ARFID Documentary: Food Phobias & Eating Disorders | The Truth About Fussy Eaters | Only Human

Sometimes I think this seems like another fancy way to describe DISORDERED EATING “ or if you’re asleep….ANA!

So interesting I did not know of Arfid thank you

My 12yo is ARFID. It’s heartbreaking to watch my child struggle so much. He spent 6weeks in a PHP 18 months ago and we have regressed so much since. Finding support in our area has been an ongoing issue.

My daughter was just like this until thankfully at the age of 14 something clicked and suddenly she wanted to try literally everything! It’s fascinating that the boy in the first part of the video still went through a normal teenage growth spurt and got quite tall even, with normal looking bone development and no apparent rickets or anything. When all of the girls in my daughter’s seventh grade class started getting taller and towering over my daughter who was still under 5’! I was very worried it had something to do with her previous diet. So I’m relieved that likely isn’t the case. She gradually grew a bit more over the next few years and is around 5’1 which is only a couple inches shorter than myself so it’s probably genetics. At least she’d always take the gummy vitamins and I’d resort to mixing meal replacement shake powder with ice cream so she’d have something at least before school or add an extra egg to pancake mix. There’s some tricks parents of kids like this usually figure out. I do know it can be SO extreme and even the slightest change they’ll notice somehow and reject! I wonder if in extreme cases, maybe they should be given injections by a doctor like some people who don’t absorb B12 any other way for example? It’s frustrating when people say “just give them something healthy and when they’re hungry enough they’ll eat it.” No, these extreme kids would rather starve and literally can. You have to find ways to sneak more into whatever they will eat and that can be quite the challenge too. Doctors need to take it more seriously as well! This video makes a great case for this!

Autistic children who have sensory issues and RSD, these techniques aren't suitable, liquid meals from the pharmacy is needed to get the nutrients in and then treatment for the neurodiversitet so they can handle the sensory overload and RSD better. The missed link between eating disorders and neurodiversitet is luckily being more and more obvious, and that is the reason why traditional eating disorder treatment doesn't work, because it doesn't work for neurodivergente people, because the opposite is needed to help the Eating disorders in neurodivergente people.

Oh my god! This is me completely, I'm 50yo now, but had this since I was 5yo!

I recently went to my GP and told him I think I had an eating disorder, he pointed to me (I'm a little overweight) and he said I didn't look like I had an eating disorder.... It made me feel so small and useless and stupid

the amount of mis information and bad contextualisation and harmful rhetoric surrounding not only ARFID but other ED's is appalling in all honesty

Jase is a super-taster. Why didn't they elaborate on that?!?!

Food represents the taking in of the world around us. ARFID is so much more than just aversion to certain foods. It is still often treated on a superficial level.

All the best to people who go through this! I Hope you all can the help you need and order in a Restaurant how you please, and fill the plates with everything our bodies need! ❤❤❤

Maybe Wilhelm Busch Soup casper wasn't only an early Observation of Eds like Anorexia but also this...just it was written way before the times Professional could Care about the minds shennanigans.😮😢

i wonder how many children and adults will go undiagnosed because their few safe foods are relatively healthy. seems like it’s easier to notice this variety issue when kids rely on unhealthy sugary foods.

For me I always think that my food is poisoned and I’m always scared to eat something that is the last of it or I have left it alone. I can’t eat anything that I don’t like or think it looks odd. I usually just tell myself that I have eaten things before and not had this happen. It’s gotten bad. I now have to clean a cup before I use it to make sure it isn’t poisoned. I am always scared that I’ll have an allergic reaction to some foods because I’ll just feel terrible after I eat them.

