Anxiety and Appetite Loss in Eating Disorder Recovery: Why It Happens and How to Respond
You’ve been doing the work. You’ve made strides in your eating disorder recovery journey. You feel like you have regained control over your mind, body, and your relationship with food. It’s the best you’ve felt in a long time. But suddenly, your anxiety spikes. Maybe it’s something going on in your life, or perhaps you aren’t quite sure why your anxiety has increased, but you recognize the tightening of your chest, the racing of your heart, and you notice your appetite slipping away.
On top of your already increasing anxiety, your mind starts to spiral with questions: Why does this feel so familiar? Am I avoiding food to cope with my anxiety, or is my anxiety causing me to avoid food? Is this a relapse? What do I do now?
Anxiety and Appetite Loss
First of all, I think it’s worth noting that anxiety can have a notable impact on appetite, so your loss of appetite could most certainly be a result of your anxiety. According to the National Library of Medicine, it’s connected to your body’s natural fight-or-flight response. When you’re feeling stressed or anxious, your brain signals that there may be danger, even if it’s not a physical threat. In response, your body releases stress hormones like adrenaline, which shift your focus to survival instead of digestion, which leads to a loss of appetite. Experiencing a loss of appetite due to anxiety does not mean your eating disorder is winning or that you are relapsing, but it could mean that you need some tools to be able to move forward in a way that preserves and protects your mental and physical health.
How Anxiety and Eating Disorder Thoughts Intertwine
As someone who is recovering from an eating disorder and experiencing high anxiety, it is understandable that this experience can feel like the onset of a relapse. Eating disorders often occur alongside anxiety disorders: in fact, research shows that about 64% of people diagnosed with an eating disorder also meet the criteria for at least one comorbid anxiety disorder (National Institute of Health).
Because eating disorders often arise in anxious, perfectionistic people, it can be especially triggering to experience something that reminds you of the times when you were really struggling. This can then perpetuate even more anxiety, which may put you in a position where you feel like you want to use eating disorder behaviors to cope. This can be a confusing and emotionally jarring experience.
If you can relate, you may be familiar with thoughts like these: Maybe this means I just don’t need to eat dinner today, or I’m not hungry anyway, so I’m technically listening to my body by not eating, and My jeans feel a little looser today, and admittedly, that feels like a relief, so maybe I’m thankful for this bout of anxiety?
All of this to say, your anxiety can mimic or awaken eating disorder behaviors; sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference.
Feeling pulled back to eating disorder behaviors in the wake of a lot of anxiety does not mean you are failing; it’s simply information to help you make informed decisions about how to cope and move forward.
Signs You’re Experiencing Anxiety-Driven Appetite Loss (Not Eating Disorder-Driven)
If you’re trying to decipher whether your appetite loss is as a result of anxiety or from eating disorder thoughts, you may want to know what to “look for.”
Here are a few signs that your lack of appetite may be anxiety-driven:
You feel physically nauseous or like your stomach is in a knot.
Your thoughts are spiraling about something unrelated to food or body image.
You want to want food but just can’t.
You’re in a period of stress, transition, or overwhelm.
If one or more of these are true for you, your appetite loss may, in fact, be anxiety-related. This can put your mind and body into a space where it feels like you are acting on eating disorder behaviors again. You may find that this either heightens your anxiety even more or makes you feel nostalgic over or drawn to your eating disorder experience. You are not broken; this can be completely normal, even if you have been in recovery for a long time.
What to Do When Experiencing Anxiety-Driven Appetite Loss
So, what can you do if you find yourself in a space where you are struggling to eat because of anxiety? First and foremost, if this is happening frequently, if you feel disconnected from recovery when this happens, and/or if your anxiety is debilitating to the point where it is disrupting your appetite, ability to complete daily tasks, and to otherwise function normally, it may be most helpful to connect with your doctor, therapist, or another trusted provider to ensure that you get the help, care, reassurance, and guidance that you need during this time.
4 More Tips to Help When You Experience Anxiety-Induced Appetite Loss
Try to eat anyway: Even if you aren’t hungry, try to eat something to help nourish your body. Plan foods that you look forward to for each meal, and start with small portions if what you would normally eat feels overwhelming.
Default to structure. If your hunger cues are gone, consider going back to your meal plan or regular eating pattern from earlier in recovery.
Choose bland or comfort foods. When I am riddled with anxiety, bland and comfort foods are where it’s at for me: toast, smoothies, broth-based soups, French fries from McDonald’s, for example. I go for foods that don’t require a ton of effort and foods that I generally look forward to when my appetite is particularly low.
Pair meals with calming activities. Consider going for a short walk before or after a meal, do a five-minute breathing exercise (YouTube has tons of tutorials!), put on some calming music, or watch a comfort show while eating. If you can pair meals with an activity that could lower your anxiety in that moment, it may help you feel better before, during, and after eating.
Your Anxiety Doesn’t Have to Stay in the Driver’s Seat: An Invitation to Slow Down and Reconnect
Going through seasons where anxiety feels like it’s competing for the driver’s seat is nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, it can be an opportunity: an invitation to figure out what is at the root of this anxiety, to reconnect with your care team, tune in to yourself, and to listen to what your mind and body might be trying to tell you. Losing your appetite due to heightened anxiety doesn’t mean you’ve failed or that you are headed back down the path toward your eating disorder. Feeling anxious doesn’t erase the progress you’ve made. And having thoughts like “maybe I could use this loss of appetite to jumpstart weight loss” doesn’t mean you’re incapable of staying in recovery. Life is hard. Anxiety is real. Recovery isn’t linear. When all of these things collide, it’s a signal to slow down, reach out to the people you trust, and tune in to the parts of you that need some attention, compassion, and continued healing. If you're struggling with anxiety, eating disorder recovery, or both, and you're looking for support, we’re here for you. Our team offers in-person sessions in the Philadelphia area and virtual care across PA, NJ, DE, MA, VA, FL, and VT. We’d be honored to meet you where you are and walk alongside you in your healing journey.
By: Erika Muller, Assistant for Wildflower Therapy LLC
All images via Unsplash
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