OPENING UP ABOUT MY EATING DISORDER | Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)
Summary
TLDRIn this video, Ashley discusses her personal experience with Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), a condition that has affected her since childhood. She shares her journey, the challenges it has posed in social and professional settings, and the misconceptions surrounding it. Ashley also talks about her limited diet, her past attempts to overcome the disorder, and her plans for the future, including starting a new YouTube channel focused on food.
Takeaways
- 🎥 The video is hosted by Ashley, who addresses her audience, both new and returning, with a warm welcome.
- 🌟 Ashley announces the launch of a new YouTube channel focused on food, separate from her current channel.
- 📅 She plans to post her first video on the food channel on August 8th and encourages viewers to subscribe.
- 🍽️ The main topic of the video is Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), which Ashley personally struggles with.
- 📚 Ashley provides an overview of ARFID, explaining that it's a relatively new entry in the DSM-5 and is distinct from anorexia and picky eating.
- 🚫 People with ARFID severely limit the types or amounts of food they eat, which can lead to nutritional deficiencies and health issues.
- 🥗 Ashley shares her personal experiences with ARFID, discussing specific foods she avoids and the reasons behind her choices.
- 🔍 She describes the social and professional challenges ARFID presents, such as eating in public or during professional events.
- 🤔 Ashley has tried various methods to overcome ARFID, including hypnotherapy, and is currently focusing on accepting her condition.
- 💡 The video aims to raise awareness about ARFID, dispel misconceptions, and provide support to others who may be experiencing similar struggles.
Q & A
What is the main topic of Ashley's video?
-The main topic of Ashley's video is about her personal experience and struggle with Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID).
What is ARFID and how does it differ from anorexia?
-ARFID is a condition where individuals severely limit either the amount or type of food they eat, or both. Unlike anorexia, people with ARFID do not stress about their body shape or size, and they don't have a fear of gaining weight.
How is ARFID different from being a picky eater?
-ARFID is different from being a picky eater because it involves severe limitations and often leads to nutritional deficiencies, whereas picky eating is a temporary phase that most children outgrow as they try new foods and expand their dietary horizons.
What are some of the symptoms of ARFID mentioned in the script?
-Some of the symptoms of ARFID mentioned in the script include dramatic weight loss, constipation, lethargy, upset stomach, severe restriction of food types or amounts, fear of choking or vomiting, lack of interest in food, irregular periods in women, dizziness, fainting, sleep problems, dry skin, thinning hair, muscle weakness, and impaired immune functioning.
What is Ashley's new YouTube channel about?
-Ashley's new YouTube channel is centered around food. She plans to critique places in LA and other places she travels to, based on certain foods she eats, cook, and possibly include mukbangs.
What is unique about the way Ashley eats food?
-Ashley is selective with her foods and restrictive with the amount. She has specific reactions to the texture, color, and smell of food, and she avoids green fruits and vegetables, particularly broccoli.
How has ARFID impacted Ashley's social life?
-ARFID has impacted Ashley's social life by making her avoid social situations involving food. She finds it embarrassing to order off the kids menu on dates or to have to explain her eating habits to new friends.
What are some of the foods Ashley typically eats?
-Ashley typically eats foods like grilled cheese, tomato soup, pasta, pizza with specific restrictions, meats like chicken and steak, and sugary or carb-based foods like candies and desserts.
How does Ashley's ARFID affect her professional life?
-Ashley's ARFID makes professional situations awkward, especially when food is involved. She may not eat anything at professional lunches or dinners, which can reflect negatively on her in a professional setting.
What methods has Ashley tried to overcome her ARFID?
-Ashley has tried facing her fears by eating the foods she's afraid of, hypnotherapy, and taking supplements to ensure she gets necessary nutrients. Currently, she's not trying new methods but is considering seeing a behavioral therapist in the future.
What is the significance of the date August 8th mentioned in the script?
-The date August 8th is significant because it is when Ashley plans to post her very first video on her new food-centered YouTube channel.
