Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) aka Selective Eating Disorder (SED) AWARENESS Flag
THIS IS NOT A PRO-ED FLAG AND IF YOU USE IT AS ONE YOU BOTH DO NOT KNOW WHAT ARFID/SED IS AND ARE GETTING IN THE WAY OF PEOPLE TRYING TO BE HEALTHY. DON’T DO IT.
Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (aka Selective Eating Disorder) is an eating disorder characterized by extremely selective eating, without any correlation to body weight or appearance, which is not the choice of the person affected.
People affected by ARFID are limited to extremely specific foods or food groups, finding themselves unable to eat anything beyond those limits without a large amount of distress (or even gagging/expulsion). Unlike simply being picky, someone affected by ARFID can’t “settle” for food provided to them if hungry: They are genuinely avoidant of or unable to eat the food.
ARFID has three “main” ways that it manifests: Through a lack of interest/motivation to eat food, issues with the sensory experience of eating foods, and/or anxiety about eating foods.
Unlike many other common eating disorders, ARFID IS NOT ABOUT BODY IMAGE OR WEIGHT. It has very little to do with the effects of food on the body after it’s been eaten, and much more to do with the act of eating particular foods themselves. Someone with body image/weight fixations may have ARFID, but that is not why they have it.
The majority of people with ARFID would much prefer not to have it and be able to eat normally.
Colors and design pulled from:
Eating Disorders + Anorexia and Bulimia Flags
(Base for the flag.)
Sensory Processing Sensitivity / Highly Sensitive Person Flag
(Color-picked and contrast-adjusted.)
Anxiety Disorder Flags (General, Social, Separation)
(While not technically used, the green of the flag is familiar to the General Anxiety flag and deserves a shoutout.)
Thank you for using this flag appropriately.
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