Psychological and cognitive problems

What do these symptoms have to do with my diet?

Your emotional state can affect what you choose to eat. This can lead to under- or overeating and may affect your nutrition, health and wellbeing.

Some people find they want to eat certain foods for emotional comfort. For others, low mood or anxiety can make it difficult to eat, putting them at risk of malnutrition (undernutrition).

Other symptoms, such as being bored or emotional eating, may lead to overeating. If this continues, it can cause weight gain and other health problems. 

Resources

Mental health support

• The NHS website provides information on mental health. Find out about the support available from the NHS here
• You can self-refer to some NHS mental health services. Enter your GP surgery name on the website here to find out more
• Kirklees Council also has advice on mental health support
• Psychology Tools have guides for grief, loss and bereavement and symptom monitoring

Managing psychological wellbeing and sleep after COVID-19

• In our 'Talks with the experts' video series, Clinical Psychologist Chandanee Kotecha shares her thoughts on managing Long Covid symptoms, being heard and communicating with your healthcare professional
• NHS Scotland COVID-19 workbook has information on COVID-19 and emotions (page 42) [PDF]
• The NHS Inform website has information to help manage sleeping problems
• The Swansea Bay University Health Board Covid and Long Covid recovery – therapy information pack provides information on:
  • sleep issues
  • psychological wellbeing
  • further links to manage post-traumatic disorder syndrome
  • care after being hospitalised

Anxiety

Feeling anxious is a natural reaction to some situations. You might feel fear or uneasy. 

Here is information to help you understand and manage anxiety:

• Managing anxiety
• Generalised Anxiety disorder [PDF]
• Psychology Tools has guides for anxiety

Low mood and depression

• Vita Health Group information on understanding and managing low mood [PDF]
• Psychology Tools has guides for depression and symptom monitoring

Emotional eating 

• Some people may gain weight as they recover from COVID-19 due to 'emotional eating.' That means eating in response to an emotion. Sometimes this is called comfort eating
• The British Psychological Society and BDA have provided an advice sheet to help with emotional eating [PDF]

Critical illness, intensive care and post-traumatic stress disorder

• Some people go on to develop post-traumatic stress disorder after critical illness and intensive care treatment
• Find out more about this in the Patient Guide – Critical Illness, Intensive Care, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

CAUTION: These resources do not replace speaking with a trained healthcare professional. Please contact your GP or healthcare professional if you are worried about your mental health and wellbeing or that of someone you care for.