Hypnotherapy for ARFID

ARFID is a Phobia Not “Fussy Eating”

Having worked with many kids with ARFID I have witnessed the joy when there is finally a break-through in this deep-seated phobia. Using hypnotherapy I have witnessed kids add 10-20 new foods to their diet. It's a real journey of discovery as they learn they like a strawberry or the taste of yoghurt.

Many parents are told their child is simply a picky eater. But for some children, eating certain foods creates genuine fear, panic, gagging, or distress. This may be Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder, commonly known as ARFID.

Commonly there will be a refusal to eat anything other than a handful of foods such as chips, pasta with no sauce, sausage and chicken nuggets. Often the foods are white. You could describe these as 'safe' foods.

'Unsafe' foods bring on real fear and they simply can't put them into their mouth. They may not like the texture, the taste or the smell. Often they haven't tasted the food, it's just not on their 'safe' list.

ARFID is not stubbornness or bad behaviour. It is an anxiety-based eating disorder where the nervous system reacts to food as though it is unsafe. This is why children with ARFID often cannot simply “push through” their fear, no matter how much reassurance or pressure they receive.

Once the brain links food with danger, the body begins responding automatically with panic, gagging, avoidance, or disgust. The child is not choosing this response consciously. Their nervous system is trying to protect them.

This is why pressure around food often backfires. Bribing, forcing, or punishing a child to eat usually increases anxiety and reinforces the fear response.

Kids don't like having ARFID. Staying over at other people's homes can be uncomfortable when you don't eat the dinner served. It brings too much focus to them at their own family dinner table. They know it restricts the family going out for dinner and they are unable to easily eat at school camps or outings. Kids parties aren't as much fun when you don't like the food. Generally these kids want to change but can't get over their phobia. They feel stuck and unsure why they are so fearful. Even if they want to change, they can't. Experiments end up in gagging and vomiting.

How Does ARFID Develop?

The phobia can develop after choking, vomiting, reflux, illness, sensory overwhelm, or another distressing experience involving food. Sometimes the trigger is obvious. Other times it develops gradually in children with anxious or highly sensitive nervous systems. I have worked with a kid who developed it after going to hospital with a vomiting bug and another who choked on an apple. I have also worked with kids who have developed it when there was a sudden change such as moving house or a divorce.

Like other eating disorders there is an element of control involved in the choosing of 'safe' foods and 'unsafe' foods.

While you may not know why the phobia developed it's always good to pinpoint when the phobia developed. If they have never eaten a range of foods then it could be a sensory issue and not a phobia. If they went from eating a range of foods to being highly selective eater as a toddler, that generally indicates ARFID.

Selective eating can go hand-in-hand with sensitive kids who are on the autism spectrum or who have anxiety.

HYPNOTHERAPY FOR ARFID

There is a hypnotic protocol I use for kids who ARFID. They must be at least nine to do hypnotherapy. I have also successfully worked with adults. Generally I find the kids that are more confident and want to make the change are more likely to accept more new foods. Sometimes an anxious 9 year old is not quite ready to make the leap even with hypnosis - waiting that extra year can make all the difference to the results.

For hypnosis they lie on a table and I take them into a deep relaxation using relaxation techniques.

Once they are relaxed I take them on a journey and we negotiate between their 3 years old self (or however old they were when selective eating started) their 'Food Safety Officer' and their now self. There is a process of bringing safety to the small child.

Eventually the Safety Officer gives permission for the now self to experiment with foods. It's about a thirty minute process on the table.

I ask parents to bring a plate of at least 15 different bite-sized samples of foods for them to try straight after the hypnosis. Generally 5 of those will be 'new foods' the child agrees to eat, sometimes more. If they don't agree to any of the foods then you will learn that this is probably a sensory issue and hypnosis is not going to solve it. However I have worked with hundreds of kids and got exciting results. I have watched many delighted families walk out the door excited about the change.

It's important to follow through with these 'new' safe foods and incorporate them into everyday meals so they don't revert.

Diana Joy Hypnotherapy Balmain, Sydney

Hypnosis for ARFID

Hypnosis for SED