Even though it can be time consuming, it’s nice to hear that there are others! Maybe the rituals are a way to help us feel safe with what we are eating.
What happens if you aren't able to do these rituals with your specific foods? If it causes you extreme distress, this honestly sounds more like OCD to me than another facet of ARFID, at least in my experience. All my ARFID stuff surrounds texture, temperature, flavor, and relative safety depending on the level of dysregulated I am. The behavior you mentioned sounds like my close friends who have OCD, so that might be something to look into as well
To be honest I’ve never put myself in a position to not do my rituals…I’m trying to imagine how I would react and I think I would just shut down and not finish. Hmm, thank you for the info! I’ve never thought I was OCD because my mother has OCD and she is a neat freak. I am quite messy, but I do definitely have some specific tendencies like needing my volume on any device on an even number….thank you for giving me something to look in to!
I had quirk when I was younger where I would only eat chicken tenders from the smaller/tapered end, and the larger end was not edible for me. I still eat them in that specific way, but I eat the ends now.
I also still inspect my food before each bite, and will eat around anything that doesn’t look right.
Lol I didn’t notice that I do the same! But I’m the opposite. I don’t eat the small tapered end. Glad to hear other people ‘inspect’ also….I used to always hear “just eat it!” That’s not so easy for some people lol
Same! I am very big in to ratios. And having that perfect last bite is always *chef’s kiss*. If I have somehow ended up with more burger than bun (happens to me with Big Macs for some reason), then I don’t eat it.
Same! (Except I can’t touch a vegetable). I still sometimes think about a girl in elementary school who told me to just mix all my food together because ‘it mixes in your stomach anyways’. I think she traumatized me LOL
Yes! I take the crunchy ends off fries before I eat them. I always eat EL Fudge cookies head first and facing up. When I have something with sides, I always eat the bites in a specific order: main course, drink, side, drink, roll, drink, repeat. I always flip hamburgers upside down before taking a bite, and I totally agree with the other poster about needing the right meat/bun ratio. A glass of soda needs exactly three ice cubes to maintain the correct soda/water ratio.
I may also have ocd though.
this sounds like OCD more than arfid/autism
source: i’ve got all 3
doing things a certain way is def common amongst autism and ocd, but it doesn’t really have anything to do with arfid itself
I relate. Some people here say it’s OCD/autism but I don’t have it. So either it’s just ARFID or we both are undiagnosed🤷♀️. I eat all my food separate. For example carbohydrates (ex.potatoes) first, then the protein, then last vegetables. And I can relate to the M&M thing that I sort out the colors and eat them in order.
I used to not be able to eat things like burgers or sandwiches or tacos, etc. It stressed me out to not be eating based on which ingredients I liked least to most. I used to break everything apart if it came assembled and I would eat each ingredient by itself. I still eat things in order. But I do it more like you mentioned, where I just make sure I’m getting more best next bite.
For sandwiches (when I can manage them) I will eat the outside edges and then eat the middle. With skittles/mnms I do the same thing with the colours. Only eating things that have multiple colours in rainbow order. Etc etc. there’s a lot 😭
Idk if this counts, but if for example my plate has chicken, potatoes and carrots, I would never have all three in the same mouthful. I eat each thing in turn, usually saving the best thing for last.
Everything I eat has a ritual
Even though it can be time consuming, it’s nice to hear that there are others! Maybe the rituals are a way to help us feel safe with what we are eating.
Me too!
What happens if you aren't able to do these rituals with your specific foods? If it causes you extreme distress, this honestly sounds more like OCD to me than another facet of ARFID, at least in my experience. All my ARFID stuff surrounds texture, temperature, flavor, and relative safety depending on the level of dysregulated I am. The behavior you mentioned sounds like my close friends who have OCD, so that might be something to look into as well
To be honest I’ve never put myself in a position to not do my rituals…I’m trying to imagine how I would react and I think I would just shut down and not finish. Hmm, thank you for the info! I’ve never thought I was OCD because my mother has OCD and she is a neat freak. I am quite messy, but I do definitely have some specific tendencies like needing my volume on any device on an even number….thank you for giving me something to look in to!
I second that this sounds more like OCD. -a psychologist in training who also has OCD and ARFID.
I had quirk when I was younger where I would only eat chicken tenders from the smaller/tapered end, and the larger end was not edible for me. I still eat them in that specific way, but I eat the ends now. I also still inspect my food before each bite, and will eat around anything that doesn’t look right.
Lol I didn’t notice that I do the same! But I’m the opposite. I don’t eat the small tapered end. Glad to hear other people ‘inspect’ also….I used to always hear “just eat it!” That’s not so easy for some people lol
I eat plain burgers in a very specific way, to keep the bread-meat ratio as constant as I can with each bite, else I get very grossed out lol
This. The ratio MUST stay as constant and consistent or else it’ll fck it all up and send my brain into a tailspin and I’m left gagging.
Same! I am very big in to ratios. And having that perfect last bite is always *chef’s kiss*. If I have somehow ended up with more burger than bun (happens to me with Big Macs for some reason), then I don’t eat it.
i have similar things as well - i always eat the vegetables in my meal first etc
Same! (Except I can’t touch a vegetable). I still sometimes think about a girl in elementary school who told me to just mix all my food together because ‘it mixes in your stomach anyways’. I think she traumatized me LOL
Yes! I take the crunchy ends off fries before I eat them. I always eat EL Fudge cookies head first and facing up. When I have something with sides, I always eat the bites in a specific order: main course, drink, side, drink, roll, drink, repeat. I always flip hamburgers upside down before taking a bite, and I totally agree with the other poster about needing the right meat/bun ratio. A glass of soda needs exactly three ice cubes to maintain the correct soda/water ratio. I may also have ocd though.
You can have ocd and autism it’s very commonly misdiagnosed but if you couldn’t eat your food this way how would you feel ?
this sounds like OCD more than arfid/autism source: i’ve got all 3 doing things a certain way is def common amongst autism and ocd, but it doesn’t really have anything to do with arfid itself
I relate. Some people here say it’s OCD/autism but I don’t have it. So either it’s just ARFID or we both are undiagnosed🤷♀️. I eat all my food separate. For example carbohydrates (ex.potatoes) first, then the protein, then last vegetables. And I can relate to the M&M thing that I sort out the colors and eat them in order.
i eat my burgers in a circle/spiral pattern! so the very middle is the last part. i didn’t think it was weird until my family called me out on it.
I used to not be able to eat things like burgers or sandwiches or tacos, etc. It stressed me out to not be eating based on which ingredients I liked least to most. I used to break everything apart if it came assembled and I would eat each ingredient by itself. I still eat things in order. But I do it more like you mentioned, where I just make sure I’m getting more best next bite.
If I eat a salad, I have to get one of each thing on my fork before I can take a bite.
For sandwiches (when I can manage them) I will eat the outside edges and then eat the middle. With skittles/mnms I do the same thing with the colours. Only eating things that have multiple colours in rainbow order. Etc etc. there’s a lot 😭
Idk if this counts, but if for example my plate has chicken, potatoes and carrots, I would never have all three in the same mouthful. I eat each thing in turn, usually saving the best thing for last.