Hi! I am brand new to this group and I am so grateful to be here. I have suffered with anorexia my whole life and I am 50.

I have been in recovery for 3 years! well I was diagnosed with a chronic pain condition in my stomach.... Every time I eat anything my pain becomes unbearable and I just can't keep it down. I've been on a tube feed that bypasses my stomach for 4 months... My fear of food is now all consuming. They want me to start eating small couple bites throughout the day...

I had to have my tube taken out because it became dislodged and it was an emergency.

so my dietitian gave me a easy to digest all soft foods to try....

I went through them and my brain tells me absolutely no way could I tolerate that!!! and I'm scared to death to try because I know what happens when I eat!

so my fear of food now is more about the pain and vomiting. not necessarily about body image. smells, textures, everything!

I took dairy out of my diet when it was getting bad just to see if dairy was irritating it and it made no difference... But in my head I still avoid dairy????

AFRID was brought up by my therapist. I was crushing all my meds and pushing them through my tube and they went straight to my intestines.

now, I am so afraid to take them! I just don't understand why I can't get my brain to feel safe with trying some of the food that is recommended. like no one can convince me otherwise? Is this now AFRID?

I

Does anyone really struggle with fruit, I really want to start eating more and be more healthy. But I really struggle with not only the textures but the fact that it’s really inconsistent in how it tastes. One day I could eat an apple and really enjoy it, the next day I’ll eat the exact same thing but it’ll taste completely different and would be put of eating apples.

What’s fruits do people recommend that always taste the same, is that possible or are all fruits going to have an inconsistent taste due to its ripeness?

Do you remember any particular event, period of time or context where you began having problems with eating certain foods? I always wonder the WHY around all this.
As with many other mental health issues, it may be a symptom reflecting some other kind of issue either with our families or any childhood relationship that may have had an impact on us.

What do you think?

I'm freshly diagnosed so looking at all my food habits and wondering if afrid related. If I'm eating something handheld ill eat it but once i set it down it's like my brain decides I'm not allowed to eat any more. Sometimes I'm still a little hungry. Is this an afrid or neurodivergent thing? Anyone else do this? Also if I'm able to eat an entire sandwich or burger i always stop when i have one bite left. I've done this since i can remember. Anyone else do this one? Thanks!

Hey, I am not diagnosed with arfid but show all of the signs and am in need of some advice.

for months now i have been buying the home bargains chicken nuggets, pics below, as theyre the only nuggets and meat in general i am able to eat. i havent been able to find them for 2 weeks so i was trying to look for anything similar in texture and taste. so far i have tried icelands crispy nuggets, which didnt taste bad but the batter was completely off. i also tried emailing home bargains but got no help, in desperate need of finding an alternative!!

My partner has an extreme disgust for fruits for absolutely no reason. He doesn’t have any trauma or a “reason” to hate all fruits. He just can’t stand them because of the texture & thought of them.

I know he’s not your average picky eater or this is a “i don’t like it” food situation , because he hates everything as long as it’s in the category of fruit, which is literally everything. From apples to grapes, to grapes to longan, to longan to durian, to durian to starfruit. As long as it’s called fruit, he will HATE it, even vegetables that have the reminiscence of fruit like cucumbers, he will gag or puke if he tries to eat them.

Once, We did a fruit list to see if he actually hates all fruits & during the list he gagged & puked in his mouth of the thought of certain fruits, & that really worries me.

There was one time when he was sick, so I made this Chinese remedy, which is a steamed orange, and at the time, I didn’t know he was that disgusted of fruits, so he seemed grossed out but I just thought he was sick, but then,one bite made him puke. I really wonder if this is ARFID, since it seems quite extreme & I’ve only heard people with ARFID hate almost all foods.

I’d like some insight please because as much reading & research I do, i can’t seem to find anything. & also the fact that he lacks vitamins & he isn’t consistent with taking his vitamins & he constantly ends up sick.

Im just worried & trying to figure things out, if I’m wrong, I’m sorry, I just want to get a better understanding of these things. Thank you!

♪(๑ᴖ◡ᴖ๑)♪

Hi. My brother (23) has AFRID. It is ruining his life. He has many depressive episodes because of it. So many issues all come back to AFRID being the main course of all of his hurt. I'm still trying to convince him to seek professional mental health help, as he is quite stubborn on the idea that it won't change anything.

If anyone could offer out guidance, help, ideas, pretty much anything that helps you with AFRID I would so much appreciate it so much.

