Why Eating Gluten Free Can Feel So Stressful (and How to Ease the Fear) Ep. 223

Living with celiac disease isn’t just about avoiding gluten - it often comes with a hidden layer of anxiety around every single meal. From constantly scanning food labels to second-guessing even the meals you make at home, the stress of eating gluten free can take a real toll on your mental health.

In this episode, I’m talking about the food anxiety many people with celiac disease face, why it happens, and how to start easing the fear. You’ll learn:

• The signs of food anxiety with celiac disease
• Why trauma from past gluten exposure can trigger ongoing fear
• Practical tools to help you feel calmer and more confident at mealtimes

If food feels more stressful than joyful right now, this episode is for you.

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Music Credit bensound.com 

Chapters

• 0:00 The Hidden Anxiety Behind Gluten-Free Meals
• 2:14 Food Trauma: Not Irrational, A Response
• 4:29 How to Ease Your Celiac Anxiety
• 6:32 Deep Breathing: Your Digestive Superpower
• 8:32 Finding Support and Resources

Transcript

Speaker 0: 0:24

Living with celiac disease isn't just avoiding gluten. It's also navigating the fear of eating gluten-free food. And while most people do focus on those symptoms, it also takes a toll on our mental health and our anxiety. Because the thing is, you're not just choosing what to eat, you are scanning every single food label. You're checking every meal every time. Every time you eat out, you probably even second guess meals that you made yourself in your own home, and many people eat with caution rather than eating with joy. Sometimes you might even find that you eat too much, whether that's from a place of stress, or perhaps you even eat too much food and then you skip meals because it's so stressful to eat gluten-free and figure out what to eat. This is what I call the hidden anxiety behind every single gluten-free meal, and it's real meal and it's real, it's valid, and I totally see you and I totally understand that this is a very huge part of living with celiac disease.

Speaker 0: 1:36

Now, some of the common signs of having food anxiety in celiac disease is being really overly cautious and really really taking it to extremes with checking your labels. Now, yes, we need to make sure our labels are gluten-free, but some people are taking it really really extremely. I've had people reach out to me that are so stressed out that the brands that they're buying from are using ingredients that have been shipped in a container that hasn't been cleaned out properly and they're so concerned to this level, and that can be very, very stressful. You might find that you feel panicked after eating and you're so stressed that what you ate is going to make you sick. You might avoid social situations altogether and you might even binge eat for comfort or restrict yourself from eating. You might feel guilt or shame after eating a meal, even if it was gluten-free, and you might find yourself obsessing continuously over every little symptom after eating and being stressed that it is related to gluten, when often it can be from the stress itself.

Speaker 0: 2:50

So food trauma isn't irrational, it's actually a trauma response. So it can come from being blindsided from accidental gluten exposure in the past and obviously because we don't want to go back to feeling how we used to feel before we got a celiac disease diagnosis. You know many people suffered for years some people even decades with symptoms and didn't know what was going on. So this can cause a real trauma within our body to the food that we are eating. Trauma can also be caused by family and friends not believing us, doctors not believing us, gaslighting us when we go to appointments about the way that we feel.

Speaker 0: 3:28

Another problem can be fear of losing control again. You know, for such a long time you had no control over what was going on in your body because you didn't know that it was gluten that was causing those reactions. So you may be having an ongoing fear that that is going to continue happening or happen from something else, such as a different food. And even though we need to be constantly vigilant and making sure that our food is gluten-free and safe from cross-contact, some people take it so extremely that they are so stressed and wired about their food that it is causing further issues. Now the problem is your nervous system is trying to keep you safe. So, basically, your body remembers how you felt before and it doesn't want you to feel that way ever again. So anytime food's involved, your brain is on high alert, trying to keep you safe from getting gluten, and you might find that this happens more often when you're trying a new food or something that you aren't 100% certain about.

Speaker 0: 4:28

Now you can ease this anxiety. This is not something that you have to live with forever, and I've got some tools to share with you to help ease that anxiety. Now I want you to create some safe meals that are go-to meals that, no matter what, you always feel comfortable eating them. So when you are in a moment of panic or that anxiety has kicked in or you're avoiding food, these can be your go-to meals that you feel safe with and you know 100% that you are not going to get sick from and you're going to feel great when you do eat them. The next tool I want you to do is to practice advocating for yourself. Practice some sentences that you can use when you either eat out or when you are with friends, family, so that you can stick up for yourself. Sentences that you can use when you either eat out or when you are with friends, family, so that you can stick up for yourself and that you can feel confident. Because if you are not sticking up for yourself and you're not speaking to waitstaff and expecting that they're going to figure it all out, that's where problems go wrong and that is probably why your anxiety is through the roof. So if you can have some steps in place, some questions to ask, and you practice those before you go out. That can help lower your anxiety around food so much. Now would you believe that even doing some deep breaths before eating can make you feel so much better? So I encourage you to try doing some deep breathing before you eat and seeing how that makes you feel.

Speaker 0: 5:53

Because what happens is when we are in this state of stress whether that's like fight or flight, or this anxiety is creeping in what happens is our digestion shuts off. Okay, our body goes into a state where, if you needed to flee in that moment because you are stressed, there is a saber tooth tiger about to attack you. You need to flee, okay. So what happens is your body puts your digestion in a stop mode. It's going to stop doing that, so all your energy can be used to flee. Okay. So if you are stressed, your body doesn't know if it's a saber tooth tiger or if you're stressed about something else. So what happens is when we do deep breathing, it sends a message to our body that, hey, we're safe, we're not about to get attacked by a saber-toothed tiger. So the digestion can start up and can do its job, because if you're not digesting your food correctly, this can cause, you know, bloating and feeling rubbish after you eat. So if you can start by just taking some deep breaths before you consume any food, you'll start to notice that that can improve the way that you feel. You might even want to tell yourself a few affirmations this food is safe for me, I am being nurtured, I am being nourished and convince yourself that what you're about to eat is safe for your body.

Speaker 0: 7:21

Now, if you are unsure of your patterns and what's going on for you, then I do recommend that you track what's going on for you inside your lifestyle and your diet and making sure that you know when you are feeling more anxious. You know why. You can see the patterns. You can see what's going on in your day to day, whether, that's you know, you're commuting, whether you're working from home, whether you're in an office space, whatever it is what is causing you to have that real anxiety around your eating, and then you can start to reflect and put some changes into place for those.

Speaker 0: 7:58

You know those day-to-day issues that are causing you problems with your eating, and this is something that we have been working on inside the Healthy Celiac Collective with my students in there. We have been focusing on what we can do to help our mindset to be positive and to focus on what is in our control. So if you'd love my support with that, please jump on the wait list for the next round of the Healthy Celiac Collective. You can do that by visiting belindawheelancom forward slash collective and I would love, love, love, to support you within the next group and help you, you know, figure out what is causing you this anxiety and how to move forward, because food is meant to be enjoyed.

Speaker 0: 8:40

Food is wonderful and it does so much good for our health and our bodies that you know I'd love for you to be enjoying eating again. So, like I said, if you would love my support with that, please head to belindawheelancom forward slash collective and jump on the wait list. But otherwise, I hope this episode has helped you and given you some ideas and I look forward to talking with you again on next week's episode. So have a great week and I will talk to you then. Have a great week, take care. Bye.