Imagine being afraid of a pickle. Or a banana. Or a nub of bread.
That’s daily life for people with ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder). It's an eating disorder not driven by weight or body image, but by fear, sensory overwhelm, or low appetite. People with this condition experience real terror and powerful aversions to certain foods - far beyond picky eating.
Clinical psychologist Dr. Evelyna Kambanis explains ARFID, who it affects, and how treatment helps people reclaim their lives. Andrew Luber (aka “ARFID Andrew”) shares his funny, blunt, and vulnerable attempts at food exposures online. And Danielle Meinert tells the story of carrying ARFID since toddlerhood, and the startling change she says came after a high-dose psilocybin experience.
Resources:
- National Eating Disorders Association - ARFID
- Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders
- Families Empowered and Supporting Treatment of Eating Disorders
Suggested episodes:
- The hidden hunger of Pica: Stories from people who eat objects
- Anorexia is complex. Two people talk frankly about their decades-long journeys
GUESTS:
- Dr. Evelyna Kambanis: Licensed clinical psychologist in the Eating Disorders Clinical & Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital and a faculty member at Harvard Medical School. She is involved in clinical care and research on ARFID
- Andrew Luber, aka ARFID Andrew: Los Angeles filmmaker and social media creator who documents food exposures with humor under the tagline, “Conquering my fear of food one laugh at a time”
- Danielle Meinert: Lived with ARFID for 27 years after a major shift in her relationship with food following ear surgery as a toddler. After years of trying traditional approaches, she described experiencing a dramatic change after a session using psilocybin
Jessica Severin de Martinez, Meg Fitzgerald, and Robyn Doyon-Aitken contributed to this show.
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