The Stress Theory: Why do some people lose their appetite while others overeat? Loss of appetite due to nervousness (with stress, neurosis, depression): what to do

Have you ever asked for more during a family feast, not because you're hungry, but to please your mother-in-law who tried so hard? Or maybe you have ordered dessert in a cafe just because your best friend really wanted to share a big piece of creamy cake with you? You didn’t want sweets at all, but you honestly ate your half, because your friend would be offended if you refused ...

If you have been in such situations, it may very well be that you suffer from a pathological desire to please others. At the same time, the desire to make family and friends happy makes you eat more than you need. And this is just one of the emotional reasons that can lead to the appearance of extra pounds.

Anger, loneliness, guilt, regret, sadness - these feelings and stress often cause us to seek solace in food. A cup of hot chocolate, a piece of cake, some cheese and wine - and life no longer seems so sad, and the weather - so cloudy and cold. There is hardly a woman who, at least once in her life, has not tried to brighten up the tedious waiting with a bag of chips or console herself for a scandal at work with a package of ice cream with roasted nuts and chocolate chips.

Stress and excess weight

Someone with the help of delicious food tries to please others, someone is looking for pleasant emotions, and someone only a bar of chocolate allows you to get rid of stress. First of all, understand the reasons that make you overeat, and then choose the right tactics.

Everyone's Favorite

You eat for others, not for yourself. Psychologists have long noticed that being in a company where it is customary to eat a lot, even those who are usually used to limiting themselves unconsciously increase portions. That is why this statement is true: if all your girlfriends are overweight, then your chances of gaining unnecessary kilograms also increase. And if, among other things, you also strive to please others without fail, then you will eat even more.

And after overeating, depression sets in, and not just because you didn’t fit into your favorite jeans. When your main concern is to please others, you end up letting others decide what is good for you. You stop listening to your own desires. There is only one way out of this situation: listen to your inner voice.

Think about what you want. If you are not really hungry, praise the hostess, you can say something like this: “The pies are just wonderful, and the flavor is such that you will lick your fingers. But I ate so much at dinner that, perhaps, I will refrain now. Ask to wrap some pies to go and eat them at home when you are hungry. Or treat them to friends and colleagues in the office.
Learn to say no. Of course, you are used to doing everything the way others like it, and at first it will be difficult for you. Mainly because you will be forced to fight your own habits, even your reflexes. After all, most likely, you grew up with the belief that you need to take care only of loved ones, and not take your own interests into account. And you can deal with it only with some effort. You have to master a skill that you have not mastered before, that's all.
Gradually learn to say a polite "no". Start with those who push you with unnecessary services or products. Then try to refuse acquaintances who invite you to an uninteresting event. And when you master all this, you may already be able to refuse without remorse the second piece of cake at the birthday party of an aunt who is famous for her culinary talents.

Looking for thrills

You are bored and you take out a bag of candy. Most likely, you do not need food, but an influx of dopamine - a substance that is produced in the brain and is responsible for pleasure, excitement and appetite. Dopamine is associated with basic human needs and is primarily needed so that we do not forget to eat on time.

But the frequent use of various drugs and improper nutrition have led to the fact that the internal systems of the body go astray and fail. Substances that are designed to ensure that our body receives the necessary energy, become the cause of a variety of addictions and overeating. It has already been proven that in the process of digesting sweet and fatty foods in the brain, there is approximately the same sharp release of dopamine as after taking drugs. The difference is only in the strength of the impact, but the principle, as the doctors assure, is the same.

Little has been studied by scientists about how boredom affects the amount of food you eat. But in 2011, American doctors conducted a small study (only 139 people participated in it), the results of which caused a real shock among specialists. Young men and women admitted that most often they overeat out of boredom, and not at all when they are sad or worried.

More emotions! Think about activities that could lift your spirits. Dancing? Skiing? Scuba diving? Everyone has their own idea of fun. Someone needs to jump with a parachute for a shake-up, and someone just needs to master crocheting. Listen to yourself and choose what you like.
Maximum variety. Do you always take the subway to work? Get off one station early and walk the rest of the way. If you need to lose weight, don't stick to one program. When you get tired of counting calories, switch to separate meals, then to a protein diet, then to the menu. In the same way, change the types of physical activity: dance today, yoga tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow go to a strip plastic class.

sleep against hunger

Regardless of the type of personality and character traits, all people on the planet have one thing in common: when we do not get enough sleep or are tired, we automatically look for sources of energy. And the most common source is food - usually something sweet or fatty. This is how weight gain begins during stress! Studies confirm that a person who did not get enough sleep the night before is simply not able to make the right choice of products, because his brain does not function at full capacity. This is why proper sleep is so important! And if you still do not get enough sleep, try these techniques the next day. Every 45 minutes, give yourself a short break for 2-3 minutes and only then return to business. And try to find other sources of energy besides food - it will be completely replaced by an active walk in the fresh air or listening to energetic music (in headphones).

Workaholic and Altruist

You work too hard, get too tired, and eat too much. It is these three components that lead to the fact that energetic and active women, to their own amazement, gain excess weight. If you work a lot, you often find yourself in a state of stress and calm down with the help of food - this is quite understandable. But this may not be the only issue.

Women who take on too many things often forget about themselves. After all, you need time for yourself, and there is never enough of it. And there is always time for a serving of ice cream or a bag of chips!

If this is your problem, know that even small lifestyle changes can help you tame your appetite.

Start with the simplest. Think about how you can reduce the effects of stress you often experience. For example, make it a rule to give yourself a five-minute break between work and home. Sit in your car for five minutes before you go home. Close your eyes, listen to pleasant music, meditate. Or just stand in the fresh air, looking at the sky. Take a few deep breaths and head out to your family in a good mood.
Learn to listen to yourself. When you are nervous and your hands are reaching for the box of chocolates, take a little time out - at least for 5-10 seconds. Think about what else you can do to please yourself at the moment. And let this joy not be associated with food! Make a list of things you can do in a short break to get some distraction and calm down. Play solitaire on the computer, call a friend, and if you have pets, pet a cat or dog.
State your intentions. A recently published study by Greek scientists found that people who are trying to learn a new skill do better when they say key words out loud. When you're nervous and ready to grab the box of cookies, try to change the situation by saying out loud, "Now I'm going to read for five minutes." This will help you break the vicious cycle of automatic actions. Your autopilot will turn off and you will be able to control your actions again.
If none of these remedies work, don't be so quick to blame yourself. Instead, be curious and reflect on what went wrong and what could be done differently next time. As a rule, those people who know how to take into account their experience, use it, so as not to repeat mistakes, achieve what they want. Therefore, turn to your natural wisdom, and you can find answers to these simple questions.

