​Hello, or as they say in Taiwan, 你好！I’m currently learning mandarin in school, and last week, our teacher took us to a Taiwanese restaurant. I was really nervous because I had to order in Chinese and then I was going to eat Green onion pancakes, or 葱油饼, and I’ve never tried it! But, I took a bite and I loved it! I even tried a sauce despite not knowing what was in it! So, next time you go to a restaurant, maybe try one new thing! 

​Hi everyone! This is part 2 of my sensory skills series. Today I wanted to talk about smell. Smell can really affect things that are related to food. For example, if I smell a certain food before I try it, it may dissuade me to try the new food. However, smells can help you cope. Aromatherapy works really well for me when I’m feeling stressed, and there are so many different essential oils to use. I like peppermint and lavender the most, and if I use an essential oil roller, it soothes me. As usual, If there are any sound related issues you have, email us and I’ll send you a skill back, and if there are any skills you know that might be of use, feel free to send that to us as well! Have a great day!

​Hi everyone! Welcome to part 3 of my sensory skills post! I recommend you read the first two posts first, but feel free to start with this one! Sight is a sensory skill that I struggle with the least, and it mostly helps me instead of putting me back. For example, when I feel like I can’t study and sit still, I put on a fireplace video, to help me relax and stay focused. When I am stressed about a meal, I watch some tv! I hope this helped you, and if there are any sight related issues you have, email us and I’ll send you a skill back, and if there are any skills you know that might be of use, feel free to send that to us as well! Have a great day!

​Hello everyone! Welcome to part 1 of my 4-part sensory skills blog series! The sense I’m going to be talking about today is sound. As someone with sensory processing disorder, I am very sensitive to sound. It’s part of the reason why large crowds are hard for me to be around. It overwhelms me, but it can also be helpful. For example, if I’m feeling very stressed or sad, I listen to some music to cheer me up. If I need to block out noise, I listen to brown noise. If I’m bored, I may listen to a podcast! If there are any sound related issues you have, email us and I’ll send you a skill back, and if there are any skills you know that might be of use, feel free to send that to us as well! Have a great day!

​Hi everyone! I hope you’re all doing well. Instead of creating one or two posts for the month of March, I am going to be posting weekly! This is because I have a theme that I can’t talk about in just one post, and that is sensory. 

I was diagnosed with sensory processing disorder before I was even diagnosed with ARFID, and it is very common to have this if you have ARFID. If you don’t know what it is, it basically means your body avoids sensory, or seeks it. I avoid sensory, especially when it comes to food. It also makes your senses stronger, meaning that smells, feelings, sounds, sights, and of course, tastes can be overwhelming for you. So, this month, I will be posting once a week about four of the five senses, where I write about how I deal with them, what coping skills involve those senses, and more! I won’t be including taste, because that’s what I almost always write about!

Anyway, I hope you are all excited for the posts during March! Have a great week!

Hi everyone! I hope you're all doing well! During my winter break, I tried some foods, and while some of those foods weren’t entirely new, it wasn’t easy for me. This inspired me to write about how to prepare to try something new. One thing I like to do is connect the food to something I already like. For example, my dad made mashed potatoes. I love French fries, so I told myself “It’s not as scary to try this, because it probably tastes similar to French fries!”. So, I was able to try the mashed potatoes, and I liked the taste! I wasn’t a big fan of the texture, but I was proud of myself for trying something new! Hopefully this helps the next time you or your loved one is nervous to try something! Have a great week!

​Hi everyone! If you’re on winter break, I hope you’re having a great one! I am about to head home from a vacation that I’ve had with my entire family on my dad’s side! You may be wondering how that relates to ARFID. Well, before this trip, I never really appreciated meals in a way that I do now. I always knew that meals were a great time to talk, but I realized that it’s a great time to get to know people and form or strengthen bonds. In a way, being forced to be with everyone forces you to push yourself to be more social, and I really enjoyed the meals on this trip. Sure, the food was mostly good, but the thing I loved about the meals is that I spent over half an hour just laughing, smiling, listening and sharing stories. Before this trip, I didn’t have a super close bond with my grandpa, but these meals pulled us together, and I really feel like our relationship improved drastically. I have always been super close to my grandma, and spending time on the balcony, eating ice cream together and talking about her favorite presidents (she loves history) was one of the highlights of my vacation. It was really special. I know it can be hard to enjoy meals if you’re not enjoying what is on your plate, but if you’re okay with what you are eating, I invite you to be more social, if you aren’t as social as you normally are. It can even distract you from a meal you don’t love!

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy whatever holidays you do or don’t celebrate! Happy holidays! 

​Hi everyone! I hope you’re all doing well! Thanksgiving is coming up, and I wanted to give out some tips for how to manage thanksgiving stress, because no other holiday is more about food than thanksgiving!

The first tip is to sit closer to the head of the table! If you sit at the middle of the table, you may feel more overwhelmed, so I like to sit further away because it gives me more space. 

The next tip is to put napkins or earplugs in your ears. For me, too much stimulation, especially sound stimulation, can make it harder for me to eat. So, I like to put napkins in my ears so the chatter isn’t as loud. You can use earplugs, but they’re more noticeable.

The last tip is to sit next to someone that comforts you. This can help you feel less stressed out, because somebody is there for you.

I hope you all enjoyed this post! Have a happy thanksgiving! 

Hi everyone! It’s been a bit since I posted on the Ask Arfid website, but I’ve been making posts over on the @askarfid instagram page that I hope you like. Anyway, I was on a trip a few days ago, and I really didn’t want to eat the lunch. Nothing was wrong with it, I just didn’t want to eat because I had a stress afternoon ahead of me. When I get stressed, it’s harder for me to eat. But, my therapist recommended a strategy a few months ago that I wanted to share with you, because it has helped me so much. 

So, if you feel like you can’t eat, remove yourself from the table, and sit somewhere else for two minutes. Then, visualize something truly relaxing. Maybe it’s a nice warm day at the beach, or you’re going skiing with your family. Or, maybe you’re just watching your favorite tv show. Either way, try to really think about the small details. Then, open your eyes after a minute or two of doing that, and you will probably be more comfortable eating your food. 

I hope this tip helps you as much as it has helped me! Have a great day!

​Hi everyone! Today, I wanted to talk about school lunches and snacks. School is stressful for almost everyone, and it can be even more stressful if you have ARFID. When I’m stressed, it’s harder for me to eat, so I don’t really try new foods during school. Instead, I try foods during the weekends or after school! This year, I increased the amount of food that I eat during lunch, and it wasn’t easy, but I figured out a way to help myself push through it. Last year, I ate the same lunch, with the only exception being that I switched my z-bar flavor every day, but this year, I went to the grocery store, and I found a lot of new options that have made eating lunch better! There were a few of flavors and foods that I  wasn’t a fan of, but there were even more ones that I did like! Anyway, I just wanted to update you guys on what my life has been like, and I hope this post helps! Have a great day!