Even though it’s more common to binge eat when stressed, some people have the opposite reaction.
Over the course of just one year, Claire Goodwin’s life turned completely upside down.
Her twin brother moved to Russia, her sister left home on bad terms, her father moved away and became unreachable, she and her partner broke up, and she lost her job.
从10月到2012年12月，她迅速减肥。
“Eating was an unnecessary expense, worry, and inconvenience,” says Goodwin. “My stomach had been in a knot and my heart [had been] in my throat for months.”
“I was so stressed, anxious, and preoccupied that I didn’t feel hunger. Swallowing food made me nauseous, and tasks like cooking or doing dishes seemed overwhelming and insignificant when compared to my bigger problems,” she shares with Healthline.
Though my weight loss has never been nearly as significant as Goodwin’s, I too struggle to maintain my appetite when I’m extremely stressed.
我有广义焦虑症（GAD）and in moments of high stress — like when I was in a one-year accelerated master’s degree program and working part-time — my desire to eat vanishes.
It’s as though my brain can’t focus on anything except the thing causing me anxiety.
Although many people狂欢吃or indulge in rich foods when stressed, there’s a small group of people who lose their appetite during moments of high anxiety.
These people, according toZhaoping Li，MD，UCLA人类营养中心的主任，不如通过狂暴进食反应压力的人不那么常见。
But there are still a significant number of people who lose their appetite when they’re anxious. According to theAmerican Psychological Association’s 2015 survey, 39 percent of people said they’ve overeaten or eaten unhealthy foods in the past month due to stress, while 31 percent said they’ve skipped a meal because of stress.
李说，这个问题可以追溯到战斗或飞行反应的起源。
千年前，焦虑是对一个不舒服或压力局势的回应的结果，例如被老虎追逐。有些人对看到老虎的回应将尽可能快地逃跑。其他人可能会冻结或隐藏。有些人甚至可能会给老虎充电。
同样的原则适用于为什么某些人在焦虑时失去胃口，而其他人会吃饱。
“There are people who respond to any stress with ‘老虎在我的尾巴上'[perspective],” Li says. “I cannot do anything but run.Then there are other people who try to make themselves more relaxed or more in a pleasurable state — that’s actually the majority of people. Those people eat more food.”
失去胃口的人是由他们的压力或焦虑的来源消耗，即他们不能做任何其他事情，包括饮食等必要任务。
这种感觉对我来说太真实了。我最近有一个截止日期的遗漏了几周，我只是不能让自己写作。
As my deadline approached and my anxiety skyrocketed, I began ferociously typing away. I found myself missing breakfast, then missing lunch, then realizing it was 3 p.m. and I still hadn’t eaten. I wasn’t hungry, but knew I should probably eat something since I often get migraines when my blood sugar is too low.
31％的人说他们因为压力而在上个月跳过一顿饭。
When Mindi Sue Black recently lost her father, she dropped a significant amount of weight. She forced herself to nibble here and there, but had no desire to eat.
“I knew I should eat, but I just couldn’t,” she tells Healthline. “The thought of chewing anything put me in a tailspin. It was a chore to drink water.”
就像黑色一样，有些人因与焦虑相关的物理感觉而失去了胃口，这使得难以进食难以脱皮。
“Often times, stress manifests itself through physical sensations in the body, such as nausea, tense muscles, or a knot in the stomach,” says Christina Purkiss, a primary therapist at The Renfrew Center of Orlando, an eating disorder treatment facility.
“These sensations could lead to difficulty being in tune with hunger and fullness cues. If someone is feeling intensely nauseous due to stress, it will be challenging to accurately read when the body is experiencing hunger,” Purkiss explains.
Raul Perez-Vazquez, MD, says that some people also lose their appetite due to the increase in皮质醇(the stress hormone) that can happen during times of high anxiety.
“在急性或即时的环境中，压力会导致皮质醇水平增加，这反过来又增加了胃中的酸生产，”他说。“这一过程旨在帮助身体迅速消化食物，以准备由肾上腺素介导的”战斗 - 飞行“。此过程也出于同样的原因，减少了胃口。“
This increase in stomach acid can also lead to ulcers, something Goodwin experienced from not eating. “I developed a stomach ulcer from the long stretches with only acid in my belly,” she says.
Black says she knows she should be eating, and has taken precautions to ensure her health is still a priority. She makes herself eat soup and tries to stay active.
“I make sure to go for a long walk twice a day with my dog to make sure my muscles aren’t atrophying from the weight loss, I do yoga to stay focused, and I play the occasional pick-up soccer game,” she says.
如果您因焦虑或压力而失去了胃口，请尝试采取其中一个步骤来重新获得：
1.识别你的压力
Figuring out the stressors that are causing you to lose your appetite will help you get to the root of the problem. Once you identify these stressors, you can work with a therapist to figure out how to control them.
“迫切关注压力管理，又导致与压力相关的身体症状减少，”Purkiss说。
In addition, Purkiss recommends being aware of the physical sensations that can accompany stress, such as nausea. “When you’re able to determine that nausea is likely related to these feelings, it should be a cue that even though it may feel uncomfortable, it is still essential to eat for health,” she says.
2.确保你睡得好了
李说得到了sufficient restful sleepis crucial for combating lack of appetite due to stress. Otherwise, the cycle of not eating will be more difficult to escape.
3.考虑按时间表进行进食
Purkiss says a person’s hunger and fullness cues only regulate when someone’s eating consistently.
“人已经少吃作为回应a decrease in appetite may need to eat ‘mechanically,’ in order for hunger cues to return,” she says. This can mean setting a timer for meal and snack times.
4. Find foods you can tolerate, and stick to them
When my anxiety is high, I often don’t feel like eating a big, indulgent meal. But I still know I need to eat. I’ll eat mild foods like brown rice with chicken broth, or white rice with a small piece of salmon, because I know my belly needs something in it.
在最紧张的时期找到你可以忍受的东西 - 也许是一种食物平淡或营养成分的一个浓密，所以你不必吃它很多。
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