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I haven't dealt with a similar experience but would suggest... as with all phobias... that you try to tackle it by deliberately exposing yourself to the thing you're frightened of.  Start small and work up.... controlling the anxiety one step at a time.  Who said "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself"..?   That's how phobias work...  Maybe your therapist would be more helpful if they focused on helping you through the anxiety and the times when you're not eating rather than worry too much about the weekends where it sounds like you eat fairly normally.

If you really can't eat when you're alone then you may have to engineer it so that a friend comes over and eats with you.  Or you could take your meals and eat them in public places.  Or you may have to consider shared accommodation rather than living alone.  Carry on as you are and your prospects aren't very rosy.  Good luck

Its pretty common, actually.  If you can find someone to eat with you, that would be helpful.  Or, call someone and let them know that you will be eating and have them call you back. Or, perhaps chat with someone on the phone or over the computer while you eat.

Maybe go out and eat in public?  Even if you are 'alone', you can eat outside in a park and have people around you.

My sister is just the same. She won't eat anything, and whatever she does (a glass of juice, a piece of toast), she has to force herself to eat. But she is exactly the opposite when with people, she actually eats more that anyone else. Plus she's pretty skinny.

Sorry, I am not much help, but just wanted to let you know there are others going through a similar too!

I used to feel like this a lot when I was recovering from anorexia - when I was alone and eating I always felt guilty that no-one was 'making' me eat. I found it really helped to be browsing the internet or watching tv when I ate. Apart from that, work to make eating a pleasant experience. Cook something you like and present it prettily on a nice plate. Eat in a sunny spot outdoors or put a vase of flowers on the table.... I found little steps to make the eating experience nicer helped me relax and feel like I was doing something good for myself

i guess i thought i was alone with this all-or-nothing eating phobia, i thought i was crazy! it's gotten to the point where i will eat less than 100 cals a day, and then have to be eating large amounts of food constantly. BOTH of these are making me feel sick. i feel like a child for requiring mealtime assistance but if it's for the sake of moving forward...

hey i went through this same thing! it was like if no one is watching me, whats the point? i think whats helped me is like someone mentioned- distractions. keep your mind busy with something else while you eat. you could also-

-see a nutritionist and write down what you're having each day (she could help keep you accountable).. and she will able able to tell by your weight and other stuff if you're being honest with her. if you don't have any nutritionists nearby, you could show a doctor or therapist.. or you could just show what you're having to your mom or something and explain why you are doing that.

-maybe try to have easier things like drinks (juice, milk, shakes, smoothies) when you are alone (and your mind is distracted).

-you could go out to places like starbucks and get a frap or something.. it's actually pretty common for people to go there alone.. but then there would also be people around so you wouldn't really be eating/drinking "alone." you could bring a book / cell phone / laptop too if you need extra distraction.

-you could set small goals for yourself like challenging yourself to have something alone once every 3 days or something like that. i dont know what you're doing now, but start with something reasonable and then try to push yourself to do it more often.

hope this helps :)

yes! i do this too! (i don't mean yes as in hooray haha but i did kinda think i was the only one). i don't do this assss much anymore but i felt like if i was alone then i shouldn't be eating because then it proved that i wanted to eat and for some reason i think that is very bad for me. i also used to get awful anxiety attacks after eating so i think if i was alone that was so scary i started not eating to avoid being alone with that feeling.

anyway, something that helped me quite a bit was to do a pre-meal stretch and deep breathing exercise (something very low key like child's pose even) so that i was relaxed. i sometimes called my mom too so she could remind me how it's so good for our bodies when we eat.

Original Post by sparkle7c:

yes! i do this too! (i don't mean yes as in hooray haha but i did kinda think i was the only one). i don't do this assss much anymore but i felt like if i was alone then i shouldn't be eating because then it proved that i wanted to eat and for some reason i think that is very bad for me. i also used to get awful anxiety attacks after eating so i think if i was alone that was so scary i started not eating to avoid being alone with that feeling.

 

i can relate to this so much! perhaps i am trying to prove to everyone else that i don't have a problem, and prove to myself that i do have a problem. i really really do want to eat, but i can't recover if i am too anxious to eat one day, and am overwhelmed with making up the calories the next.

i am moving in with my best friend next week. hopefully this will keep me in check!