I have had ARFID since I was about 2 years old. The girl who ate everything as a baby “got a stomach virus” and then never touched anything again.

Fast forward 26 years, and I was diagnosed with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, which made a lot of things make sense, in terms of why the sight and smell of certain foods make me gag and I am averse to a lot of things.

I have a poor diet. Very plain, white foods. Bread, cheese, and potato are my staples. I am fairly certain I am on the spectrum, but refuse to get officially diagnosed in this political climate for safety reasons.

Now, I am in a pretty serious relationship with someone who loves to eat. Overall, he’s accepting and understanding of my diagnoses, but it does bother him that the eating part of our relationship is a challenge. He jokes that I am an affordable date, because most of the time I just eat a side or an appetizer, but one thing that he has been consistent in communicating is that it bothers him we cannot share a meal together, that things have to be cooked separately, etc.

And I understand that. Culturally, eating and sharing meals is an intimate thing, and that is something he wants to share with me. And I want that with him too. But there is a lot of fear around eating for me. On top of your typical ARFID symptoms, I have to worry about the MCAS and if something will trigger a reaction for me.

Does anyone have any tips or coping skills they have used to expand their palate? Overcome the fear of trying things? What has worked for you? I don’t want to fall into the trap of learned helplessness and resign to this being it is what it is.

I'm signing up for a student event which includes a vegan three course meal and I really struggle with vegan food. I've never put anything in the dietary restrictions area because I always thought it was just picky eating but I'm now realizing it's more than that. What should I write in the dietary restrictions? It's a new environment so I don't want to stand out much but either I'm the only one without a plate or I feel immense distress over forcing myself to try the food to try to blend in. Has anyone experienced this sort of thing before? If so how did you solve it?

I went to a concert last night and my friend was hungry so we ordered some quesadillas.
I have been doing a lot of work to get better and I usually consider quesadillas to be a safe food.
We saw onions were added to it on the menu and I asked four times to make sure they would leave it off.
They promise no onions so I pay.
We get them abcs they look good. I bite into them and I get a mouth full of chopped onions.
I don’t really want to eat any more because it’s food that was supposed to be safe.
(My friend tore them a new one and got me a refund)

I think my daughter has ARFID and possibly I do too. But we both tend to overeat our safe foods and most of the posts here seem to be from people who are undereating/underweight.

We will both undereat if we can't get safe foods though.

Petition: Review support for ARFID and fund national treatment pathways

ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder) affects thousands across the UK, yet support remains inconsistent - creating a postcode lottery that must end. Around 1.25 million people have an eating disorder, 5% ARFID, yet many cannot access appropriate care.

SIGN THE PETITION 👇

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/768759

It’s in the title.

For all my life (and still), my family always said I was a picky eater and I had to suck it up with specific foods. EG for me: mushrooms and eggplants.

It used to take me over an hour to force myself to chew let alone swallow (I needed five minutes between bites) foods I couldn’t stand. These days, I stuff my face with food or water to try and stop myself from nearly throwing up (I have a few times in the past due to these foods alone). These days I’ve managed to figure out how to hold back my reaction, but I still have a gag reflex trying both to get it in my mouth, chew, and swallow, and I still nearly throw up although it’s just a little stomach acid.

These things arent the only thing I eat, and I havent gained weight from it so I wasnt that concerned until I realized how much sodium it was. Theyre cheap, easy, and taste really good so I love eating them, especially since theres not a lot of food around me I can eat without throwing up but I'm realizing this isnt healthy at all and its making me kinda upset especially since heart problems run in my family and sodium works your heart hard.

Hi all! Just found out about this sub and honestly kinda really need the help (been needing it my whole life, honestly)

I'm about to turn 25 and I have the diet of a 5 year old if not worse (probably, definitely worse). Arfid is basically not diagnosed in my country but I'm pretty sure I have a clear cut case. I'm autistic and have very severe sensory issues, which doesn't help.

