Loss of appetite

[jedi_giraffe]

Hi everyone, I've noticed that when my CPTSD is particularly triggered, I have trouble eating. I feel hungry but nauseous and I end up not eating as much as I should, no matter how hungry I am. It usually takes me a few days to get back to normal or even a couple of weeks. Does anybody else have this issue? If so, what do you do? I know that I need to eat in order to be healthy, but when I'm emotionally dysregulated my appetite is one of the first things to go. This makes it difficult to do self soothing activities like exercise or even simpler physical activity like light walks, because I feel weak. I remember as a kid often having stomachaches/feeling nauseous and even throwing up when I was too anxious about things. I've never had any type of eating disorder so I'm trying to figure out where this comes from and how to fix it. Thank you for any advice or guidance.

[Gromit]

Hi, just posted on your other thread about this, didn't read down to spot it here.

G

[Shearwater]

Yes, i've had this problem for a long time. These days I don't make myself dinners, because my appetite is so bad. I'm not very good at pushing myself to eat when I don't want to, I  think it might be because I was pushed too eat food when I was a child. I had too eat everything I had put on my plate, and could sit whit the table an hour alone after the rest of the family was done. When I learned to to take smaller portions I was criticized of not eating enough. The daily family dinner was often an anxious moment for me.

What I do to deal with periods of bad appetite is to eat whatever I feel I can bear to eat, like smoothie,  bitcuits, dark chocolate, bananas etc. What my appetite accept can vary. I love springrolls, so one week that was almost all I ate. When I can't manage to eat anything I drink orange juice,  this increases the blood  sugar and gives me some energy.

Sometimes it helps for me to make dinner with some friends I'm comfortable with. It takes the focus away from myself and my bad appetite, and when a good dinner is served in front of me it is often easier then to make the dinner alone.

It's normal to loose appetite when you're in sorrow or just sad, that is my main reason for the loss of appetite. It is sometimes also a way of self hurting, when I don't want too pay attention to my emotions it can feel good to feel the hunger instead. Stress can also be an indicator.

It's really exhausting not to manage to eat enough, and appetite is almost impossible to control. Hope you can find something to enjoy eating. And after my experience the appetite always comes back, it varies and it sucks, but I manage.