When Eating Feels Hard: Eating Disorders, Sensory Issues, ARFID, and Body Image
June 27, 2025 | By Chris Sherman
This is a repost of our blog originally posted in 2023.
What Happens When Food Feels Overwhelming
Caroline stared at the meal on their plate. The meat was stringy. It might have been one of those strings that made them gag and if they gagged, they knew they'd be unable to eat the rest. The pasta would dissolve into a mushy ball at the back of their throat. They could feel the acid of the tomato sauce that often rose up in their throat for hours, if they could even manage a few bites of this meal.
But try as they might, they lacked the words to describe the horror that lived on the plate in front of them and the fear that rang through their body. So, Caroline mumbled the one statement that they could muster. “I can’t eat that.”
The Overlap Between Sensory Issues and Disordered Eating
Sensory processing issues often go hand-in-hand with disordered eating. We don’t know how someone else experiences food- the thoughts, feelings, and the sensations that come with eating. Often, we lack the language to explain our experience, so we start to use other people’s words that barely scratch the surface of our experience.
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As friends asked if Caroline was a vegetarian, they started to answer “yes”. It meant they didn’t have to deal with the unpredictable texture and chewiness of meat. When Caroline’s roommate proudly said that she also didn’t eat carbs like pasta, Caroline just nodded. It was easier to agree than to explain that it was not that simple for Caroline. Caroline ate a lot of carbs but not this type of pasta. They often felt weird for not liking many common foods. When people talked about how much they liked food, Caroline often didn’t know what to say. At least by blaming it on a fear of carbs, they had a chance to connect.
Caroline had always been a “picky eater” but their whole family was too, so it wasn’t really an issue when they lived at home. Things changed when Caroline went to college, their main option for food was the school’s massive dining hall. It was a giant, noisy place that seemed to serve everything that Caroline hated. They survived on a few staples until their friends started to laugh at their weird combinations of food. Caroline started avoiding eating with others and eventually avoided the Food,
Food, Connection, and Social Pressure
Eating is often a way we connect to others. When we don’t eat what other people eat, we may be labeled as different or weird. Noise sensitivities often can co-occur with food sensitivities. The overstimulation of a loud restaurant may make it hard to imagine any more sensory input through eating.
Without intending to do so, Caroline lost weight. People noticed. Caroline had never been particularly small before. They liked how their body looked and felt when they were smaller. Lots of Caroline’s friends and relatives liked it too. There were a lot of positive comments about Caroline’s weight loss.
Understanding ARFID and Body Image in a Fatphobic Culture
ARFID (Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder) is often defined as limited food intake that presents without body image disturbance or fear of weight gain. However, it is hard to live in a fatphobic society obsessed with appearance and not have concerns about body image or a fear of weight gain.
Eventually, Caroline’s body seemed to rebel out of the desperation for food. To avoid social rejection, they often ate very little during the day and found themselves binging at night, usually on their safe foods. Sometimes it was on anything they could get their hands on in a flurry of rapid swallowing. Caroline’s weight climbed. People noticed.
The clinical definition of ARFID is often defined as failure to maintain weight or appropriate growth. But food sensory issues don’t always result in a person being underweight. People in all sizes of bodies have ARFID. Food aversions and sensitivities may result in weight loss, gain, or stabilization. It may manifest differently throughout various points in someone’s life. When faced with food deprivation, it is not uncommon for the body to trigger a binge response as a survival instinct. Your body is trying to make sure you get the sustenance that you need to help keep you alive.
The Shame Spiral Around Food and Body Image
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In response to Caroline’s body size, people jumped in to “help” Caroline with nutrition recommendations. When Caroline managed to eat with others, it seemed like everyone had an opinion on what Caroline should or should not eat. But Caroline couldn’t imagine eating a lot of the “healthy” foods that people recommended. The foods were too mushy, too slimy, too unpredictable. Caroline tried a few diets, but always ended up binging again. They hated their body and what they thought was a lack of willpower. They avoided eating with people whenever they could and their eating became more isolated, more shameful, more secretive.
If You Relate to Caroline’s Story, You’re Not Alone
There might be different food textures that you despise like gummy, crunchy, or squishy textures. The fear associated with food might come from a variety of reasons such as feeling ill, being gassy in public, a fear of choking on food, or public ridicule at your food choices. And the worst part is, you might not have the words to explain your food inconsistencies. One day you can eat something with no problem, and the next, that same food seems utterly repulsive and impossible.
If sensory issues are interfering with your relationship with food or making eating disorder treatment more challenging, here are 9 tips that may help you improve your relationship with food.
