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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