Outlines
🎥 Introduction and Personal Connection to ARFID
Ashley, the host, welcomes viewers to her channel, expressing hope for their well-being. She introduces the topic of Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), a condition she has personally struggled with. Ashley explains her motivation for creating this video was to raise awareness about ARFID, as it is a relatively new and under-discussed issue. She aims to show those affected that they are not alone and to clarify misconceptions. Ashley also promotes her new YouTube channel focused on food, which will feature critiques of food places, cooking, and mukbangs, starting with a video on August 8th. She invites viewers to subscribe and discusses her current channel's focus on personal and fashion topics.
🍽 Understanding ARFID and Personal Experiences
Ashley provides an overview of ARFID, distinguishing it from anorexia and picky eating. She explains that ARFID involves severe limitations on food types or amounts but without the body image concerns of anorexia. Symptoms can include weight loss, constipation, lethargy, and social challenges around food. Ashley shares her personal experiences, noting that her ARFID manifests more in food selectivity than restriction. She describes her aversion to certain food textures, colors, and smells, particularly green vegetables like broccoli, which cause panic attacks and disgust. She recalls a period of severe calorie restriction, which she now recognizes as unhealthy. Ashley's narrative emphasizes the psychological impact of ARFID and its influence on her life since childhood.
🥗 Dietary Restrictions and Social Challenges
Ashley discusses the specific foods she eats, which are limited to certain carbohydrates, sweets, and some proteins, with a strong aversion to vegetables mixed with other foods. She admits to having a childlike diet, preferring simple and familiar meals. The social implications of her eating disorder are significant, as she avoids situations involving food to prevent embarrassment or the need to explain her condition. Ashley recounts experiences of feeling judged or misunderstood, even by therapists, which adds to the challenge of managing ARFID. She also touches on the professional impact, where her eating habits can be perceived as immature in business settings.
🌟 Coping Strategies and Future Outlook
Ashley talks about her attempts to overcome ARFID, including trying new foods and hypnotherapy, which did not have the desired effect. She currently focuses on living with her condition, taking supplements to ensure nutritional needs are met, and accepting her dietary limitations. She expresses a desire to try behavioral therapy in the future. The video concludes with Ashley's hope that sharing her experiences will help others feel less alone and encourages viewers to engage with her content. She invites questions and feedback, promising to address them in future videos, and thanks her audience for their support.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)
💡DSM-5
💡Picky eating
💡Nutritional deficiency
💡Social impact
💡Hypnotherapy
💡Supplements
💡Anorexia
💡Food texture
💡Fear of choking
💡YouTube channel
Highlights
Ashley introduces a new YouTube channel focused on food critique and experiences.
The new channel will feature critiques of food places in LA and during travels, with a focus on Ashley's specific dietary needs.
Ashley discusses her personal struggle with Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID).
ARFID is a relatively new addition to the DSM-5, previously known as selective eating disorder.
People with ARFID severely limit the amount or type of food they eat, unlike anorexia which involves body image concerns.
ARFID is different from picky eating as it persists beyond childhood and involves severe restrictions.
Symptoms of ARFID include dramatic weight loss, constipation, lethargy, and nutrient deficiencies.
Ashley's personal experience with ARFID involves selective eating based on food's texture, color, and smell.
Ashley recalls a period of severe calorie restriction, leading to malnutrition and health issues.
ARFID has impacted Ashley's social life, leading to avoidance of food-related social situations.
Ashley has tried various methods to overcome ARFID, including hypnotherapy, with limited success.
Supplements have been a part of Ashley's routine to address nutritional deficiencies due to ARFID.
Ashley's dietary restrictions have affected her professionally, creating challenges during work-related meals.
The video aims to raise awareness about ARFID and to let others with similar struggles know they are not alone.
Ashley invites viewers to engage with her content by subscribing to her channels and sharing their thoughts.