Any stressful situation affects the state of the body. People suffering from stress often face weight problems. Problems can be associated both with its set, and with a deterioration in appetite and weight loss. Many people become immunocompromised as a result of malnutrition and cannot gain weight at all.

Why do people lose weight from stress?

Stress and weight loss are related phenomena. At first it may seem that it is even good to get rid of unwanted kilograms in such a short period. Many women torture themselves with diets, but they still cannot achieve the desired result. And from stress they lose weight very sharply. However, weight loss from stress should not be taken as the norm. An organism that has lost a large amount of weight in the shortest possible time will try to restore the lack of adipose tissue.

Weight loss under stress occurs at the expense of large energy losses. With prolonged exposure to stress on the body, the metabolism is disturbed. This condition is accepted by the body as painful, and appetite decreases. All the forces of the body are directed to the fight against depression.

If there are health problems, exposure to stress can even lead to loss of appetite. In some cases, people completely refuse to eat, and when they try to eat, nausea and vomiting appear.

Reasons for weight loss

During stress, a person is not able to fully relax. Thoughts about the reasons that led to an unfavorable state do not give rest, a person cannot concentrate normally. There is muscle spasm, including the muscles of the gastrointestinal tract. As a result, the need to eat food disappears, and the appetite disappears.

The most common reasons for weight loss:

When a person has an unstable nervous system, he is more prone to developing an eating disorder. As a result of strong experiences, a person loses weight and cannot get better.
Close relatives of the person had similar problems.
Weak immunity, soreness. Under the influence of stressful situations, a weakened body loses its appetite.
Skinny physique. People who are genetically prone to thinness have an increased metabolism. Even with proper nutrition, it is difficult for them to gain weight, and losing weight from stress is very easy.

Loss of appetite and frequent stress

Appetite is a natural reaction of the body, thanks to which it provides itself with the necessary amount of nutrients. Its loss is the main cause of weight loss. In case of a long-term lack of appetite, you should seek medical help. Because as a result of prolonged starvation, the body begins to use the accumulation of nutrients and become depleted.

Frequent stresses that have arisen after prolonged experiences can lead to a change in tastes in food and a decrease in appetite. Weight loss occurs too quickly, and a person notices changes when the weight has already decreased significantly.

Consequences

Malnutrition can lead to exhaustion of the body and cause such negative consequences:

Sleep disorders. A person suffers from insomnia, constantly cannot fall asleep for a long time, sleeps superficially.
Disturbances in the work of the brain.
Problems with the cardiovascular system.
Problems with the functions of the musculoskeletal system.
Problems with menstruation in women.
Feeling weak, headaches and dizziness.
development of anorexia. When this disease occurs, it is quite difficult to regain the lost weight.

How to overcome stress and stop losing weight?

To stop losing weight, you must strictly adhere to the regime of the day and nutrition.

To choose the right nutrition schedule, it is better to seek help from a nutritionist. You should also get rid of bad habits. In no case should you smoke and drink alcohol, even in small quantities.
You need to eat regularly in small portions at least five times a day. It is advisable to include in your diet a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. Cereal cereals are very useful, they contain many vitamins necessary for fat and protein metabolism.
Physical activity can help with stress management. You can sign up for dancing, gym or yoga classes. Engaging in your favorite hobby will also be very effective. The main thing is to find something to your liking.
Healthy sleep is an extremely important component of the treatment. It is better to go to bed a couple of hours before midnight, and sleep at least eight hours. After all, when stressed, the body needs more time to rest. To sleep better, before going to bed, you can take a walk in the fresh air. If you suffer from insomnia, calming herbal tinctures will help you gather your thoughts and calm down. The most common infusions are: valerian, chamomile, motherwort, hawthorn, tincture of lemon balm and peppermint.
At least one day a week should be set aside for rest. On this day, it is better to stay at home and try not to think about problems. It is better to turn off the phone and computer and devote the day off to your favorite business. You can just read a book, watch a movie or listen to music.
It is extremely important to try to eliminate the source of stress. Quite often a person provokes himself, perceiving everything too negatively. For this reason, stress occurs, leading to exhaustion of the body.

In severe cases, treatment may require hospitalization.

How to improve stress tolerance

In order to increase stress resistance, you need to think less about problems. There are problems in every person's life. There is no point in thinking about them, they need to be addressed. If the problem seems unsolvable, there is no need to worry about it. If something cannot be changed, then you need to change your attitude towards it. Just put it aside for a while and do not think about it, and soon there will definitely be a way to solve it.

Often reserved people are accepted as the most able to withstand stressful situations. But in reality, it turns out that such people simply hide their emotions, they accumulate over time and act destructively. Any person needs to get rid of the accumulated negativity. For example, you can attend a concert or football and scream from the heart.

It will be easier for you to stay calm in stressful situations if you learn how to breathe properly.

You don't have to be ashamed of your emotions. If you want to cry, cry. This advice also applies to men. Tears help relieve tension and get rid of accumulated negativity.

We, who live in conditions of emotional stress and nervousness, often attribute our fullness to the impossibility of not eating when we are nervous. So why do people behave so differently?

It is known that animals in a state of danger or illness stop eating. The same instinct lives in people: when a person is faced with a difficulty that carries a real threat, he cannot even think about food, all his strength and will are concentrated on the need to survive, to protect himself.

For example, a person experiencing the death of someone close cannot eat anything, because his body is currently completely absorbed in the experience of loss: he must emotionally survive the trouble and cope with stress, this is now more important than maintaining strength with food. Thus, psychologists assure that a person refuses to eat only when the stress is really strong, and the body needs to concentrate all its forces to cope with it.

On the other hand, paradoxical examples from life are known when a person eats when a real threat of death hangs over him. So, in books about the war, one has to read about how soldiers eat something under fire. For example, Remarque described a case when one of the soldiers in the trench hastily eats a can of stew, although the enemy is already close, and everyone knows that few will be able to survive. There is an explanation for such an act: a person who lives in conditions of constant stress for a long time involuntarily reaches for food, because it is able to support the undermined forces of the body. The psyche is so worn out that its strength is not enough to fight the incessant stress, food can do something to help.

Finally, we all notice that if we start eating intensively during times of stress, then we mainly eat sweets. This is also no coincidence: during stress, vitamin B and magnesium are primarily consumed. A person needs to make up for the losses, so he really wants to eat chocolate and nuts - they contain magnesium in large quantities. The body “remembers” how pleased it was when you ate a piece of cake, so it wants to “override” the resulting negative with pleasant sensations.

As you can see, different reactions of people in a situation of stress have an explanation, therefore, if you suffer from overeating in difficult times for you, first of all we advise you to find out the nature of your stress - is it serious?

