Nadine Dirks sheds light on her personal journey with avoidant restrictive eating, linked to her ADHD diagnosis.
Throughout her life, Nadine Dirks struggled with a strong aversion to various foods, attributing it to mere dislikes akin to those within her family. She refrained from eating tomatoes, bananas, and yogurt due to their consistency, texture, and smell, respectively. This aversion extended to raw meats, such as chicken, and dishes with multiple components like trifle, which she found sensory-overloading. Even the texture of butter on sandwiches was intolerable for her.
It wasn’t until her mid-20s, following an ADHD diagnosis, that she began connecting these eating challenges to a larger pattern of sensory overload associated with the disorder. Dirks recalls being relieved to finally understand why normal eating activities felt insurmountable, while also experiencing frustration over the years spent struggling without tools or support.
Her therapist’s examination of sensory overload across various aspects of Dirks’ life, including lights, sounds, and the feel of fabrics, helped identify avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) as a possible comorbidity with ADHD. Different from anorexia, ARFID does not involve body image concerns, but revolves around severe anxiety in response to food textures, smells, and appearances.
Dirks explains the heightened anxiety she feels prior to meals or when dining away from home, fearing a sensory reaction that might prevent her from eating for extended periods. She acknowledges the rarity of the ARFID conversation in the broader ADHD discourse, noting how this lack of awareness can lead to misunderstandings, with others perceiving her as picky rather than struggling with a genuine disorder.
In collaboration with her therapist, Dirks has embarked on managing her condition with the help of an occupational therapist. Through meal preparation and exposure therapy, she works to mitigate the sensory triggers that disrupt her eating. She emphasizes the need for broader, stigma-free discussions around ADHD-related disordered eating, which could empower individuals to seek help earlier.
Dirks argues for a more holistic view of ADHD, beyond the traditional symptoms of hyperactivity and focus issues, to include sensory sensitivities that impact quality of life. She believes such an approach holds potential life-saving benefits for those grappling with similar challenges.
Nadine Dirks’ narrative underscores the complex relationship between ADHD and avoidant restrictive eating, highlighting the importance of comprehensive discussions and early interventions.
Source: Medicalnewstoday
