New! Compulsive Eater Battling Depression
 

Hi all - been a lurker on 3FC for quite awhile, but never noticed the Depression and Weight Issues forum. If I had, I would have posted here sooner.

I practice Intuitive Eating, which basically means I "try" to only eat when my stomach is empty. Often, I eat out of emotional need, which I don't beat myself up about, but I work towards finding other coping mechanisms whenever possible.

I have had treatment resistant depression for over 30 years. It is fairly genetic - every one on my mother's side has battled similar depression for most of their lives. If you saw all of us, you would say, "Wow, they look so dragged out..." It's sad, but we look like the walking dead, like the weight of the world is bearing down on our shoulders. We even talk slow. It's not cool.

The worst part is the fatigue. I'm also periodically iron-deficient anemic, which doesn't help.

In any case, I'm here for support, a way to cope without diving into the chocolate and chips. Hope to find some good people to share and commiserate with!

Wow, thank you all for the warm welcome...I can see I have NOT found a supportive place to share.

A warm welcome to you GreyMatter! 3fc's is a very supportive place so stick around.

I think it's great that you're finding other coping mechanisms than food to deal with the depression. I know it's not an easy thing.

Forgot to add:

There are others who practice IE so be sure to check out those forums.

You're :welcome:, greymatter.
You're not alone. Everyone's here for you. I believe they are ready to help you in case you need info or support. Maybe your introduction post got buried under other posts.
I wish you all the best for the rest of your journey!

I'm over it - thank you all! Guess I just needed a little patience. I wasn't sure how frequently people posted here.

I have lurked on the IE threads a bit. I'm still trying to figure that out, particularly how to not eat away my depression, which I'm really struggling with right now. I do believe exercise is the answer, but I'm hoping that the fatigue will go away soon.

I have the same issue. I'm actually sitting here right now, not hungry, but wanting to go get something. Fighting it, hoping it goes away. Trying to find other ways.

This is something unfortunately that I have dealt with all of my life :?:

I'm with you guys too.
I'm learning to understand the triggers that make me want to go scoff something. Sometimes it's habit - like when I watch TV I want to eat, or usually when I get anxious or angry. Funnily enough sadness doesn't make me want to eat, it has the opposite effect.
Once I get a craving I tell myself that I can have it in 15 minutes if I still want it - 99.9% of the time I don't.
The nack though is to recognise the craving before you've eaten something, it's very hard and took me a while to learn to do it but I've gotten much better at it now so can usually stop a craving.
However there are some days when all efforts are blown out the water and I just binge :(
As for hunger - what's that???? I don't think I've let myself feel hungry for many years - something else I need to work on :(

I suffer from mild chronic depression and compulsive eating as well. My compulsive eating is boredom based more than emotionally based though. I've found that drinking a lot of water or hot tea helps a bit. I've been experimenting with chewing gum to curve compulsive behaviors as well, and it seems to help a bit.

Hey, I'm in basically the same situation as well... I've been without energy to exercise, work, get out of bed in the morning, and my sleeping nights doesn't make me feel rested at all. I eat compulsively and I guess I found out my main problem is ANXIETY...

It makes me want to eat when I'm full, have no patience for working out and change my habits. It makes me feel bad and worried all the time.. so I turn to food to feel better....

I procrastinate my tasks because I don't want to leave my comfort zone.. and I do that with exercising and eating too. It's like if my problem with losing weight is more emotional than physical... so I need to work hard on this.

Welcome! I spent about a decade in depression. I am, thankfully, doing very well now on Wellbutrin and can't even imagine having depression that was resistant to treatment.
Before I figured out that was a I had was depression, I used to get some relief and additional energy from acupuncture. And as far as the eating stuff - I used to find (and still do) that doing something I'd be completely absorbed in would take my mind off the food - basket weaving, knitting, sewing. Something that took so much brain power there was nothing left to want to make more toast with butter.
Good luck to you!

Long time lurker here too! This section of 3FC has been a god send in the last couple of months and really was the reason why I decided to see my family doctor about the issues I was having with depression. I couldn't figure out why I just wanted to climb into bed every night and couldn't stop eating all night... This section and the binge eating section have been good for me. I started taking wellbutrin a few weeks ago and that has helped a LOT. I do feel like it is still a bit of a struggle (some days I definitely feel low still) but I have had a bit more motivation to work out and my need to binge late at night has completely disappeared (I used to just eat through my cupboards, I wasn't keeping junk food in the house but it didn't matter, anything that appealed, peanut butter, fruit, nuts etc. - for the record I consider compulsively eating food quickly and always needing more even when not hungry binge eating). It just feels like I have some more willpower, or I've been able to identify some triggers and stop things before I get derailed.

So far my triggers are:
-Facebook and seeing pictures of acquaintances who have lost weight (why can't I, I suck etc., might as well eat)
-Relationships.. For some reason sometimes when I'm seeing a boyfriend or a good guy friend that I have feelings for and I'm feeling a bit inadequate or insecure
-My mother and conversations about food with my mother
-Stress at work/school/exams; procrastinating

I have a lot of things that make me eat. I have trouble finding productive things to do that I enjoy instead of eating. The depression was/is a big factor too... I've never felt more awful and worthless than realizing that I can barely function, that basic life stuff is just not getting done because I have no motivation to do anything. Feeling lazy etc. I'm still working on that. I have more motivation to take care of myself though, to be sure.

I hope you feel more welcomed now, Grey!

New here and feel like I've found my people! I could've written these things, I swear. I use the drinking trick too, when I'm bored or need to comfort eat, I try to fill my stomach up with hot drinks. The hard part is fighting the need to CHEW.

best maternity jeans
 

I still may fail to see an incentive to approach a specific woman, although i'm not intimidated anymore. For most cases in past times it had been not unfounded.


________________________________________

best maternity jeans

Thank you for posting. I was here almost 2 years ago, regained all that I lost and more, and am now back down to where I was 2 years ago. Anyway, the depression eating is right up my alley of experience :/ I have noticed a link with my desire to binge and my mood. Low energy = huge appetite and bingy thinking. I have also dealt with these mood issues since childhood and I am well into my 30s now. I struggle a lot... Good days and bad... today was baaaad, which is probably why I am back on here after a 2 year hiatus. Welcome! And thank you for this.