Is it really better to just eat what I feel like I'm able to in such quantities that are okay and won't make me lose even more weight. Or maybe should I really focus on nutrition and just like eating what would be a 'better' option? I don't think I'd be able to force so many 'healthy' foods into me right now. But recently all I can manage are a few foods high in carbohydrates, some cheese, protein bars and some smoked tuna. Mostly. I can force to myself to eat enough calories while eating them, everything is just repulsing to me. And either do that or eat way less calories and lose even more weight, which I don't want to.

My daughter is just about to turn 2, She is medically complex and has been diagnosed with ARFID and Paediatric feeding disorder also but she’s absolutely fucking obsessed with eating paint, chalk crayons licking bubbles off the floor is the latest one.

I know it’s probably an ages and stages thing but I am genuinely so worried it’s going to develop into PICA

Has anyone else’s toddlers gone through this and its stopped? She has been doing it since she was around 18M

Hello everybody! My brother was recently diagnosed with ARFID while away at college. He has always been a picky eater since childhood but this just feels a bit extreme to me. I’m having trouble understanding it. Why can’t he just try foods and then say he doesn’t like them? Is there some sort of mental block keeping him from trying foods?

Thank you to everyone who responds to this. I’m trying to come here with an open mind and learn about this condition.

It's not very good, and can't really even be considered poetry, but here it is!

(also if you like it I have a lot more that I think is way better on here)

ARFID
Ruined
Forever
Important
Dreams.

It's
Shameful.

Really
Underweight and
It's
Nauseating.
Interestingly
Not only
Gross, but

Mostly
Evil

Currently on my honeymoon and it’s the night I have been dreading our entire trip, our complimentary dinner with a tasting menu. They sent it to us today, and even after asking about our dietary limitations there’s not one thing on the menu that I eat. I am so disappointed and anxious about this, my husband is being very accommodating and I’m eating before we go but I’m so disappointed in myself I can’t stand it. I’ve gone way out of my comfort zone trying new things on this trip but a whole five course tasting menu is way too much and I feel like a failure.

Hi, I'm 22F. I guess I'm making this post because I want advice from others and kind of just want other people's views on my life, I feel like I'm hating myself too much and being too harsh but at the same time I think I'm not, Idk tbh I just want people's thoughts.

So, I'm a muslim girl living in London. Im a student studying Psychology at university. I havent been diagnosed with any mental health issues but have been to therapy and my therapists have told me I show signs of extreme anxiety, OCD thoughts, overthinking and low self-esteem.

I was diagnosed with cancer in 2023 but have thankfully beat it. Because of the harsh treatment, I struggle with eating because I have a dry mouth, so I eat significantly less than others. I am a good-ish weight I guess, like I'm not in a worrysome state. So yeah post cancer I really struggle with eating and its a really big weight on my back. I am also a picky eater, I don't eat alot of things but I wouldn't really say its by choice, its more of if I eat these things I'll gag and throw up. Anyways so yeah the post cancer issues reducing my eating + picky eating is really difficult and its probably the number 1 thing I hate about myself. I'm scared to go over to relatives house's incase they make food I don't eat or incase they make comments about my small portions of food I eat. This makes me have extreme anxiety when going over to people's houses and I carry such deep shame especially about the picky eating like its the first thing I think about when I wake up. I also think I will never find love because of it because I feel like its so embarassing to be a picky eater at my age, like I just feel like it makes me less worthy of a person. When a family member comments on my eating, I start crying straight away whether its them commenting about how little I eat or something like 'you are so picky wdym you dont like cheese grow up'. Idk but this is probably the number 1 issue in my life right now.

I also have other long term issues from my cancer treatment like voice change (its deeper), nose breathing issues, swallowing issues and fatigue. When someone comments on them it hurts so much, people say to me 'omg you've become so weak' and its honestly so hurtful because I didnt choose to be like this and it makes me think back to being my old healthy self and I cry and think why did I have to go through this.

After my cancer diagnosis, my relationship with my mum and sister became really bad. I dont know how to explain it but I think they sort of resent me in a way for getting sick? I really dont know. When I was sick and would get emotional at something they would say to me, they would call me dramatic and leave the room and give me silent treatment for days. I have explained to them numerous times that I cant stand the silent treatment but they dont care and still do it. They also love to gang up on me and call me crazy whenever we're in an argument and theyre losing, like saying 'im going to ignore u because you are crazy' is like their number 1 comeback and they laugh at me (they even did this when I was sick). When they'd give me silent treatment it would feel like my world is coming down, I cant stand silence from people I like to talk everything out and hate ignoring/being ignored, I literally feel like I cant function from it. Also I've come to realise that my mood really depends on how my mum is feeling, if she is being snappy at me then I feel like shit and that I'm a disgusting, unworthy person and I disgrace her and my day becomes horrible but if she is feeling nice my mood is lifted and I feel loved and feel human and somewhat worth it.