Transcripts
[Music]
[Applause]
hey everyone welcome back to my channel
or welcome to my channel if you're new
here my name is ashley and i hope that
you are having a wonderful
day an original week and
a wonderful life so today i'm going to
be talking about something that has
affected me
for like as long as i can remember part
of the reason that i wanted to make this
video was because i haven't really seen
anybody
talking about it granted it is like a
relatively new
thing but still i haven't really seen
anybody talking about it and i know
that when i was younger and even now if
i had seen people talking about it would
have helped me
a lot just to know that i am not the
only one
going through this so i wanted to make
this video to let people know who may be
going through a similar thing
that you are not alone i also wanted to
make this video
to spread some information because as i
said it's a relatively new thing i don't
really see it being talked about that
much
so a lot of people don't really know
about it and there's a lot of
like misconceptions about it so i just
wanted to share some information
i also kind of wanted to make this video
because i wanted to
plug myself for a second i'm going to be
starting a new youtube channel that is
separate from this one and it's
completely centered around
food so as i'm going to talk about in
this video there are only certain foods
that i eat so i thought it would be fun
to make a youtube channel dedicated to
critiquing places in la and like if i
travel places than those places but
taking the certain foods that i eat
and specifically critiquing them to my
like very
specific specifications
i couldn't think of a better way to say
that i'll also include
like cooking on that channel and
mukbangs and stuff like that so if
you're interested in any of that go
ahead and subscribe i will have it
linked
down below and i will be posting my very
first video
this saturday august 8th i believe
i do try to post every wednesday on this
channel um this is more of like a
personal channel and lately it's been
more of a fashion channel
however just starting out i don't think
i will be posting consistently on
that channel i really don't eat out that
much especially because it's a
pandemic i'm not eating out as much as i
would like to
for safety reasons um but when i do i
will be filming it when i cook something
different or something that i like i
will be filming it and it will be up on
that channel
so go ahead and subscribe i would really
appreciate it thanks and i mean if
you're new here and you're not
subscribed to this channel you could
also subscribe to this channel if you
wanted to
just say okay let's actually get into
the video now
the eating disorder that i'm going to be
talking about today that i suffer from
is avoidant restrictive food intake
disorder or arfin
it used to be called selective eating
disorder however now it is called
arfid it is a relatively new addition to
the dsm-5 if you don't know what the
dsm-5 is it is
the diagnostic and statistical
manual of mental disorders the fifth
edition
first i'm gonna give a little overview
of arfid and then i'm gonna talk about
how
it manifests for me specifically because
it is different
for everybody i'm also gonna talk about
some of the things that i do and don't
eat and why i
do or do not eat them and then i'm going
to talk about how
having this eating disorder has impacted
my life
as like a social aspect and as like a
child and
stuff like that and then i'm going to
talk about things that i have done to
try to overcome this eating disorder and
what i am currently doing
to overcome it so our food is really
similar to anorexia in the sense that
people who have it
severely limit either the amount of food
or the type of food
that they eat or both they could
limit the amount and type of food i
guess however unlike anorexia people who
have arfid
do not stress about their like body
shape or their body size or like
have a fear of like having fat on their
body or anything outfit is also really
different from
just being a picky eater so i'm i'm
pretty sure like most kids go through a
picky eating phase
where they only eat certain foods
usually foods that are not very good for
them but then eventually as
they grow up they outgrow it they try
different foods they expand their
horizons
and eventually they are able to eat like
a normal adult which
is eating most things obviously
everybody has foods that they don't like
but most adults are capable of trying
new foods
and eating a majority of food
also typically when adults who don't
have our food come in contact with foods
that they don't like
they don't have like physical or severe
like mental
reactions to the food they simply just
don't like it
because people with arthritis severely
limit the types and amounts of foods
that they eat they can be severely
deficient in
the amount of food that they're eating
and in the nutrients that they're
getting
and this can lead to them being very
underweight or extreme weight loss and
also being very like nutrient deficient
which can lead to a host of other issues
