hi i am suffering with anxiety and depression and have been doing for 10 years i am 35 but it has only been recently that i worry continuously about what i eat. i worry whats in the food. i worry if it will make my anxiety even worse and i worry if it has stimulants in it. gosh stop me is this normal or am i juat worrying over something to worry about. can someone please help me as i have lost a lot of weight and its starting to get noticed. i just want to sit down and enjoy a meal again and get comfort from it.please.

For anyone stuggling through these issues, there's been such an encouraging discussion on "God's Answers For Anxiety, Depression & Obsessive Thoughts", it's on most Christian radio stations, and http://www.pointofview.net/site/PageServer is the link to their web site & you can listen online even if you missed today's broadcast, it was simply wonderful!!!!
Blessings,
Fairlight

thanks steph for you ideas of introducing food more gradually. i will try that . i do feel brave and sometimes have a nibble on something and then laugh at myself and think what can it really do to me. im hoping this will pass ive only just started to obsess about the food issue. but just like everything else it isnt that easy. i to think i have now got an eating disorder. lets hope we get through it.

Hi poppyuk, I think that just like other things people obsess over the way to get through it is by saying to yourself that it is ok. Maybe if you and another person try to eat something new, that way you can see that when the other person ate it they were fine and you will be to when you eat it. Just a suggestion, but I have recently found me love for food again and I it is the best. Food can be so good and good for you!

As long as your food is nutritious and balanced eating the same foods everyday is fine. Many people eat the same foods on a regular basis.

You do not have an eating disorder. You have panic attack disorder and OCD. You will need to expose to other foods to learn to be unafraid. You have to prove to yourselve that you'll be OK. What you are truly afraid of are the anxious feelings. That's what you really fear and the food thing is just another obsession. The content of your obsession is not the issue. The real issue is the feelings that your fear generates. The anxiety you feel. Eventually you will need to expose to different foods and feel the anxiety as you do this. A little at a time. You may wish to have a local support person (counselor) that can guide you through the process. Someone you can turn to with questions as you move along your healing path.

Hi - I just want you to know that I used to have the same food phobias. When I was in my teens it got so bad that I don't know why I didn't starve to death.

Then, I got help from a therapist and later, a support group. Once my anxiety started to wane, I began to eat more foods, trying new things, and gradually, over time, my phobias no longer controlled me.

My anxiety came back 20 years later, but my phobias manifested differently. After doing this program, I feel like anxiety and phobias will never control me as they once did. I no longer fear FEAR which panic is, and phobias don't get a foothold anymore.

I just wanted you to know that you're not alone, and that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Do the program, take a round of meds if necessary (I took 4 months of Lexapro, it was very helpful), and remember that this too shall pass. Everything does.

thank you all for your kind words and support. i am going to try and take things slowly and eat little of other foods first and take it from there. it is nice when people give a response to all the questions we ask. but hearing other peoples views is very warming. thank you. take care.