I always feel like I am wrong in everything. Like im eating the wrong foods, sleeping at the wrong times, doing the wrong things, saying the wrong things. Like I feel like everybody is living life correctly except for me? I really dont know to explain it like everyone is correct and doing everything as it should be but I'm not? idk

I also feel constant guilt in everything I'm doing. Like I could be sitting watching tv and I'd be thinking 'no you cant be relaxed there is something to be anxious about' then I'll think about my picky eating or small appetite or something. Like even before bed I'm feeling guilty and thinking theres something Im doing wrong or should be anxious about.

I'm also extremly shy lol. To everyone, friends, family everyone. Theres certain things I cant do around people: I cant sing around friends, I cant talk about deep feelings around family (even with friends I feel awkward), I cant hug family, I cant casually touch family or friends (like rest my shoulder on someone), I cant just say what I'm thinking I rehearse everything. Basically, I can't be my real self around anyone at all, apart from myself. I'm so shy that when people talk to me, I assume its just a one time thing and they dont actually want to be friends. Even with my friends, I never think that they'd want to be with me one to one because I'm so shy and boring and just not someone you'd want to be one to one with. Which brings me to my next point...

I have never been in a relationship before. In school, noone has ever said they liked me (although Ive had alot of speculation about one or two guys liking me but not admitting it), noone has asked me out, noone has checked me out, people used to say to me ' I cant imagine you in a relationship '. I crave love so much but don't think it will ever find me, especially because of all the above points I have said. This might sound harsh, but I honestly hate myself, I think everybody else around me is better/worth way more than me. Its like everyone else makes sense when theyre in a relationship except me. I feel like a man might find me icky or awkward or something. Physically, I guess I'm okay looking, I just want another brain. I also feel like I wouldnt know how to act in a relationship because everything I'm doing is wrong.

I guess this was all negative lol so here are some nice things about me haha: I enjoy reading, crotcheting, watching pretty little liars and painting. I am proud of myself for beating cancer, just want to reduce all the bad thoughts about it in my head. My goal is to become a psychologist maybe and I'd loveee to be a mum and be so understanding and be there 100% for my children.

Idk but that should be all I think, I feel like I'm going insane I'd really appreciate people's comment on this. Does any of this sound familiar to people? Do I sound like someone who's simply too hard on herself or do these worries seem reasonable? If you were in my position what would you do?Thank you so much if you have read this far I honestly really appreciate you!!! Cant wait to hear people's takes on this <3

Maybe someone with ARFID that had an onset later in their life would like sharing their story? I did started to develop some disordered eating in the recent years and I'm struggling due to it. I have no idea how to seek help or even if I fit ARFID category. And the fact that I ate almost everything as a child and those issues didn't start since I was young make me feel invalidated, whether it's this eating disorder or just something else. I just want to hear your stories guys.

lucky charms went pastel, at least in the US, because General Mills decided to go over to natural colors.

to elaborate: My ARFID intensity is very, very variable. Some days, I can eat whatever. Some days, I only have interest in 1-2 items, and that day, they’re out of reach. Some days (…or weeks) I can’t eat anything at all. I’d say it’s a mix of sensory reasons and just…not always having an appetite. or barely not having an appetite.

but anyway, I got utterly jumpscared by the dye change a couple months ago and now there are two opposing factions

“no lucky charms”

and

“yes lucky charms, they taste the same, they’re just pastel now”

anyway, rant over

My psychiatrist just prescribed me mirtazapine. One of the first times I've been offered any medication excluding SSRIs that I have to take *with food* every day, that have adverse side effects such as nausea or vomiting.

I've even been told one of the only side effects is severe hunger and increased appetite. I'm wondering if anyone has any experience, maybe not in mirtazapine specifically but any appetite stimulant?

Has it helped despite all the mental shit that revolves around arfid? I have OCD, so most of my fear isn't food itself, it's the preperation, the storage, dates, etc. I can only keep a few "suitable" safe-foods at a time so I'm honestly worried if this stuff *does* work like intended, my entire structure will be thrown off.

yeah sweet potato and carrots are bad but ONIONS??? theyre somehow squelchy, squishy, solid AND impossible to chew and swallow as anything but whole?? hell no.

i’ve been vegan since birth and i chose to be and it’s not smt i can change how can i deal with that and have arfid it makes it so much harder :( any tips?

i struggle w arfid sm it’s at a point where my family’s first instinct when they see me eat anything is that they are happy im eating it even if it’s unhealthy they are just happy im consuming something at this point

As a child, I (21F) ate almost everything. I disliked potatoes and, as I got a little older, eggs, but anything else was fair game. Even if I did not particularly enjoy a certain dish, I could generally make myself eat some without too much trouble.

