Posted by raisinb on December 11, 2008, at 11:10:25
In reply to I only feel normal when I am hungry, posted by linkadge on December 10, 2008, at 18:30:05
This is an interesting topic. I used to be anorexic and I got slightly addicted to the "rush" that comes from being hungry. I forget whether it's dopamine, endorphins, adrenaline, or what, but they have done studies that show that part of many eating disorders is such a physiological addiction.
When I am very depressed, I do get hungry, but I feel so incredibly futile that I have no desire to eat. There's something wrong with the reward system of my brain, I think--I get no pleasure from eating, so I don't want to, even though I can hear my stomach growling and feel dizzy from low blood sugar.
Not that any of this may apply to you, but I think how differently emotions, thoughts, and brain chemistry affect our weight and relationships with food. I've always thought telling people struggling with weight gain or loss--"just eat" or "you have to learn to diet and exercise" is way, way too simplistic. It's like CBT for major depression--great in theory, if you could get yourself into any kind of mind frame where you can control stuff like that.
Food, hunger, and emotional states are incredibly individualistic and complicated relationships.
poster:raisinb
thread:867948
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20081204/msgs/868065.html