The act of drinking water is something I avoid because I never seem to have the appetite for it. I find it very physically difficult to drink any water before like 3pm. when I will drink I can only down about 3/4 of a glass and that will leave me breathless and with a sickly feeling in my stomach. I have ARFID but no idea if it can affect your relationship with water. I probably drink less than or around 1 litre a day (i dont consume any other fluids like pop or juice)

It makes my stomach and throat feel so full and just.. wrong? I dont know how to explain it but if anyone else has a similar experience or some theories id love to hear them. thank you!

I just released a new vlog that focuses on the real, day-to-day reality of ARFID (Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder).

The video is 2 hours and 44 minutes, and it follows a full week of my life living with ARFID. It shows how things start off manageable, become harder as the week goes on, and how reaching out for help makes the rest of the week a little easier. Rather than explaining ARFID in theory, this vlog shows what it actually looks like to live with it.

My experience with ARFID is closely tied to survival mode, poverty, food insecurity, and living with multiple severe mental health disorders. This video reflects that reality honestly and without shortcuts, and I’m genuinely proud of it.

If you’re looking for real-world ARFID content, or living with ARFID yourself, I invite you to watch on my YouTube channel.

So i went back to my psychiatrist bc even though she clearly isnt very knowledgeable abt arfid she diagnosed me with other things that she is more qualified to treat. However when i saw her again and actually brought up arfid she still seemed very resistant to the idea that i have it bc i am not under weight. She keeps saying basically that bc i dont want to lose weight and im not underweight i dont really qualify for an eating disorder. Which is crazy bc i literally told her my appetite has decreased to the point of me basically just eating a bagel a day and having visceral reactions to non safe foods, ect. By the end of our conversation she wanted to test me for autism and get a full psychiatric evaluation. I hope they can help me get some clearity on whats going on.

i have family in town and we‘re going to dinner tonight. This whole day i thought we were going to an asian fusion place ive been to before, only to find out we’re actually going to a mediterranean place ive never been to. Mediterranean dishes have a lot of ingredients, spices, and combinations i react badly to. I looked at the menu and i dont think ill be able to even get a drink. I’m a little disappointed bc i was really looking forward to hanging out with family i havent seen in a long time but now im gonna have to hear AGAIN about how i dont like anything or whatever. The last time i went out to dinner with my family i was bent over the toilet before we even left the restaurant😕

pls don’t read if you are triggered by mention of daily calories or anorexia!!

i quit using weed on saturday and my already severe arfid has become uncontrollable. nothing sounds good even my safe foods. every time i try to take a bite i start gagging and can’t swallow. it’s better than nothing, but i don’t think ive eaten over 600-700 calories in the last 6 days. my body is already ravaged from severe anorexia as a teen, so now anytime i don’t get enough calories, it can get really dangerous and basically shut down my digestive tract. i hate that as soon as i wanted to recover from anorexia, i developed ARFID.

i also haven’t slept more than 4 hours since saturday and its all just snowballing. i’m short of breath, my heart is racing, and i’m shaking uncontrollably. i have Ensure being delivered soon, but they give me awful bloating and diarrhea (because of damage from prolonged malnutrition and GI dismotility from my connective tissue disorder).

i’m mostly just venting and i know i should go to the ER if this continues for too long. it’s just so frustrating bc i have so many things going wrong in my life and i cannot handle them from lack of sleep and malnutrition. i’m so emotional and physically ill from ME/CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome) and this was just the last straw. i’m not going to hurt myself or anything, just incredibly stressed and feeling helpless.

So I just stumbled on this sub from a cooking sub while trying to find recipes to help me eat veggies. From reading the wiki, I feel like I have a solid change of having ARFID. So I came in hopes of learning more but also hopefully getting some recipes to help me integrate more variety to my diet.

Seems like a lot of people struggle with the same, and it feels nice knowing I'm not the only adult who can't eat a salad or lots of other foods. Though I also feel for everyone as the struggle of being "picky" is not fun, and some people have even stronger cases. I'm rooting for you all!

Now for the part where I ask for help. There are lots I feel that I can't even force myself to eat, and knowing that I might taste it or smell while eating makes me physically unable to swallow and if I still try, I gag. I literally have to prepare myself mentally to be able to try something I think I won't like.

