Before you get started: Screening for Anxiety, Depression and Food Addiction

The diagnosis of food addiction can be met with skepticism in some traditional medical circles.  It shouldn’t be.  There are clear addictive qualities to some food, especially food that is high in sugar content.  People with true food addiction exhibit all of the same characteristics of addiction to other substances.  They often try to hide their habit, they binge and then feel awful afterwards and they feel powerless to stop eating comforting foods even though they know it is impacting their health.  Like other addictions, there is susceptibility if the patient has anxiety, depression, or past trauma. In these circumstances it is very, very difficult to treat the food addiction without properly treating the other mental health issue.  This is why, we have included screening tests for all 3 conditions in the first step of this experiment.

The foods that people often have difficulty controlling include:

·      Sweets with high sugar content like donuts, cookies, candy, and ice cream.

·      Starchy foods like bread, pasta, potatoes, and rice.

·      Fatty foods like burgers, steak, bacon, pizza, and French fries.

·      Sugary drinks like soda.

Complete the Screening Questionnaires below for Anxiety, Depression and Food Addiction and enter your results in the screening questionnaire at the end of the stage.

Screening Questionnaires for Depression, Anxiety and Food Addiction

PHQ-9:  Depression Screening

	Over the past 2 weeks how often have you been bothered by any of the following problems?	Not at all	Several Days	More than half the days	Nearly Every day
1	Little interest or pleasure in doing things	0	1	2	3
2	Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless	0	1	2	3
3	Difficulty falling asleep or sleeping too much	0	1	2	3
4	Feeling tired or having little energy	0	1	2	3
5	Poor appetite or overeating	0	1	2	3
6	Feeling bad about yourself, a failure or that you have let yourself or your family down.	0	1	2	3
7	Trouble Concentrating on things	0	1	2	3
8	Moving or speaking so slowly that others have noticed.	0	1	2	3
9	Thoughts that you would be better off dead or of hurting yourself.	0	1	2	3
	Total Score

Scoring: None-minimal: 0-4; Mild: 5-9; Moderate: 10-14; Moderately Severe:  15-19; Severe: 20-27

Complete the screening for depression and enter your score in the assessment form at the end of the Stage.  If your score is more than 10, or you answered anything other than 0 for question 9, stop the experiment now and consult your physician to get started on treatments for depression.

GAD-7:  Anxiety Screening

Over the past 2 weeks how often have you been bothered by any of the following problems?	Not at all	Several Days	More than half the days	Nearly Every day
Feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge	0	1	2	3
Not being able to stop or control worrying	0	1	2	3
Worrying too much about different things	0	1	2	3
Trouble relaxing	0	1	2	3
Being so restless that it is hard to sit still	0	1	2	3
Becoming easily annoyed or irritable   .	0	1	2	3
Feeling afraid, as if something awful might happen	0	1	2	3
Total Score

Scoring:  Minimal Anxiety:  0-4; Mild Anxiety: 5-9; Moderate Anxiety:  10-14; Severe Anxiety:  15-21

Score the questionnaire and enter your results in the form at the end of the stage.

Food Addiction Screening

Question	Yes	No
I find that when I start eating certain foods, I end up eating much more than planned.
I find myself continuing to consume certain foods even though I am no longer hungry
I eat to the point where I feel physically ill.
Not eating certain types of food or cutting down on certain types of food is something I worry about.
I spend a lot of time feeling sluggish or fatigued from overeating.
I find myself constantly eating certain foods throughout the day.
I find that when certain foods are not available, I will go out of my way to get them.
There have been times when I ate certain foods so often or in such large quantities that I started to eat food instead of working, pleasurable activities or spending time with family.
There have been times when I ate certain foods so often or in such large quantities that I spent time dealing with negative feelings from overeating.
There have been times when I avoided professional or social situations where certain foods were available, because I was afraid I would overeat.
There have been times when I avoided professional or social situations because I was not able to eat certain foods there.
I have had withdrawal symptoms such as agitation, anxiety, or other physical symptoms when I cut down or stopped eating certain foods. (Please do NOT include withdrawal symptoms caused by cutting down on caffeinated beverages, such as soda pop, coffee, tea, energy drinks, etc.)
I have eaten certain foods to prevent feelings of anxiety, agitation, or other physical symptoms that were developing. (Please do NOT include consumption of caffeinated beverages such as soda pop, coffee, tea, energy drinks, etc.)
When I cut down on or stop eating certain foods, I find I want them more, and/or more strongly.
My food and eating behavior causes significant distress.
Food and eating causes me significant problems in my ability to function effectively (daily routine, job/school, social activities, family activities, health difficulties).
My food consumption has caused significant psychological problems such as depression, anxiety, self-loathing, or guilt.
My food consumption has caused significant physical problems or made a physical problem worse.
I kept consuming the same types of food or the same amount of food even though I was having emotional and/or physical problems.
Over time, I have found that I need to eat more and more to get the feeling I want, such as reduced negative emotions or increased pleasure.
I want to cut down or stop eating certain kinds of food.
I have tried to cut down or stop eating certain kinds of food.
I have been successful at cutting down or not eating these kinds of foods.
I find that when I start eating certain foods, I end up eating much more than planned.
I find that when I start eating certain foods, I end up eating much more than planned.
Totals

Count the number of symptoms you have that are consistent with food addiction.  Enter the number in the assessment forms at the end of the stage.  If you have more than 7 or the feelings cause emotional or physical problems, then consult your physician before proceeding with the next step.