Ep 11: Health Trauma as a Trigger for Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)
Jun 17, 2021
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Laura Mae Ramsey, a content creator focusing on ARFID and OCD recovery, shares her journey from only eating three foods due to health trauma. She discusses the mindset shifts helping her in recovery, self-imposed dietary restrictions, relationship between health trauma and food mistrust, and emotional impact of ARFID.
Laura's medical trauma intensified her fear of food, linking it to physical distress.
Accepting discomfort without seeking immediate resolution is crucial in continual recovery from ARFID.
Deep dives
The Journey to Conditioned Food Sensitivity
Laura shares her 10-year battle with condition food sensitivity, which began when she developed anxiety and IBS in her late teens. An elimination diet initiated a cycle of eliminating foods for her well-being, leading to a deep mistrust of food and her body. The fear of not having a doctor's guidance caused her to misunderstand elimination diets, worsening her condition unintentionally.
Impact of Medical Trauma on Food Mistrust
A medical trauma compounded Laura's mistrust, revealing an underlying heart rate issue. The trauma intensified her fear, instilling a belief that foods caused her physical distress. The lack of control over her health fueled her anxiety, intertwining the fear of unknown health reactions with food avoidance behaviors developed from her past experiences.
Roots of Food Mistrust & Recovery Challenges
Laura's fear of food reactions grew from underlying anxieties and need for control over her health outcomes. The uncertainty stemming from unexplained health events catalyzed her food-related anxieties. Acceptance of feelings without understanding their origins became a pivotal point in her recovery, emphasizing the importance of managing ongoing anxiety surrounding food effectively.
Navigating Recovery and Embracing Uncertainty
Recovery for Laura shifted from expecting complete freedom from anxiety to embracing and managing occasional food-related fears. Mindfulness in handling intrusive thoughts allowed her to progress, especially amidst fears rooted in past traumas and health uncertainties. Accepting discomfort without seeking immediate resolution became a core aspect of her continual recovery journey.
Laura describes how her experiences with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) led her down a vicious cycle until she was only eating three foods. Laura has been in treatment for avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) for the last eight months and shares the mindset shifts that are helping her through recovery.
Laura Mae Ramsey: I am a content creator focused on sharing my recovery journey with ARFID and OCD which I developed after going through a traumatic medical experience. I am also an entrepreneur, selling shirts and stickers featuring positive affirmations that have helped me through my recovery. Contact Laura through: lauramaeramsey@gmail.com, lauramaeramsey.com or @lauramaeramsey on TikTok, YouTube or Instagram
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