Hi, I'm Mary. I'm 18 years old and I've been a picky eater as long as I can remember. My diet mainly only consists of pizza, plain chicken (chicken nuggets mainly, chicken breast occasionally, if it's not on a bone), cereal, pb&j sandwiches, and chicken noodle soup (without the chicken and there has to be saltine crackers in it). I don't remember when it started but I don't ever remember a time when I was able to eat most and all foods; I never thought about it much when I was younger but as I grew older it became a ever growing fear. Any situation in which I felt I was going to be offered food I would avoid at all cost. I would tell people I already ate, or that I wasn't hungry, just to avoid being offered any sort of food because I was so afraid. I thought I was alone and I didn't know how to deal with it, and then I came across an internet article about ARFID. I was in tears reading about it because it finally felt like I understood that it wasn't just me. I don't want to diagnose myself with anything, but just knowing there is something out there like my situation, and people out there understand my struggle brings some sort of relief to my everyday struggle with food.