Trauma Cause Eating Disorder

brokenchild · #1 03-06-2008, 02:04 AM

I didn't see a topic on this so I'm sorry if it's been discussed.

I was just wondering if anyone else had/has an eating disorder due to their PTSD. Sometimes when I eat I get flashbacks, which leads to eating less. That lead to anorexia. Now I have to be really careful trying to make flashbacks stop so not to fall back into not eating and anorexia.

NotDepressed · #2 03-06-2008, 07:03 AM

Yes, I've experienced periods of anorexia and even lost 25 lbs in six weeks last year. IMO, it made the anxiety worse, which made the eating disorder worse. The fed on each other (no pun intended). When I consciously regulated my diet, my anxiety diminished considerably.

nic · #3 03-06-2008, 07:38 AM

Yes, eating disorders seem to be common among PTSD sufferers. I suggest you search past threads; you will find a lot of people who have struggled with, and even some who've overcome, eating disorders.

brokenchild · #4 03-06-2008, 01:44 PM

Thanks for the replies. I'm still not sure if what I had was "true" anorexia as I didn't think I was "fat" so much as I was just scared to eat because it caused flashbacks. The more weight I lost, the fatter I thought I was, which is now is "normal" when restricting. Granted, the outcome was the same, weight loss and eventual in patient.

I no longer really struggle with eating and have been at a healthy weight since I got out of in patient, though when the flashbacks get bad it's so tempting because I know not eating will make them stop.

I'll do a search on the topic. Thanks for that idea. I didn't think of it.