Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) is a type of eating disorder — however, it is not related to body image, nor a desire to lose or gain weight. It is characterized by limiting quantities or varieties of foods due to anxiety. The anxiety may come from the following factors…
- Sensory sensitivity: extra sensitive to certain tastes, textures, smells etc.
- Fear and paranoia: anxiety about choking, inability to swallow, food poisoning, etc.
- Apathy: lack of interest in food – when eating feels too overwhelming, overstimulating, therefore causes shutdown.
It’s important to know that it has nothing to do with fear of weight gain, such as anorexia, or health concerns, such as orthorexia. The only way it relates to health is fearing that the body will have a negative reaction – like choking, vomiting, or nausea. Whether someone is happy or unhappy with their body is irrelevant to the disorder.
Also, unlike most eating disorders, it’s not about gaining control. There is no desire to change one’s body as a result of their eating habits. However, what this has in common with other eating disorders, is the feeling of food having too much power over oneself with the ability to bring extremely discomforting feelings.
This condition is not to be confused with “picky eating.” A picky eater is someone who has strong preferences for certain foods, or for things to be cooked a certain way, and tends to be common in children. This is not about likes and dislikes – this is about anxiety and irrational fears.
The impact of ARFID
ARFID poses both health risks and psychological discomfort. This condition can easily lead to malnutrition — even if a person is consuming enough calories, they may be lacking essential vitamins by limiting variety. There is a tendency to eat the same meals over and over again, and stick with bland foods that offer minimal nutrients.
As everyone’s body is unique, each person’s body will have a different reaction to the consequences of this disorder. ARFID can put the body in starvation mode. A person can be malnourished whether they are underweight or overweight. Weight often has nothing to do with the amount of nutrients someone is getting.
Eating can feel very distressing for someone with ARFID. They are likely to skip meals, preferring to snack in little amounts throughout the day, or even avoid eating entirely. Social settings are likely to magnify these anxieties, and so they may actively avoid eating with other people.
On the other hand, ARFID can also cause someone to overeat on their “comfort foods” which are typically bland, unprocessed, lacking diversity in nutrients, and enriched with synthetic vitamins/minerals. As the body craves things that these comfort foods cannot provide, it can make a person overeat.
Science shows that nutrients do not only help our bodies – they also help our minds. Not only does malnutrition pose physical risks (low energy, muscle loss, bone density loss, inflammation, weakened immune system, etc.) it also causes mental risks. This can be anything from mood swings to cognitive impair. Most importantly, it worsens anxiety, which triggers ARFID even further – a vicious cycle.
Causes of ARFID
- Generalized anxiety – someone who suffers from generalized anxiety is more likely to suffer from ARFID.
- High sensitivity – being a highly sensitive person who is prone to overstimulation.
- Neurospicy – brain chemistry imbalance that can be connected to other psychological disorders.
- PTSD – in some cases, a traumatic experience with food, especially at a very young age (such as choking as an infant) can cause ARFID.
- Modern society – in the increasing modernization of society, we are becoming more disconnected from natural, unprocessed, whole foods.
Social triggers for ARFID
Social events surrounding food are extremely triggering for those with ARFID. That can include going out to a restaurant, going to someone’s house for a home cooked meal, or any type of gathering involving eating.
In social settings, people with ARFID feel very judged by others. In my experience, I know that people can be extremely critical of your food choices. In social settings, many people pay attention to what you eat, and they will nitpick your food choices.
People may ask why you aren’t eating enough, or why you don’t have enough variety on your plate. They may question if you are “dieting” or “watching your weight” – and then make comments on your body that are uncalled for. They may feel offended, especially if they have cooked for you, and think that you’re insulting them. Or, they may make fun of you and belittle you.
Even if you have managed to “blend in” by finding more foods to put on your plate, you will still feel an unspoken sense of shame. You will question if people are watching you eat, thinking that you eat “weird.” Maybe you are holding your fork differently, or chewing too fast, or eating too slow, etc.
Conversations about food can be triggering in that they make you feel isolated. When people talk about how much they love certain foods, often someone with ARFID cannot relate. It’s not that they don’t think anything is tasty, it’s more so that even the tastiest foods come with intense stress.
But it’s not just a social issue. In fact, more exposure to eating in a social environment can help someone with ARFID associate food with happy and comforting feelings. So when you’re around the right people, social environments can be healing.
How to help yourself
Awareness of the disorder is the first step. Simply knowing that you are not alone in experiencing these feelings comes with great healing. Educate yourself and talk to people who are going through the same thing.
I work on my generalized anxiety through tools like yoga, breath work, herbalism, journaling, and self-care. When my overall anxiety is in check, it makes it easier to manage ARFID.
You have to push yourself to try a variety of whole foods and nutrient dense recipes. This takes a lot of patience and dedication. For someone with ARFID, you have to eat something new at least ten times before you can determine if you like it or not. Trying something new is an extremely stressful and overwhelming process, but if you can gracefully push through the discomfort, it’s highly worth it. There will always be certain foods you will never be able to eat, but you can at least widen your options a bit.
Taking vitamins is essential for someone with ARFID. Nutrient enriched foods like protein shakes are also beneficial. Remember that these do not serve as a replacement for foods that naturally contain vitamins and minerals. However, this is better than nothing.
Most importantly, surround yourself with people who accept you. People can be so judgmental and critical of those who they don’t understand, but the right people will not care about your food choices. They will help guide you to making healthy food choices, they will encourage you to try new things, but they will never push your boundaries.
My experience
I have personally struggled with ARFID throughout my life. It’s something that people struggle to understand unless they also experience it. By gaining awareness and actively working on my anxiety, I have been able to seriously improve my condition. But that doesn’t mean that it’s something that can ever be completely resolved.
Getting older is something that helps, as my tastebuds develop and I become less sensitive to certain taste, texture, and smells. I have also worked to actively push myself to try new foods and expand my palate. But there is no amount of “forcing” myself to try every single food — the condition still persists. I have to be very patient with myself.
I’ve been vegetarian for about fifteen years, and my reasons are not strictly related to ARFID. That may be part of it, but it’s also for health and philosophy reasons. When I did eat meat, I only ate highly processed meats (bacon, pepperoni, nuggets, etc.) because I felt overstimulated by unprocessed meats like chicken and steak.
In the past few years, I’ve placed more emphasis on nutrients. I look for nutrient dense foods. Diet culture pressure us to choose low-fat, low-calorie, synthetic vitamin enriched foods. I look for foods that are full fat, natural, and least processed, with naturally containing vitamins and minerals. But I will still supplement on the days that I’m struggling.
For me, food can bring pleasure, but it tends to bring more stress than pleasure. Eating is an overstimulating experience, even foods that I eat repetitively. I don’t necessarily fear choking, but I often get stomach aches, so when I’m eating I subconsciously prepare myself for my stomach to hurt. The thing is though, if I don’t eat, then I’m going to have a much worse stomach ache, so that doesn’t prevent me from eating completely.
There are definitely ways to manage this disorder. But at the same time I think, just like any other psychological disorder, that it doesn’t necessarily have to be seen as a “disorder.” What matters most with ARFID is that you are getting the right nutrients. Really, a world full of people with all different brain chemistries, makes the world a more interesting and unique place.
Crystal Aura Gaze 
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