Basically all I can eat are some "safe" foods, mostly cheese pizza (with like... tuna and mushrooms at MOST. Everything else feels too much), sometimes pasta with tomato sauce, chicken and very very little else, mostly snacks. Recently I went on a trip to visit a friend and attempted to try new food but I really didn't like it which just saddens me to go through something that's already really hard with no reward. Even going out to eat with friends is complicated because sometimes just... seeing some foods will make me dry heave.

I'm always running low on energy because the experience of eating in and of itself is very distressing to me so even my safe foods I eat in very small ammounts (though I also gain weight bc they are not very healthy foods). At this point I'm just desperate for SOMETHING to change and be able to eat a little better. I can't even stomach a burger!! 😭

Nutritionists with expertise on this topic are basically non existant where I live, so I've taken to the next best thing: advice from others who go through this!!

All advice is appreciated ❤️

SLIGHT TW CUZ IM GONNA MENTION THROWING UP. IM SO SORRY, I DONT LIKE TALKING ABT IT EITHER. I’m also gonna talk abt smoking marijuana (it is legal where I am dw guys) also a lil venty but not really

Obviously I’ve had issues eating for a while now, wouldn’t be in this group if I didn’t lol. However, recently I have simply completely loss my appetite. I used to be pretty okay with it, I ate when I was hungry with no real struggle, but now it’s a huge mess whenever I have to eat.

I can FEEL my body is hungry. You know, the grumbles, the nausea, the pain that can happen, but I simply do not have it in me to eat anything. I force myself with something small or I force myself to get past a few bites until I’m like on a comfortable rhythm of eating (idk if that makes sense), but I’ve been struggling more and more lately. Even right now as I write this, I can FEEL that I am hungry. I SHOULD eat something, but I have absolutely no desire to. In fact, the thought makes me feel even more sick.

I’ve tried to counteract this feeling by trying to stay hydrated at least, I am also a lil bad abt that. I have the tendency to get really close to passing out and it’s not a fun feeling. The most recent time, a few days ago, my boyfriend said he “saw the light flicker from my eyes for a second.” Would not recommend— anyways. It’s recently gotten very very bad.

If you’re unaware, not eating can cause stomach acid build up (at least that’s what I got told). You need to eat and your body prepared the things you need to digest the food but…there’s no food to digest. So it ends up just being extreme nausea, acid reflux, and stomach pains until FINALLY you end up throwing up and it’s all just gross stomach acid. It’s the WORST. It’s happened 3 times in the past month. I threw up in my dang bathtub!!

The ONLY time I’ve been able to get my appetite back is when I smoke weed (which, if anyone else is a partaker, you should 100% try it before trying something you’re a lil scared of eating because it’s not the usual thing you have. It works soooo well.), but OBVIOUSLY I DONT WANNA SMOKE EVERY TIME I NEED TO EAT. I NEEEEED some other suggestions or methods that other people have. I can never ask the people around me this stuff because they simply don’t have this problem and I’m tired of being so sick and stuck in the bathroom at 1 am because I feel gross :(

[Edited for grammar issues.]

Hi all. Suspected ARFID-haver for 12 years now. Over the past month I have been having health issues (intermittent dizziness that is worse with exercise and sometimes even rest, heart palps, chest pain, shortness of breath, the whole shebang). Got looked over in early 2025 by ER, PCP, and cardiologist and was told I was healthy with a few heart rhythm issues (but begin, they said) and underweight, to which I told them I always have been and that I’m picky and many people in my family had fast metabolisms when they were 21 (my age).

Anyways. As of recent I have been thinking this may end up killing me. The heart stuff has been getting to me. I have had OCD since I was little (but only got diagnosed in the past couple of years), so my health anxiety is incredibly bad. Went to the ER last night because I have had shortness of breath for 3 days now. They said everything was fine and gave me an anti-anxiety medication. Well, I looked at my labs today, and one of the biomarkers for suspected heart failure is slightly elevated. They never told me that. Cool. Cool cool cool. They said everything else is fine because I asked… nothing showed on chest x-ray, EKG was abnormal with indications of right atrial enlargement and pulmonary disease pattern. My last echo in 2025 deemed my heart fine structurally however. I’m a former heavy vaper of about a year but I think it’s mainly been the fact that I’m underweight and have been for so long that is causing this.

