I prefer lavender or sandalwood if I need to unwind.

I am doing the bath thing when I stay up late at night, and I want to smoke. It distracts me, and I can usually drift off to sleep soon thereafter.

ouroborous · June 15, 2010

food -- particularly carbohydrates -- is a powerful mood-altering substance. This isn't just the case for people with food addictions, it's at least partially how the body works. Carbs, for instance, have been shown to have strong connections with serotonin levels, and other foods (notably chocolate, but there's more... just can't remember them all) have strong affinities for dopamine.

The bottom line is that going to food for comfort is very normal. Without this crutch it can be very difficult to self-soothe. Again, this isn't just "addictive behavior" -- anyone who is low-serotonin will feel stressed and anxious and blue.

Tiffykins' recommendation to get a massage is spot-on; you have to find other behaviors that help to soothe you without being unhealthy. A hot bath and a glass of milk is another method; the heat relaxes your muscles and lets metabolism byproducts like lactic acid get released, and the milk is full of tryptophan, which is a natural serotonin precursor. Exercise is also a good choice -- exercise ALWAYS makes me feel better -- but you have to be careful not to overdo it, because if you're feeling stressed and anxious because of "low reserves," then burning up the LAST of your reserves with exercise isn't going to help.

The best medicine is a good night's sleep! Protect your sleep time fiercely, because consistent sleep deprivation is an almost sure way to lapse into low-grade depression and anxiety. Mild exercise is good as a sleep aid, as are the relaxing effects of a hot bath or shower. Also, milk and its tryptophan-explosion.

So maybe the ideal thing is: exercise mildly to moderately (around midday when it won't affect your sleep time). In the evening, drink a tall glass of nonfat milk and take a long, hot shower or bath. And then, sleep like a baby.

The odds are that you'll wake up feeling right as rain!

The thing to NOT do is to "relax" with something like alcohol or marijuana -- these things will further deplete neurotransmitter levels, and while you may feel better in the short term, over the long run you're just digging yourself in deeper!

Mary Gordon · June 15, 2010

good to hear you're walking and soon you will get the habit of doing exercise and relieving stress with exercise rather than with food. another way to relieve stress is trying some yoga and learn new techniques for breathing.

gsegura · June 15, 2010

This is for Tiffkins, I'm cigarette smoker. Not in big quantities but about 2 packs a week. Not eating doesn't stress me but quitting smoking for good, I get stressed out just thinking about it. Tiffkins: did you quit smoking for good? did you use the patch?

Please throw some good advise this way. Thank you. Gloria