do you stress eat or stress starve?
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
United States
February 28, 2010 4:25pm CST
when you get really stressed out do you stuff your face with food to calm yourself or do you not want to eat anything because your stomach is in knots from stress? i can go both ways.. you always hear about the stress eater but never the people that just dont want to eat anything so i am wondering if im the only one that does this?? dont worry i still eat i just have to wait till i feel i can or force it down so im not skipping eating for a day or anything.. now that im on anxiety meds its been better but ugh the memories before the meds were horrible.. i would stress myself sick and the last thing i would want is food or i would eat everything in sight!
which do you do if either?
7 people like this
26 responses
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
15 Mar 10
Ugh that would stress me out more if my weight shifted a lot both ways with the stress
@darksipu8 (26)
• Romania
1 Mar 10
Actually when I am stressed I become a little agressive, and need some sleep. Only my best friends can calm me down. I know other people that if they are stressed begin to smoke, but i know that this is bad for my health. Eating too much is another bad choice, or starving is very bad too because the health can be affected.
2 people like this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
14 Mar 10
yeah some times friends are the best medicine
1 person likes this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
14 Mar 10
ugh stress headaches suck so bad!
1 person likes this
@MagicalBubbles (5103)
• Canada
1 Mar 10
Hello Moon! I dont react the same way depending on whats stressing me out. If it has to do with work, I tend to eat, but if someone in my family is sick or at the hospital, then I dont eat at all.
Strange as it may seem, my work related stress doesnt knot my stomach, so thats probably why I can eat. If someone's sick, then I can feel my stomach being in a knot and I know I cant eat then.
2 people like this
@smokeywins (120)
• United States
1 Mar 10
You are not the only one that this happens to. I too do not eat when I'm stressed. Even if I haven't eaten for hours, I don't even feel hungry when I'm stressed. I too evenutally eat, but at times its not because I want to its because I have to.
2 people like this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
14 Mar 10
i hate forcing myself to eat
1 person likes this
@silverglint (2000)
• Philippines
28 Sep 10
When I am stressed, I usually look for my comfort foods,like ice cream, chocolate cakes or chocolates. I think it is my body's way of craving for sources of energy because of the adrenaline rush that I get every time I am stressed out. Though there are instances when I can't eat, it only lasts for a few seconds.
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
29 Sep 10
yeah it could be craving energy.. i never thought about that
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
14 Mar 10
seems like most only want bad food when they are stressed.. i wonder if they spike them with something that makes ya feel better lol
1 person likes this
@franz0425 (76)
• Philippines
1 Mar 10
I really find it very helpful for me to alleviate myself from stress through eating a lot especially sweets like chocolates. I tend to eat a lot for me to feel satisfied and fulfilled. In that sense, that stress factor would now be dumped into my "not so good experience box". I also have a lot of friends who tend to do the same thing like I do, especially if the cause of their stress is there boyfiends or girlfriends. And I also have read from a health magazine that eating chocolates when stressed would help a lot in releasing serotonin, a chemical produced in our body that increses our happy emotions.
2 people like this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
14 Mar 10
thats true i forgot about that
1 person likes this
@sjvenden27 (1840)
• United States
1 Mar 10
when I am stressed out I do not eat.. I have gone a whole day without eating, and there was a point in my life I would only eat one small meal a day.. Even through I was not eating I was still drinking plenty of fluids.. There are days now where I just do not want to eat, but I can not do that anymore.. I have a little boy that watches my every move.. A habit or a problem that I do not want to teach him.. So when I make meals for him I eat even if its just a little bit.. But I guess if I did not have a child I would still not when I am stressed..
2 people like this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
14 Mar 10
thats very smart to make sure that your child doesnt pick up on it. so many people dont realize their kids look to them on how to feel about themselves sometimes and so if a parent is obsessed with something about themselves they see as negative then usually the child starts to think the same about themselves even if it doesnt apply to both of them!