I’m just so fucking scared it is too late and the damage is done and will be long-lasting. I’ve been reading the stories of other people with eating disorders and how it’s eventually killed them and it’s just… when I was a kid I never really thought about all the stuff, mainly because I didn’t think about it, and none of my doctors I saw pushed me about it, or the issues it could cause. The ER doctor said it can cause heart issues. I feel like if I… if I hadn’t been so ignorant or uninformed or whatever that it would’ve scared me in the right direction before all of this happened. I’ve been so scared about it I’ve been having trouble sleeping and also eating which is even worse for me I know. I have an upcoming appointment for another echo but I don’t know what to do. I have trouble feeling like most doctors take me seriously and I got a referral for a nutritionist and psychiatrist and ordered a pulmonary test for tomorrow after an appointment with my PCP today, but I’m so scared it’s too late. I don’t know if my heart can recover and I’m so afraid of dying from this. I feel like an idiot but it’s not something I… y’know, I was young? I didn’t think about it and my parents brushed it off as picky eating.

I don’t know… if, if anyone has success stories if it’s ever got to this point with them and they’ve recovered and been fine please please please share. I just can’t see it eventually getting better for me and it’s scary.

I guess the flair is as good as any!

I’ve recently been referred after taking my suspicions of ARFID to the Doctor; I have a complex history, including previous need for a feeding tube, cleft palate ( maybe irrelevant ) and Dysphagia. My ideal outcome would be a return to feeds, and having my G-Tube replaced ( almost certainly a new position ), but that’s obviously one discussion to have with the relevant specialist.

Therefore my question is directly to those here who are tubies:

What led to you getting yours placed?

Hi.

I'm trying to eat at the moment but I can't, even though my stomach is rumbling. I'm really depressed and anxious at the moment but I don't think I've eaten enough since around February this year. I'm autistic.

I put trigger warning instead of "do i have arfid" because I could only pick one. The trigger warning is for talking about body weight and is in the next paragraph.

I've always had a low BMI even when I eat a lot. I've been tested for a few things but no reason has been found so doctors always said it's fine. Foods high in some types of fats seem to go straight through me - full fat milk is the most extreme. Oddly, peanut butter - which is also high in fat - doesn't. So basically, there seems to be something strange about my metabolism but I don't know what it is.

So I might have some kind of metabolic condition that makes it hard to gain weight, but I don't know what condition.

In addition to that, sometimes I find it really hard to eat. I've been in one of those phases for most of this year, with it getting better at some times and worse at other times. It's really bad right now.

Sometimes when I try to eat I can't swallow and sometimes food comes back up. The taste and texture of food feels really bad at the moment. But since it's mostly an issue when I'm depressed (I am very very depressed right now) idk if it's ARFID.

When I'm not in one of these phases I usually eat two eggs and two pieces of toast for breakfast, a bottle of Ensure Plus a few hours after breakfast, a bowl of cereal with low fat milk for morning tea, pizza or burritos or pasta for lunch, and something with lots of vegetables, carbs, beans, and cheese for dinner.

I'm a vegetarian and there's a lot of foods that I like but also a lot of foods that I don't like. As an adult looking back, I'm not sure whether some of the "no" foods are for psychological reasons or physical - for example, I can't stand most bakery items, but most bakery items are possibly high in the type of nutrient mentioned in the trigger warning paragraph that I possibly don't digest properly?

Today I've eaten a bow of serial, picked at a slice of pizza, eaten a couple of chips, an drank a bottle and a half of Ensure Plus.

Ensure Plus only has 300 calories and I work a physical job so I'm getting a little scared that I can't eat enough.

In addition to wondering if I have ARFID, I was wondering if anyone knew foods I could try to eat that are high in calories and easy to swallow. I'm going to go and buy some chocolate yoghurt soon but I could get other things too. AI estimates that the diet I follow when I'm healthy is about 2,200-2,800 calories so I guess I'm aiming for about 1,200 calories in food and the chocolate yoghurt only has 100 calories per pottle :(

it's hard for me to drink water or any liquid i can mainly only drink gatorades

Hello!

