[Bribarian]

HI, I have bad anxiety and depression issues.

I was dealing with it recently with the help of medications, effexor to be exact.

I saw that I has gained some weight and decided to go on a diet.

Well it feels like my depression comes back whenever I try to diet. Is this typical? I'm not sure what to do, go back to my bad eating habits or stick it out and let the depression possibly get even worse.

[celrae]

I wish I could tell you it is going to get better. Maybe stop dieting and start exercising. It has been very helpful in my situation.

[Bribarian]

So it's pretty likely the dieting has caused my depression? That's what I'm wondering?

[celrae]

I don't have enough information to answer that question. I feel your pain and wish the best. I know that in the past diets have caused anxiety and thus depression.

[Tohisha77]

Originally Posted by Bribarian

HI, I have bad anxiety and depression issues.

I was dealing with it recently with the help of medications, effexor to be exact.

I saw that I has gained some weight and decided to go on a diet.

Well it feels like my depression comes back whenever I try to diet. Is this typical? I'm not sure what to do, go back to my bad eating habits or stick it out and let the depression possibly get even worse.

hey Bribarian,the same thing used 2 happen 2 me all the time.
and what i finally discovered is that i used food 2 MAKE MY SELF HAPPY,CALM ,ETC...

so when youre trying 2 diet,and not eating the "bad foods" that make you feel good,itll make you depressed because you dont have those 'bad foods" 2 help you cope.(maybe thats your case,i dont know)

i know when im depressed,just the thought of eating a simple normal sized meal depresses the heck out of me becuz i know it wont satisfy my sadness or the emptiness of the depression.

i really dont know what 2 say.i do know when im depressed i dont even bother with a diet plan because i know that im gonna fail at it.so that takes some of the stress off of me.

was the effexor helping you?
maybe you can try another anti depressant.

[Tohisha77]

Originally Posted by Bribarian

So it's pretty likely the dieting has caused my depression? That's what I'm wondering?

and if thats not the case,their are certain foods that may cause anxiety and depression.
and sometimes if we dont eat enough,it can cause those feelings as well.
but maybe you can examine what you eat and look 4 more info on the net.

best of luck

[IsabellaOlivia]

Dealing with your weight means that you're facing your problems instead of hiding behind food. And that's bound to bring up unpleasent feelings at first.

[serendipityberry]

What type of diet are you on? A low low carb diet---when your in ketosis---can definitly trigger depression. If you are prone to depression, that is one type of diet you will want to avoid.

If that is not the diet you are on, I would personally stay in close contact with your doc and keep dieting. From my experience, shedding weight can ultimately help with depression. Expecially if you incorporate exercise!!!

Good Luck!

[fight2winthis]

For me, the stress of thinking about the fact that i'm on yet another diet makes me highly stressed and depressed. So i cope by ditching the 'diet' mentality and eating what i want in moderation, in addition to vigorous exercise, that helps. I lose weight, but i dont feel like i'm 'trapped' in a diet.Best of luck.

[pacman12]

Depends - it may be that food and emotional eating is usually your coping mechanism. Take that away and it can definitely feel empty and depressing, but you just have to work through that. Have you spoken to a therapist at all?

I agree that exercise may be the most beneficial though; it's proven helpful for depression and as a pleasant side effect, will make you lose weight.

[Snaplet]

It's probably more complicated than to simply say one causes the other.

Other folks have made some good suggestions. I would add that some people also have underlying fears of being thin and if that's the case, dieting can feel dangerous and cause anxiety and depression because there are those hidden issues that need to be dealt with. Not saying that's true in your case, but one more thing to think about.

[JollyGreenSteen19]

Dieting makes me feel awful. Exercise, after a brief intiation period, makes me feel good about myself. Dieting and paying attention to weight loss has always drawn my attention back to my weight issues - and has always spiked up my depression and made me feel more anxious/sensitive to weight issues. I also feel like people who see or know I"m trying to lose weight start to have expectations - which depresses me when I inevitably fall off the wagon for days or weeks at a time. I say eat what you want, just eat it modestly and in portions - and focus on starting up an exercise regime

[fight2winthis]

Originally Posted by JollyGreenSteen19

Dieting makes me feel awful. Exercise, after a brief intiation period, makes me feel good about myself. Dieting and paying attention to weight loss has always drawn my attention back to my weight issues - and has always spiked up my depression and made me feel more anxious/sensitive to weight issues. I also feel like people who see or know I"m trying to lose weight start to have expectations - which depresses me when I inevitably fall off the wagon for days or weeks at a time. I say eat what you want, just eat it modestly and in portions - and focus on starting up an exercise regime

DITTO!