Lived Experience Forum

[MavRixx]

Hey All,<br><br>I am hungry and I am starving. It's self defeating and self - sabotage on my part. When I am depressed I don't eat. There's a lot of side effects on an empty stomach. <br><br>How does one stay full without resorting to junk food when depressed? <br>

[CheerBear]

Hi @MavRixx. Eating issues and depression (lots of mental health conditions I imagine) do seem to go hand in hand for many people. I have really struggled with not eating when my mental health stuff is really playing up. Along with sleep issues, it's one of the first signs I am starting to not go so well.

I went through a bit of a smoothie thing that helped for a while. There are so many recipes and options out there for smoothies and I found them really filling (too filling sometimes). Little bits of food can help increase appetite, and I found a couple of crackers here and there helped and didn't make me feel sick. I really like some fruits (apples, mango, grapes, mandarines) and find the sweetness can be a nice way to get a bit of a healthy sugar fix.

It can be really hard to think about eating when things are hard, but as you said there are a lot of side effects of having an empty stomach also. Hope you can work something out that feels right for you soon.

[MavRixx]

Thanks the advice @CheerBear

I tried smoothie this morning. Its filling alright!

I drank "chamomile tea" which made me relaxed and drowsy, so I had a good nights rest.

Bought a lot of fruit and leafy greens. Gonna juice them soon.

[CheerBear]

Hey @MavRixx, you're welcome. Great stuff you're doing there!

What did you put in your smoothie (if you'd like to share)? I've had a smoothie mix bag of fruit in the freezer for a couple of weeks and after the post I wrote last night I decided to take a bit of my own advice and made one myself today (so hot here). It was really nice and very filling.

Hope you enjoy the juicing mix! Healthy and filling - sounds like a winner ☺

[Phoenix_Rising]

Hi @MavRixx, It's super nice to meet you.

I always make sure I have some really quick-to-make types of food in the house for when I have zero inclination to eat. Tins of baked beans, breakfast cereal (relatively healthy options like weet-bix) and eggs are a few of my go-to options.

There is a conversation about food happening here at the moment, which you might find helpful.

@CheerBear you said I went through a bit of a smoothie thing that helped for a while. That made a super funny picture in my brain of you going through smoothies.

[Appleblossom]

@MavRixx

I hope hanging around the forum he[s you as it has helped me.

And you have already met our resident super class/clown in a super turtle outfit. @Phoenix_Rising

We even manage a laugh at times here.

Take care.

[MavRixx]

Hey @CheerBear

I used frozen Banana, Mango and Milk for smoothie.

I am feeling down which is great. These days I feel flat most of time. Pain is good motivator. It helps me dig deeper and try harder. More aggressive approach.

Thanks everyone for taking time to reply. I am grateful.