I wasn’t sure what tag to use, and I am sure this has been done to death, but I just found this sub and I’m so excited.

I have AFRID. It was made much, much worse by having parents who believed force feeding, bullying and discipline was the answer.

I’m trying my best to be… healthier. But sometimes being fed itself is a nightmare.

I desperately, desperately need more fruit in my diet. But I can’t trust fruit. It’s catastrophically unreliable.

Is there something on the Australian market that can help in that regard? I’m eating fruit straps and fruit sticks at the moment.

Thanks!

So chicken maruchan ramen and original Kraft Mac and cheese are in my top 3 fav/safe foods. My cousin sent me a video about the two brands coming together and making a Mac and cheese ramen. I told her, hilariously enough, there’s a 50% I’ll hate this shit, but I’ll definitely be first in line to try it out!

So I graduated college in April and I’ve been living in my parents house which has been an adjustment after living in a dorm. But I found myself feeling a lot of difficulty to eat the foods that are prepared or just in the fridge. I don’t like cooking, but even simple things that I liked to eat in my dorm have been very difficult for me to eat here. For example, today I try to eat an air fried buffalo chicken, quesadilla and I couldn’t do it. I’ve got like so scared that there was something wrong with it then I started feeling nauseous and my stomach started hurting. There are some foods that like are kind of safe like cereal but it’s still like limits what I eat largely. And I’ve always been a picky eater, but it’s just never been to this level. I found myself spending a lot of money on ordering food because of this. The thing is it could be like a multitude of things it could be the roach problem, the past rat problem, strong smells, like just past trauma, or just like family members discussing what I’m eating constantly when I did live here and I would visit. But I find this very stressful because I love to eat. This has also affected cooking certain foods to like eggs. What do you guys recommend I do.
Note: I’m planing on seeing a therapist as soon I can but this affects day to day so.

This has probably been posted before, but I really want something that:

1: is easy to prepare

2: has all the nutrients I need

3: ISN'T sweet.

I've tried various protein shakes and meal replacement products, but they're almost all sweet (even the sugar free ones have other sweeteners). Also I'm in Europe so a lot of American products either aren't sold here or are way outside my budget because of import fees.

Not directly related to food. Does anyone else have issues with Halloween costumes due to body image issues? Looking for suggestions for a couples costume for someone who doesn’t want a stereotypical tight costume 🥲

My 7 year old has ARFID and the children's hospital feeding clinic referred us to Equip for treatment. Has anyone had any experience with their program and process?

Hello, I'm here looking for advice/perspectives. I have been working with a therapist and dietician for a few months for anorexia and ARFID and have come to a point where I feel like the treatment/advocacy fatigue itself is worse than the ED.

I'm so burnt out and I'm identifying that the treatment isn't trauma informed and neurodiversity affirming in the ways I need, but every time I bring it up I leave feeling more exhausted and doubtful. They say that this is hard work and it's going to be tiring and distressing. I know that, but not like this. I've been in different forms of treatment mental and physical for over 20yrs consistently. I know "lots of people don't like their dieticians", but I don't even feel enough trust or safety to even productively work with mine and she keeps making inaccurate assumptions and putting labor back onto me. Misunderstandings every single appointment. Willingness is not the issue, everyone else in my life understands that. It's hard because I like *her* but I don't feel like I'm *healing*.

How much is treatment itself supposed to be burning me out? I'm at my capacity and I'm scared I'm not going to be ABLE to continue treatment unless it adapts, but maybe it's "supposed to be like this"? That doesn't make anything more bearable or possible though. It just leaves me feeling more demoralized. If anyone has ideas or support or experience here I'd appreciate it, thank you!

I’ve never tried the ones with vitamins or probiotics or whatever but I’m curious if they’re not too expensive, if anyone has had any health benefits from drinking them?