I can't figure out what's wrong

**Posts:** 1 · by **The Janitor Mop** » Wed Aug 17, 2011 7:09 pm

Hi all, I've got an unusual problem that I really want to get help about. I know people can never diagnose you based on an online post you make, but it would help if someone could point me to something I might not know about or missed in the research I've tried to do.

Basically, I have an increasingly more serious problem with being skinny. To get it out of the way, I'm not anorexic because I'm not trying to be skinny and I definitely don't view myself as overweight (I would do just about ANYTHING to gain weight/be more muscular). I'm not sure if it's standard procedure here to do so, but I'm male, 18, about 5' 8", and weight 120 lbs. Clearly that is underweight for an 18 yr old male of my height. In the last 4 years or so, I've started to develop my problem with eating. I always woke up too late to eat breakfast, so I began to and still skip breakfast to this day. I don't ever eat much at one sitting, and typically can't finish a meal. For example, almost every time I have dinner, I won't finish it all, but then I'll get hungry an hour or 2 later and eat again (not a full meal but maybe a small microwave burrito). My mom has always just said that I'm a "grazer", but the thing is that I go to bed hungry almost every night. Like I said I always eat again after dinner, but typically my appetite runs out before the hunger is gone. That sorta goes for the whole day: my appetite can never match the physical feeling of hunger I have.

I'm not sure if mental things have been a part of all of this. The time that my problem began to arise was roughly at the same time I began high school, which was a really stressful time in my life. I'm a smart kid and my parents have always pushed me extremely intensely to do well. I began to resent them, because I felt that any time I wanted to chill out with friends it would always be "did you do your homework? did you study? did you start your college applications?" and I began to get extremely stressed out about life. I remember that about 2 days before I was going to take an IB (similar to AP) exam this year, I had crushing anxiety in bed because I felt that I hadn't studied enough, and it got so bad that I had extreme pain in my ab region and eventually had diarrhea. There have been many similar cases. The night of Prom, my appetite disappeared as soon as we got to the restaurant and I practically ate nothing. It was really embarrassing because one of my friends looked at me and was like "dude are you going to eat?" and I just lied about having eaten dinner beforehand. Just last week I had orientation at UCLA, and I ate very little at all the meal times. I feel like my appetite instantly disappears when I'm in social situations. I don't know what it is, because I'm in general a friendly, outgoing guy (I loved talking and meeting and joking with new people).

The problem isn't just in social situations. Even when I'm just chilling at home my appetite never matches my hunger. I feel like part of the problem might also be taste. I have some weird aversions, like for example I DO NOT eat seafood whatsoever. My mom tried to force me to eat salmon when I was like 8 years old and I hated it, and even though I haven't actually tried 95% of seafood, I just have this gut feeling that seafood tastes terrible and one time I threw up in a Bubba Gumps restaurant simply because the smell of fish was so overwhelming. My taste preferences are mildly diverse; I like some meats, pasta, bread, vegetables, fruits, rices, etc. That said, when I eat I typically enjoy the taste for only a short period. Then I begin to become overwhelmed by the taste, even if it's one I find enjoyable.

I'll end here because I don't want this to be too tldr, but I would really appreciate if anyone can offer insight. I'm going off to UCLA in about a month and I feel like this eating problem is literally the most important thing I need to take care of in my life before I get to college. Thank you all.

**Posts:** 1444 · by **stella_blues** » Sat Aug 20, 2011 10:54 am

I'm wondering if your issue is more related to anxiety than food. :?:

You might have an anxiety disorder, and the food restriction and loss of appetite are symptoms.

Anxiety disorders are exaggerations of our normal and adaptive reaction to fearful or stressful events. There are many types of anxiety disorders including panic disorder, agoraphobia, specific phobia, social anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) , posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). When you experience the familiar physical and psychological signs of fear and anxiety such as sweating, racing heart, shortness of breath, trembling, worry, or stress, these are cues that something is happening that could be a threat and that you need to deal with it. This “flight or fight” reaction activates the physical and psychological resources necessary to deal with the potential danger. Although this system works well most of the time, sometimes it can go into overdrive and do more harm than good. When this happens, it might indicate you have an anxiety disorder.
- http://ocd.about.com/od/glossary/g/anxiety_glos.htm

You mentioned some very specific incidences of stress so dealing with those might be a good place to start, rather than jumping in and trying to face the food issues. Kind of like if you keep getting a rash, it's best to figure out what's causing it than to keep putting cortisone cream on it.
Probably some sort of talk therapy would be a good place to start.
Just a thought.

Meantime, maybe consider getting a supplemental shake, like Ensure, to make certain you're getting the neccessary protien and nutrients. Even if you don't like it much, just take it like you would medicine. Morning would be best. You'll find these in the pharmaceutical section of most stores.

And a multi-vitamin tab wouldn't hurt, either. Don't take that on an empty stomach, though- it will cause nausea. Take it with a couple of crackers.

**Posts:** 4 · by **Angelo Mathews** » Wed Aug 24, 2011 4:42 am

Whatever i have studied your problem i have observed that you may have anxiety problem and you need to ask some specialist about this problem.

**Posts:** 2 · by **d0gZ3Ln4** » Sun Aug 28, 2011 11:18 am

As I read your message, I saw myself in you a little. Review my post to see how we are alike and different. I am a female, 5 foot 2, a lot older now then when I started having problems with eating. My parents always encourage their children to at least try it. I remember my brother being told to eat his fried runny yolk egg and grits. As soon as he did he threw up at the table. I remember when my mother placed a platter of meat on the table (the meat looked green and when I asked mom what kind of meat it was she was very evasive) after I tried it she announced it was turtle meat, I am totally opposed to eating turtle unless it is the only thing to eat. I was very upset with my mom and dad and threw up, to this day I always question mom on what is it we are eating. If she had just told me what we type of meat it was I would have tried it but she didn't. For what it is worth to you, I would try eating the things you like away from the smells that make you naseus (like outside or in your car, where ever you can find). Do not let others dictate how little your eating. Also, if you can not finish what your eating take it home and finish it latter. Just be sure to keep it refrigerated, you could put a cooler in your car/lunch pack with these new feezable blue things.
I hope this helps. [/b]

**Posts:** 3 · by **lunatic** » Tue Aug 30, 2011 10:06 am

As stella_blues said, your eating behaviour is a symptom rather than the actual problem, so I would get that checked out at therapy. Be as honest as you can, especially to yourself.
A quick fix for the hunger issue would be getting up early (7-9am) and having breakfast. I know this out of personal experience, because during summer I would get up late and get to bed late, and somehow I ended up having 4 megameals AND feeling hungry on top of everything. As soon as I got back to my regular routine, I went back to a normal 3 meals.

**Posts:** 14140 · by **jurplesman** » Tue Sep 27, 2011 7:41 am

Hi The Janitor Mob,

You are only slightly under weight. What is the real problem?

I can't figure out what's wrong

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