Grocery Shopping with Anxiety
People living with anxiety can be triggered by many different things. It could be deviating from a routine or something simple like talking on the phone that causes anxiety. One particularly stressful event I’ve noticed even people without an anxiety disorder struggle with is grocery shopping. As someone with an anxiety disorder who takes many trips to the grocery store a week, (I make a list and I check it twice, but I am not Santa Claus, I make mistakes) I’ve had to find a way to combat it. So if you’re someone who struggles to grocery shop without getting anxious or just wants to avoid minor fights with a significant other/roommate/inner self, I have a few suggestions to add to your grocery routine.
Create A Routine
For many people with anxiety, the fear of the worst case scenario creates most of the problems. I get into trouble when I feel out of control and I don’t know my surroundings all that well. When I moved to College Station a couple months ago, I was facing a lot of new places and new routines but I knew how to feel in control of my new environment. This will depend on you and your lifestyle but every Sunday morning or afternoon, (depending on what I did Saturday night) I am grocery shopping with the list I made Saturday morning. It took a couple weeks but I know the isles and have a general feel for what I’m going to face every week. I still get stressed going to the grocery store, holding my breath, hoping my small town stocks gyoza dumpling wrappers (they do not lol).
Make A List
As I said, I struggled to remember everything I need from the store so I started making lists. Since I began extensively plan meals for my coming week beforehand, I now know exactly what I need from the store to get me through the week.
Your list should include specifics such as:
Arranging it by section. How my HEB is set up, I go by produce, meats, isles and then the dairy section. This will obviously depend on your situation but it helps me to not skip anything and organizing everything in a way that makes me more prepared when I enter the store.
The amount you need of each item. No one wants to be left with 10 extra ounces of sardines or come up short on tomatoes. If you need a specific amount for a recipe, write it down.
Brands if needed. There is a BIG difference between Heinz and French’s Mustard in my household and because I’m particular, I make sure to add it to the list.
Other specifics such as reduced fat, specific sizes of vegetables or the color of the produce if it varies such as bell peppers.
Look Up What You Don’t Recognize
I may know what a leek looks like because of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (if you know, you know) but I am prone to forgetting simple things in a panic. You can easily Google items and add Krogers or HEB to the end of the search and find their exact label in Google Images and make it a little easier to spot. You can do it there or do it at home if you don’t have a smartphone.
Have A Buddy
I’ll admit, I’m very hesitant to write this because I’m all for learning to deal with your anxiety your own way. For me, being around people who see me and see my struggles helps. I feel understood and it calms me. However, some people don’t have that or aren’t comfortable asking someone for help and I get that. I really do. So, with your list in hand, maybe call a friend while you’re shopping so that you’re distracted or come up with a way to sooth yourself through the process. This might mean bringing a stress ball along to fidget with or wearing silly shoes to remind yourself to laugh. I don’t know your process but the main purpose is to give yourself the best chance of being at ease. Be your own buddy and know that you’re doing a great job, your feelings are valid and you won’t always feel what you’re feeling.
Anxious people experience the world a little differently than most. If you find everyday activities like grocery shopping to be hard on you, I hope these tips and tricks are able to help. Do you have anymore of your own? Leave them in the comments below!
DISCLAIMER: If you think you have an eating or anxiety disorder and you would like to get help for any mental health concerns, follow this link. I am not a therapist, I can only speak to personal experiences and what works for me.
A Curbed Appetite & Anxiety
Welcome back friends!
Recent events with the COVID-19 pandemic have stirred up a lot of mental health issues for those who are currently struggling or have previously struggled. Each situation is different and valid, you are not alone and we will get through this together. While this is it’s own topic I may one day get into, today I actually want to discuss what mental health can do to your appetite and give tips and tricks for dealing with whatever change comes your way.
Food & Our Love Affair
My relationship with food growing up was always and I mean always, one of comfort. I hated sharing snacks but my need to please everyone made me succumb to peer pressure. When I was young and finally deemed responsible enough to leave our driveway on my bike, I would sneak away to HEB to get sugar cookies and icing. Food helped me cope with the pressures of childhood. One of my favorite memories include sitting on my aunt’s lap, thinking I was a baker as she handed me each ingredient and we created together. I loved and will continue to love how much food can bring people together.
My relationship with food is one of admiration and I try to eat food that honors that. (Translation: I am a food snob. I admit it & I’m so glad my brother doesn’t read my blog to get the satisfaction.) However, life happens and we cope with that in different ways. I’ve always found solace in a pint of ice cream, but I’ve also had days where the thought of eating makes me so nauseous that it hurts. (To be clear, I have never been diagnosed with an eating disorder. I deal with anxiety like many people and studied nutrition in college, so I am acutely aware of what my body needs and how I can best take care of it.) When the pandemic hit and things began looking scary, I developed a few tips and trick for those who experience appetite fluctuations with anxiety that I thought I would share.
Know Your Limitations & Needs
I cannot presume to know anyone else’s relationship with food is like mine. We each have our own and it probably doesn't stay the same in one lifetime. However, what I can predict is what your body needs in terms of carbohydrates, fats and protein. This depends on so many things that are independent to you and there are so many ways to calculate it. The equations were ingrained into my brain, but I’m choosing to spare you all where my professors didn’t. They’re all on this great website and you just have to enter your basic information to get the result. It takes 30 seconds!
In terms of limitations, this can be a tricky topic. I wholeheartedly believe chocolate can help you feel better. I just also realize skipping a meal and eating 4 candy bars will leave me in a bad space too. So eat the ice cream, lick that spoon clean and don't let anyone make you feel guilty about. (This includes your inner bitch. I know, she’s loud. It takes time.) I do want to caution anyone who struggles with purging or binging to take the necessary steps to remain steadfast with their goals.
Recognize When You’re Struggling
This is something I think I will always have to work on. It takes me skipping two meals and half a day of stomach pains to ask what is going on with my body. I’m new to really listening to what your anxiety is trying to tell you and responding in a productive way. When I do though, I think about my routine and what about it got muddled. Sometimes there genuinely wasn’t anything and that’s okay.
It helps me to have a dinner schedule and someone else relying on me to cook whether or not I’m hungry. A food journal would be helpful for someone who doesn’t think about food as much as I do. Or just simply make it part of your routine to talk about what you ate that day with a SO, friend or family member.
Eat What You Can
I’m hesitant to say this because I realize anxiety is going to hit some people differently. If you’re struggling to even get out of bed, I don’t want to place any shame on that. We all do what we can and it’s enough. However, if you are able but simply not hungry or maybe nauseous, your body still needs sustenance. If you aren’t hungry or you’re really nauseous, find something you can stomach like a smoothie or a protein shake. I usually make garlic broth (recipe in my Instagram) to sip on and eat scrambled eggs on such days. Find what works for you and stock up.
Give Yourself A Break
As someone who spends a large chunk of their day thinking about food, I put some shame on myself when I became entirely uninterested in my next meal. What is wrong with me? Who am I without this huge chunk of my life? Is this forever? My dear reader, it is not and tomorrow always comes, even if we don’t want it to sometimes. I am the same person with an entire pint of ice cream in my belly or without one meal of leftover pizza. Let us all remember our journey doesn’t always have to be linear and other people’s perceptions aren’t your reality. Take care of your mind, take care of your body and remember who you are.
Anxiety and it’s relationship with food is something I plan to dive into deeper. If you have something you want me to focus on, leave it in the comments below!
DISCLAIMER: If you think you have an eating disorder or would like to get help for any mental health concerns, follow this link. I am not a therapist, I can only speak to personal experiences and what works for me.