# Anxiety and eating at Uni



## Rosie2 (Nov 7, 2014)

I get so anxious at University with all the people, and I can't eat because I will vomit it up. It also seems to happen with the same foods? Has anyone else experienced this, and can offer me general advice.


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## Sapphire14 (Mar 11, 2015)

I usually eat lunch at the library cubicles (mostly because I always have loads of homework and I hate wasting time). Or I'll just browse the web on my laptop at the same time. Other days I love sitting outside to eat if I want a breath of fresh air. I will sit at a table or bench in a quiet area. We have many nice, peaceful outdoor areas at my uni. I've stopped feeling anxious while eating alone at uni - I used to feel really anxious about it but now I don't care. There's no point. People don't care either.

It's not like high school where people will look at you eating alone and think you're a complete friendless loser. They're not going to think twice about you. Loads of people at uni eat alone - mostly because everyone has class at different times and stuff. Again, it's not like school where you're all in class and at lunch at the same time. So, there's no need to feel so frightened about eating alone at uni. Relax and don't stress! Everyone's in the same boat. You need to eat. Don't go hungry due to the fear or what strangers think.


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## Notgoingout (Mar 19, 2015)

Rosie2 said:


> I get so anxious at University with all the people, and I can't eat because I will vomit it up. It also seems to happen with the same foods? Has anyone else experienced this, and can offer me general advice.


 I haven't had the vomiting part but I used to hate eating around people, and still don't enjoy it. I would skip food sometimes! And I've eaten in the toilet at others! I've been working on eating in public. I'm a bit better now, I eat really slowly so I don't drop or anything. One small mouthful at a time. Maybe take a book or be on your phone, that's something else I did to keep my mind focussed on something and not be looking around at others and getting paranoid they'd be looking at me. Good luck!


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## srschirm (Jun 25, 2006)

When I'm eating, I'm too focused on enjoying the food to spy on others. Unless there's a cute gal around.


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## KILOBRAVO (Sep 17, 2011)

think this is a fairly common problem. ''eatign in front of others anxiety''

hoverer the Op seems to suggest that they think they will be sick. do you know that for sure? of does the thought of that seem so strong you think you will... rather that it has happened?

A light salad / lettuce sandwich.... this is light and easy on the stomach and easy to eat... try eating somethign like that..... . and have somethign to drink. .... avoid anything like soup that is slurpy and dribbley. if you can have success eating even just part of a sandwich... it may help you to get over this fear.


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## Lithus the Forsaken Angel (May 5, 2015)

Does your university dining hall offer to-go boxes? At the university I went to, I would grab a to-go box at the start of the line, fill it up, and then eat in a secluded place. If it makes you feel any better, I went my first three days at that university without eating anything at all, because I didn't have any snacks, and I wasn't about to sit alone in the dining hall. I thought to myself one day, "I never thought I would go out starving to death at a school."

Luckily, I got really hungry on the fourth day and said screw it, then discovered those beautiful, beautiful little boxes.


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## identificationunknown (Jan 23, 2014)

Actually this happens to me when i eat out all together. i don't vomit. but food just doesn't taste nice and i just don't feel too comf. 
i usually go for quiet places. 
i used to have this same problem at school too.


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## StaceyLaine14 (Apr 11, 2015)

Sapphire14 said:


> It's not like high school where people will look at you eating alone and think you're a complete friendless loser. They're not going to think twice about you. Loads of people at uni eat alone - mostly because everyone has class at different times and stuff. Again, it's not like school where you're all in class and at lunch at the same time. So, there's no need to feel so frightened about eating alone at uni. Relax and don't stress! Everyone's in the same boat.


There was a guy who lived in my building who asked me every time he saw me "Are you going to hang out with us? We're going to go eat; you should come with. I always see you eating alone, and I just feel so bad for you." He did this once unknowingly while my parents were around and actually apologized to me after the fact because he "didn't know if you told them you had tons of friends." In hindsight, that kind of hurts. But for the most part, I really appreciated his attention at the time, and he seemed like a genuinely nice guy who was incapable of understanding introversion.

I stopped eating in the cafeteria and started buying food to eat in my dorm room. I have a cafeteria rant somewhere on this site, so I won't get into why. It was mostly the sorority girls' fault though.


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## hmweasley (Sep 12, 2013)

This happened to me quite a bit freshmen year. I've gotten better about it, but I still get nervous about eating in the dining hall sometimes. It helped that one day I got brave enough to actually glance around the dining hall instead of focusing only on my food like I used to, and when I actually paid attention, I realized that at least half the people in there were eating completely alone. That was actually shocking to me at the time because I'd always been self-conscious that I stood out. It started getting easier (although not completely easy) after that.


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## givinganonion (Sep 15, 2014)

Buckyx said:


> no, I used to eat during lectures .. nothing better than chewing apple, dark chocolae and drinking coffee in the middle of other students  .. srsly right after school I had trainings so I had to do that to preserve my performancea


Yeah, that's like the best. I can eat in a cafeteria, but I often put things off and end up eating right in class.

In a lecture hall with desks, it's nice to take up 2 with a big sandwich, a ginger ale (other soda is bad for me, since I get acid reflux from worrying), chips, and some kind of sweet dessert.


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## acidicwithpanic (May 14, 2014)

When my anxiety is at its worst and causes me so much stress, I experience psychosomatic symptoms such as stomach aches, headaches, GI problems, and sometimes vomiting. Perhaps in your case this could be the culprit? Stuff like this isn't uncommon in people with anxiety disorders, however I'd still seek the opinions of a doctor and psychologist.


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