Of course, it's hard when life circumstances develop in such a way that you cannot cope with them at the moment, and you have to be patient. Of course, no diet will help until the cause of nervous shocks is eliminated, but try to control yourself. If you can’t do without eating something, let it be better fruits and juices. If you understand that the stress that makes you run to the refrigerator is not stress at all, try to overcome it, because in this case it is really possible: train willpower.

stress and weight. How to get rid of "zhora" on a nervous basis?

Eating during stress

Anger, loneliness, guilt, regret, sadness - these feelings and stress often make us seek solace in food. A cup of hot chocolate, a piece of cake, a little cheese and wine - and life no longer seems so sad, and the weather - so cloudy and cold. There is hardly a woman who, at least once in her life, has not tried to brighten up the tedious waiting with a bag of chips or console herself for a scandal at work with a package of ice cream with roasted nuts and chocolate chips.

Stress and excess weight

Everyone's Favorite

You eat for others, not for yourself. Psychologists have long noticed that being in a company where it is customary to eat a lot, even those who are usually used to limiting themselves unconsciously increase portions. That is why this statement is true: if all your girlfriends are overweight, then your chances of gaining unnecessary kilograms also increase. And if, among other things, you also strive to please others without fail, then you will eat even more.

And after overeating, depression sets in, and not just because you didn’t fit into your favorite jeans. When your main desire is to please others, it turns out that you allow others to decide what is good for you. You stop listening to your own desires. There is only one way out of this situation: listen to your inner voice.

Think about what you want. If you are not really hungry, praise the hostess, you can say something like this: “The pies are just wonderful, and the flavor is such that you will lick your fingers. But I ate so much at dinner that, perhaps, I will refrain now. Ask to wrap some pies to go and eat them at home when you are hungry. Or treat them to friends and colleagues in the office.
Learn to say no. Of course, you are used to doing everything the way others like it, and at first it will be difficult for you. Mainly because you will be forced to fight your own habits, even your reflexes. After all, most likely, you grew up with the belief that you need to take care only of loved ones, and not take your own interests into account. And you can deal with it only with some effort. You have to master a skill that you have not mastered before, that's all.

Gradually learn to say a polite "no". Start with those who push you with unnecessary services or products. Then try to refuse acquaintances who invite you to an uninteresting event. And when you master all this, you may already be able to refuse without remorse the second piece of cake at the birthday party of an aunt who is famous for her culinary talents.

Looking for thrills

More emotions! Think about activities that could lift your spirits. Dancing? Skiing? Scuba diving? Everyone has their own idea of fun. Someone needs to jump with a parachute for a shake-up, and someone just needs to master crocheting. Listen to yourself and choose what you like.
Maximum variety. Do you always take the subway to work? Get off one station early and walk the rest of the way. If you need to lose weight, don't stick to one program. When you get tired of counting calories, switch to separate meals, then to a protein diet, then to the menu. In the same way, change the types of physical activity: dance today, yoga tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow go to a strip plastic class.

sleep against hunger

Workaholic and Altruist

If this is your problem, know that even small lifestyle changes can help you tame your appetite.

Start with the simplest. Think about how you can reduce the effects of stress you often experience. For example, make it a rule to give yourself a five-minute break between work and home. Sit in your car for five minutes before you go home. Close your eyes, listen to pleasant music, meditate. Or just stand in the fresh air, looking at the sky. Take a few deep breaths and head out to your family in a good mood.
Learn to listen to yourself. When you are nervous and your hands are reaching for the box of chocolates, take a little time out - at least for 5-10 seconds. Think about what else you can do to please yourself at the moment. And let this joy not be associated with food! Make a list of things you can do in a short break to get some distraction and calm down. Play solitaire on the computer, call a friend, and if you have pets, pet a cat or dog.
State your intentions. A recently published study by Greek scientists found that people who are trying to learn a new skill do better when they say key words out loud. When you're nervous and ready to grab the box of cookies, try to change the situation by saying out loud, "Now I'm going to read for five minutes." This will help you break the vicious cycle of automatic actions. Your autopilot will turn off and you will be able to control your actions again.

If none of these remedies work, don't be so quick to blame yourself. Instead, be curious and reflect on what went wrong and what could be done differently next time. As a rule, those people who know how to take into account their experience, use it, so as not to repeat mistakes, achieve what they want. Therefore, turn to your natural wisdom, and you can find answers to these simple questions.

How to stop stress eating

Eating any excitement? So, you need to be able to cope with stress without overeating. In this article, we will tell you how to create a personal “anti-stress” nutrition plan.

Trying to achieve perfection sometimes leads to stress. Diets also cause stress. Illnesses of loved ones are another cause of stress, as are things at work, family responsibilities, and other endless worries. What is our reaction? We begin to look for a "cure" for mental pain, fatigue or longing. Alcohol? Drugs? For many women, it becomes such a medicine. food. Excess food, of course, leads to weight gain, which, as you might guess, only increases the same stress.

Mini test. If you answered yes to at least three of these questions, you are most likely using food as a stress reliever.

1. Does your willpower disappear in the afternoon and evening?

2. Does food help relieve emotional stress and bring you satisfaction?

3. Do you eat as if in a fog, not noticing how your hand takes chips or nuts out of the bag?

4. When you feel low during the day, do you try to "recharge" with sugary or fatty foods, caffeine and nicotine?

5. Do you consume most of your calories after 5 pm?

Why does stress increase appetite?

The content of stress hormones in the body - cortisol and anxiety hormone (its scientific name - "releasing corticotropin") - reaches a maximum early in the morning, at 6-8 hours. It is at this time that you feel energetic, it is easy for you to focus your attention on something and concentrate. By lunchtime, the level of stress hormones gradually decreases, and in the afternoon you feel a lack of energy, it is difficult for you to concentrate. This usually happens between 15:00 and 16:00. Biologically, your body begins to prepare for rest, and then for sleep after a long, stressful day. Finally, hormone levels reach a minimum during sleep so that you can fully relax. By 2 a.m., they begin to grow again, preparing you for the morning awakening.

That is, following the natural biorhythm of stress hormones, we should have dinner early and go to bed at 8-9 pm.

Overeating in the afternoon is the main cause of stress-induced overweight in women. The time between 15:00 and 24:00 can be called the Cortizone: the level of the stress hormone cortisol drops. Today, we no longer live according to the natural cycle of stress hormones. When it's time for rest, we still have a lot of urgent things to do, hustle in transport, business dinners and countless household chores. Tired and anxious, we look to food for a source of energy and a cure for negative emotions caused by the need to cope with stress in the afternoon. It is not surprising that by dinner time a person wants to “reward” himself for having managed to survive another day. Women who feel especially exhausted and overwhelmed often like to eat after dinner, late at night. They are looking for a quick, momentary pleasure in the plate.

