I live with 2 parents and a younger brother, who all love pasta, which you can imagine might kind of suck for someone with ARFID. For any non-safe food I can think of, I can generally acknowledge it's at least food. "Okay, this food is gross, but many other people love it." I cannot say the same about spaghetti, or pasta/noodles in general.

Pasta is so nasty I don't think I can even consider it food at all. It's literally an assault on all of my senses. The best thing I can compare the classic spaghetti and meatballs to is food that's halfway through being digested. Not quite food, but not quite feces. The only way I can see it is orange mush.

Don't get me started on the smell. I'm not even exaggerating when I say it smells worse than poop. Like, waaaaaaaay worse. There are times where I can't even go downstairs because the smell of boiling pasta creeps throughout the whole first floor.

I remember trying spaghetti. I had a plate in front of me sitting there for 20 minutes or so. I finally touched it to my mouth and it must have been so bad that I don't even remember what it tasted like. I've probably repressed it or something. Even so, how do you expect me to eat something that I can't even look at or smell without gagging? I would rather endure the brazen bull every day for a century than smell spaghetti ever again.

Alrighty, just needed to get that off my chest!

The number of genuine meals I can eat have lowered significantly, breakfast and lunch are pretty much always off the table, I also just got my wisdom teeth removed, so that doesn't help.

how do you guys deal with the pain from being so hungry?

I'm a child psychologist. I will have my first client with ARFID soon. I have one question. I usually have some healthy snack for my little clients, just to boost some energy and make them feel safe and content. Would it be a good idea to wait my client with arfid with one of her comfort food? Would you be happy for it or would it be disturbing to you that someone is offering you food in a situation like this?

Hey everyone, I, myself, have ARFID. I’ve been thinking about developing an ARFID app to help those with ARFID find places that have their safe foods! Sort of like “Find Me Gluten Free” but for ARFID and it would have educational resources and all that jazz.

I want to take in information and input from the community.

What is an “ARFID Friendly” place in your opinion? ARFID is a very one size doesn’t fit all kind of ED so I want to make it as flexible and diverse as I can. Any recommendations, suggestions would be awesome!

I came up with a name for it since there isn’t one.

Orbophobia (or-boh-FOH-bee-uh)?
Orbophobia: An intense fear, disgust, or aversion toward eating foods that are round or spherical.
Other options:
Spherophobia — fear of spherical food

hello so I’ve realized lately that my eating patterns are really weird I have extreme preferences and weird things I have to do to eat food like for some examples, I only like bread and extremely processed thick protein i cant stand real food at all I have no interest or like for it i cant eat eggs or anything im not interested in any fruit and I find them useless I don’t like veggies with a passion but I don’t mind their taste i just have extreme disinterest for anything that isn’t extremely processed or bread plus i love to tear things apart one by one and eat it like a cave person i hate large utensils and spoons i only like eating with tiny forks and my hands 2. i cant eat normal when someone eats my food i plan, i like planning to eat ice cream pints but when someone takes single bite i lose all interest and get soooo angry and cant eat in any routine i always have the urge to satisfy my stomach too i cant feel empty and I crave the feeling of constant satisfaction and fullness along with taste and my appetite never ends when its a food i like i finish all of stuff i like when it’s there so i have to portion things just for me or ill eat it all because i love it so much if i get cornbread i need to finish it all or portion it out and plan it same with cookies and stuff plus I never feel full when i eat real food only junk will fill me up and make me happy i hate real food. I thought this because my mom had adhd and i also have symptoms like her but I don’t have them all like i can daze off into spqce and hyperfocus not diagnosed tho

I've been putting off eating (fasting) for 7 days now. I can't believe I let it get this bad. I know I need to eat something tonight before I sleep, but it's already 4 a.m. I'm exhausted, and I really don't want to. I know that the longer I wait, though, the harder it's going to be to start eating again and the greater the risk of complications.

The thought of eating makes me nauseous. And it's not helping that my room is extremely humid and muggy right now. I feel gross and sticky, and I'm worried it's going to affect the taste of my food as well—the canned fish I was planning to eat a couple of bites of.

And I'm probably going to have to set an alarm for a couple of hours later to eat again, because I don't think it can be good to go another 9 hours without eating after breaking a prolonged fast (?) I honestly don't know what I'm supposed to do.

I don't want to eat, I just want to sleep. I'm so tired of this.

