I have been reading this blog for the past few months and decided to share my story, just like Adam did. I know that many people suffer from ARFID and that most do not even know that this is a real health condition. For years, I just thought that I was weird, but now I know that I have ARFID and have always had it since being a young kid.
I lived in middle America and was raised in a meat and potatoes household. My parents would put food on the table and I was expected to eat it. However, I couldn’t. All I wanted to eat was breakfast cereal (not even with milk) and macaroni and cheese. This did not sit well with my folks.
I battled with them as a kid and often got punished for not eating or for arguing. This lasted many years from the ages of maybe 4 to 9 or 10. When I got a bit older, I would actually get sick if they forced me to eat. This caused them to bring me to the local hospital where a full health screening showed me to be healthy. A psychological exam had me put on some anti-depressants, which I did not like or need. I took these pills for 2 years and actually remember almost nothing from this time. It was like I was out of my body. I have no memories at all of ages 11 to 13 basically.
Things did not get any better at home, so I ran away at age 14 and stopped with the pills. They never helped me and they certainly changed me. I found my way around, got work and eventually settled down in Oregon, where I still live. I am now in my late 20s and have done lots of research on what happened to me as a kid. When all was researched and well considered, discovered that I was actually very normal, with the exception of my eating issues. I talked to a specialist in eating disorders who agreed and I was diagnosed with ARFID.
I have since reconciled with my family and have made good of my life. I am normal and do everything a normal person does. However, I still can not eat very many things. I am just incapable of eating variety or anything unfamiliar to me. I have added a few things to my diet over the years out of necessity, but I am still an active ARFID case to be sure.
My parents are much older now and times have changed a lot. People now know that they should listen to their kids more and not be overlords to them. I think my folks feel bad about what happened to me and how they forced me to leave. I can’t really say that I have regrets, since life has gone ok, despite the rough start. I still have lots of anger about food and intimate relationships, but I am alright.
Anyway, I am not sure what else to write, but I wanted to simply say that ARFID is real and can have lots of collateral effects on life when it is handled poorly by family, friends and the person who suffers from it. ARFID requires more understanding and it is a fact that some people just do not want to change themselves or overcome it. They just want to be left alone. I am one of those people. Thanks for the forum to share! Hope this helps someone going through the same thing.
