Ask Jessica

I will summarize what this person wrote to protect their identity.

Question:

The person wants to know if there is any type of help for “fear of food.”  They state that after extreme illness with a lot of stomach pain, they no longer trust food…especially food they have not prepared. Their spouse is concerned and upset because the effected is unable to eat out at restaurants.  This person also mentions not liking to feel full.

My Response:

Most of us in our support group understand the fear and frustration of eating out in restaurants. For different people, the severity ranges from minimal to extreme.  Personally  I only like to eat safe foods at safe restaurants and rarely venture out of my comfort zone. For most of us, the problem starts in infancy and though we don’t typically know the causes, results in an extremely limited number of foods we can eat. Just for instance, I don’t eat any vegetables, unless you count potatoes and occasionally I can choke down some lettuce.

The fear of foods for us isn’t something we would consider irrational as most of the time just trying a new food is enough to make us gag and sometimes even throw up.  Was your food selection limited before your illness a few years ago?  If not, a lot of things would be different for you from us, but that is probably to your favor. If you don’t have a deeply rooted inability to eat different foods, then it is likely that most of your fear is psychological and therapy would help you. If I may be personal, I would ask if you have spoken with a doctor about this?  I would wonder if some anti-anxiety medications and relaxation techniques might be helpful in your recovery.  I would also suggest that you try “new” foods in your home where you can watch or be in control of how there are prepared. That would take a lot of the anxiety out of the situation. 

As for your not eating enough…I have been there. I spent a long period of time as an “active” anorexic. I say active because doctors say you never truly get rid of anorexia, you simply go into remission and are able to control your behaviors.  Another personal question would be, have you ever struggled with an eating disorder?  If so, then you absolutely need to get help from a therapist you trust or a medical professional.  The reason I relate to your not being able to eat enough is because after starving myself for so long, I had an extremely hard time eating large meals. And by large, I mean normal healthy portions.  With time, I was able to stretch my stomach back to a normal size and eat healthy sized portions again.  But it may require you eating frequent snacks even when you are not hungry.  I understand not liking to feel full and I understand what it is like to feel sick from being too full.

I need to head off now, but I wanted to get in a quick email to you before I went to bed.  If you feel like it, I would love for you to write back and answer some of my questions and I will try to guide you to some sources of information that I have which might help.  If you do not want to divulge that sort of information to me, I completely understand, but I would urge you to please try and get some help from someone you do trust.  Being underweight is just as unhealthy as being overweight…perhaps even more-so.