Why Can Consuming A Lot Of Sugar Cause A Setback In Recovery?

Video Transcript

Thanks to your materials, my recovery was going well, and most of my symptoms had subsided. But two weeks ago, I fell off the recovery wagon and ate a lot of high-sugar foods for about a week. It felt good to feel free enough to do that, but a week later, my anxiety and symptoms spiked. It was like I was back to square one. While I was expecting a little increase in symptoms, I was surprised at how high my anxiety and symptoms got. My question is, why can consuming a lot of sugar cause such a setback in recovery?

Anxious behavior, such as worry, activates the stress response, also known as the fight or flight response.[1][2] The stress response releases stress hormones into the bloodstream that prepare the body for immediate emergency action.

Visit “The Stress Response” article for more detailed information about the stress response and the many changes it causes. The link is in the comments.

Since stress responses push the body beyond its internal balance, stress responses stress the body. As such, anxiety stresses the body.

Thus, anxiety symptoms are symptoms of stress. They are called anxiety symptoms because anxious behavior is the main source of the stress that stresses the body, causing symptoms.

Overly anxious behavior can chronically stress the body, creating a state of “stress response hyperstimulation” since stress hormones are powerful stimulants.[3][4] Hyperstimulation can cause chronic symptoms.

Visit our “Hyperstimulation” article for more information about the many ways hyperstimulation can affect the body and recovery. You can also take our free online “Hyperstimulation Test” to see if hyperstimulation is a factor for you. Both links are in the comments.

Regarding consuming sugar, sugar also stresses the body.[5][6] The more sugar consumed, the more stressed the body becomes.

If your body is already stressed and symptomatic, even to a small degree, consuming sugar can aggravate that stress and symptoms. The more sugar you consume, the more impact it has.

Recovering from anxiety disorder and hyperstimulation requires reducing anxious behavior and stress. As stress diminishes, so will its symptoms.

If you’ve been working on your recovery and had some success, consuming a lot of sugar can stall or reverse that success.

Of course, as stress increases, anxious behavior can increase because stress stimulates the fear center of the brain (the amygdala and other parts of the brain responsible for fear detection and reaction).

While little indulgences in high-sugar foods might not produce a negative effect, over-indulging can.

So, it can take some time before your body recovers from that impact. Eliminating high-sugar foods and practicing your recovery strategies can get your recovery back on track…in time.

It’s worth mentioning that indulging in high-sugar foods is a common response to increased stress. It could be that your stress was already increasing, which fueled your craving for high-sugar foods.

In that case, you might want to reflect on the few weeks before your sugar binge to see if stressors were driving your desire for high-sugar foods.

Anxious behavior could have also created a desire for high-sugar foods, all fueling an increase in stress.

This is where addressing Level Two recovery can be especially helpful. Knowing your underlying factors can make it much easier to trace back to increases in stress.

So again, yes! Consuming a lot of high-sugar foods that stress the body can cause a setback in recovery. That's why we recommend avoiding or restricting high-sugar foods while in recovery.