Disorder or what?

[Hallelujah]

I'm not sure if this fits under here or mental health but I thought I'd give it a shot, see if anyone else can help.

Sometimes when I'm in certain different situations - at restaurants, christmas dinner, on holiday etc - where I'd eat, I seem to panic and trying to eat makes me gag and feel like puking. It's almost as though I'm afraid to eat and after it's happened once it leaks into home life too, to the point where I can barely get away with eating crackers without wanting to hurl. My mum always told me I was being stupid and it was me wanting attention, but the more I think about it, the more I realise that on any of these occasions, no matter how much I wanted to eat, I physically couldn't without throwing up. My appetite goes out the window and I lose weight like mad, 'cause it lasts for weeks sometimes.

I don't know if this is a disorder or what, but I wanted to know if anyone else gets it, and how they get over it.

[Jen]

Hey Jo,

My first reaction is that it sounds like anxiety. It is very common to get nauseous, gag, and lose appetite when a person is anxious or panicky. Do you exhibit any other signs of anxiety--racing thoughts, butterflies in your stomach, dread at certain situations, etc? It could be that if you're getting an anxiety attack, or panicking, your appetite decreases right away and that's what's happening. Just something to think about!

<3

[ponygirl733]

It doesn't sound exactly like and eating disorder, but it is still a problem. I agree that it could be anxiety. Tell someone about it and see if you can find out what's going on