How To Feed Yourself When You’re Depressed

screambirdscreaming:

kaijutegu:

“Regardless of your mental health status, consider this: no diet can fix broken neurotransmitters, and this is not the place to insist otherwise. The United States government doesn’t see healthcare as an inalienable human right, so it’s understandable that Americans assign health-giving properties to food that border on the mystical—but the cruel reality is that the foods considered most “healthy” and “sustainable” (terms that are code for “morally correct”) are only accessible to the people most likely to already have healthcare. Going vegan or paleo or doing a Whole30 is about as likely as “positive energy” to cure mental illness—which is to say, not at all—and criticizing other people’s food choices in the guise of concern for their health is a big-time dick move. Be kind; most of us are just trying to make it through another day.“

Holy shit

This article links to the description of Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder, which is now officially categorized in the DSM 5, and is a massive fucking callout for me and also many people I know

It’s really hard to frame discussions about disordered eating that don’t hinge around body-image issues or fit the patterns of an eating disorder. It’s especially hard to have these conversations with mental or physical health professionals, because a fair number of them will try to shoehorn you into “a Real Eating Disorder ™” or wave it off as no big deal. But it can also be hard to talk about it informally. There’s a heck lot of cultural baggage around food and health and weight and it’s hard to even bring up.

I’m not saying a recognized diagnosis necessarily helps with any or all of that, but, for me at least this was really weirdly affirming to read through – that my vague and hard-to-define food related issues are actually a meaningful problem that can have notable effects on my health, and not just me blowing things out of proportion. Also, this kind of diagnosis could potentially help get doctors to take you seriously about food issues.

( @gallusrostromegalus, this might be relevant to your “tonight’s dinner” tag?)

How To Feed Yourself When You’re Depressed