I stumbled upon the acronym ARFID a few days ago, and it stopped me dead in my tracks. Could this be what I had as a child? I want it to be what I had as a child because maybe then I’ll feel validated. Maybe then I could force my dad‘s jaw open and shove it down his throat. Could I have been spared all the psychological damage ? I see some similar behaviors but I don’t know if I did have it or if I’m just trying to make it fit. I guess it doesn’t matter because it wouldn’t change anything in my past but I sure am curious .
I’m I’m happy and relieved to know that today’s child will likely never experience psychological trauma at the dining table.
I’m seeking a list of symptoms or behaviors if anyone could guide me. Thank you.

Hello! I’m pretty new to the term ARFID and am still learning things about it. Mainly one of the reasons I started looking into ARFID is because around 5-6 years ago something.. weird(?) happened while I was eating? I’ve been a picky eater ever since I was a little girl, it was always either because of taste or texture for me that made me not like something. Around the time whatever this is started I was in a relationship with someone who was very narcissistic and abusive towards me. I was about.. 22-23, and I was about to eat my dinner like normal every single day. We were having breakfast for dinner that night. We had over easy eggs, hashbrowns, toast and brown’n’serve sausage links. Everything was going pretty normal up until i decided to eat the sausage, and I simply could not. The feeling.. of it on the back of my tongue while I was chewing made me very nauseous and uncomfortable physically but not mentally(?) I ended up spilling the contents of my stomach shortly after and EVER since then when I am chewing my food, I feel it on the back of my tongue, I just simply can’t do it. I’m loosing my mind over this, because i can’t enjoy ANY foods anymore without feeling this way. It’s genuinely wearing down on me.

I am diagnosed with ARFID, along with a bunch of food sensitivities/allergies that make eating a little more complicated than “just eat whatever everyone else is eating.”

There are foods I genuinely cannot eat. Some things give me stomach pain and cramping, followed by diarrhoea. Some cause hives. Some make me nauseous enough that I end up vomiting. And then there are foods/textures/smells that I simply cannot tolerate because of my ARFID.

So yes, when I go out to eat, I ask questions.

What’s in this?

Is there soy in it? (Developed a severe allergy to soy last year, cannot eat most Asian, Indo-chinese food which I loved )

What kind of oil is this cooked in? (Several restaurants use soya oil)

Does this contain so and so ingredient?

Can you check with the cook/chef?

Is there anything in the sauce/marinade/batter/chutney that isn't listed on the menu?

I don't interrogate the waiter for fun. I’m extremely patient, polite and talk softly while trying to figure out whether I can eat the food without spending the next several hours in pain or running to the bathroom to throw up. Sometimes I ask to speak to whoever is actually responsible for the food because a waiter may not know the ingredients, and I’d rather double-check than assume. Most of the times I check the menu online if we know where we are going to even avoid this conversation altogether but sometimes friends message on the way or just walk in.

And apparently this is *really* annoying to some people.

The weirdest part is that it's usually not even my friends who have a problem with it. It's someone's plus-one who I barely know.

I've had people make comments about me being a “pick me,” being difficult, being too fussy, or apparently needing everyone to pay attention to what I'm eating.

And here's the thing: **most of the time, I don't even eat when I meet friends.**

If we're meeting somewhere where I know I'm unlikely to find something I can safely eat, I'll eat at home beforehand. Then I'll go meet everyone and get a drink. That's it. Problem solved. Nobody has to change restaurants. Nobody has to accommodate me. Nobody has to sit there while I ask questions about the menu.

Except apparently *that* is also a problem.

Because then someone will make a comment about how “the place isn't good enough for you to eat at” or imply that I'm being dramatic and refusing to eat their food.

No. I ate before I came because I knew I might not be able to eat there. But apparently that's rude too?

I'm not secretly making a statement about the restaurant. I'm not judging anyone else's food. I'm not trying to make myself the centre of attention. **I just don't want to be hungry AND potentially sick.**

And I'm not expecting anyone else to pay for this either.

I don't ask to go Dutch because I only had a drink, or a soda, or even just water. We split the bill equally. I pay my share, which is often several times the cost of whatever simple drink I actually had.

I'm not asking for a discount because I couldn't eat. I'm not asking everyone else to subsidise me. I'm not asking the group to accommodate my food restrictions.

I'm paying my part and I'm there because **I wanted to meet my friends and hang out with them.**

That's literally it.

I came to spend time with my friends. I did not come to be interrogated, judged, ridiculed or called a “pick me” by someone's spouse/SO because I asked a waiter what was in my food.

If I *do* decide to eat something, I ask questions about the ingredients because I'd rather spend two minutes checking than spend the rest of the evening dealing with stomach cramps, diarrhoea, hives, nausea or vomiting.

I'm literally sitting at the table trying to determine whether there is something I can safely eat. I'm not asking everyone else to order something different. I'm not making anyone change restaurants. I'm not asking anyone to accommodate my diet. I'm asking the person responsible for preparing my food what is actually in it.