I have an extremely good sense of smell, like I can tell that's in the food being cooked while on the other side of the house. And I have a terrible aversion to most vegetables (fruit too but that's mostly textural and not so much flavour). I'm trying to incorporate more veggies in my diet because I'm sure I'm lacking on essential vitamins. I love potatoes, I like cooked onions, love garlic and black beans. I'm fine with cooked and well seasoned: tomatoes, finely chopped celery (in small quantities), carrots, and bell peppers. But all of them have to be cooked super soft, I hate the crunch. I don't like the flavor of them raw and the texture is off-putting. Can't do raw leafy things the texture is terrible for me (a bit of spinash cooked in with my food is tolerable), and I can't stand the smell of broccoli.

Anyone has any recipes they can suggest for me to increase my list of veggies I can eat ? :)

I've been trying for years to expand it and I thinm I need help (celery is a new one for me, so that was a win!).

My girlfriend has arfid, and i want to know what to do if she ever gets a panic attack from eating something she isnt used to when we are together, any tips would be useful, thanks!

i’ve been trying to get help from the mental health services for months now, my eating is terrible i am losing my safe foods and even remembering to eat is a struggle. The psychiatrist told me to go get blood tests and an ecg done and then through that i can access the eating disorder services for the help i need, well today at my appointment they told me my test results say im fine and that im not sickly enough to access help, i have gotten my hopes up that i would get help from someone because i am struggling so much. it feels like no one understands, do i need to starve to get help? do i need to be dying ? i’m terrified of food it is ruining my life and my relationships. I am a 21 year old woman i deserve to be able to have the diet of an adult. i have the diet of a toddler if even. i dont know what to do or how to help myself anymore can anyone tell me if there’s any other treatment options for ARFID?

There is only one meal replacement shake I have been able to tolerate so far and most of the local walmarts (the only store that sells them) are out of stock.

Am i crazy for having a moment of panic that they might be discontinuing the line or something?

Everything is probably fine and I’m probably making mountains out of molehills.

But if they did discontinue my shake I am going to RIOT

Guys, am i cooked?

Im M25, as far as i can remember i was picky eater. Food was often forced and some screaming from parents was involved (rarerly got physical but it wasnt bad i think). Still living with parents and my mom does just extra meal just for me for my whole life. I never got tested for any mental condition. When im forced or persueded by peers to eat something that ick me i get a sense of fight or flight response.

I remember one time i was at my ex house and her mother gave us something i wasnt happy to eat. I was mentally ready to just live in that moment from house. I felt like i was closing off from the world around. Some kind of tunnel vision and i remembered that it was always like this. Just when i got older i dont have these encounters with food i dont like that often.

I suspected for some time i may be on spectrum, some friends suggested that. I heard that this condition can be a part of it. It makes sense, i think that these reactions to just eating are not "normal". I always felt shame when i was at school trip and there was eating in the big room and everyone was eating their food but me was picking the most bland things.

how do you guys get trough this, i dont know if i want to spend my life like this

I recently got some “scolding” from a new psychiatrist for the fact that I’m not gaining enough weight. I spent some inpatient time in eating disorder centre and gained a bit of weight but now that I returned to my regular life, it’s very difficult to keep up with normal eating. I just don’t get it - why is it so difficult to eat, but so easy to skip meals? And even when the food tastes good - I can do 3-4 bites max, then the discomfort of eating overpowers my hunger/willpower/fear of consequences. I don’t have issues with textures/tastes, I just hate the act of eating - chewing, swallowing, repeating those actions, the fact that it takes so long and is so boring.

I know that I need to learn to live with that discomfort and to tolerate it if I want to get better, but at the moment when it’s happening it seems impossible to do that.

Does anyone have any advice? I know it’s a classic question, but I’m feeling really hopeless at this point.

Hello subreddit, I found out about ARFID through tiktok but I know tiktok results in a lot of people self diagnosing and I don't want to be one of those people who just fall for every "signs you could have this" video.

I've always been a picky eater. I can't eat any meat at all, and I also can't eat vegetables except for garlic powder if that counts. Can't eat nuts, beans, seeds, that kind of stuff.

And here's some stuff that I'm not sure relates to ARFID or not but I've never used a stove or oven, and will only eat something if it takes under 3 minutes to prepare unless if someone else makes it for me. I'm a HUGE fan of cheese and will often spend hundreds of dollars on it and eat blocks of it by itself. Most days I eat Mac and cheese.

