Does this count as self harm?
Hi everyone! I’m a bit embarrassed to share this because I’m almost 30 and yet I’m still struggling with this. I used to self harm and cut myself back when I was way younger, I also used to “purge” and had a pattern with disordered eating.
Recently, I was hit with a major life issue. I’ve been super anxious every day to the point where I just can’t eat. It’s been 4 days since I had eaten anything, I have been drinking lots of water though but I have 0 appetite. I believe this is a form of disordered eating but would this also be a form of self harm? I really don’t want to go down this path again…
@zeloyo Just to set aside the SH issue for a moment - anxiety itself can impact our appetite very severely, to the point of feeling nauseous at even the thought of food. However I would suggest reaching out to a healthcare professional regarding the issue of anxiety. I'm not sure if you've accessed the 7cups self help guide on self harm? There are useful exercises in there such as diaphragmatic breathing which can also help to reduce anxious feelings
I’ve never really gotten around to the self help section on here, will definitely check it out. I’ve talked to my therapist about my anxiety and she’s given me some tips to manage it but I guess it hasn’t really been working as well as I expected…
Yep definitely feeling nauseous at the thought of food, I think my anxiety is really spiking up my cortisol levels. I think the root of my issue is definitely the anxiety, I’ll push myself to eat something today, maybe it’ll come down my body from being at this fight or flight mode. Thank you so much for dropping by and sharing your thoughts, I really appreciate you.