You can order whatever the hell you want.

I just want to know whether *my* food is going to make me sick.

If I had a peanut allergy and asked whether something contained peanuts, would that also be “pick me” behaviour? If I had celiac disease and asked whether something contained gluten, would that be annoying too?

Why does it suddenly become a personality flaw when the food issue isn't one of the allergies people immediately recognise?

I'm not trying to be difficult. I'm not trying to get attention. I'm not trying to make anyone else's evening revolve around me.

I'm trying to eat without getting sick.

And apparently even *not eating* is somehow offensive.

I genuinely don't understand what people expect me to do. Stay home? Stop seeing my friends? Eat something that makes me sick so nobody thinks I'm being difficult?

Because none of those seem particularly reasonable.

TL;DR: I have ARFID and multiple food allergies/sensitivities, so sometimes I need to ask restaurants about ingredients to avoid getting sick. If I know I can't safely eat somewhere, I usually eat at home beforehand and just get a drink. I still split the bill equally and pay my full share. I'm not asking anyone to accommodate me or pay for my food — I'm there to spend time with my friends and have a good time. Apparently, though, asking about ingredients or choosing not to eat is enough for some friends' SOs/plus-ones to call me a “pick me,” make comments about the restaurant “not being good enough for me,” or ridicule me. Why is taking basic precautions to avoid getting sick considered attention-seeking?

(I did use AI to structure my thoughts cuz I was particularly angry after yesterday's dinner so requesting you guys to please bear with me)

Hello, I am brand new here. I have ARFID and I noticed that over time it has become harder for me to swallow properly when eating or drinking. Could this be happening because of not being able to eat consistently? Like maybe not using those muscles over time could cause them to get weaker? I have an appointment at the doctor's coming up but in the meantime I'm wondering how many of you are struggling with this? I noticed when I eat, I can feel food stuck halfway in my throat while I'm chewing my next bite. Like I have swallowed, but I have to do it twice or 3 times to get it all the way down. Sometimes it is painful. When drinking water, without fail, multiple times per day I end up inhaling some liquid!

Hi. So this is hard for me to write, put into words and talk about.
For months now my appetite has started to diminish. I think a mix of always feeling anxious, stressed and drinking too much alcohol. Probably getting too many sugary calories from that. Anyway, this past week and I have fainted/greyed out about 5 times.
I believe it is due to dehydration and not getting enough nutrients.
The thing is, it’s incredibly hard/impossible for me to eat.
I used to be such an adventurous eater and now I prefer things like soup, protein shakes, smoothies- anything that doesn’t involve chewing. Chewing and the swallowing seems to be a huge trigger. I could be starving, stomach rumbling but it’s like my head isn’t connecting that and I’m just fine without eating.
I don’t know what to do or who to reach out to. Should I go to the hospital? Is that over reacting?

I (23f) am autistic and have a bunch of mental illnesses. i have like 5 safe foods. if i try to eat anything else i get really anxious. a lot of it is based on textures and smells. i also don't ever feel hungry, so i don't know what hunger feels like. i have to take iron supplements and vitamin D supplements. my safe foods are lunchables (only the pizza one or the nachos one), dino nuggets with salsa and cheese dip, cheddar jalapeño Cheetos, garden salsa sun chips, watermelon sour patch kids, and sometimes skittles and starbursts. i only drink certain flavors of flavored water and dr. pepper. i used to eat a lot more variety but in the last few months i have lost a lot of safe foods

I just stand in my kitchen and feel helpless.

I am super sensory sensitive with my food and often have to pick it apart to feel comfortable eating it. I think some of my safe foods that get the most stares/comments about how im eating it are

1. nachos - I only eat beef, colby jack cheese, and sour cream with dorito chips and i have to plate it all seperately so my chips dont get soggy and i can put the perfect amount of each ingredient on every chip

2. waffles - i cannot STAND crunchy edges. It literally makes me gag omg. (This is particularly for belgium waffles) I cut off the entire perimiter and then cut out the little dip in between holding the four sections together and i give those pieces to my sister. I also have been made fun of for how i make sure every single little segment of waffle gets coated in butter and an equal amount of syrup.

