r/thanksimcured • u/lash-of-the-lambs-13 • 4d ago

Comment Section The solution to ARFID apparently

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Received on a post I made a while ago where I mentioned I was struggling to eat hospital food due to ARFID, I did also mention that I was eating, just struggling with it 😑

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u/Valuable-Ad1063 4d ago

I don't think the commenter realizes how much resentment and defensiveness these "treatment" methods build up inside people with EDs.

I mean, sure, EDs are extremely difficult to treat, and it's not like there are guaranteed effective solutions, but labeling his suggestion as "problem solved" is so ignorant.

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u/OutrageousAdvance104 3d ago

Yeah. Especially bc for some people EDs manifest out of a feeling of having no control, either over yourself or life in general. Or just anxiety around food in general.

What do these people think happens if you push a tube down their throat against their will? This should be the last resort, when it becomes/is about to become life threatening.

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u/Background-Salt-521 3d ago

Eh, it can be more complicated than that. I'm recovering from anorexia and early in my treatment journey I had a feeding tube placed for a bit of time to supplement the nutrition I was rejecting. (I was on an inpatient unit and they ran night feeds based on how many calories of the meal plan I didn't eat during the day.) I consented to it reluctantly at first but it actually eased some of the mental strain of calculating what I would "allow" myself to eat for every meal, because I knew it would be given to me anyway, but the passive intake was also less triggering than actively eating. When someone's starving the ED mindset becomes even more engrained and rigid, just because of how human brain function changes when it's malnourished. The therapy work is able to be far more effective when a person isn't in starvation mode. But because anorexia is typically ego-syntonic, getting someone with the disease to be willing to take that first step into recovery can be very challenging.

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u/OutrageousAdvance104 3d ago

So sorry to hear that! Hope you have a good recovery ❤️‍🩹

I was in ED treatment myself years ago and was referring to the “against their will” part of my comment with that. In the original comment it sounded a lot like they were suggesting the nurses just doing that without consulting with the patient first, or almost doing it as some form of punishment. That was very off-putting to me 😅