Feeling anxious after eating can be very distressing. After all, we do not expect to feel like this! There are a few reasons this may be happening, such as social anxiety or bad experiences with food. Whatever the cause for your anxiety after eating, there are treatment options available, as well as coping skills to help you overcome certain triggers.
Anxiety After Eating Symptoms
For those who feel anxious after eating, instead of having a natural and healthy relationship with food, they may feel tense, irritable, even nauseated after consumption. The sensations people typically experience after eating range from comforting, like feeling full after a good meal, to expected, such as feeling bloated after eating too much. Unfortunately, eating can trigger different and distressing reactions, which may lead to anxiety.
Anxiety can be a difficult emotion to understand. For myself and my clients, I like to conceptualize anxiety as simply as possible. In broad terms, anxiety exists to help warn us about bad things that might happen. Of course, there are times when anxiety is doing this far too much! That is where anxiety can become more of a problem, such as after eating.
Symptoms of anxiety after eating may include:1
- Difficulties sleeping
- Trembling
- Headaches
- Irritability
- Sweating
- Lightheadedness
- Nausea
- Poor concentration
- Unable to relax
Panic Attacks After Eating
Panic attacks are intense feelings of anxiety that are overwhelming.2 For those who experience severe anxiety after eating, they may suffer from frequent panic attacks, which can be scary and debilitating. Sometimes, people experiencing a panic attack may feel as though they are dying.3 However, while panic attacks may be intense, they are not known to cause death.
Why You May Get Anxious After Eating
After you are done eating, the expectation is that you will feel full, or at least no longer hungry. Instead, when you feel anxious, this is of course difficult. The frustration can intensify any anxiety, as you may become preoccupied with your own thoughts in these moments. These symptoms can indicate issues with social or similar situations, or could even indicate some physical illnesses.
Possible causes of anxiety after eating include:
Social Anxiety
Social anxiety can influence just about everything a person does in public. There are a number of reasons why eating in public or around others may cause anxiety. For example, one may worry about making a mess while eating, thus embarrassing themselves with stains on their clothing or on the tablecloth. Or, a person may wonder if others are judging their food choices, and therefore choose a meal that they don’t even want or like.
Of course, it is perfectly normal for someone to think about these things. However, if these thoughts become disruptive, they have the potential to affect one’s life more and more over time.
Desire for Control
It is common to feel out of control in certain aspects of our lives. This is especially true when there are things that overwhelm us. In stressful times, we may feel desperate for some sense of stability. Eventually, the excessive need for control can take up a lot of attention and planning, thus resulting in anxiety.
Eating Disorders
Anxiety after eating may indicate that you are struggling with an eating disorder. For instance, if throwing up becomes a part of how you deal with food-related anxiety, it may be a result of a condition such as bulimia nervosa.
Food Allergies
Food allergies, such as to shellfish, peanuts, or dairy, can lead to anxiety. Being worried that your body may react strongly to food you ate may induce symptoms. You may be worried that foods prepared at restaurants have not been properly labeled, and something you are allergic to may have been missed in the description. This kind of anxiety can impact how you feel about food and eating in general.
Previous GI Issues
Having a personal or familial history of intestinal obstructions or gastrointestinal cancer can cause anxiety after eating. You may find yourself thinking, “Maybe this is the meal that will make me sick”, as you remember the times when you, your family member, or friend were sick before. However, seek medical advice if you feel this abdominal discomfort is a sign of something serious.
Unspecified Shame
Feeling ashamed of yourself for eating can lead to anxiety after eating. Possible reasons for shame can include choosing unhealthy food options, binge eating, being embarrassed by others for your eating behaviors, or even something you can’t quite put your finger on. Regardless, work to understand if this shame may be harmful, as it can further negatively influence your anxiety symptoms.
Taste Aversions
Sometimes, the anxiety you feel after eating has a simple cause. If you didn’t like the food you ate, you may become anxious about why you’re feeling this way. Does it indicate that you may have a bad reaction, like heartburn? Feeling anxious about the possibility of eating the food again in the future can lead to anxiety here as well.
Emotional Eating
When we feel anxious or depressed, eating can be a go-to solution to address uncomfortable feelings. You may engage in emotional eating to satiate these symptoms. However, if they remain after eating, lingering anxieties may become increasingly disturbing, furthering the cycle. It may feel as though your anxiety will never end.
9 Tips for Coping With Anxiety After Eating
Coping with anxiety after eating is possible. There are many ways to do this, and the combination of these efforts together can make a difference. Developing healthy coping mechanisms can help you gain confidence to overcome this anxiety as it occurs. You may even be able to prevent this anxiety from overwhelming you.
Here are nine tips for coping with anxiety after eating:
- Have a plan: Create a plan to help you steer clear of food aversions or allergies when eating out or in public.
- Evaluate what you ate: Are there certain foods that affect your anxiety? Identifying these is not meant to induce shame, but rather help you evaluate why you ate the food or why it may be causing symptoms.
- Track your food choices: Recognizing a pattern in particular food choices or situations that result in anxiety can be beneficial. This will help you prepare and take care of yourself when these situations occur.
- Eat with someone who encourages you: Going to lunch with a friend or loved one who you trust can be so important. This provides you with an opportunity to open up about your challenges with them so they can support you.
- Be open about your experience: This anxiety, along with anxiety in general, can be an isolating experience. It may be helpful to be open about what you’re feeling.
- Find good role models: Other people have dealt with similar struggles. They may also experience body-image issues or related difficulties you may be facing. Ask around, and lean on these people for support.
- Try grounding techniques: Grounding techniques are meant to help connect us with the present moment. Anxiety steers us away from this, as we worry about the future or the past. Sometimes, just remembering to interact with your surroundings is important.
- Try journaling: Journaling is a helpful way to express your feelings in the moment, evaluate your progress, or release overwhelming emotions you are experiencing. Even though you may want to keep it to yourself, writing these things down can help.
- See a doctor: If you are concerned about a gastrointestinal or other health problem, you should seek medical guidance. There may be a medical reason for your symptoms which requires treatment. If you don’t have a problem, the reassurance may help alleviate some anxiety.
When to Seek Professional Help
Therapy can be a helpful option for those who experience anxiety after eating. The struggle with anxiety can be challenging, and it may feel hard to think about talking to somebody about your symptoms. Talking through these issues with your friends or family may seem like a good option. However, a therapist is meant to provide unconditional support, and has training and experience in managing anxiety symptoms–this may be difficult to receive from loved ones.
Treatment options for anxiety after eating may include:
- Nutrition counseling: Nutrition counseling can help you understand how food choices promote better health.
- Enhanced cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT-E):CBT-E is commonly used and covered by insurance. People struggling with eating disorders can benefit from this structured approach.
- Group therapy: Eating disorder group therapies can put you in contact with others dealing with similar problems. This connection can help you not feel alone.
- Individual therapy: Individual psychotherapy can provide a personalized look into the reasons for your struggles. The one-on-one attention and professional guidance may be more powerful and difficult, but it will be worth it!
- In-patient therapy: In this case, in-patient therapy is probably not necessary–but if signs of an eating disorder are harmful to your physical or mental health, this may be needed.
Final Thoughts
Feeling anxious when you eat can be really tough. In any case, it is important to remember that your symptoms are treatable, and that others care about what you are going through! You are not alone. Take some time to explore yourself and why your anxiety may be happening. Most importantly, remind yourself that no anxiety is impossible to overcome.
For Further Reading
Anxiety After Eating Infographics