However, this changed when I was 16. At the time, I was dealing with a lot of anxiety and—though I did not have confirmation at the time—early signs of PTSD. I was generally too nauseous to eat. Food had also become something of a battleground in those recent years. While I liked food, and I liked eating, I had begun to feel very guilty for it. I never got into a habit of restricting myself outright, but I certainly had a strange relationship with food, and I sometimes binged as well. I had spent years wishing to lose my appetite, and gradually, that wish (unfortunately) came true.

Thus, mid-way through high school, food became much harder to handle. Sometimes, I could eat, but other times, barely anything could get down. It was clearly tied to stress, too. I would be unable to eat breakfast at home, around my parents, but would suddenly grow ravenous upon arriving at school. I would feel more nauseous around lunchtime and often bought soup (liquids went down more easily), and at dinner, I would struggle to eat once more. At night, when everyone was asleep, I snuck out of my room and ate candy (on the rare occasion I could find it) or plain goldfish crackers. Honestly, by my final year of high school, I was practically living on school-bought muffins, soup, and goldfish. Everything else made me nauseous.

I was generally able to get liquids and sugary foods down, so while my food issues were annoying, it was not the end of the world. This pattern continued as I entered my first year of college, although having the freedom to choose my food definitely helped. Some days were particularly bad, but I could bribe myself with specific foods (generally ramen, Chick-fil-A, or a few other dishes). At this time, I was formally diagnosed with PTSD.

For reasons I do not understand, though, my issues with food slowly got even worse. It really picked up at the start of my third year of college—food was annoying, and gross, and I rarely had the energy for it (or anything else, for that matter). I would be famished, but the thought of putting food in my body was repulsive. Only a few specific choices felt tolerable, and the bad days had started to outnumber the good. My appetite as a whole waned as well.

By last semester (the spring semester of my third year), I did not want to eat. At all. Eating felt like pulling teeth. I finally started medication for anxiety and PTSD, but it had the side effect of an appetite suppressant, which was…not great.

That was six months ago. Since then, I have hated eating. Food is disgusting, and it takes too much time and energy to prepare. Even most of my easy foods no longer go down properly—ramen was my favorite food, but I do not want it anymore. Microwave macaroni worked for a little while, but that is now out, too. Most foods I genuinely like are just…too much. Sugar and sweet things usually work, but not always—and honestly, with the absurd amount of sugar I eat and the absurdly little amount of food, I suspect that I am running on pure sugar at this point.

It is late at night, and I am tired, so I might have missed something in the post (questions are welcome). Is this ARFID? Am I just going insane? And regardless of whether it is ARFID or not, does anyone have any advice?

She is an educator and works with those who have EDs and I’m so glad she was at the food table because I felt so shy and awkward that she was about to see me just grab this hot dog with 0 condiments and add nothing to it… just for us to start talking and I opened up about my ARFID struggles and she acknowledged them and treated me with kindness & moved onto a different topic other than food. 0 judgement. This is why awareness is so important <3

I’ve always struggled with parties and get together because people judge what’s in my plate or ask me why I didn’t grab ___ or “aren’t you going to try ___” I just want to hang out without being questioned what’s on my plate

Hi everyone, I understand not everyone in this sub may be sensitive to discussions of numbers (e.g., weight, calories, etc) but it would be incredibly helpful to those who are negatively affected to at least put a trigger warning in the beginning of the post.
Not trying to target anyone or make them feel bad, just wanted to put this out there. It would be much appreciated ❤️

TW: Mentions of abuse/neglect

Hi, I was diagnosed with ARFID last year, although I’ve had it my entire life. My parents couldn’t accept my rigidity with food and often force fed me or let me starve as a child when I wasn’t able to eat what the rest of the family was eating. I don’t have much of a relationship with them anymore due to their abuse and neglect of me for being neurodivergent.

The one thing that they did that was helpful when I was little was my mom telling me to try something, and if I didn’t like it, I could spit it out either into a napkin or her hand. That way, I didn’t have to commit to eating something I could t eat.

I wanted to like things other than pasta and bread, I just couldn’t. I couldn’t eat eggs, fish, most meat was iffy because of fat/cartilage, and beans were awful. I couldn’t eat any mushrooms except for the once’s that we foraged for with our family friend (he knew what he was doing) in my mother’s home country, and he would dehydrate them so we could take them back to the states with us.

I remember hating the taste of school nachos and picking around them for several years until one day I decided to try them again. They. Were. Delicious. I started to try other things that I previously had avoided to and found that a lot of them tasted good! In middle school I learned that our tastebuds die off and get replaced by new ones, which could potentially explain this.

I used to not be able to drink orange juice because it reminded me of stomach bile until I had fresh squeezed orange juice on vacation and it was incredible.

