Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), previously referred to as ‘Selective Eating Disorder,’ is a relatively new entry to the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (the standard classification of mental disorders used by mental health professionals in the US).
However, ARFID behavior is not new - individuals have suffered from this eating disorder for a long time.
ARFID is similar to anorexia nervosa in that both disorders involve limiting the amount and/or type of food eaten. However, ARFID typically does not involve any distress or fears about body shape or size.
Children are known to often go through phases of ‘picky eating’; however an ARFID sufferer is different. In children, the disorder results in not consuming enough calories to grow and develop physically; in adults, the restriction in calories results in a struggle to maintain basic body function.
If you’ve been diagnosed with ARFID, what can you do? Do you feel trapped by how your eating disorder affects, your daily life, your relationships, your job? Is there any hope for improvement?
Thankfully, yes - help is absolutely available and there IS hope that things can improve for you.
Although mental health therapists are trained in a general understanding of disordered thinking and the behaviors that can result from that (eg. an eating disorder), an experienced therapist who specializes in eating disorders will have access to the latest science, training, and therapy modalities relating to eating disorders, including ARFID.
Your specialist therapist can guide you through the process of reframing your thoughts and addressing any underlying issues or past trauma that may have contributed to you developing ARFID.
Help IS available and you CAN get better. At Inside Wellness, our therapists are highly-trained and experienced in helping individuals just like you to take control and regain their inner peace.
Take the first step today by scheduling a call with our caring intake coordinator.