Food phobia or Selective eating disorder(SED) or Avoidant/Restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) treatment
Food phobia or Selective eating disorder(SED) or Avoidant/Restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is a very common problem, I have treated hundreds on clients in the past year and eating disorders seem to be on the rise.
Selective eating disorder is actually recognised as a valid disorder and is now listed in the 5th addition of the Diagnostic and statistic manual of mental disorders (DSM-5) Which your GP would refer to.
Fussy eaters report an inability to eat or swallow certain foods, sometimes whole food groups can be avoided, like sauces, or veg, some are avoided based on texture or colour.
Most sufferers experience anxiety towards the avoided food groups, for fear of gaging, being sick or even not being able to get rid of the taste.
Most fussy eaters maintain a healthy weight, although in severe cases sufferers lose vast amounts of weight, some sufferers of selective eating disorder have nutrition deficiency and can have a low immune system.
Children tend to stick to familiar foods chicken and chips.
Treatment:
The good news is that Food phobias or Selective eating disorders are fairly easy to remedy.
The most successful treatment for Selective eating disorders are systematic desensitisation mixed with hypnotherapy.
The key is to take small manageable steps, to introduce the problem food/foods into the diet:
If the problem food is broccoli
The first step maybe to have broccoli on a plate next to the plate you’re eating from, step 2 would be to have it on the side of the plate, step 3 maybe to have it touching the food, step 4 mash a tiny piece of broccoli into some other food, you would continue these steps, constantly moving forward until there were no issues.
In the case selective eating disorder in children, rewarding them for the successful completion of each step.
Relaxation is vital in children and adults, to reduce the level of anxiety involved, hypnotherapy to relax and lower or remove the gag reflex and feelings of anxiety and sickness.
I have worked with clients with a whole host of food phobias, including foods with skin on, fear of beans, sauces, vegetables.
After just one session clients leave feeling relaxed and motivated to start the process, feeling in control, they go on to try a variety of new foods, some are completely cured after one session, some start trying new foods, progress can be rapid or slow and steady.