Golden rules of nutrition for every day

You need to learn how to safely overcome the CortiZone and finally break the vicious cycle of overeating.
During the main meals, 55-60% of calories should come from carbohydrates, with preference given to complex carbohydrates (unrefined cereals, vegetables and fruits); 15-20% for proteins and 25% for fats.
If you eat breakfast before 7 am, have a snack after 3 hours. Be sure to eat something protein (like yogurt) and fruit, and lunch should be between 12:00 and 13:00. If you eat breakfast after 8 am, ideally between breakfast and lunch you only need to snack on fruit.
Snack should be 3 hours after lunch. It is necessary that it contains proteins, carbohydrates and little fat. For example, soup with biscuits, fat-free cottage cheese with fruit, low-fat yogurt or kefir.
Try not to have the "lion's share" of what you eat per day during CortiZone. Eat most of your calories (about 65%) before 5 p.m.
Watch the time! If you eat too much after 8 pm, you will get better.

How to tame "overeating hormones"?

People who overeat under the influence of stress "program" their "Cortizone" problems in the morning, during breakfast. In the morning, they either eat too many carbs and too little protein, or skip breakfast altogether. They also skip lunch or eat completely symbolically: yogurt, a little cottage cheese, a couple of sandwiches or a bowl of soup. It is no wonder that by the time “hour X” arrives, they feel very hungry. If stress whets your appetite, your job is to develop resilience. To do this, you need a nutrition plan for the “dangerous” time of day - CortiZone. You also need to change your daily habits to keep your stress hormone levels as close to normal as possible and avoid mindless chewing (and the inevitable excess weight that comes with it).

5 ways to do it

1. It is necessary to psychologically come to terms with the fact that, for objective reasons, you feel physical and mental fatigue after 15:00, and not worry that "there are still a lot of things ahead, and your strength is already running out." Try to plan your day in such a way that after three in the afternoon you have less stressful and difficult work planned. If you have no choice, during CortiZone you are forced to work like a bee, break each task into small tasks that will be easier to handle.

2. Be careful with products in which you are accustomed to draw strength and comfort. These "benefits" come at a high price. Caffeine, nicotine, drugs (for example, for weight loss), alcohol, refined sugars and fats create new problems.

3. Physical activity at any time of the day helps to feel more alert during CortiZone. Both regular and "emergency" workouts are the easiest way to both calm down and cheer up. Ideal in a stressful situation, for example, walk at a fast pace for 30-45 minutes. Even if you walk for a couple of minutes, the stress noticeably recedes. Exercise regulates stress hormones: the body releases beta-endorphins, which act as a natural stimulant. Endorphins block stress responses in the body.

4. Learn to mobilize in the face of stress. The technique of deep breathing, meditation, the ability to switch attention from negative thoughts to neutral or positive ones will come in handy.

5. Arm yourself with a meal plan for the day (see Golden Rules for Eating Every Day above). Plan in advance what you will eat for lunch and dinner.

Nervous appetite loss: what to do

At first glance, it seems that stress and depression cause disorders only of the nervous system. Any nervous disorder provokes a malfunction of all body systems, the autonomic nervous system.

55% lose their appetite, food seems less tasty.
In 30%, an emotional disorder provokes functional disorders of the intestines and digestion.
For 10%, unpleasant thoughts about life's problems distract them from eating.
Less than 5% develop nausea or vomiting due to nerves.

Lack of appetite can result in undesirable consequences with stress, which already negatively affects the body.

What to do if a person has experienced a mental disorder and refuses to eat? We'll tell you in the article.

Why is there no appetite when stressed?

Any disorder provokes nervous exhaustion, emotional overload, overwork.
Under stress, the autonomic nervous system, which controls the functioning of internal organs, suffers.
Neurosis and depression are a provoking factor in general tension, spasm of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract, which is manifested by loss of appetite and an altered perception of the taste of food.
Being subjected to constant stress, the metabolism and secretion of hormones changes.
Low levels of leptin and estrogen, sudden changes in cortisol on the background of stress are one of the main causes of nervous loss of appetite.

What could be the consequences

Without treatment, the risk of rapid weight loss and nervous exhaustion is very high.

Prolonged lack of appetite can result in sleep disturbance, insomnia.
A frequent complication of nervous weight loss in women is menstrual irregularity.
In childhood and adolescence, there is a high risk of vitamin deficiency, a sharp decrease in immunity, impaired formation of the musculoskeletal system, susceptibility to colds and viral diseases.
A dangerous consequence of neurosis and depression is anorexia nervosa with rapid weight loss to the point of exhaustion.
Loss of appetite is accompanied by headache, severe drowsiness and weakness, muscle pain, arrhythmia, muscle spasms, impaired intestinal motility.

In any nervous disorder, nutrition is an important factor in maintaining bodily functions.

How to recover from an eating disorder

Appetite regulates the function of intake of nutrients, proteins, fats and carbohydrates. The hunger and satiety center is located in the hypothalamus. If the blood glucose level drops, a signal is given to eat and increase energy balance.

With an unbalanced diet and the habit of snacking on sweets, the body does not receive the necessary amount of nutrients.

It will be possible to restore an eating disorder by observing three simple rules:

You should eat at least three times a day.
In nutrition, you need to adhere to the formula of 50% carbohydrates, 25% proteins and 25% fats.
Sweets should be consumed in small amounts (up to 100 g) as a snack between main meals, and never consumed on an empty stomach.

Replenishing amino acid deficiencies

The cause of poor sleep and appetite, fatigue and malaise can be a lack of amino acids. For humans, tryptophan is an essential amino acid, which is involved in the regulation of the synthesis of vitamin B3 and appetite. You can fill the gap with certain products:

Soy and legumes, lentils, chickpeas, peas.
Dairy products, yogurt, milk, fermented baked milk, kefir.
All nuts contain tryptophan. It is enough to consume up to 50 g of almonds, walnuts, cashews, hazelnuts per day.
Mushrooms and dried fruits, dates, raisins, figs.
Meat and fish, especially marine.

B vitamins

Essential vitamins in food:

Walnuts contain a sufficient amount of vitamin B1, B5 and B6.
Bananas are rich in vitamin C and B5-6.
Almonds, cashews are the source of the whole complex of group B - B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9.
Avocados and oats are rich in vitamins B1, B5 and B6.
Spirulina, spinach, asparagus and pumpkin are rich in vitamins B12 and B6.

Foods rich in zinc

In the body, zinc takes part not only in the metabolism of proteins, fats, carbohydrates and enzymes, but also contributes to sexual development, the functioning of the immune system and the work of the pancreas with the synthesis of insulin.

