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Underweight
- Thread starter Renate
- Start date
Miss Metta
Peer Supporter
I think so, yes. I suffered anorexia and starvation eating disorders for many, many years, and found that pain sensitivity was higher than it is now. When your body is starving, cortisol levels go up, the flight-fight response is triggered, so is hypervigilance because your body wants you to go get food. Food in many ways is 'grounding'. When you regain weight to what is your biological set point (the weight at which your body feels most comfortable and functions the best), your cortisol and adrenalin go down again because the 'emergency' is over. So yes, your nervous system is on high alert and pumped full of anxiety producing hormones because it feels you are in danger, it's protecting you. As we know, it's the nervous system being constantly in a heightened state of arousal that triggers pain or makes us more aware of pain. If you don't feel you can regain weight on your own, seek help with a dietician.
miffybunny
Beloved Grand Eagle
I think if you are eating well now and getting the right nutrition, I wouldn't stress too much about the weight because that will be restored in time. If someone is purposely starving themselves or restricting calories that is a whole other story and yes it causes great stress to the brain and body. There was famous study done on this topic actually, on a bunch of men put on calorie restricted diets. Recovering from illness like the flu, and eating disorders are two totally different categories however.
In any case, psychologically I would imagine you may feel more weak and tired from the ordeal so exhaustions and stress does feed into pain signals. It's basically a stressor. I would say just take it easy and focus on getting rest and eating well without putting pressure on yourself.