so a lot of the symptoms of arfid are
like dramatic weight loss um
constipation
lethargy having like an upset stomach
all the time or like feeling like you
have an upset stomach severely
restricting
the amount or the type of food that you
eat having a fear of choking or vomiting
just having a lack of interest in food
in general
men who suffer with arfid they can have
irregularities in their period
um you could have dizziness fainting
sleep problems dry skin
thinning hair muscle weakness and
impaired immune functioning so people
with arthritis they either
limit the amount of food that they eat
meaning like the calories that they
intake
or physically like the amount of bites
that they're eating specifically
um stuff like that or they might limit
the types of foods that they eat and
that could be based on
a variety of criteria such as the
texture of the food the color of the
food
the smell of the food um
i'm trying to think if there's a certain
thing about the food
they like won't eat that certain thing
if that makes sense so
for me personally i am more selective
with my foods than i am restrictive with
the amount of foods
there's only one time that i can
remember being really restricted with
the amount of food that i was eating
um some might even say that i was having
a
moment of anorexia i guess if
i guess that's how it's like defined um
i was severely limiting the calories
that i wasn't taking to probably
at a maximum 500 calories a day and that
was mostly because i went to the doctor
and i saw my weight on the scale
and i did not realize i had gained that
much weight and
something in my head clicked and said
that i needed to lose that weight
instantly no matter how i did it no
matter how unhealthy it was i needed to
lose it by
like the day before like i was not
something in my mind was like you are
not allowed to be that big
and that feeling sucked i was very
malnutritioned looking back on pictures
from that time
i was very pale i was really really
skinny
i took it a little bit too far i looked
tired i was tired all the time but i
looked tired all the time
and i was getting sick like all the time
which really sucked for me personally if
i don't like the smell of the food i
can't eat it
like seafood i can't do it also the
texture of the food can sometimes
put me off from eating it also the main
color that triggers
me the most is green so like i can eat
like green candies and stuff
but like green fruits and vegetables
freak me out
specifically broccoli broccoli is like
the number one food that i do not eat
i have definitely had a few bad
experiences with broccoli um those are
definitely
like story times and i don't want to put
it in this video because it's going to
be too long but yeah definitely some
bad broccoli experiences so when i do
come in contact with foods that i don't
eat the way that our food manifests for
me
is in panic attacks and just like
complete
disgust for things like vegetables which
are the number one things that i do not
eat those tend to be the things that
give me panic attacks
specifically or just complete disgust so
there are a lot of foods that i have not
tried
but just looking at it i can imagine how
it feels
to bite into it how it sounds to bite
into it
and how it tastes just by looking at it
i like create this whole like
profile for it in my head i guess and i
just feel
disgust to the point where sometimes i
do want to throw up i don't actually
throw up but sometimes i want to throw
up
i don't know how to explain it other
than i just feel disgusted
so i remember suffering from this from
the time i was about like six years old
probably
um but i can't remember a time where i
didn't suffer from it however my parents
did tell me
that when i was younger i used to eat
literally anything you put in front of
me except for like
a couple things obviously um like sweet
potatoes i think
other than that like i would steal food
off of people's plates like i
loved every single food vegetables
fruits
everything i loved it all um and then i
can kind of remember
one day when i was about six i think six
or seven something like that
when i just came home and i was just
like i'm not eating vegetables anymore
and that was that my parents rightfully
just thought i was like a normal kid and
i was just gonna be a picky eater for a
little bit and then eventually i would
get over it
like most kids do um so this is not
their fault at all they want to push me
too hard to eat it because i was also a
very like defiant
kid and i think they knew that i would
that would make me not want to eat it
more so they just planned on letting it
like play out
um they would try here and there to get
me to eat it obviously but it was never
forced
so it's definitely not their fault at
all i'm sure sometimes they do
blame themselves for my inability to eat
foods that are really good for me but
it's definitely not their fault at all
it's entirely like me
and like a mental thing that i have
going on that i just i can't figure out
how to fix it
but because that's around the time that
i stopped eating
most things um that happens to be the
like