You can make up for the lack of zinc with the following products:

barley and buckwheat;
lean meat of turkey, rabbit and duck;
peas beans and chickpeas;
low-fat cheese and cottage cheese;
pine nuts, peanuts.

Medications to increase appetite

First of all, you need to make sure the cause of the eating disorder, since the methods of treating a psycho-emotional disorder are extremely different from the treatment of somatic diseases.

Restore appetite in the syndrome of anorexia nervosa, depression and neurosis.

Indirectly affect appetite and improve psycho-emotional state.

Regulate metabolism and increase tone.

Participates in metabolic processes and restores the metabolism of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates, thereby regulating eating behavior and appetite.

The Importance of Diet

Regular nutrition not only enriches the body with essential nutrients, but also sets the rhythm for the functioning of all digestive and metabolic organs. At the same time, it is important to eat regularly and balanced, observing the rate of intake of proteins, fats and carbohydrates.

Optimally four or five meals a day.

Breakfast should be in the first 2 hours after waking up, in a 2:1 ratio of carbohydrate and protein foods.
The first snack can be between breakfast and lunch. Suitable fruits, light salad, dairy products.

Lunch should contain at least 40% protein, 30% fat and 30% carbohydrates. The proportion of simple carbohydrates - flour and sweet, should be one third less than the amount of complex carbohydrates (cereals, cereals, legumes).
The optimal second snack is protein products (eggs, cottage cheese), nuts, 1 fruit of your choice, vegetables in any form.
Dinner should be light, mostly protein with enough vegetables and fiber. Carbohydrates before bed are not recommended.

Appetite stimulants - spices and seasonings

Some foods especially increase hunger and appetite, and can rightfully replace drugs.

Marinades, pickles, canned and lightly salted cucumbers and tomatoes.
Herb-based spices - basil, cilantro, dill, red paprika and chili.
Ground black and white pepper.
Horseradish, mustard, ginger and wasabi.
Fresh sour berries or fruit drinks from cranberries, lingonberries, lemon and pomegranate juice.

However, if there is a stomach disease, gastritis or peptic ulcer, it is forbidden to stimulate the appetite with peppery, salty and sour foods. This can provoke inflammation of the gastric mucosa and exacerbation of the underlying disease.

Conclusion

Loss of appetite may not be the only manifestation of emotional overstrain and stress. In order to prevent nervous exhaustion and anorexia in a depressive state, it is not worth resorting to methods of increasing appetite without the advice of a doctor. At present, an experienced neuropsychiatrist can easily identify the causes of poor appetite, and prescribe the most appropriate treatment and remedies that will not harm the body.

What diseases women earn due to stress and how to deal with it

Stress affects your physical and emotional state worse than you think. It threatens with many problems: from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract to heart attacks. 75-90% of primary visits to the doctor are due to stress. And the female body is especially sensitive to stress.

Women react to stress differently than men. Although the sex hormones and neurochemical processes of the fairer sex to some extent protect against stress, women are more susceptible to its physical and emotional effects. Women do not run away from stress and do not fight it, but they experience it for a long time.

How stress affects women

The natural anti-stress hormone oxytocin is produced in women during childbirth, breastfeeding, and in both sexes during orgasm. So in this regard, the beautiful half of humanity wins. However, women need much more oxytocin than men to maintain their emotional health.

According to Dr. Paul Rosch, Honorary Vice President of the International Stress Management Association, women are less affected by abstinence and experience more relationship stress than men.

According to experts from the American Academy of Family Physicians, stress is an expression of the natural instinct for self-preservation. And while it may alert a woman to an immediate danger, such as a fast approaching car, prolonged stress has a negative impact on physical and emotional health.

What diseases can be acquired due to stress

According to the American Stress Institute, 75–90% of first-time doctor visits are complaints of stress-related health disorders. The effects of stress can manifest themselves in a variety of ways, from headaches to irritable bowel syndrome.

Here are some of the body's reactions to stress:

Eating disorders. Anorexia and bulimia are 10 times more common in women than men, and this is most likely related to stress levels. Like depression, these disorders are due to a lack of serotonin and are often treated with antidepressants that increase the production of the hormone of happiness.
Stomach ache. Stress causes you to rush into unhealthy and “comfort” foods that are high in calories and easy to prepare. Another case: due to stress, you cannot eat anything at all. The main stress-related disorders are cramps, bloating, heartburn, and irritable bowel syndrome. Depending on whether you are stress eating or, on the contrary, starving, you gain or lose weight.
Skin reactions. Stress can exacerbate existing conditions, resulting in itchy rashes or blemishes.
Emotional disorders. Stress can lead to persistent low mood, irritability, or more serious mental problems such as depression. Women are better than men at hiding anger because they have a larger area of the brain responsible for such emotions, but women are twice as likely to be affected by depression. The impact of stress on a woman's emotional state can range from postpartum depression to depression during menopause.
Sleep problems. Stressed women often have trouble falling asleep, or their sleep is too light. And this is especially bad, because sound healthy sleep helps reduce the negative effects of stress.
Difficulties with concentration. Stress makes it difficult to focus and effectively cope with work and household chores. If stress is caused by problems at work, and then it interferes with work, then a vicious circle is obtained.
Heart diseases. Stress negatively affects the cardiovascular system, increases blood pressure, leads to heart attacks and strokes.
Decreased immunity. One of the most difficult physical responses to stress is a decrease in the body's ability to fight disease, whether it's a cold or chronic illness.
Crayfish. Some scientists believe that there is a link between stress and breast and ovarian cancer. So, it was found that the risk of developing breast cancer was 62% higher in women who experienced more than one difficult event, such as a divorce or death of a spouse.

How to Reduce Stress

A study presented at a recent meeting of the Western Psychological Association says that 25% of happiness depends on how well you manage stress. And the most important strategy in managing stress was planning or anticipating what might upset you, and using stress-reducing techniques. And these techniques are as old as the world.

Start eating right

Avoid junk food, eat balanced food. So you improve your physical condition, and then emotional. Here are some of our articles to help you:

Find time for exercise

Physical activity is a phenomenal way to deal with stress and depression. Research shows that exercise elevates your mood and releases endorphins, natural chemicals that improve your mood.

Find ways to relax

Meet relatives and friends with whom you enjoy talking. Think back to past hobbies. For example, knitting and lace work reduce the impact of stress. Yoga, meditation and tai chi also successfully fight stress.

If you feel that constant stress haunts you, be sure to learn how to manage it. Learn new techniques, consult a doctor, do not leave everything as it is until constant experiences have had too much effect on your body.

The Stress Theory: Why do some people lose their appetite while others overeat?