3. toast - i like my bread to be performatively toasted. I dont actually want it to be crunchy so i toast it and then cover EVERY inch butter so its soft again

generally i pick most food apart and avoid any peice that looks “wrong” or i order a menu item with pretty much every single part of it taken off. I have made my piece with being a food weirdo i just wish people would stop treating me like a freak😒

TW: suicide

I have CPTSD, OCD, depression, anxiety and chronic pain illnesses. Food feels dangerous to me and causes me real pain. I'm suffering so much all the time. Even when I feel ok, food is still a threat to me. I'm just so tired. Since this got really bad, I've been considering letting myself deteriorate. I dread coming home from work to eat. I don't like to cook anymore. I eat so few foods I don't feel like it's worth it. I cry standing in front of the fridge. I grieve for the food I used to be able to eat but can't. I can't socialize with my family because the grief and pain and panic around food is too much. I'm tired. My husband is abusive. My mother is abusive. My parents were both abusive. I have no friends. No support network. I didn't know it was this bad and there's just too much going on in my mind, too much trauma, health trauma, food trauma, and in my body. I'm tired of being in this body. In this life. I just want to let go. (Yes I'm in therapy. Currently seeking ED diagnosis).

Hi all, going to keep this as short as possible but I’m wondering if this sounds like ARFID?

I have pretty severe emetophobia and have restricted certain foods for as long as I can remember.
However recently, even looking at food gives me a panic attack. After eating I feel uncomfortable, terrified and regret it so much because I’m scared I’ll get sick
Im dropping weight pretty rapidly and don’t really know where to go from here. I feel nauseous constantly and have no interest in food

Struggling a lot and would appreciate some advice!

Sometimes i notice ghat ill go to eat cause i was hungry and then after a few bites im no longer hungry like i cant eat anything else full

But then only maybe 30 mins or an hour later I'll feel hungry again and it's annoying cuz I'm one hand I want to eat when I'm hungry because I'm trying to gain weight but on the other hand the day still feeling cycle if I continue to eat small bits every time I feel hungry I'm just going to train my body to be hungry for very small bits hourly and I want to know if anyone else has this problem,

I'm not sure if this qualifies as a uniquely arfid thing but wanted to ask hear anyways

I just recently found out I struggle with ARFID and not anorexia, after years of struggling with eating and trying to solve things at home.

I cant afford specialized care currently but need to continue trying to get better. I currently struggle to eat more than 2-3x a day, once usually being rice/ pasta/ sometimes a sandwich.. and the other being a snack like granola.

I want to try and start a routine that includes

1) Snack/breakfast

2) Lunch (must include protein)

3) Snack

4) Dinner (must include protein)

5) Snack?

Does this seem realistic? Ive attempted working my way up but have never made it to 4 much less 5. Would attempting to start the routine and continue through the rough adjustment phase be worth trying?

My best friend has been supporting me through this process and offered to continue with helping support/ encourage me throughout

Okay so I’ve been under a lot of stress lately and I no longer like hotdogs. I never really “liked” them but I genuinely can’t stomach them anymore.

Problem is my life is a fucking sitcom and my family thinks I love hotdogs (I was obsessed with this satire horror about a robot hotdog and would talk to them about it sometimes) I don’t know how to break it to them that I don’t so I just haven’t. It’s made all the worse by the fact hotdogs were my late father’s favorite food. Fml and fuck ARFID.

I've had arfid my whole life (22m) and I just moved to a new place and I am starting graduate school, something I've been looking forward to for a really long time. My ARFID struggles are intense, right now I basically just eat pizza, mac n cheese, pasta (has to be a specific brand of tomato sauce), and peanut butter sandwhiches for dinner, on rotation.

A part of me getting ready for graduate school is trying to prepare lunches for myself because I am going to be on campus for ~8 hours a day. Today I tried making vodka rigatoni-- which was basically just tomatoes, onions, garlic, vodka, and some hot peppers. And it turned out really good, and when I tried it I didnt hate it? I genuinly think I enjoyed it but after eating 4 bites my brain told me that I couldnt eat anymore and that was where I needed to stop, and this is giving me mixed emotions. On one hand I am proud of myself because I honestly dont think I've ever had an onion before, so trying something new out of my comfort zone made me proud of myself. On the other hand, I am dissapointed in my growth. I really really really want to get better and the fact that my brain didnt emphatically enjoy the meal is making me a bit sad.

If anyone has any experiences they'd like to share, or any advice id truly appreciate it :) <3

I and those around me didn't understand why I couldn't eat things, but one day, I was watching a YouTube video-essay-ish video about a picky eater and the person mentioned ARFID as the name of the condition. I felt so seen and it was crazy. The comments had a lot of people who also had ARFID.

ARFID is so weird with so many unknowns, and it is its own spectrum. I remember thinking to myself that there must be at least one other person out there like me. Turns out, there's a lot more than I could've expected! From what seems to be extremely unreliable statistics regarding percentages of people with ARFID, the amount of people with the condition ranges from the population of Australia to Pakistan. I sometimes think to myself in a large room of people if I'm the only one, or if someone out there could relate.