Facing Fear Foods!
What are fear foods?
Fear foods are foods that people with eating disorders deem forbidden, and leading to an avoidance of it. Fear foods can be present in almost all eating disorders, including anorexia, bulimia, BED, ARFID, and EDNOS. But research determines that an important part of recovering from an eating disorder is reincorporating these fear foods.
How to Overcome Fear Foods:
Step 1: Make A List
Make a fear food hierarchy, including the absolute scariest foods down to foods that cause minor anxiety, putting it in a hierarchy of a sort.
Step 2: Exposures
Plan exposures. This will be incredibly scary at first. Eating cake the first time might instill a lot of fear, but as you repeat this process your brain will recognize that it actually isnt as scary as your eating disorder thinks! You can also use coping mechanisms during exposures (such as DBT skills) to make it a more relaxing environment.
Step 3: Check the Facts
Check the facts around fear foods. Your eating disorder may try to tell you that if you eat this one piece of cake, your partner will break up with you. So after you face the exposure, see if your prediction came true! Usually, the prediction does not come true.
Feel free to answer any or all of the below questions!
🧸 What are some of your scariest fear foods?
🧸 What is one fear food that youd like to overcome?
🧸 Are there any scary thoughts your eating disorder tells you about your fear food/the fear food you'd like to overcome?
🧸 Would you like to share anything else about fear foods?
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@24Help1
🧸 What are some of your scariest fear foods?
I have fear foods, don't get me wrong, but I don't really have a lot of them? Mostly it's butter (that I haven't touched in 11 years this year), then comes cakes with whipped cream (especially those almost exclusively based on whipped cream, we have a lot of them in Denmark), and then... I kinda have a stupid fear about cheese slices (that I am trying to overcome, but mostly when it's combined with toasts), nachos with cheese, dressings of any kind, most dippings for fries, I am also kinda scared of eating white bread (and I can't get it down, I can't even take a bite) and after that I don't have a lot of other fearfoods. I don't have a lot of them in general though, now I think about it. And I just realized there is a lot of food on my list now, lol.
Which is weird, but I guess I have overcome stuff like pizza (low cal ofc), burgers (ocasionally, but really not often), pita bread (even though I don't like eating bread at all) and ice cream. But there are surtain sweets I can't eat. Like very sugary stuff. I'm ok with most crackers and stuff like that, but candybars? Nope, I'm not eating that. And chips. I don't like eating chips at all. I can eat those with lentils, if I actually get over my fear of buying it in the store. I have a biiig problem with buying unhealthy stuff in grocery stores, bc then ppl can see what I'm eating - even if they obviously don't care, but I can't seem to understand it, when I'm in the situation.
🧸 What is one fear food that youd like to overcome?
This cheese-slice-fear. It's seriously stupid, bc I can have cheese in burgers (when I actually eat a burger, haha), on top of lasagna and in a variaty of ways (not on nachos though), but in a toast it totally creeps me out. Which is stupid I know, but the fear is there. I think it's the combination of white bread and cheese (which I know is bad for you) that scares me so much.
🧸 Are there any scary thoughts your eating disorder tells you about your fear food/the fear food you'd like to overcome?
Many and a lot. Mostly it's about how toasts are bad for you: Both the cheese and the bread. I never put any kind of spread in, like butter or whatever, but it's still hard. But it's also about how I will gain from eating one silly toast. How I will get fat from eating the bread, how I will just swell up and become a ballon or something, how eating that will ruin weeks of hard work on my body. Stuff like that mostly.
@EvilRegalsReadToo
Your fear foods are never stupid! Sometimes our EDs are irrational in their rules, and I'm glad that you can recognize that! I definitely understand the idea of gaining a million pounds from one slice of toast, but something to try is after eating the exposure, you can see that you still aren't a million pounds!
@24Help1 I know, I know. I know it was the wrong word, but it kinda felt silly and stupid. But yes EDs are very irrational in their rules, always and forever. But still we try to fight it, and that's a good thing. But yes, I use that as a strategi sometimes. Looking at myself and seeing that I haven't gained a million pounds. Which is harder than it sounds, mostly bc sometimes I look at myself and I see more pounds on me than I actually weigh 
But I'm trying and that's what counts 
🧸 What are some of your scariest fear foods?
the first ones that come to mind are nutella (chocolate of any kind though!), ice cream/creamy things, and homemade bread.