Why is it that some people don’t get a piece down their throats on nervous grounds, while others can’t be torn off

Do not rush to attribute the former to the category of strong-willed individuals, and call others weak-willed gluttons. Character and willpower have nothing to do with it.

Animal reactions

When they say that some people eat less under stress, while others eat more than usual, the conclusion suggests itself: it means that they have different stress, says Dmitry Voedilov, a psychologist. - During a very strong stress associated with a danger to life, when a person is preparing for extreme shocks, severe pain, etc., the need for food goes by the wayside. The body, even if it is very hungry, switches to a more important task - "to be saved!" For example, it is useless to persuade a soldier to eat before a battle. Conversely, moderate stress, not associated with a threat to life, but constant, contributes to voracity. Remember the phrase of one of the heroes of the cartoon "Shrek-2": "That's it, you upset me. I'm going to eat two hamburgers." Recently, some researchers have asked the question: why are all sinners fat? Therefore, it turns out that they are under constant stress and have to eat to calm down.

The constant use of not very healthy food in itself can cause stress for the nervous system. These are mainly products that contain few proteins and vitamins, without which it cannot work normally (everything fatty, cakes, pastries, pickles, smoked meats). Do not flatter yourself that smoked sausage is a source of proteins, rather a supplier of fats, salt and preservatives, and the meat in it can be replaced with starch and other additives.

Noticing that food really calms (the body remembers how good it felt after eating a cake), a person resorts to this method again and again, - adds Andrey Konovalov, psychologist, psychotherapist. - And soon it becomes an obsessive habit: even in the case of the slightest stress, a person pounces on food. In psychology, this is called "positive reinforcement." The same thing is used in animal training: the dog complied with the command - here's a dryer or sugar. And the more a person is not aware of his actions in a state of stress, the more he is inclined to reproduce these animal reactions.

Hormones and vitamins

In addition to mental, there are also “material” reasons that make you eat or not eat. One of the main ones is a violation of the hormonal balance in the body. During a very strong sudden stress, a large dose of adrenaline is immediately thrown into the blood - it discourages appetite. But constant, exhausting stress causes the adrenal glands to increase the release of another hormone - cortisol. By the way, it can be measured using a simple analysis of saliva. The more it is, the stronger the person's desire to eat tightly.

Stress deals a crushing blow to the reserves of some vitamins and minerals.

When a person is nervous, vitamins of group B (contain dairy and meat products) and C (black and red berries, sweet peppers, kiwi) are actively consumed, explains Tamara Popova, a dietitian of the highest category at the Central Research Institute of Gastroenterology. - The content of magnesium sharply decreases, and there is an irresistible desire to eat foods that contain it, such as chocolate, nuts, dried fruits. Therefore, even people who are not prone to overeating in ordinary life, in difficult times for themselves, sharply increase their consumption of sweets. It is better to replace the harmfulness with more healthy mini-snacks: cereal or rye bread, crackers, spinach salad with crushed sunflower seeds. Stimulants like tea and coffee are best avoided.

But it is much more effective to deal with stress itself, and if it has already happened, find relief not in food.

If you do not remove the irritant - the cause of stress, then no diet will help: a person will gain kilograms, - says Dmitry Voedilov. - After all, due to long-term extreme work, the brain will always need to be recharged - glucose, which is provided by carbohydrates and sweets.

Physical exercises, massage, a new interesting activity help to discharge. “Give yourself a setting: I will get out of stress for such and such a period,” says Andrey Konovalov, “and control the number of remaining days. Oddly enough, but this technique works.

Why does stress cause appetite loss and nausea?

When you're nervous, you don't want to eat.

The reason for this is the release of adrenaline into the blood.

With its large presence, such processes occur in the human body, in which there is no feeling of hunger.

With the release of adrenaline, the number of heartbeats, sweating, lack of air, hand tremors increase. At the same time, I do not want to eat at all.

To reduce the release of adrenaline, beta blockers are taken as prescribed by a doctor. I myself have used them many times. We must remember that they can contribute to cardiac arrest. Without a doctor, no!

But I know for sure that there are people who, when excited, begin to absorb food in large volumes.

Everyone is different.

Judging by your question, you are a unique person! At least I have not yet met people whose appetite disappears during nervous overload! This is due to the fact that when a person is nervous, he spends more energy than in a calm state, which means that the body requires replenishment of the lost energy! Accordingly comes the appetite! Personally, when I'm nervous, I can tear the refrigerator to pieces, if at home, of course, and if there is something to eat in the refrigerator))))

For me, this is a very good way to lose a few pounds. And many women, on the contrary, get better under stress, begin to absorb sweets in order to be distracted. - 5 years ago

Why don't you want to eat when you're nervous?

You don't want to eat when you're nervous, and even nausea can set in when a person has just experienced some fairly strong short-term stress. It can be an unpleasant conversation, a fight, or something else that caused a strong emotional outburst. Rolling nausea and lack of appetite in this case, this is normal, because it is not in vain that at such moments they say that a piece does not climb into the throat.

But if a person experiences emotional stress for quite a long time, then the body begins to adapt and tries to defend itself, then, on the contrary, there is a strong appetite and the likelihood of gaining extra pounds if the stressful situation is not resolved in a short time.

And it's different for me.

There was a case when I was very nervous, then a piece didn’t go down my throat, I hardly forced myself to drink at least tea, my body was constantly in nervous tension, and as a result, I lost 3 kilograms of weight in two days.

And it happens that when I’m nervous, on the contrary, I want to eat all the time, my legs themselves carry me to the refrigerator in search of something to eat, I don’t even notice that I’m constantly chewing something, it feels like my brain just turns off, but what’s strange that in this case I do not gain extra pounds, probably the nerve cells have time to burn all the extra calories.

severe stress

Any strong impact on a person leads to the inclusion of the protective abilities of his body, or stress. At the same time, the strength of the stimulus is such that the existing barriers cannot provide the necessary level of protection, which leads to the launch of other mechanisms.

Severe stress plays an important role in human life, as it neutralizes the effects caused by the irritant. The stress reaction is characteristic of all living beings, but due to the social factor, it has reached the greatest perfection in humans.

Symptoms of severe stress

For all types of such a reaction of the body, some common signs of burnout are characteristic, which affect not only the physical, but also the psychological sphere of a person. The number of symptoms of severe stress is directly proportional to its severity.

Cognitive signs include problems with memory and concentration, constant worry and disturbing thoughts, fixation only on bad events.

In the emotional sphere, stress is manifested by capriciousness, short temper, irritability, feelings of overload, isolation and loneliness, inability to relax, general despondency and even depression.

