Hi everyone. New-ish to IF. I am a female and I have an anxiety disorder that I am being treated for. I have made a few attempts to do IF and I find that it increases my anxiety and stress hormones. I know some of it has to do with my thinking. I start to panic when I know that if I feel hungry I can’t eat. I’m working to overcome that. Even on the 16:8 protocol I get very grumpy and worked up. I could try reducing my fast window I suppose. Does anyone have any tips for something like this?
Hi, I also have a pretty severe anxiety disorder and do IF. My advice about this relates to a general tactic when dealing with anxiety. If you expose yourself to the thing giving you anxiety and prove to yourself that nothing bad will happen to you (i.e being a bit hungry) you reduce the power it has over you and the avoidant behaviour lessens. Over time this causes a positive adaptation. Fasting is a form of eustress, remind yourself that you are doing something positive for yourself.
If you’re not already doing it, cognitive behavioural therapy can provide some wonderful tools for framing things differently.
If you’re really on edge of suggest a cup of lemon balm tea. Very soothing and no calories.
Part of the benefit of IF is the reduction of insulin resistance. So, what if you have yourself a carb free snack that has zero impact on insulin? Like a hard boiled egg. I also like to drink herbal tea with food flavors. Tazo makes an insane line of dessert flavored teas. The glazed lemon pound cake is incredible. Maybe filling up with something yummy could help push past the anxiety. Finally, check out YouTube for videos of vagus nerve hacks. You can turn off your fight/flight/freeze response by sending your body signals of safety. The more you experience your fight flight freeze trigger and then tell your body that you’re ok, the less the trigger creates a response.
I was never tested for anxiety, but I’m a very anxious person. On IF I feel mellow. That’s a first for me.I don’t know what influenced this because I changed several things at the same time.IF, with healthy and homemade meals without sugar, coffee, alcohol, processed food, fast food, and with electrolytes during the fasting window, extra vitamins, and minerals during the eating window. My food is rich in proteins, good fats, and fibre and contains minimum complex carbs. I also drink protein shakes and a lot more water than before IF. That’s quite a list. These dietary changes help me a lot with my anxiety.