A guide to ARFID - Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder 💛

Gemma

Our talented graphic designer Vicky has designed a lovely post with the content written by our very own @Aife. It's all about ARFID - Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder - and where to get support. If you or someone you know needs support, remember we're all here for you at The Mix.

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A guide to Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder and where to get support

Trigger Warning: This post contains content about Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), including discussions of restricted eating behaviours. Please take care while reading and reach out to us here at The Mix or Beat, the UK's eating disorder charity, if you need any support.

What is Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder?

Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) is a condition characterised by someone who avoids certain foods, limits how much they eat or does both.

ARFID can be present on its own, or it can co-occur with other conditions such as anxiety disorders, autism, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and a range of medical conditions.

ARFID is not just "picky eating" and is different from other eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa because someone is less worried about their body shape and weight, and develops the eating disorder for other reasons including:

• Being sensitive to the texture, smell or taste of certain foods
• A distressing or painful experience with food
• Feeling anxious around the consequences of eating food
• Not recognising when hungry or having a low interest in eating

What support is available?

The first step when seeking help is through your GP, or the GP of the person you care about. If going to the GP is something you are feeling worried about, we are here for you. Reach out to us here at The Mix or Beat's support services.

Beat are the UK's eating disorder charity and have a range of services available via their helpline, one-to-one chat and online support groups. You can also contact Beat's services if you are caring for someone with ARFID.

Beat's Hummingbird online support group

Facilitated by Beat, the Hummingbird online support group is a safe space where you can share your worried and experiences with others who may be going through similar experiences.

Whether you have a formal ARFID diagnosis or not, anyone experiencing symptoms is welcome in this space to get support.

Find out more at beateatingdisorders.org.uk

What support is available at The Mix?

There is also a range of free support services available at The Mix. Reach out to our online community via our discussion boards and support groups to connect with other young people going through similar experiences.

Our helpline service is available via webchat and email, and you can self-refer to our counselling service which is available via telephone, webchat and video.

Find out more at themix.org.uk/get-support

We are here for you

Amy22

Hey @Gemma thanks for sharing this post on ARFID as I am just recently researching and reading up on it and learning more about it. I know that it can have relations to neurodivergency and I follow this person called Torren Wolf on Instagram who is a neurodiversity advocate and he also lives with ARFID and provides support for those too with it!. I personally haven't got it but this has helped me to better understand it more and how to support those with ARFID too. ARFID often goes unrecognised and now it is only being recognised as of recently.

AnonymousToe

I’m pretty sure my sister has this. It’s a shame it’s not more well-known

lunarcat522

@Gemma Thank you so much for this post, I'm having a somewhat difficult relationship with food at the moment and it might be something like this (suspected neurodivergent) or stress or both. I have a pretty limited diet of foods I like, but right now I'm struggling with appetite generally but I do try to eat where possible.

I am aware of ARFID but I think this post is great for people that might not know about it for awareness and education on the topic

Gemma

@Amy22 @AnonymousToe - you're both so right that there is definitely more awareness needed in this area. I've also seen quite a few posts about it on Instagram & TikTok lately so it's positive that the awareness is building.

@AnonymousToe - has your sister been able to reach out for any support with it?

@lunarcat522 - thank you so much for sharing what you're going through with us and I'm glad that you feel this post will be helpful in educating people on the topic. That was our aim! It sounds so tough to be having that difficult relationship with food at the moment. Had you heard of Beat's Hummingbird online support group before? It might be worth checking this out as a way to talk to others who are experiencing the same things. You're deserving of that support.

sinead276

this is super insightful. I know a bit about eating disorders from my studies at university, but ARFID is probably the least talked about one. But I agree it's so important that awareness is raised about the disorder within society