Behavioral symptoms of severe stress are overeating or undereating, drowsiness or insomnia, neglect of duties, isolation from other people, nervous habits (finger snapping, nail biting), and use of drugs, cigarettes and alcohol to relax.

Physical signs include headaches, nausea and dizziness, heart palpitations, diarrhea or constipation, loss of sex drive, and frequent colds.

It is worth noting that the symptoms and signs of severe stress can also be caused by several other medical and psychological problems. If these symptoms are found, it is necessary to contact a psychologist who will give a competent assessment of the situation and determine whether these signs are associated with this phenomenon.

The effects of severe stress

Under moderate stress, the body and mind of a person work most efficiently, which prepares the body for an optimal mode of functioning. In this case, the goals set are achieved without depleting vitality.

Unlike moderate stress, severe stress remains a positive factor only for a very short time, after which it leads to disruption of normal human life.

The consequences of severe stress are serious health problems and malfunctions of almost all body systems: blood pressure rises, the risk of stroke and heart attack increases, the immune system is suppressed, and the aging process accelerates. Another consequence of such an overstrain can be infertility. After severe stress, anxiety disorders, depressions and neuroses also occur.

Many problems arise or worsen after a stressful situation, for example:

You can avoid the negative impact of stress factors by increasing the level of stress resistance, using existing methods, or using medicines.

Ways to increase stress resistance

Help to increase stress resistance:

Social connections. With the support of family members and friends, it is much easier to avoid severe stress, and if it does happen, then it is easier to cope with it in the company of loved ones;
Feeling of control. A self-confident person is able to influence events and overcome difficulties, he is calmer and easier to accept any stressful situation;
Optimism. With such a worldview, the consequences of severe stress are practically leveled, a person perceives changes as a natural part of his life, believes in goals and higher powers;
The ability to deal with emotions. If a person does not know how to calm himself, he is very vulnerable. The ability to bring emotions into a state of balance helps to resist misfortunes;
Knowledge and preparation. Understanding what awaits a person after severe stress contributes to the acceptance of a stressful situation. For example, recovery after surgery will be less traumatic if you know about its consequences in advance, rather than waiting for a miraculous cure.

Methods for quickly relieving tension and stress

Some techniques help in a short time to get rid of severe stress. These include the following methods:

Physical exercise - jogging, cycling, swimming, dancing, playing tennis distract from the problem;
Deep breathing - focusing on your own breathing helps to forget about the stress factor for a while and look at the situation from the outside;
Relaxation - promotes sound sleep and effectively relieves stress;
A break from everyday life - going on vacation, going to the theater or cinema, reading books, artificially creating images in your head, for example, forests, rivers, beaches, allow you to get distracted;
Meditation - gives a feeling of peace and well-being;
Massage is one of the most effective ways to relax and reduce the effects of severe stress;
Decrease in the pace of life - helps to look at the situation in a more relaxed atmosphere;
Reconsideration of life positions - attempts to achieve unrealistic goals lead to nervous breakdowns and stress, and inevitable failures only aggravate the condition.

Calming for severe stress

The safest sedatives for severe stress are herbal preparations (motherwort, valerian, mint). They are suitable for people who are able to control their own emotions and, by and large, can calm down themselves. But if the stress is prolonged, such drugs are not suitable. Herbal tablets are optimal for children, as they are devoid of side effects, are not addictive and do not linger in the body.

No less popular are bromine preparations, which are relatively safe, although they can accumulate in the body, causing bromism, manifested by apathy, lethargy, weakness, and in men also a decrease in sexual desire.

However, the main sedatives for severe stress are tranquilizers, or anxiolytics. Tranquilizers remove the feeling of fear and anxiety, reduce muscle tone, reduce the speed of thinking and completely calm. Such drugs have dangerous side effects, the main of which are rapid addiction, as well as a decrease in mental and motor activity. Anxiolytics are prescribed only by a specialist.

Another type of pill used after severe stress is antidepressants. Although they do not belong to sedatives, they allow you to relieve tension and bring your emotional state into shape. Antidepressants have a strong effect on the central nervous system, helping to forget about troubles, but you can’t take them without a doctor’s prescription, since these pills are also addictive.

In the fight against stress, all methods are important, but you should not self-medicate. An experienced specialist will advise the best method of treatment in each specific situation.

Stress? Let's eat! Just right...

When stress hits, many men try to beat it with booze, and women jump on all sorts of goodies and sweets. Why is this happening? Is it really necessary to “eat” stress? And how to do it correctly so as not to harm your health?

If your mood changes dramatically from good to bad, if you can’t get rid of the feeling of fatigue for a long time, if you are constantly thirsty, but, on the contrary, you don’t feel like doing anything, if apathy and tearfulness haunts, then His Majesty Stress grabbed you into your tight embrace!

Stress is not just a bad mood. Everything is much more serious. And the reaction to stress can be different - passive or active.

You can just succumb to depression. Lie down on the couch and lie staring at the ceiling or wall, feeling sorry for yourself and shedding tears. This can be understood - after all, at such moments you are overcome by severe apathy, you do not want to deal with stress and do not want anything at all - you would not see or hear anyone!

After lying like that for an hour or two, you almost certainly trudge to the refrigerator and think - what would be so delicious to eat this very stress so that it would not be so excruciatingly painful and insulting? It seems to you that this is the only way to somehow calm your nerves.

There is another scenario: you stop eating altogether, you, as they say, "a piece in the throat does not fit." In many women, as a result of strong experiences, appetite completely disappears. In return, increased excitability, emotionality, nervousness and even aggressiveness come. A similar stress response can be seen in women before an important meeting, going to the doctor (especially the dentist or gynecologist), exams, or an interview.

Such a reaction is accompanied by the need to constantly move, to do something. Thoughts interfere with sitting and calmly reading, knitting or watching your favorite series: what to do, what to do, or maybe it’s better not like this, but like this ... Even if you try to do something at this moment, the result will be far from perfect - the onslaught of problems and thoughts will not allow to concentrate.

The habit of stress eating is an action justified by two main reasons:

1. It can be laid down at the genetic level.

2. And the habit of seizing stress can be developed as a result of education. For example, it was customary in the family to welcome guests widely - the table was always bursting with dishes, including sweets and desserts. And when the child was capricious, a kind mother “calmed” him with candy or gingerbread. Since then, the mindset has been fixed in the brain: plentiful tasty food is good. And if a child from early childhood was always forced to finish eating his portion to the end, regardless of his desire or unwillingness, then this habit is aggravated. A grown-up adult woman, feeling the approach of depression, quickly eats something sweet, after which the hunger only becomes stronger. The turn of pasta with meat and fatty sauce comes, it seems that you don’t feel like eating, but you can’t leave food on your plate - it’s not brought up that way.

