5 tips for facing fear foods in eating disorder recovery

What is a fear food?

Part of the journey towards recovery from a restrictive eating disorder is overcoming food fears. An individual affected by an eating disorder often views food from a distorted lens (the eating disorder lens) which labels foods as ‘good’ or ‘bad.  An individual affected by an eating disorder may have a long list of foods that they feel fearful of eating. Facing food fears is an incredibly important part of recovery because it supports the individual to begin to normalize their relationship with food.

What does it feel like to take steps towards facing food fears?

Eating a feared food is one of the most difficult parts of eating disorder recovery. For the individual affected by an eating disorder, facing food fears is overwhelming and scary because the eating disorder tells the individual to avoid these foods at all costs. For the individual, doing the opposite of what the eating disorder says feels terrifying at first. With time, support and repeated food exposures, these fears can eventually be overcome.

Tips for facing your fear foods in recovery from a restrictive eating disorder

If you are on the journey towards recovery from an eating disorder, the following tips may be helpful for you as to begin to incorporate feared foods back into your eating pattern.

1.    Create a list of your feared foods and rank them from most feared to least feared

Creating a list of your feared foods and ranking them from most feared to least feared may help you to understand where to begin. Given that facing food fears is a challenging and gradual process, it can help to start with a least feared of the feared foods. Consider starting with a food that feels no greater than a 4/10 on the difficulty scale, and consider how the food fits into your recovery plan (what will being able to enjoy this food again mean to you?)

2.    Have a plan for before, during and after

Before a fear food exposure, you will want to consider a plan to determine the safest strategy to feel success with eating the food. Consider who you will eat the food with, what time of day and where you will eat it. Consider what the eating disorder might say and have some strong mantras and realistic thoughts to challenge the eating disorder thoughts. You will want to consider the challenging emotions that the food exposure may create and tools to help you through. You may want to plan a distraction (like watching a movie with family or friends, or a self-care activity) for after the exposure.

3.    Have a support person who can help you

No one should face an eating disorder alone. An eating disorder dietitian and/or an eating disorder therapist can help guide and support you as you face your fears. If you do not have access to a care team, there are virtual and in-person eating disorder peer support groups which may be helpful. You can also ask a friend, family member or partner to offer you support and to eat the feared food with you. Ask your support person if you can talk to them about how you are feeling as you complete the food exposure.  

4.    Plan to complete the fear food exposure more than once

It’s important to repeatedly try the fear food you have chosen to start with, rather than trying the food once and moving on to the next feared food. With repeated exposures, it is more likely that the fears that the eating disorder has created regarding that food will gradually begin to subside a bit more with each exposure.

5.    Show yourself some compassion

You are doing incredibly hard work that takes an enormous amount of bravery and persistence. It is important to treat yourself with kindness and compassion as you face your fears. You will want to avoid being hard on yourself or self-critical as you do this very challenging work. Recovery is a non-linear journey and it’s important to remind yourself that difficulties along the way are normal. Rather than being self-critical, consider the lessons that you have learned for the next time. What might you need to navigate the next food exposure? What mantras might you consider? What supports might you be needing?