advice please - food phobia

[allergyphobia]

as my name suggests, i have become very phobic of having an allergic reaction to foods. this stems from having a cough for about 7 months for no apparent reason, and developing oral allergy syndrome, which develops from hayfever and birch tree pollen allergy and can make your mouth and throat itchy after you have eaten raw fruit and vegetables. i ate an apple and my lip swelled up and had white dots all over it, but i have never had a serious reaction since,(this wasn't even a very serious reaction!) just itchy mouth after eating cherries and some other fruits so i tend to avoid them now.

i recently had a blood allergy test where is showed a slight response to tree nuts. i have now convinced myself i am seriously allergic to nuts, even though the doc said i dont need to avoid them or have an epi pen as ive never had a reaction.

anyway im quite scared with a lot of foods, i dont find eating enjoyable, i dont go out for meals as i am too scared. i am getting a little better now my mum is here to cook me food. my question is, how can i recover from this phobia? i am on the waiting list for CBT but am reluctant to go on medication. its so hard that its with food, cos we need it to survive and i cant just avoid foods forever, especially when i would probably be fine to eat them, but im terrified ill have a reaction.

sorry for ranting. xxx

[mumble]

I know how hard this can be - I've lost two stone from a similar thing.
I have emetophobia and find it hard to eat. Eating used to be enjoyable and now it's a chore. I've found the only way to work around it personally is using methods of foods I know are "safe", then having small amounts, and gradually working up, working in more of them, and having smaller amounts of other things along the way.

[allergyphobia]

thanks for your reply mumble. i guess you are right and i dont know why i always try and search for a magic overnight solution as it isnt going to come. i wish i could be logical and think, well i wasnt allergic before so why now, but you just cant convince yourself. i keep beating myself up not eating things which makes it worse. im slim anyway and have lost over a stone, which then im worrying about too... im a nightmare! thank you again for posting it's good to know i am not alone and i hope you are having a good day today.

[mumble]

It's very hard to convince our brains, I constantly try to tell myself it's fine... but it doesn't work. Sometimes knowing others are going through similar things helps our brains rationalise to a degree, and know that what we're afraid of... isn't real in a lot of cases. If that makes sense?

I tend to beat myself up too for not eating - at the end of the day I get really frustrated and upset if it's been a bad day... but you just have to think about the next day. Otherwise it just makes the anxiety build up worse! It's a horrible struggle, I am going through it now.

[Vixxy]

Hi im in a similar situation. I can get what youre saying about beating yourself up and then worrying about your weight.
You need to stop those thoughts as they come into your head because all they do is grease the anxiety wheel and keep the damn thing spinning!
For me, every time I start getting into a negative thought pattern in regards to my eating I tell myself that Im doing the best I can at present and that I cant do any better than that! Ive also stopped weighing myself as it only upsets me.
Until my situation changes and I can eat properly again this is the only way I can keep myself going.
If youre not eating much go to your GP and ask about getting fortijuice prescribed. They actually taste nice and have vitamins,minerals and calories in them^^

[Wolfie]

Hi,

I've been in your position before and I partly still am, although, I will admit, I'm not as bad as I used to be.

It got to the point where I even doubt the safety of my 'safe' foods. I know how hard it is hunni.

But now, I'm battling through my top 2 feared foods. Onions at number 2 and Nuts at number 1! I've even almost gotten to the point where if I see that there is a bunch of onions in my meal, I could eat them. So I'm getting on fairly alright, from fearing every single food, and drink, to only fearing two.

The way I did it was making myself eat the foods that I fear. For example, with the onion:

1. Be around onions
2. Touch onions
3. Eat foods which contain onion powder, or very small bits of onion like coleslaw.
4. Eat something where I can see that there are onions present.

Hopefully, I'll be doing number 4 soon. Don't get me wrong, each of these steps took quite a while and there is no pressure to move on to the next until you feel that you are ready - but be prepared to push yourself out of your comfort zone.

According to food therapists, it can take a minimum of eating a food that you fear 15 times before you start to feel a little more comfortable with it.

What I'm trying to say is, please try and expose yourself to the foods that you fear. Then move onto actually handling it. Then possibly eating foods which contain it, so on and so on.

I have found that this technique has worked for me. And I used to be really bad with food. So maybe this is a technique that you can consider? Also, the CBT will help rationalise your thoughts which will work in perfect unison with this technique. Where's the harm in trying? :)

I hope you can soon be able to start standing up against your fears and hitting it over the head with a shovel.

Take care,

Chrissy x x x x

[allergyphobia]

i meant to thank you all for your valuable replies. they are so helpful.

chrissy, your tips are very useful. i think i will print this thread off as its all got great info in it for me. do you actually have any allergies, where does you fear stem from?

ive been back to the docs today and they want me to go onto fluoxetine or citalopram but i am reluctant to go on meds, i am still waiting to go onto CBT. some days i do just feel so down and tired, and yet others i can power through.... anxiety has so much to answer to!!

I want to say more to all of you chrissy, vixxy and mumble but i cannot find the energy right now but please please accept my thank you, it really does mean a lot to me when people share their advice and that you all can understand how you feel. i think eating things are so hard as well as a good diet is so key to feeling good, argh, it's a nightmare.

xxx

[alj523]

Hi, I only found this site tonight by accident, I have been struggling with "safe Foods" for 6 months now. the only foods i eat are noodles ( a certain packet!) and weetabix. Started on anti depressants and a course of CBT. Feeling under a lot of pressure though to start eating normally as i have lost lots of weight and am obviously not getting any vitamins etc. This is making me even more panicky and low. How do you deal with the pressure from family, doctor and councellor?:unsure:

[allergyphobia]

hi there, if you look under all my posts and aimeekids as well, there is a few of us on here with the phobia. i am having CBT at the moment, you have to be open to the challenges that they are giving you, so you don't see it as pressure i suppose... take baby steps and do what feels right for you, push yourself when you are in a safe environment with people around you... is it an allergic reaction you are scared of? i have had a rough couple of days but just go to try keep plodding away with things, welcome to NMP... i also have lost over a stone in weight and trying to put it back on but it's very difficult

[alj523]

thanks for the advice. Will keep trying with the little steps. Its not really having a fear of allergies its a fear of not being able to breath, perhaps choking? not really sure. I have always been very good at ignoring my feelings giving everyone the impression that nothing phases me so this phobia has come as a real shock to everyone around me. I have actually lost over 4 stone in 6 months thats how everyone has noticed and so they all are convinced that i want to be or am anorexic. Even my doctor thinks it is a body image problem. Sorry about the essay!!!