Learn to control appetite under stress

Managing your own appetite under stress is difficult, but possible. Diet will not help here, because it is an additional stress. There is a lot to eat, to allow yourself fatty, starchy and sweet, is a habit cultivated since childhood, which means that you will have to fight it for a long time and patiently.

As soon as your hand begins to reach for the cake, stop and tell yourself: “I'm not hungry! Why should I eat now? I will not succumb to a bad habit, I will eat this cake in an hour! Now your job is to relax. Any options are suitable for this - go to a concert or a movie, walk the streets, visit a couple of clothing stores, take a bath with a lot of pleasant procedures, go to a beauty salon or a hairdresser ... Time will fly by unnoticed, and the cake will not be eaten.

Never keep chocolates or buns in your table or purse! Let there be nothing high-calorie and sweet at hand. If there are such products in the house, harness them away, for example, to the highest cabinets so that they cannot be reached without using a stepladder or stool. Instead of a chocolate bar, put a bag of walnuts or almonds in your bag. They are quite suitable for a snack, but from the point of view of nutritionists, they are much healthier than sweets. Option - apple, orange or kiwi.

If you do not have enough willpower to refuse a delicious cake, if you feel that you will be unhappy if you do not eat it immediately - give in to yourself! But: take a tiny bite, chew slowly and enjoy the taste, and do not cram calories into yourself, just to let go of the stress.

Try to consult with the nutritionist and the psychologist. These guys will give you good advice on how best to cope with hunger and not harm the body.

Keep a diary in which you will write down what and how much you eat every day. This will help later, analyzing the records, to understand what exactly gives the nervous hunger the “Face!” command, and how to avoid similar situations in the future.

Set a rule for yourself: no more than four spoons or pieces! That is, 4 spoons of ice cream - and that's it, or bite the cake 4 times. You get a compromise that allows you to inflict less damage on the figure.

If you have not mastered your appetite and "fell off" - do not scold yourself! You need to love yourself the way you are. Just start over!

Why don't you want to eat when you're nervous?

I've been like this all my life, so I'm skinny.

if I had an appetite during stress, I think I would be plump now))

When you're nervous, you don't want to eat.

The reason for this is the release of adrenaline into the blood.

With its large presence, such processes occur in the human body, in which there is no feeling of hunger.

With the release of adrenaline, the number of heartbeats, sweating, lack of air, hand tremors increase. At the same time, I do not want to eat at all.

But I know for sure that there are people who, when excited, begin to absorb food in large volumes.

Everyone is different.

Stop posting if you don't know the answer. Because with excitement, the sympathoadrenal system is activated. There is a release into the blood of catecholamines (adrenaline, norepinephrine), which are catabolic hormones. They activate glycogenolysis, lipolysis, proteolysis, thereby increasing the concentration of glucose, fatty acids, amino acids in the blood. Glucoreceptors in the hypothalamus react to the level of glucose in the blood and the neurons of the saturation center are activated. That's why I don't want to eat

I've been experimenting with this on other people for a long time. When they don't want to eat, it turns out that their blood sugar levels are very slightly elevated. Usually it is 5.9, 6, 6.1 and everything around these numbers. I don't know if this has been scientifically proven. But I have a personal glucometer, and I came to the conclusion a long time ago that stress increases blood sugar levels, metabolism is disturbed, so you don’t want to eat. It can even make you feel sick to eat. Conclusion: being nervous is simply terribly dangerous for health!

When I'm nervous, I sweep everything in my path. At this point, I need to keep the fridge locked. Appetite disappears when I am somehow saddened or sad, but the nerves chew and chew.

When you are nervous, the level of the hormone adrenaline rises and the sympathetic nervous system is activated. Therefore, the need for food fades into the background. The body is thus rebuilt to solve the problem.

Interestingly, I, on the contrary, when I'm nervous, I eat. Especially at work. Immediately after an unpleasant conversation with a client, I go to drink tea with something tasty and completely forget about both the client and the work. For me, this is a kind of psychotherapy.

How stress affects women

According to Dr. Paul Rosch, honorary vice president of the International Stress Management Association, women are worse affected by abstinence, and they also experience more stress than men.

Our stress response has been carefully honed over millions of years as a defense mechanism. And it was wonderful for our ancestors, who had to run away from saber-toothed tigers. The tragedy is that today there are no tigers, but there are a lot of annoying things like traffic jams, to which our unfortunate body reacts like in the old days, earning hypertension, stroke and ulcers.

What diseases can be acquired due to stress

Stress can be different, but if you are worried about work, children, neighbors and your marriage at the same time, this is no longer a joke. In women, severe stress can lead to menstrual irregularities or, for example, to an unexpected one.

Lori HeimLori Heim

Here are some of the body's reactions to stress:

Eating disorders. Anorexia and bulimia are 10 times more common in women than men, and this is most likely related to stress levels. Like depression, these disorders appear due to a lack of serotonin and are often treated by increasing the production of the hormone of happiness.
Stomach ache. Stress causes you to rush into unhealthy and “comfort” foods that are high in calories and easy to prepare. Another case: due to stress, you cannot eat anything at all. The main stress-related disorders are cramps, bloating, heartburn, and irritable bowel syndrome. Depending on whether you are stress eating or, on the contrary, starving, you gain or lose weight.
Skin reactions. Stress can exacerbate existing conditions, resulting in itchy rashes or blemishes.
Emotional disorders. Stress can lead to persistent low mood, irritability, or more serious mental problems such as depression. Women are better than men at hiding anger because they have a larger area of the brain responsible for such emotions, but women are twice as likely to be affected by depression. The impact of stress on a woman's emotional state can range from postpartum depression to depression during menopause.
Sleep problems. Stressed women often have trouble falling asleep, or their sleep is too light. And this is especially bad, because strong helps reduce the negative effects of stress.
Difficulties with concentration. Stress makes it difficult to focus and effectively cope with work and household chores. If stress is caused by problems at work, and then it interferes with work, then a vicious circle is obtained.
Heart diseases. Stress negatively affects the cardiovascular system, increases blood pressure, leads to heart attacks and strokes.
Decreased immunity. One of the most difficult physical responses to stress is a decrease in the body's ability to cope with a cold or chronic illness.
Crayfish. Some scientists believe that there is a link between stress and breast and ovarian cancer. So, it was found that the risk of developing breast cancer was 62% higher in women who experienced more than one difficult event, such as a divorce or death of a spouse.

How to Reduce Stress

Start eating right

Avoid junk food, eat balanced food. So you improve your physical condition, and then emotional. Here are some of our articles to help you:

Find time for exercise

Physical activity is a phenomenal way to deal with stress and depression. Research shows that exercise elevates your mood and releases endorphins, natural chemicals that improve your mood.