As someone who is suffering from ARFID they definitely should have gotten a binge eating ARFID suffer as the one girl said you ether binge eating or you don’t eat . For me I binge I ate a lot of my safe foods which is why I’m overweight sense really you lot of the time will be ether end of the spectrum

Parents that mollycoddle their children though. You have to be firm when they are young. Children need to understand the importance of food nutrition for maintaining mental and physical health. That boy that was blind could have been avoided if the parents had taught him differently

This hurt cuz i know i have Afrid and I'm not close to finishing this video. From the 80s till today smh

I just try to swallow my food whole so it doesn’t touch my tongue while looking away from my food

i’m 14 and like 95% sure i have arfid , everytime i tell the doctor they say “you’ll grow out of it” wonder when that’s gonna happen 😂🤷🏻‍♀️

THE NUTELLA THOOOOOOO, i eat so much of it. I can’t even 😂 yessss girl

Some people In these comments are obscure. “Starve until they eat” or blaming it on the parents smh. Honestly you can’t possibly understand it unless you have it.

Jesus bless you

First world problem. This isn’t an issue in Africa and starving countries…

My little niece has ARFID since she was born. She only eats white rice or white pasta. Now she is 10 and JUST added chicken nuggets :(
Her parents give her supplements and sees a doctor always. I wonder how is she gonna grow later in life

Wow some people are judgemental and close-minded. I can't say I'm surprised. I'm 28 years old, and was diagnosed with ARFID only four months ago but I have suffered for over two years now. I was not a "picky" eater, I was actually a huge foodie who would try anything. One day I woke up, and I couldn't eat nor drink. My body just couldn't. I want to make this loud and clear for those in the back: THERE IS NO CHOOSING. You do not CHOOSE to have this illness, nor how you will react to a food. Being judgemental, calling names or refusing to believe in someone with this diagnosis will only worsen it.

I have a very positive attitude and that's the only thing that keeps me going. I keep telling myself that I have beaten so many things, I can find a way around this, too. I will find a way or die trying. But it's extremely difficult. I lost half my body weight, and am now on the path to being underweight. I sit down and I stare at my plate, and I try everything I can think of - sometimes it works, but sometimes it doesn't.

I am hopeful about research being done about this illness. Like another comment mentioned, it is usually associated with autism - it doesn't mean you are autistic, though. In my case, it comes from another very typical comorbidity which is OCD. There are a lot of similarities, and learning to differentiate is key to your treament. I also have anxiety and depression, but OCD is the worst of them all. Again, this is a brain illness. I never chose this, I want it to go away, and I hate it but I have no option other than accepting it.

I believe through science and research, we will find more about this. In my case, I can relate ARFID triggering to a series of very traumatic events that happened at once and I couldn't cope with, so I shut down and ignored the feelings until they came out as this ED. Not having energy, social outings, the Holidays - all of these things are a nightmare for someone with ARFID. Imagine having a very strong fear of spiders, a very common phobia. A fear so bad that it can trigger a panic attack.

I would never downplay any phobia and their struggle, but now imagine the phobia is of food. You can, to a certain extent, avoid spiders and find ways to reduce the chances of ever seeing one. You can't stop eating, or you will die. Someone who has ARFID has to face, every day, a phobia that goes beyond our understanding and that appeared out of nowhere. You have no idea how difficult it is, to wonder if you're on your path to death, to ask yourself why is your brain trying to kill you.

So I suggest you practice some empathy. ARFID is an ED, and a very difficult illness. It affects every aspect of your life, because food is a basic need and tied to family, friends, activities, etc. For the people struggling with ARFID, do not feel invalidated by any of the people here. Do not stop trying, even on the weeks when it feels like it's impossible. Do not blame yourself. Be kind to yourself because you will need your own help, too, to get through this. I send you love, understanding and a tight hug.

Cheers.

I have a fear of choking and I constantly feel like I’m choking when eating if anyone could help lmk

I have autism and due to my autism I have very sensitive taste and I hate certain textures so food is a big issue with me. But I love to try new foods even tho it causes me anxiety I fight through it and try and eat new foods often..

I know a couple of adults with this disorder. They want to eat food that everyone else enjoy, but they can't. In one case, a friend's daughter would only eat white bread, carrots & fish sticks. Her other kids eat everything. She's expanded her food choices, but they're still very limited. I know that when my son was young, I did not expose him to 'kid food' (after he could eat solids). He ate what we ate. It usually takes kids 7 tries of a food to accept it. I was blessed to have a good eater. He is now an adult & very adventurous eater.

We invent sindromes as we go along. Does anyone have absolutely nothing anymore?

