Hello! My name is Amy and I'm 21 years old. I found this website from reading about Selective Eating Disorder. I've been an extreme picky eater since I was about 2 years old, my parents say it was almost like an overnight switch in my brain went off and stopped letting me eat normally. My diet is so severely restricted that I only have 4 main foods that I eat daily and then a small group of other sorts of snacks. I haven't eaten any fruits or vegetables since I was a toddler. The foods that I can handle eating are unfortunately quite unhealthy and I am substantially overweight because of it. Not only has my eating deteriorated me physically, causing me to be so overweight and causing me to have severe acne, but it is killing me mentally. I find it so embarrassing and I find myself so physically unpleasant to look at that I have rarely left me house in the 3 1/2 years since I graduated high school. I struggle to find work, and I have never had a social life outside of 1-2 close friends who will visit me occasionally.
My entire life I was just labelled as the stubborn picky eater that wanted attention, or whose parents spoiled her, but I would give anything to be able to eat normally. I do everything I can to hide my eating habits, and whenever I see someone online come out and say they have eating problems similar to mine (for example, in youtube videos) the comments and replies are always filled with such mean, cruel things... it makes me feel so bad about myself. My best friend is the only person who is supportive and understanding, and she is the only person to ever be able to get me to try new foods. My family, on the other hand, has no understanding whatsoever. They say such harsh things to me, calling me an embarrassment and telling me I just want a pity party. I have no access to doctors and psychiatric help (due to not being able to find a job) so I've resorted to online communities to find comfort. I love reading other people's stories and feeling like I'm not some sort of freak, completely alone in the world. Thank you so much for providing this platform for us to vent and share our experiences, I hope everyone here can get the proper help we all need and be able to grow and heal.
PEAS would love to hear from you! Please sign our guestbook (no spamming, we promise!)
wrote on December 10, 2019
at
6:28 pm
Admin Reply by: Bob
We only have just one life to live and the genes we are dealt at conception will never change. Yes you have lots of food issues and I have had them my entire life. Having limited choices in food can cause lots of social embarrassment that can be very troubling at times. But
You never asked to have ARFID and you would love to be able to eat lots of other foods if only you could. Many food choices probably don't even look like food to your brain. It is possible to eat the way you do without changing and achieve a significant weight loss. It's a daily struggle between the calories and the exercise. You are probably gifted in other ways and that is what you need to concentrate on the most. You only have this one life and it can still be really great and meaningful if you do the things you need to do. Sitting at home isolated from friends and family will always make your weight issues worse. Go back to school, start a small business, Join the military, get something going and be the best you can be at whatever that is. I would give your relatives some reference material about ARFID and get them off your back. Take control of your life and be the best you can be. Food should never get in our way of success. Bob K
You never asked to have ARFID and you would love to be able to eat lots of other foods if only you could. Many food choices probably don't even look like food to your brain. It is possible to eat the way you do without changing and achieve a significant weight loss. It's a daily struggle between the calories and the exercise. You are probably gifted in other ways and that is what you need to concentrate on the most. You only have this one life and it can still be really great and meaningful if you do the things you need to do. Sitting at home isolated from friends and family will always make your weight issues worse. Go back to school, start a small business, Join the military, get something going and be the best you can be at whatever that is. I would give your relatives some reference material about ARFID and get them off your back. Take control of your life and be the best you can be. Food should never get in our way of success. Bob K