🧸 What is one fear food that youd like to overcome?
homemade bread! my family has been baking bread lately and the thing about homemade bread is that it's absolutely delicious and i could literally eat an entire loaf of it without any kinds of toppings or condiments, so it makes it easier to binge. i always feel bad when i refuse to eat my family's bread though, because they spend so much time kneading and proofing and preparing it. So I definitely want to figure out a healthy balance for myself so i can actually enjoy it.
🧸 Are there any scary thoughts your eating disorder tells you about your fear food/the fear food you'd like to overcome?
My fear foods are the foods that are easy for me to binge on, so my disordered thoughts center around binging and its effects. I'd love for my brain to knock it off because a little weight gain isn't a big deal and enjoying my fear foods doesn't mean I'm going to binge on them! But it's a work in progress :)
🧸 Would you like to share anything else about fear foods?
Whoever sees this and is struggling with disordered eating/your fear foods, you're valid! We all have unique reasons for having these fear foods, and regardless of how ridiculous those reasons may seem to you, they're valid and you deserve love and support :) take care!
You got this!@24Help1
I love this post, and although exposures can be super difficult, I agree that they're really important to overcoming that "fear food" mental roadblock.
What is one fear food that youd like to overcome?
Desserts in general are pretty scary for me. I'd really like to overcome that and give myself permission to have some treats and enjoy them without guilt or anxiety!
Are there any scary thoughts your eating disorder tells you about your fear food/the fear food you'd like to overcome?
Like with some of my other fear foods, a recurring thought is about what's considered "healthy" and "unhealthy." It can be really hard to get past that and the (understandable but irrational) fear about the effect it will have on my body.
Would you like to share anything else about fear foods?
I prefer to think of them as challenge foods- they can seem really scary and off-limits, but you are able to challenge yourself and overcome them! And it might take time- try to give yourself permission to have the feelings associated with that food but don't let them stop you, you're more powerful than those fearful thoughts :)
@freehugs123
Something I learned in treatment for my eating disorder is that when your ED tells you a food is unhealthy, you can say "An eating disorder isn't healthy either." It might not be helpful for you, but I figured I'd share it! I definitely agree that they are more challenging foods, rather than foods that we should be afraid of!
@24Help1
Wow, I really like that! There's definitely nothing healthy about eating disorder thoughts and behaviors. Thanks for sharing that, I find it really interesting and powerful.
🧸 What are some of your scariest fear foods?
I think to easily summarize, I do not do well eating foods with too much flavor. I've never really been like "Oh, thats unhealthy I cannot eat that or I will gain weight", I am just afraid and uncomfortable with eating flavorful foods, I guess I do think in my mind that they are unhealthy and I cannot eat them although it is quite random.
🧸 What is one fear food that youd like to overcome?
Hmm, I am thinking of asian fried rice. It looks very yummy and I like lots of the ingredients!
🧸 Are there any scary thoughts your eating disorder tells you about your fear food/the fear food you'd like to overcome?
While I don't really recieve any concrete scary thoughts, my thoughts are just more abstract thoughts floating through the milky way in my mind. Like, its unhealthy, dancers can't eat that, that food has flavor so it must have too much nutrients. Just abstract stuff I guess!
🧸 Would you like to share anything else about fear foods?
Hmm, I do not think of much. I suppose for those struggling with feeling like their fear foods are invalid: Just because you are not avoiding the food because it is unhealthy or "fatty" doesn't invalidate it. Avoiding food for generally any reason other than you simply don't like it, or medically cannot eat it is disordered and valid. Disordered eating is disordered eating, no matter what it means for you.
🧸 What are some of your scariest fear foods? - I think it's a classic, But junk and fast food. Everytime I try and eat it, it makes me scared and then I don't want to eat at all.
🧸 What is one fear food that youd like to overcome? - I would like to be able to eat desserts with out worry.
🧸 Are there any scary thoughts your eating disorder tells you about your fear food/the fear food you'd like to overcome? - That I will get fat, and ugly, You are ruining my body.
🧸 Would you like to share anything else about fear foods?
I'm proud of all of you that have made it so far.
ED's suck! 😕 Some days are much harder, but taking that one small bite can be enough to remember what life used to be like--enjoying home cooked meals, Japanese snacks, birthday cake, etc, etc. Gotta keep going! Gotta keep living! Life is too big, and incredible to only be fixated on food. We are stronger than our ED voice! 💪♥️