How to Nourish Yourself: 5 Practical Tips for Difficult Days
Whether it’s due to physical illness, life stressors, difficult emotions, or other factors, we all experience times when eating feels nearly impossible. While this is something most people deal with occasionally, for neurodivergent individuals, it can be a persistent challenge. Feeling overwhelmed by external stimuli, internal stressors, and daily life demands can make it hard to provide your body with the nourishment it needs. If you’re struggling to eat, these practical tips can help you stay nourished, even on the toughest days.
Understanding the Struggle
There are many reasons we might struggle to eat. Sometimes, not knowing why eating feels difficult can make us feel even more frustrated and defeated. Many of my clients describe scenarios like this one:
You feel hungry, but nothing sounds good. You know you’ve put off eating for too long and that if you keep waiting to eat, you will end up feeling even worse. You drag yourself to the kitchen, hoping that once you’re there something might sound appealing. You go back and forth from fridge to freezer to pantry. You stare into the void and consider just giving up because nothing sounds remotely edible. You can’t figure out why eating feels so hard today and so you definitely don’t know how to fix it.
We’ve all had moments where eating feels like an insurmountable task. But understanding why eating feels difficult can help you better prepare for these moments.
Mental Health Factors:
Anxiety, depression, and stress are common factors that influence appetite and can make it difficult to eat. For neurodivergent individuals, these challenges are often compounded by sensory sensitivities or executive dysfunction. Co-occurring conditions, like eating disorders, can make nourishing your body even more complex.
The Impact of Anxiety
Anxiety can greatly impact the way we feel in our bodies and can contribute to feelings of overwhelm. For some individuals, anxiety can trigger a loss of appetite, making it difficult to consume food, even when hungry. Anxiety may also lead to physical symptoms like nausea or a tight stomach, which can make eating feel uncomfortable or even impossible.
Depression and Appetite
Depression can similarly interfere with eating habits, often causing fatigue, lack of motivation, and a general disinterest in food. These symptoms contribute to an overall decrease in appetite, which can make it challenging for those experiencing depression to meet their nutritional needs.
Eating When Stressed
Stress can have varying effects on eating habits. In some cases, it can suppress hunger as the body shifts into a “fight or flight” response, diverting energy away from digestion. When you are feeling stressed, you may have trouble taking the time to stop and eat. In other cases, stress may lead to emotional eating, where individuals consume more food than usual as a way to cope with overwhelming feelings.
Neurodivergent Eating Challenges
For the neurodivergent-brain-havers among us, all the above challenges can become more complex. Carrying around the mental burden of never feeling good enough can make every food decision feel more challenging. Periods of hyperfocus can make it even harder to take a break and eat. Black-and-white thinking can interfere with our ability to recognize the need for nourishment, even when hunger cues are absent.
Physical Health Factors:
Acute and chronic illnesses, medications, and treatments can also interfere with eating. Many individuals who take stimulant medications for ADHD, for example, experience appetite suppression, further complicating their relationship with food.
Recovering from Sick Days
Acute illnesses can reduce appetite due to physiological and psychological factors. When our body is busy fighting an infection or inflammation, we may feel a reduced desire to eat—even though our body still needs food, usually even more than normal—to fight off the icky stuff. Symptoms like a stuffy nose can affect our ability to taste food. Nausea and vomiting make eating difficult, especially for those who struggle with emetophobia.
Chronic Health Concerns
Chronic illnesses can lead to a range of physical and emotional challenges that can significantly impact appetite and the ability to obtain adequate nourishment. Conditions such as diabetes, gastrointestinal disorders, or autoimmune diseases may cause fluctuations in appetite, making it difficult to maintain a consistent eating pattern. Additionally, symptoms like nausea, fatigue, and pain can hinder the desire to eat or the ability to prepare meals.
Recognizing Triggers:
Being aware of what triggers your loss of appetite allows you to plan ahead and manage difficult moments more effectively. This could include sensory overload, illnesses, heightened stress, or periods of hyperfocus in ADHD.
5 Practical Tips for Eating On Difficult Days
The Struggle is Real
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The Struggle is Real 〰️
1. Small, Frequent Meals
Large meals can feel overwhelming when you’re struggling to eat. Especially for neurodivergent individuals, the thought of sitting down for a large meal on a hectic or difficult day can feel like a major “no-go”. Instead of traditional mealtimes, breaking food intake into smaller, more frequent meals or snacks can help relieve some of this demand. By spreading it out throughout the day, we can relieve some of the pressure and are less likely to have anxiety and sensory overload building up and getting in our way.
2. Easy-to-Digest Foods
When your body is stressed—whether mentally, physically, or emotionally—it may have trouble digesting more complex foods. In neurodivergent individuals, this can be compounded by sensory differences. Opting for easy-to-digest options such as plain rice, pasta, tortillas, or bread can make the eating experience less stressful. You are the best judge of your body and sensory needs, so you might discover other foods that work best for you.
3. Liquids and Nutrition Supplements
For neurodivergent individuals who experience difficulty with food textures, preparation, or even the concept of a full meal, liquids can provide a more palatable and less burdensome option. Smoothies, milkshakes, and nutritional supplements can offer the nutrients you need without the sensory demands of solid foods. They can also be physically easier to consume when you’re feeling low energy or overstimulated. This can be especially helpful for those with ADHD or autism, where executive functioning challenges might make meal preparation or food choices more difficult. Liquids are quick, convenient, and can often bypass the sensory or logistical challenges associated with solid food.
4. Focus on Favorites
When eating feels difficult, it’s important to allow yourself to gravitate toward foods you genuinely enjoy and find comforting, even if they aren’t considered traditionally “healthy.” Foods that are familiar, predictable, and meet your sensory needs, can help reduce anxiety around eating. This can also reduce decision fatigue, which is often an issue for those with ADHD or other forms of neurodivergence.
5. Availability and Accessibility
For neurodivergent individuals, one of the biggest hurdles to eating can be ensuring food is readily accessible when hunger pops up (hello there hunger!! where have you been?!) or during those brief moments when eating feels manageable. Executive dysfunction may make it difficult to plan meals or even prepare a snack. By keeping snacks readily available—whether it’s storing some in your car, keeping a stash in your work bag, or preparing a container of snacks at the start of the day—you eliminate the need for decision-making when you’re feeling overwhelmed or overstimulated. Stocking up on convenient, easy-to-eat options and high-calorie nutrition supplements ensures that you have something on hand when energy is low or when preparing food feels too difficult. For individuals with ADHD or autism, having quick, ready-to-eat options reduces the friction between hunger and eating, making it easier to meet your nutritional needs.
Nourishing Brain and Body
When eating feels impossible, remember that you are not alone in this challenge. Stress, mental health issues, and physical illness can make nourishing your body feel like an insurmountable task. While it can sometimes feel tempting to avoid eating by staring into the void and saying “f*ck it”, deep down, we know that going too long without eating does not make our brains and bodies happy in the long run. By recognizing your unique triggers and implementing practical solutions—such as small meals, easy-to-digest foods, and liquid options—you can take steps to care for yourself even on difficult days. Remember to be kind to yourself, embrace your favorite foods, and plan ahead when needed. Your body deserves nourishment, even when it’s hard, and each small step is a win.
