Avoidant

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So Far, So Good

So far, since realizing that I am not apathetic by choice, but because of chronic illness and medication side effects, I am finding more impetus to be productive. Huzzah! I feel pretty good in spite of my depression, anxiety, fibromyalgia, and extreme limitation because I am the 24/7 caregiver of my disabled husband who has cognitive impairments.

Yesterday was my sister’s birthday. I gave her a present a day early and declined her invitation to her birthday lunch with her family. She was not happy with that but I know it was the right decision for me, so that is a win!

I have been having daily calls with my brother, who has many chronic health issues, including bi-polar disorder and depression. I love him, but this close contact with him spends a lot of my energy, so I need to be very careful not to overtax myself talking to him. I realized that I am unable to withstand discussion about his fake boyfriend who is actually a professional scammer. I want to protect my brother and have proven this guy is scamming him, but he is so blissed out by this person he has never met that he refuses to hear me. So I told him that I cannot talk to him about that subject anymore because it is adversely affecting my health. That was so hard for me to do, but again, I made the right decision for me.

Getting past those two events took a big toll on me and made my fibromyalgia flare. But my determination to make healthy choices for me is spiraling my confidence up, so I know I am on a good path. The more I protect my boundaries, the stronger I feel and the more energy I have to push through the #apathy holding me back.

My new defense against my #Depression and #Anxiety has been helping tremendously. I was suffering pretty bad from negative #self -talk and internal “#worry noise,” but finally learned how to escape all of that when I watched the Invitation to Freedom video on YouTube (link below).

I will spend my afternoon planning #Productivity into the coming week and getting us outside for some sun and exercise. Can you believe it? After being #Avoidant and apathetic for so long I have #Hope again!

Return to the Self, the Is-ness, an invitation to Freedom; youtu.be/ptcINj_7tcl

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YES! Nothing angers me more than someone saying another person doesn't "look" like they have an eating disorder 😡

As someone who struggles with multiple eating disorders and lives in a body that has changed sizes numerous times, I 100% agree with this statement. Let's get rid of the notion that anyone has to "look" a certain way to have an eating disorder. Eating disorders are primarily mental illnesses which can affect the body physically, and there is no such thing as needing to be "sick enough" to get treatment for an eating disorder. Your struggle is valid, I see you, and I'm here for you 💖 YOU'RE BODY'S APPEARANCE DOES NOT DICTATE YOUR QUALIFICATION FOR TREATMENT AND AWARENESS! #BulimiaNervosa #AnorexiaNervosa #OSFED #AtypicalAnorexia #EDNOS #BingeEatingDisorder #Avoidant /RestrictiveFoodIntakeDisorder

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Struggling with Body Image Today

I've been struggling with my body image, and have found it not possible to be body positive at this time. My therapist recommended I focus on body neutrality instead, and this has been so much more reachable. If you are struggling with an eating disorder as well, please know that I am here to empathize. We are in this together. #BulimiaNervosa #AnorexiaNervosa #BingeEatingDisorder #Avoidant /RestrictiveFoodIntakeDisorder #OtherSpecifiedEatingOrFeedingDisorder #EatingDisorders

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What do you think? 🤔

I love the sight of a well stocked kitchen...
But I hate cooking.

No, that's a lie, I don't. But its the only explanation I could proffer for a long time, not knowing that my depression and anxiety had hijacked this part of me too.

Not that it was hard.
I grew up on microwave dinners, baked beans, and my only intro to cooking was in home ec, baking bread.

I do make a mean loaf. 😉 But I was sent out into the world to survive not knowing a damn thing about proper nutrition.

How to keep my body functioning optimally...

And hadn't really set me up to be optimally healthy going out into the world on my own either...

Which obviously (hindsights a beatch) didn't really assist in helping my management of my issues...

And as they grew worse, then did my ability in being able to eat.

Strong flavours or smells made me wanna vomit. Foods I once loved, I grew to hate.

Going for days without eating. Not purposefully, but with a stomach in knots so often the mere thought of trying to stuff it with food had me closing the cupboards. Or not even thinking about stopping to eat at all.

Or being so drained, the knowing of how much energy is involved in preparing, cooking, eating, cleaning... Had me reaching for the quick-fix "health" bars.

Then there's the added anxiety ontop of screwing the meal up... And the weight of struggling to ever find motivation to ever do anything good for myself...

And it's a thing noone really talks about.

Whether that's down to bad food education- I didn't realise how shockingly bad mine was until I met my fiance (hes a michelin star trained chef)-

Or whether we haven't collectively made the connection of how food can influence our wellbeing and vice versa 🤷🏼‍♀️

But I wanted to see what you thought...

Have you noticed anything off with your diet, or your attitude toward it with your mental health conditions?

Does this attitude toward food fluctuate depending on how severe your symptoms are?

Do you think food can be a powerful influence over how we feel?

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

🍇🥑🌰🍄🧄🍓

#Depression #Anxiety #EatingDisorders #Selfcare #Selflove #Avoidant /RestrictiveFoodIntakeDisorder #Holistic

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teaching x employment: anxiety, & triggered 😩

Sigh I'm so sad and feeling ... like a small child, & being reminded in small scale of teaching in public sch, where it felt like I could never be good enough. I honestly don't think I'm terribly bad to an extent of being fired, but just that sense of being on my toes every day (I seriously fear my boss will text any time), anticipatory anxiety, ughhhhh - its like triggering public school teaching vibes lol. & off-the-cuff, it's my vibe of not being good enough (OMG therapy catchphrase omg omg. But I think now I say it a bit less 😬)

[Everything is bundled into a generic "not good enough" 😬]

If you've read this far, you probably need a context (sorry for the rant before the context)

I used to teach in public school, which sprang upon me the development of all these MH issues. I left, did a bit of other things for abit, before venturing back into teaching - in private enrichment space. It has been generally more bearable since, but with private enrichment still being overall a business, & the impacts of COVID19 on services/businesses in general-- I swear it's not me who changed, but that COVID shutdown has made my boss more micro-manage-y & nitpicky on tiny things.