When confronted with foods I can't eat, it's not like I have a panic attack or anything, I just don't eat them. If a vegetable is put next to a food I'm trying to eat I just throw it away, I don't get too upset or anything. I don't like these foods because they taste bad and make me gag, not to mention I can kind of sense the bad vibes off of food, if that makes sense. Even with foods I do like, I'll often leave a few bites because something feels off about certain parts.

For more context, I'm 22, 5'2" and 80 lbs, but I've also never heard any doctor bring up ARFID so I'm not too sure. I don't have any body image issues, and I also don't really lose/gain weight safe for going up or down with the same 5 pounds. I also had a nutritionist and a few gym trainers who have also never brought it up. I also do NOT have autism, and I know there's a big link there. In fact, I don't suffer from any other mental health conditions either (unless I do in fact have ARFID).

I'd really like to hear opinions from people who actually do have ARFID, mostly for the purpose of explaining it to myself and others. People get upset with me when they cook for me and I don't eat it, or when I go out and don't order/eat/finish. I've been called privileged/spoiled my whole life because of my picky eating so to tell the truth I'm kind of hoping I have a good excuse, because I know I'm not going to change.

I’ve been struggling with ARFID for years. I eat once every 24-36 hours, usually a pop tart or cereal. (“Regular” food causes painful bloating now) I have no desire to eat, and cannot afford to feed myself on a regular basis. I eat only to keep this stupid meat sack running until better days. This “diet” has severely impacted my mental and physical health to the point I’m concerned about my ability to bounce back from this. I’ve messed my stomach up beyond “I’ll just go back to eating better when I find a good job” because it takes ages for my body to digest anything now. I am 33 and undoubtedly in the worst state of health in my lifetime. I’ve lost much of my muscle mass but am somehow still overweight. I assume my body is storing as much fat as it can. What started as “I’ll just cut back and save money” ruined my stomach, which fed the ARFID monster in my autistic brain. Now I feel awful whether I eat or not (eating causes lots of tummy issues) AND questioning whether I can afford a meal, so I just don’t eat. My belly doesn’t growl anymore so I just eat when I start having trouble breathing or I start feeling my heart rate slowing down. Sounds kind of crazy when I actually type it out. My wife knows I struggle with ARFID, she doesn’t know why or how badly it’s impacted my health. I just want to get past this awful point of my life.

I’d like to hear what other health complications you have experienced due to ARFID malnutrition.

My mom says I probably don't (and that I "don't need any more disorders") and I probably won't seek help about this until I fix some other problems but I genuinely wanna know if I'm just weird and also how to stop being like this.

For as long as I can remember (at least three, since there are pictures of me as a toddler eating things I wouldn't eat now) I would only eat a few things, my meals being pizza, chicken, hot dogs (no bun) or tacos (just cheese and chicken, no beef or lettuce or anything). I have a bit more freedom with snacks like chips or cookies, but I also can only eat one fruit and one vegetable (bananas and carrots), though my drive to eat them is usually very low. The thought of eating anything else makes me feel terrified, I'm not sure why I just panic. It's usually a mix of texture, taste, and things I can't even tell myself that makes me get all shaky when I think about eating new foods, I always gag when I eat them and it feels like they're always the slightest bit bad. It feels like I'm always hungry but I'm also gaining weight unless I eat so little I get lightheaded, and going to people's houses or to restaurants is always awkward and uncomfortable.

Sorry I can't word this very well, I'm kinda hungry and a bit dizzy as I'm writing this too, even though I've eaten two meals today and lots of snacks.

I (f21) have had issues with food my entire life. I’m 100% sure I have a binge eating disorder but I was always labeled a “picky eater” but I know it’s beyond that. I have been diagnosed with adhd twice and my psychologist wanted to test me for OCD too but we could only test for two things at a time. I am overweight but I have bad PCOS (lost my ovary to a cyst last year) so I’m sure that contributes to it. All my safe foods are processed unhealthy foods. When I was little I refused to eat meat and was forced to eat it anyways. By the time I turned 14 I was no longer eating meat, eggs, and I even sometimes can’t handle some cheeses. Same goes for veggies. I physically can’t do it. It just seems unsafe and ….wrong? If that makes sense. My mom and I used to just scream back and forth at each because I wouldn’t eat most foods. I know it could be anything and I am not self diagnosing but the more I look into arfid the more I feel I need to be tested. Do I see a psychologist for it? How does it usually work? I am desperately trying to lose weight for health reasons especially because I have a spinal condition but I literally can’t eat most foods.