Gluten free behaviour

[Heidi Sheppard]

I have been diagnosed with celiac for almost a year now and I'm still finding myself eating gluten even though I know the effects..I'm one of the people that only internally feel it but what happens is I get depressed and lazy, tired, moody and yet I can't stop eating it and I don't know what to do.

[Jmg]

3 hours ago, Heidi Sheppard said:

I have been diagnosed with celiac for almost a year now and I'm still finding myself eating gluten even though I know the effects..I'm one of the people that only internally feel it but what happens is I get depressed and lazy, tired, moody and yet I can't stop eating it and I don't know what to do.

Hi Heidi and welcome

First, you've found a good community, hope you find it as useful as I have.

I don't know how much you know about this. I spent a long time researching it once I realised it was a problem for me because I became fascinated by just how deeply gluten can interact with almost all aspects of the body, in particular the brain.  

I tested negative for celiac but the main impacts of gluten for me are also internal. I get depression, a sense of hopelessness, brain fog, irritability etc. I've had many years of various medications which never really hit the spot and it was only after I got really ill and changed my diet drastically that the pieces fell into place. I get a load of physical stuff as well but the thing which keeps me honest on the diet more than anything is that when I keep off gluten the mental stuff lifts and I just don't want to feel like that again. Ever...

What is the food which you keep on going back to? Open Original Shared Link which suggests there's an odd reaction taking place. I know I used to have cravings for gluten food and drink and I now think that this went far beyond the typical craving you may have for say chocolate etc. Even though in the long term it made me ill, in the short term I derived an excessive comfort from the gluten food and drink. I don't pretend to know exactly why this is, but a lot of people have reported a similar experience and there is evidence of a link between Open Original Shared Link and the way opiods effect us... 

One thing which helped me a lot was keeping a food diary. That helped me link food and my mental state. You may know that gluten makes you depressed, but if you can look back at the last week and see the days that you felt good then look back and see that you had cut gluten out, that may help reinforce the link at a subconscious level. In fact keeping a journal also helps me with depression aside from gluten, so maybe something you may want to try?

tldr -

You're not alone in having trouble sticking to the diet.

It may not be as simple as willpower etc. Something else may be going on at a physical / subs conscious level 

It's really important you do try and stick to it. Food diaries, looking at what you eat and when, keeping control of your blood sugar, reducing sugar and processed food intake, vitamin supplements may all help.

As will other strategies for dealing with depression. Physical exercise. Getting plenty of light. Going easy on alcohol. Finding someone you can talk with etc.

And there will be help here if you need it

Matt