food group that i got stuck in i guess i
don't know if that happens for everybody
but that happened with me so i
eat like a child like a seven-year-old
like things that like kids like
beg to eat like i eat that um it's a
very small list so it's like grilled
cheese
and tomato soup and i can only dip in
the tomato soup i can't like eat the
tomato soup with a spoon that's like so
weird
like pasta pizza so meats
chicken steak if i get something like
tacos
like i have to have it with just the
meat and the tortilla there can't be any
vegetables i can't eat anything mixed
with vegetables so
i can't eat a hamburger because there's
vegetables all up on that and i also
don't like ground
beef so then i eat things like pancakes
cereal most cereal anything that's like
sugary or like
carbs um like candies desserts
stuff like that that's all i eat pretty
much
i also further restrict that list
because something like
pizza for example if it's a new pizza
place i haven't tried i don't like
chunky sauce so no chunks of tomatoes or
onions or any of that
so i have to lift up the cheese and if
there are chunks in the sauce then i
just scrape the sauce off and then i
just have the
bread the cheese and the pepperoni and
that's it so
my very narrow list is narrower because
i
also am very selective with the way that
those foods are prepared i guess
so how having this eating disorder has
affected me
obviously nutritionally i was lacking a
lot of the natural
foods and things that would give me the
nutrients that i need however my parents
did teach me from a very young age that
if i'm not going to be eating those
things
then i need to take supplements in the
form of like vitamins
so i have been doing that all my life
and i
every time i go to the doctor they tell
me i'm healthy i'm in good shape
as a kid arfit affected me because i
would take hours and hours to eat
everything because i had to examine
every single bite of what i was eating
for example say i was eating like a
chicken nugget or something
i would bite into it and then i would
have to examine
the next bite to make sure that i wasn't
going to be biting into
a piece of fat because for some reason
the texture and like the sound of biting
into a piece of fat
made me think that i was like biting
into an eyeball like a chicken eyeball
and i was
terrified that i was going to be eating
a chicken eyeball and so i needed to
like examine every bite
so it would take me hours and hours to
eat also as a kid
my parents would have to make me
different meals than them all the time
so i pretty much ate pasta every night
from what i can remember sometimes i
would have
like boiled chicken or something but for
the most part it was pasta
and still most of my meals are pasta um
just this one specific kind of pasta
that my mom used to make me all the time
i still make it for myself
most days um but that was definitely
like a hassle
for my mom who was cooking my food
obviously when i was a kid i couldn't
cook my own food because she would have
to make like my
parents meals and then my meal
separately
also as a kid telling them that i didn't
want to eat something people
would try to force it on me and be like
oh you just haven't tried it you don't
know if you like it whatever
and that i'm not gonna say that that was
like traumatizing for me
but it was definitely a really really
negative experience to have it forced on
me
um i didn't like that and again i was a
defiant kid so i think that that made me
more like well now i'm
definitely not eating it because you're
forcing it on me i don't know what was
wrong with me as a kid i'm still like
that though
so not much has changed um another way
that it's affected me
is for example on like a date or
something if we go to a fancy restaurant
fancy restaurants usually have all these
like toppings and things mixed in and
things that i just don't like i like it
very plain and basic
um so i would usually have to order off
the kids menu
on a date which is so embarrassing
luckily people that i dated were
typically really understanding of it but
still pretty embarrassing socially this
has definitely impacted me because i
just tend to avoid social situations
where food is involved altogether
they're terrifying for me i don't want
to have to explain myself especially if
there's going to be a lot of people
there i don't want to have to
explain it like to disclose it it feels
embarrassing to have to disclose it to
people all the time
but if i don't if i was like oh i just
don't eat it then i feel rude
like when i was in high school or
something and i would sleep over a
friend's house and
their parents would make dinner or
something i would just have to say like
oh i already ate
then i would just like pick at snacks
for the rest of the night or something
even though like i probably didn't eat
and like that small like
treat was like my whole dinner um or i
would just have to say like sorry i
don't eat that which made me feel so
rude and like so bad because i was so
appreciative that they would even make
me food at all
but like i physically could not eat it
also when i make new friends obviously
