Food is important. Our body needs fuel to function. But sometimes life gets in the way. Stress can cause your appetite to decrease significantly, and that is of course not good. This is what you can do when you can no longer swallow food due to stress.
Do breathing exercises to relax before you eat
Short-term stress can reduce your appetite. This is because your ‘fight or flight’ response is activated, which slows down your digestion. Short-term stress can be caused by exciting events such as a major presentation or a job application. To combat this, you can try doing breathing exercises. This will cause your body to return to relaxed mode and you will come out of your ‘fight or flight’. This technique is very useful because you can do it anytime and anywhere. It also only takes a few minutes. Sit or lie down somewhere. Place one hand on your stomach and the other on your chest. Now take a deep breath through your nose and feel your belly expand. Try not to move your chest. Now exhale through closed lips. Doing this for five minutes can calm yourself and your digestive tract so you can eat again.
Plan ahead
If you don’t feel like eating due to stress, you probably don’t feel like cooking at all. We completely understand this, but not eating is of course not an option. To avoid staying hungry, it is good to have some simple and easy meals at home. Consider, for example, frozen pizza, noodles or meal salads. Go for food that you like and that your body can tolerate well. If a whole meal feels too big, you can also opt for smaller snacks such as a bowl of yogurt or some vegetables with hummus. This may not sound the healthiest, but eating something is always better than eating nothing.
Avoid multitasking while eating
Once you get to the point of eating, make sure it is the only thing you do at that time. So don’t do anything for work or check your emails in the meantime. Take the time to eat and focus on this. Eating without consciously doing so can cause you to stuff it down. This can ultimately cause more stress and stomach ache. So put your phone on silent and close your laptop. Focus on what is on your plate and the flavors you experience. Mindful eating is also great for combating stress. After all, it acts as a distraction.