1. Develop an Understanding of Your Specific Sensory Sensitivities
These may include taste, texture, visual, or even sound-related sensitivities. It’s not uncommon to find that you don’t mind the initial taste or texture of a food but then feel repulsed as the taste or texture changes while chewing. It’s also not uncommon for foods to conflict with one another (i.e., you like the taste but struggle with the texture). Developing language around your food preferences is powerful. It helps you voice concerns and preferences in a way that is more specific than “I don’t like that.”
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Understanding your specific sensitivities and preferences is also helpful in reclaiming foods with confidence. It is not uncommon for folks with food sensitivities to eliminate large categories of foods after a few bad experiences. Understanding your food preferences can help you adjust your food to your liking. For instance, perhaps you are repulsed by breads that easily dissolve into mush, but you find that you are able to tolerate coarser breads or bread toasted to a crunchier consistency.
2. Understand That Inconsistency Is Part of the Complexity
“But you ate it last week!”
Yup, that’s part of the battle. When food sensitivities are part of broader challenges with stimulation, you might find that it’s easier to eat variety on some days and not others.
Think of It Like Video Game Life Points
Let’s say your tolerance for stimulation is about 50 “life points” per day. If you are in a situation where it takes 80 points to survive your surrounding space, you are already way over capacity. It may feel next to impossible to eat anything that will result in more stimulation. But if the situation is only taking 20 points to survive then maybe you can allocate 15 points to eat the food that’s only moderately repulsive.
The problem is that your capacity for points likely shifts from day to day based on your nervous system. And some days, when your body is well-regulated and not overstimulated, the creative and adventurous side of you might be excited to try something new. This is life with food sensitivities, and it doesn’t make your struggle any less valid.
3. Limit or Control External Stimulation
If you are sensitive to noise or visual stimulation, try to limit those while eating to focus on mindful eating. If it’s too much pressure or challenge to focus on, try positive distraction stimulation like a favorite book, video, music, or social media.
4. Regulate Your Nervous System
Practice regulating your nervous system through deep breathing, humming, stimming, or grounding techniques can make eating feel more manageable. It may be easier to take on sensory challenges when your body is calmer.
5. Chew
To avoid yucky sensations, people with food sensitivities develop a habit of swallowing food with minimal chewing. You may even have issues chewing due to jaw tension. Poor chewing and gulping down extra air lead to digestive issues, especially bloating, gas, and stomach discomfort/pain. This is cyclical. Negative associations with food may cause a fear that food makes you ill. The assumption that the food caused discomfort may lead to unnecessarily cutting out more foods. Chewing well reduces those symptoms.
6. Get Evaluated by a GI Registered Dietitian (RD)
Gastrointestinal (GI) issues and sensory issues often overlap. If you think your digestive issues could be complicating your experience with food, consider seeing a registered dietitian who specializes in GI issues and digestive disorders. You will likely need more advanced testing beyond a colonoscopy or endoscopy. A GI-MAP test may be helpful to uncover digestive challenges and imbalances that may have gone undetected for years.
7. Identify Safe Foods Based on Your Sensory Needs
As you identify your sensory safe foods, you will likely see a pattern of reasons for why your go to foods are considered “safe.” Your safe foods may be easier to access due to ease of food prep, limited decision-making, predictable texture, or fears regarding nutrition/health/diet culture. As you understand your sensory needs better and what food feels safe, you can start to understand the reasoning and start to reclaim new options at your own pace.
8. Try to Eat Regularly
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Oftentimes, parents say about their ‘picky eaters,’ ‘Oh, eventually they’ll get hungry enough to eat it.’ This statement is often not true for people with sensory issues or ARFID. Waiting longer might make eating feel even more impossible. A in blood sugar makes your body more dysregulated, so you may be less able to handle stimulation.
Keep safe foods on hand and carry them with you if you are out and about. That way, you can keep your body regulated. One idea is to carry a small bag with several options that cover different textures or flavors that can offer flexibility so you have options if you need it. Starting a meal with safe food can sometimes make it easier to eat progressively more challenging ones.
9. Be Gentle with Yourself
Food is a psychosocial experience that is social, emotional, and deeply personal. It’s hard to feel weird or feel left out. It’s hard to feel terror about food when others around seem to enjoy it. It’s hard when you don’t have words to explain or are not believed by others.
There Is No One Way to Struggle with Food
If you recognize yourself in Caroline’s story or see someone you care about in it, know that your experiences with food, body image, and sensory overwhelm matter. Whether your body has changed, your appetite fluctuates, or food feels unpredictable or scary, healing is still possible. You're worthy of support, safety, and a peaceful relationship with food.
You are not alone in your struggle. Your struggle is real and valid. Celebrate small victories and keep moving forward. One bite at a time.
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