friends go out to eat and stuff
and so i have to explain that i can't
eat
certain things and like i have to
disclose it to them
and then it kind of sucks because it
feels like in the friendship
we're forced to eat whatever i want to
eat and never what they want to eat that
makes it a little bit inconvenient and
hard and so i feel like i just don't
really want to hang out with people in
general because i don't
want to like feel like i'm forcing them
i guess
to like eat whatever i want to eat like
they should be able to eat what they
want to eat you know
also sometimes people can be kind of
like
judgmental about it i've even had i've
gone to like a couple of therapists
about it
and like they were pretty judgmental
about it one of them even
laughed at me like a therapist so that
just kind of makes it harder to like
tell people about it because you never
know who's going to be like super
judgmental or who's going to be like
understanding
thankfully i have been telling a few
more people recently and
they have been really understanding
which i'm super thankful for
and having other people like be
understanding about it just makes it a
little bit easier when
like the time comes that i have to
disclose it to
more people also affected me
professionally so there are some like
professional lunches or dinners or
whatever that i have been to
where the restaurant that we pick or the
catering that's there like i just don't
eat anything
and in a professional setting it's so
awkward because
like i said everybody automatically just
assumes like oh she's just a picky eater
um but it's a little bit weird for an
adult to be a picky eater
and i feel like for some reason it
negatively like reflects on me in like a
professional way like
it just makes me seem like immature like
a kid who's a picky eater
because again like it's it's not like
socially acceptable for an adult to be a
picky eater most of the time for some
reason so in those situations normally i
would just pick out like appetizers or
the bread that's there or something like
that
but if there's not any then i won't eat
anything and it's really awkward
to be the only one in any situation but
especially in a professional
scenario um it's really awkward to be
the only one not eating
so that's many of the ways that it's
affected me
some things that i've done to try to fix
it i've tried just
getting over it like everybody suggests
i've tried just to eat the foods and i
have those physical
disgusted reactions um and no matter how
hard i've tried
it's it doesn't really change i also do
have some motivations that will allow me
to
try a new food i don't think it would
allow me to eat foods that i already
know i don't like but foods that i
haven't tried
there are some motivations that let me
try those i also tried hypnotherapy i
thought at hypnotherapy
like the hypnotist would just hypnotize
me and then like snap her fingers
and then something in my brain would
like click and then
i would be good to go like i could eat
whatever but that's not how it happened
let me know down below if you want a
story time of my hypnotherapy experience
so some things that i'm doing now to fix
it i'm still kind of coming off of the
whole hypnotherapy thing even though it
was like a year ago i'm still kind of
coming off of it but i'm kind of
just going with the flow
um and by that i mean i am not really
trying anything new
and not trying to eat any vegetables i'm
also taking
like supplements and stuff as i always
have been but i think the supplements
i'm taking now
are better than the ones i was taking
before because i feel a lot
healthier so that's pretty much what i'm
doing now in the future i think i would
want to try
going to a behavioral therapist so i
think
that that is it hopefully this video
isn't too long
but i wanted to share some information
and share my experiences
with our fin so if you have any
questions feel free to
leave some comments down below and i can
make another video answering them or i
can just answer them directly if there
aren't that many of them
also let me know if you all want to hear
some like story times
um they were kind of traumatic but like
kind of funny about me
trying to eat like vegetables or like a
new food or something
i have a few of those so i can totally
make videos about that if you all want
um give me a thumbs up if you learned
something new
in this video and don't forget to go
subscribe to
my food channel if you want to i really
appreciate it so
thank you all so much for watching thank
you for listening
hopefully you learned something new or
hopefully i let you know that you are
not alone and how you're feeling and the
experiences that you have
i feel like that's super important to
let people know that they are not alone
in those things
so hopefully i helped with that a little
bit
i will see you all next week in my next
video or if you subscribe
to my food channel then i will see you
on saturday
so until then i hope you stay safe and
healthy and happy
and all that good stuff and i will see
you then bye
you
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