@natjohn20 (200)
• Philippines
1 Mar 10
I usually don't stuff food in my mouth when I'm stressed out, I usually go to bed directly when I'm stressed out, I just don't know why maybe because I find it hard to be attracted to food even god looking food like pizza for example when I'm very stressed out from all the activity I've been doing for the day. Sometimes there are times if I'm not that stress out I go and stuff food in my mouth usually I go for the sweet stuff because of the sugar content it has that make me feel not stress out it just make me feel energetic and happy and forget all the stressful activities Ive been doing for that day. hehe
2 people like this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
14 Mar 10
some times sleeping is another way i deal with stress.. gives my brain a break for once!
1 person likes this
@besthope44 (12123)
• India
21 Sep 10
Well most cases, its stuffing more causes stresses. Starving can make dull and sick. So eating right way keeps fit and active.
1 person likes this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
28 Sep 10
over eating doesnt help your health either.. somehow have to figure out how to disconnect my stomach from my worries
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
28 Sep 10
yeah i think the food gives you a comforting high or something
@Cargoleta (723)
• Spain
22 Sep 10
I'm sorry to hear that you weren't feeling so well, but it's good to know you're better!
I'm definitely a stress starver. When I'm anxious and/or stressed my stomach just ties up in a knot and the mere thought of eating makes me feel sick, sometimes if I actually force myself to eat I end up throwing up :( Fortunately I haven't felt like that in a long while, but it's really annoying indeed.
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
28 Sep 10
yep thats how i get when i cant eat from stress
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
14 Mar 10
it drives me crazy when i just get home from grocery shopping and i will want to eat EVERYTHING!! all at once! or those days where you eat some of this and that and still cant feel full and you know you already ate enough to make yourself full grr
@bwaybaby (903)
• United States
23 Mar 10
I used to stress eat a lot. A bag of Reese's cups, 2 liters of soda, chips, french fries, ice cream- all unhealthy food. I wouldn't eat all day, then just.... eat junk. I ended up gaining about 15 pounds. I've stopped emotionally eating and I've begun working out a bit, so I'm slowly loosing the weight. I'm also eating better most of the time. I'm also on anxiety meds.
My mom and one of her sisters stress eat, but their youngest sister doesn't eat when she is stressed. So, yes, I've heard about it going both ways.
1 person likes this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
31 Mar 10
at least you have figured yours out and correcting it now to be healthy =)
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
15 Mar 10
when i was young i couldnt eat because i would feel sick but now i can go either way
@madteaparty (2748)
• Japan
1 Mar 10
Well, when I'm stressed my stomach is usually affected, so it tends to get sick, resulting in me lossing my appetite -more like my stomach hurts too much to be able to eat-. Unfortunately stress can affect health very badly, and it has different ways to do so depending on the person.
1 person likes this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
14 Mar 10
growing up it always made my stomach hurt and that was the only thing i could do was not eat or be sick.. now it can change up between eating or not eating
@setsuna26 (2751)
• Philippines
25 Mar 10
I do! im talking about stress eat. When im under stress which is true most of the times i find myself craving for lots of food. It doesnt matter if im full or not the fact of the matter is i just want to eat alot when im under stress and somehow it makes me feel good to eat.
No wonder im gaining weight because of this right now im thinking bout going to a doctor to correct this manner and im hoping that your not experiencing the same thing as i do coz it sucks! i mean not to be able to control your cravings is pretty much tough too ;)
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
31 Mar 10
since i have a high metabolism and a messed up digestion i dont gain weight so the over eating isnt a prob but if i skip a meal i lose weight easy and then i have to try to get it back up since i dont want to lose either.. just want to stay the same lol
@drshav (205)
• Philippines
31 Mar 10
I stress eat, i crave for lots of sweet foods. I crave for ice cream, chocolates, cake, frapuccino from starbucks. I feel great after eating what i want then. Somehow i feel good and my stress is gone. I some how forget whats giving me a stressful day. I rather choose to feel im full than i am starve.
1 person likes this
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
28 Sep 10
wish i could forget the stress afterwards like you do!!
