// eating disorders , picky eating

i thought i’d do an educational thread about ARFID, a disorder i suffer from and one that is VERY stigmatized, but that you’ve probably never heard of

what is arfid?
-it stands for Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder
-often simplified to “extreme picky eating”
-the systematic avoidance of certain foods because of an aversion to smell, texture, taste, etc
-it’s NOT related to a desire for weight loss

-still a relatively newly defined disorder, hasn’t been in the dsm for even 10 years
-because of how new it is, not much is know about how prevalent it is in the general population
-in order to meet diagnostic criteria, symptoms must cause social, medical, or psychological-

problems
-it’s common for ppl with ARFID to be underweight, malnourished, or in some way stunted physically
-common psychological comorbidities include anxiety disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and ADHD
-usually develops in early childhood

-unlike common childhood picky eating habits, it’s rare for someone to “grow out” of ARFID

in conclusion, ARFID is a serious disorder and you should not take it lightly!!! don’t make fun of people for being “picky eaters” bc you never know if there’s something causing it!!

if you think you have ARFID, it’s best to see an eating disorder specialist. you’re not a freak, you’re not weird, and you’re not alone in this. i feel your pain and i understand.

i hope this thread taught you something and was worth the read <333

here’s the source i used to get some of this information (other than my own experiences) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6281436/

btw before anyone asks, i limited replies because of how people with arfid are treated. if it’s hard to grasp how stigmatized it is, one of the first articles that comes up when you google the disorder is about how it’s a fake disorder and made up so uhhhh yeah i’m not risking it

if you have any questions about my experiences or anything like that, dms are open!! just be respectful