This isn't just picky eating. Lots of people have a history of food trauma such as choking/being strangled, or sensory processing disorder, chronic GI issues like chronic nausea/vomiting or abdominal pain, they can have ocd, or anxiety, or even a history of abuse. People need to stop saying "just make them eat it" and figure out WHY this developed in the first place. Therapy is essential.

Come on

I had my kids on a no grains, carbs, sugar, etc. total organic diet for health reasons. I get to choose what they eat. Same with how I was raised. Only they have it way better!

Who else grew up in a household of “ well if you don’t want it, you’re not gonna eat” be thankful for what was made for dinner

Its good that they put boys in this docu because most of the time its just girls in ed docu's but boys also could have an ed

all jake needed was meat not peas or veggies

Thank you! I now know what I have suffered from since childhood. I will take this info to my Doctor. Rock on!♡

Thanks for this! Before this documentary I thought that that is just my personal problem.
I live with this for 30 years and keep constantly hearing that I'm just capricious person.
I eat almost no fruits and vegetables for all my life. Even if somebody mix all the product that I accept there is a 1% probability I'll eat it.
I even cannot touch most of fruit it just makes me sick.

Luckily I would name me a pretty healthy guy so far which kind of surprises everyone around me. However of course it brings a lot of discomfort to everyday life especially when I have to eat somewhere outside my home.

I wish more medical people know about ARFID and how to treat it.
Thanks again!

I used to hate how long it could take to eat certain types of food like boiled chicken or steak. Since then I have become vegetarian (obviously now I am because of moral reasons too) but I feel like that part contributed to me disliking meat. I also hate warm corn, I know it’s weird but it just doesn’t taste right 😂

Okay I don't think you can go blind just for not eating vegetables you have to be extremely malnourished if you ate everything else but vegetables you would still be perfectly healthy I know many people

Would this disorder have been a thing 200 or 300 years ago when you eat or starve?

Starve them until they are willing to eat anything.

i feel for them because i have autism and i relate alot. luckily i am nowhere near a picky eater as them but i can still be quite picky depending on the foods texture or smell and it can be annoying.

Bad parenting is all that it is.

I have Crohn’s disease. I wasn’t diagnosed until I was around 29. My entire childhood my mom would constantly nag at me when I would try something and then vomit or have horrible stomach pain. She would say I was being “dramatic” or I was “faking it” or “just had a touchy stomach.” My parents are first Gen Italian. Food is a big deal. And ya, some of the foods would taste good but after being forced to eat it once then getting sick, I never wanted it again. I have been both under and overweight at different points in my life. When I was diagnosed with Crohn’s, my mom felt HORRIBLE. I keep a food journal now to track my trigger foods and I am careful. It’s a constant medical and physical battle. But when I finally saw a nutritionist and GI doc and a therapist, I finally realized what was going on and it has helped me so much. Diet is personal and can be so isolating. But there is hope. I never thought I would be able to get past my issues. I’ll always have Crohn’s. But I’ve stopped looking at food as the enemy and that has helped. ❤

Need elimination diet and elimination environment. While I can't identify everything, I am intolerant/allergic to both food items and environment, I have worked out some environment intolerance/allergies but not the exact chemicals, laundry powder and a deodorant and perfume concoction make me sick. Currently living on balcony to reduce exposure to whatever, have good days and bad , working on getting better. The medical establishment here in Queensland Australia doesn't accept that what I have observed about myself is real and I am just insane. They have basically said as much.

very very serious first world problem... with the parents.

I wonder if this “DISORDER” exists in “POOR STARVING NATIONS”……….think about it

My mom was told to let me eat what I wanted until I got tired or bored so I wouldn’t starve. Now I have gastroparesis and I want to eat all kinds of food, and can’t, so I am stuck with the same kind of food that hasn’t make me sick. But my mom did forced me to eat until the pediatrician told her what I wrote above.

All MISBEHAVED children

If someone's eyesight is on the line, why wouldn't you give them parenteral nutrition? It's just insane to me that they are going to let this boy go blind because he can't eat. Just put it in a syringe ffs.