17 Mar
Linking Weight Gain and Mental Health
I was feeling really down tonight, probably more so than I had in quite some time. Out of habit, I started to reach for one of my favorite comfort foods, nachos. I quickly thought better of it, logged on to Weight Watchers, and planned a meal around it instead. Crisis averted.
I’m thinking about the link between weight fluctuations (primarily weight gain) and mental health. Newsweek did a story fairly recently about depression in men, and my experience tonight made me wonder about the link between the two. I have spoken with other men both online and in person about their own experiences with depression, and I’m amazed at how many are candid but discrete about their clinical diagnoses.
So which came first, the depression or the weight loss? Maybe depression hits us in our 30’s, so we start looking for some good things to eat to help ease what we’re experiencing inside. Or is it the other way around? Maybe we start getting too comfortable with our jobs and our families, so we kind of let ourselves go and forget to exercise enough to keep up with our food intake. We gain weight, and start feel crappy about ourselves. Over a long period of time, it leads to clinical depression. It’s a chicken-and-egg dilemma, but one that must be addressed if you think your weight gain may have something to do with anxiety, depression, or other mental health issue.
One thing I’ve noticed is that my ego has gotten a boost in the arm since weighing in earlier this week. And that’s despite the setback at Chili’s and my tempations tonight.
Thoughts?
Posted by Pete on 17.03.07 at 7:38 pm
I’m with ya, man. When I’m feeling emotionally down, I can easily find my way to something to grub on.
Posted by doug on 17.03.07 at 7:38 pm
I’m not sure that weight gain is linked to mental health for everyone, but it is for me. Suppressing anxiety, worry, fear, etc. All of it goes away with a big enough bowl of ice cream.
The key is trying to find out what “triggers” the emotional eating, and then find a way to replace it with something other than food, ideally, find out why you feel the way you do. Therapy helps some folks, medication can help others fight depression, although I think that medication without therapy is not a good thing.
Some people use drugs, alcohol, sex, spending, etc. I happen to use food.
As I’ve been going through therapy, my Dr. had me list the positives and negatives of being fat. The positive list was very short (duh). The negative list was very long (duh). This lead to the following statement:
As it stands today, I prefer to continue living my current lifestyle, which leads to early death and the abandonment of my wife & family, rather than control the amount and frequency of my food intake, exercise, and feeling my fears.
When you just read the words, it’s absolutely stupid, however, if you compare the statement to my actions, it’s dead on true.
My challenge to those of us struggling with being fat, is to plug your own situation into the statement above, and then really think about it. Is it REALLY true?
Posted by Rick on 17.03.07 at 7:38 pm
Well said, Doug. That certainly applies to my life as well.