Doesn't help that he tends to message at any random time (like, on after work hours/off days - omg he messaged me on a weekend public holiday, on Aug 09 [our National Day + a public hol], to ask about some kid's progress .. I swear that could have waited a week ..) -- so yes. Now the anticipatory anxiety is increasingly real (since end-July, and I think it's only growing. Slowly, but growing aha)

It's really quite triggering (and, I'm slightly afraid that people are gonna "judge" me for using the word, but I swear I'm using it as intended. Awhile ago, I read some article about how people use the word "triggered" when they mean "overwhelmed" - or that was what the author proposed - and it's made me a bit afraid to use the word "triggered" since)

But I really mean triggering in this case - because it comes with the full set of actual anxiety, not just overload and shutdown. I'm feeling these vibes in my thoughts and in my gut too and continually being on heightened alert is ... sucky. :-(

I'm not sure what I'm looking for, cos I know I'm not actually looking for positivity or affirmation (because what would strangers know abt me/my ability/my work environment) - I guess, just validation of some sort? I don't know. I'm sad. & triggered (& unashamed to use that word) ☹

#CheckInWithMe #MentalHealth #Anxiety #SocialAnxiety #Avoidant #AvoidantPersonalityDisorder #Employment #Selfesteem

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Eating Disorder Recovery SUCKS

I’m sitting here thinking about donuts. I feel guilty. I feel gross. I feel every roll on my stomach and my clothes feel tigher JUST because I am thinking about a food I probably won’t eat.

Even imagining unhealthy foods or enjoying them makes me feel fat. I know that if I don’t get a donut, I might binge later this week and do even more damage than just one little donut.

I never really eat sweets, so why do I feel so guilty about it?! I haven’t gained weight. But my lying eyes have told me I’m fatter than I was a few weeks ago when I last weighed myself. I notice how warped my perception is when a small sliver of the reality about my body seeps through some days, and maybe two days later I literally see myself 20-30 lbs heavier.

The icing on the cake in this situation (the cake I want to eat, but won’t lol) is that I am also manic and my appetite is so big. My body image is ALL over the place and I could feel so confident one day and then suddenly fall back into my body dysmorphia the next. This SUCKS. It is never cute, and it’s not something I would wish on anyone.

#BulimiaNervosa #Avoidant /RestrictiveFoodIntakeDisorder #ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder #Mania #BipolarDisorder

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Eating Disorder (from my perspective with bulimia)

This is one of a few representations of eating disorders that I created for the month of May, #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth . I realize that I cannot capture every aspect of every eating disorder in one drawing, but I wanted to focus mostly on the body dysmorphia and the self-deprecating thought process that comes along with disorderly eating. There is so much more to eating disorders, no matter what type, than anyone can fully understand unless they have experienced one or more of them. They are often accompanied by other disorders as well as a high risk of self-harm and suicidal ideation or attempts. In themselves, eating disorders are already severely dangerous and require immediate care when the person has lost control. They can lead to so many medical problems, including death from organ failure.

PLEASE please please, seek help if you are struggling with an eating disorder. I know first hand how hard it is to deal with this on a daily basis, but it is not worth losing your health, fertility, or even your life over. It’s never easy, but you’re strong, and you’ve made it too far to give up now.

#BulimiaNervosa #Avoidant /RestrictiveFoodIntakeDisorder #AnorexiaNervosa #BingeEatingDisorder #EatingDisorders #BodyDysmorphicDisorder

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I can't eat

I seem to have an appetite problem for a couple months now and I'm not sure why.
I feel so hungry to the point I feel nauseous and it gets worse taking a shower on an empty stomach, I end up throwing up nothing.
And whenever I do get myself to eat I can't get full no matter how much I eat. Even easy air fryer foods aren't helping me eat. Like chicken strips and fish sticks, pizza rolls. Surprisingly even pasta, my favorite thing isn't helping. Well, maybe if I had ingredients for tuna noodle I'd be okay, I can never say no to that. That's my number one comfort food.
I had my boyfriend run to the store this morning to get me some soup, see if that will help. Well, I ate two cans then got full, a few hours later I'm starting to get hungry again and a little dizzy. Might try and snack on my strawberries before they get too bad..
I've also been waking up to a different bruise on my leg every day too, lack of food perhaps?
Eggs and drinking breakfast essentials is good but doesn't fill me up. I feel bad for wasting food lately, I just keep giving it to be dogs. I want some good beef ramen but ramen in general I think is still gone from the stores. The good ones at least, I thought about ordering some good ramen online but I don't know..
I even lost 5 pounds and I'm already pretty skinny. Healthy skinny but if I lose 10 more pounds it won't be too healthy.. I don't think it's an eating disorder although I have serious body dysmorphia and can never decide if I want to lose or gain weight. I do want to eat.. I just can't. Certain foods, like too much unhealthy stuff I usually love I'm afraid to eat because I don't want to get fat. I don't know what is wrong but it's really affecting me. I'm too tired and weak to do anything around the house and don't have enough calories to burn when it comes to exercise.
#Avoidant /RestrictiveFoodIntakeDisorder #BodyDysmorphicDisorder #tired #Depression #Anxiety #BorderlinePersonalityDisorder #EatingIssues