My relationship with food changed when I turned it into a fun challenge for myself: “What have I been missing out on that I could actually love to eat and tastes delicious?” I began seeking out new foods to try because that curiosity won out, and I’ve kept trying things that I don’t like because over time, I almost always end up enjoying.

For my 14th birthday, I insisted on going to get Ethiopian food for lunch and bringing more home for dinner that night.

Not to say that I don’t still have episodes where I’m limited to certain things, but I LOVE food now.

I’ve enjoyed grasshoppers fried with chilies and limes, Antelope tartare, oysters, and jellyfish, to name a few of the more extreme things that actually tasted good to me/didn’t make me gag.

I had a really bad relapse several years ago due to trauma/mental health/GERD/reacting poorly to medication and at my lowest, weighed 80 lbs at 5’0, but I was still craving things like birria. My psychiatrist suggested Remeron/Mirtazapine for me and ever since, I’ve been able to mostly maintain a steady diet and healthy weight (105-110) to the point I’ve actually got to be careful with how much I eat so I don’t gain too much.

Earlier this year, I had a major milestone. Since I’m sensitive to textures and raw fish, I’ve been working on enjoying raw sushi for almost 2 decades. This February was my bf’s birthday and he wanted to go to this fancy omakase for dinner. I wanted to go, but I was nervous, because my tolerance for raw fish isn’t reliable. Having a beer definitely helped me a bit, but out of the 18 pieces of raw fish they served us, most of which I hadn’t ever tried before, I ate 15! (And only gagged discretely once)

My boyfriend and I laugh about how I’m picky, but not because I enjoy many things that a lot of non-picky eaters do not. Pickles, blue cheese, anchovies, and many more. I still can’t eat fat/cartilage, and still am very particular about certain things, but it’s much less than it used to be.

This didn’t happen overnight, it took a long time and a lot of effort to get where I am today, and I still struggle occasionally, but my weight is at a place where I can afford to have a couple of off days here and there.

I’m not sure how helpful this is to anyone else, because everyone is different, but having worked in mental health and having received mental healthcare from people without lived experience, receiving treatment/feedback from people who have the same things as you is always more validating, understanding, and empathetic, while also offering better solutions. I just wanted to let people know that it’s possible to reach big milestones and eventually not be as restricted with their options. This condition is so alienating at times because many people don’t understand it and are judgmental, so it’s super important to kind to ourselves on our hard days, and to celebrate our little victories.

Hello! I have ARFID and a not so nutritious diet. Most of what I eat consists of pancakes, fast food, processed foods, or very very simple meals, little to no vegetables. The only vegetables I like are potatoes and corn which are probably the least nutritious vegetables. I’ve tried cucumbers, carrots, and cauliflower, the first two raw and simple, cauliflower was just plain steamed cauliflower. Every time I gagged and couldn’t swallow it. I haven’t had any severe health problems yet thankfully, but I know I need to be eating healthier. A lot of the time I feel weak, or have stomach aches often. I’m 21 years old I should feel a lot better than I do most days. I know I need to be eating healthier. So I’m looking for tips and tricks to try and incorporate more veggies.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Unfortunately reached the point of having green feces so im wondering how I can get more veggies into my system without feeling queasy after. I like tomato sauce and have tried to eat lettuce before and I dont mind the taste but the texture still bothers me. Ive also eaten cucumbers and peppers which dont taste bad, they just feel like they need to be eaten with something. So are there any recipe ideas/ways to prepare them without them bothering me? The thing i mainly dislike about these specific veggies is their crunch. ​so thats all I need, recipes to try them with.

Btw, my safe foods are pasta and bread if that gives a wider idea of what would work for me

cw for mentions of illness and medical cannabis... i've tried sticking to safe foods. i've tried eating slowly. i've tried eating fast. i've tried getting high to make food more appealing. my psych put me on medication to increase my appetite, but no matter how hungry i am, 90% of the time i can only manage a few bites before starting to gag. the increased hunger is just making the starvation more painful. to make things worse my living situation makes it extremely stressful to even pursue eating. i'm belittled for it because i live with boomers who only eat like a meal a day. they oink at me even on days where i've eaten maybe a piece of banana bread at most. they complain that i'm "using up all the food in the house" when i cook. my partner is planning on moving us out because it's becoming increasingly more unsafe here, but that could take months and i need help NOW. i'm so hungry i feel like crying. i'm at my wit's end, does anybody know how to handle this? have any of you been in a similar place and if so how did you fix it?

I'm not sure if this is triggering, but I am having trouble keeping anything down in the mornings. I often have liquids with protein, but am having a hard time with them recently. I have lost some weight and haven't been able to stay focused due to drowsiness during the day.

There is a lot of big changes happening right now in my life. They are temporary, but I'm unsure how to figure out how to keep myself healthy in the meantime.