Not sure what to do: anxiety with eating + social

[rothy]

So i'm 18 and my anxiety has been gradually building up since college/uni, and a few instances before that. My anxiety: my palms get sweaty, my breathing gets all weird, heart beats fast, sometimes i twitch which makes it worse when i think about the people around me and how they'll think i'm a freak. I have thoughts that bad things will happen and dread those type of situations

THE STORY:
So it started with eating. One time during breakfast i ate cereal, and didn't end up feeling well and threw it up. ever since then, i've avoided cereal. it then started to get worse and spread to other meals. I've started to dread meals - especially those outside/infront of other people. I'm scared i'm gonna throw up or gag or something and i'll look weird. I'm scared if i eat too much i'll throw up, which is why i'm never completely "full". The pressure with what people think of me - especially my new college friends is too much when i eat lunch with them. The fear that i'll mess up and i'll look weird or mental or something, and they'll talk and it'll go around. So i've started to avoid outings with my friends, and avoided going out in general and have even fixed some classes in my college timetable so that i can finish before lunch time and go home. I've tried medication which helped for a bit, but then suppressed my appetite which is no good obviously.
This semester I've started to get anxiety in my classes too.

So how do i stop this before it gets any worse? I want to talk to someone, but i feel sort of embarassed to talk to a psychologist (and not to mention its expensive). How should i "desensitize" myself?

p.s. sorry if this doesn't make sense or is too long.

[Jake44]

Hi Rothy, Ive been where you are now, and still struggle to eat out but I do now manage when I have to. I found what worked for me was to talk to those close to me about how I felt, If they are good friends they will understand and this will make you feel more relaxed which should help you eat, the worst thing you can do in my experience is bottle it up and try to deal with anxiety on your own, if your getting stressed out about eating with your friends when lunch time comes you will get anxious this will make you lose your appetite making you more stressed its a chain reaction and feeds off its self, I know its horrible and I feel for you because I know how it feels but you really need to talk with somebody wether its friends or a family member. I am by no means perfect and still really struggle but I let my whole life go on hold because of this anxiety and its hard to get back.
Please talk to someone about how you feel and try not to let it take over your life, I hope this has helped.
Also you say you have just started college/uni thats a big step for anybody everyone you know would feel nervous from that, if it helps theres a herble spray you can get called Bach rescue remedy from boots they do it in chewing gum form, tablet form form (they look like mints or sweets) and the spray bottle is tiny just a couple of sprays on your tongue will help calm you worked for me check it out you could even order it from internet so you haven't got to buy over the counter.

[rothy]

Thanks Jake, you've truly helped me alot! good to know that there are others who understand how i feel.
and i'll check out bach's rescue remedy
again, thankyou! :)

[louiseevans222]

Hi Rothy,

I have to say you are not the first one to go through this, I have read many posts that feel like throwing up when they eat, its a normal sign of anxiety...

I havent personally experienced the feeling of throwing up, but I have had nearly every symptom of anxiety...

I dont think you need a psychologist, you just need good treatment to relax you...

Ever tried meditation? believe me meditation is the best way to put your anxiety levels down...

I used meditation, and it has really helped me... I havent had anxiety for over 2 years now...

And believe me, mine was reallly bead, it in fact developed into agoraphobia, but still I got over it by learning what anxiety is actually all about...

Theres nothing to worry about, I tell you something thats really helped me, its another powerful FREE tool you can download, that works like CRAZY...

its actually been proven to work, you can in fact start seeing results within weeks, some say days even...

To get FREE instant access click the link below...

Just be strong, dont worry about what your friends think, if they were going through the same thing Im sure they feel exactly the same....

But dont worry youll get over it, you must check this tool out it may help you....

All the best Rothy ;)

[rothy]

hey! yeah i have tried medication, but it didn't really work since it was suppressing my appetite and making it worse.
and thanks ill check it out :)