eating problems

Well, here's a thought.

Take a quick step back and take a deep breath because you've only got 2 months left. Congratulations!

Obviously you've got a lot going on and your coping mechanism is food. All things considered this isn't nearly as destructive as other coping mechanisms out there!

When i am overwhelmed, I push everything out of my head and I focus on one thing at a time. I consciously ignore most problems, practically pretend they aren't there, and address one thing at a time.

thanks for your reply - i often receive the same advice so it must be true! i'd like to know how you push thoughts out of your head when you are overwhelmed though - that seems to be the last thing i can do!

i have been reading a lot about hypoglycemia today after reading many messages here and think this may be part of my problem although due to my difficulty in controlling my food intake in the past makes the changes daunting.

learning to stop thinking about things is the #1 stress management and sleep management skill

I just conscious tell myself "this is not worth thinking about right now!" and by saying that (sometimes out loud) my brain kind of works with me... it's like putting something on the shelf for later. I sometimes have to say "I'll think about it after I eat" - my family has a bad habit of getting too hungry to think rationally, sort of the opposite problem you have!

The following articles may be of help understanding the problem:

Eating Disorders: Anorexia and Bulimia

Beating Anxiety and Phobias

and

Panic and Anxiety
Conquering Anxiety, Depression and Fatigue - The Role of Hypoglycemia by Professor Joel H. Levitt

Depression is a Nutritional Disorder here

and discuss with a Nutritional Doctor, Clinical Nutritionis or a Nutritional Psychologist if you want to. The person shoud be able to treat it by adopting the hypoglycemic diet as a first step in treatment.

Hey Indigomonkey
Just want you to know that you are not alone in what you are feeling. Sure your circumstances aren't always the same as everyone else's but you are responding to them with the same emotions everyone else does. Congratulations you have just proven that you are human. One of the main reasons that people get so stressed out is because they have a stand back and look at the big picture approach. The reason that this is the wrong approach is because when you take a step back, you see this responsibility that is called life; filled with school work, studying, taking care of the kids, bills, work, so much to do and not enough time, commitments, people, relationships, and a whole host of things that would make a person scream. How about trying this... instead of taking in the big picture of your life, why not take a closer look. When you look closely you will see that life is made up of a bunch of tiny little parts and aspects. You now see the many different projects that helped to create this thing called life. Not only can you see them but you can deal with them better because they are all smaller than you are. As long as you are able to prioritize your responsibilities and only focus on the one responsibility you have at hand, your stress levels will become dramatically lower. Since you only worry about one issue at a time, there is no way for you to feel overwhelmed because there are no distracting issues to overwhelm you. So if you see the wall of responsibility and you feel it is about to fall on you, just remember that the whole is made up of many parts and you have the power to take those parts and prioritize them in a way that helps you do them with as little stress as possible.
I hope this helps,
-Mel