Fear of food & food sensitivities/intolerances

Hello- are there any TMS therapists or doctors that are available via Skye that either specialize in or have lots of experience with patients recovering from various forms of disordered eating?

I had severe eating disorders in my younger years, followed by extreme restrictive dieting due to the many chronic health ills that popped up afterwards, which I know now to be TMS. As you might have guessed, I (alongside many health professionals) was trying to treat my health issues via diet as well as many other non-effective modalities. As I am trying to add in all the previously forbidden foods back into my life, I'm struggling with extreme GI symptoms, joint pain, acne (all symptoms which went away over the past decade while on a very restrictive diet) and worsening of all my other symptoms, alongside an extreme fear of food that has been getting worse over the past 20 years. I recognize all this as TMS, but need someone to help me through this- so just wondering if anyone knows a professional I can work with that has particular experience with food/eating issues.

 

Hi there,

I don't actually know any specific TMS doctors who are also specialized in dealing with disordered eating, but I think the overlap between people who have experienced TMS and EDs is so common! I am also a person who experienced some years of disordered eating and have been working through that as well for the past 2 years or so. If you're interested I can offer you lots of resources on this topic i've found that are compatible with TMS, although I don't know of any specific overlap. The therapist i've seen for the past year specializes in helping people through various forms of disordered eating and body image issues and was very positive about TMS when I explained it to her. I'm not seeing her for TMS issues, though.

It is true that EDs are a form of TMS in a certain way, though there are so many different things playing into them. Being on a restrictive diet for any reason can be very damaging and hard to heal from! Message me if you want to chat about some of the things i've found helpful with this.

 

Hi,

I don't have a TMS practitioner recommendation but i highly recommend ED therapists that practice health at every size (HAES) and intuitive eating. A few to look up are Christy Harrison (who has a podcast called Food Psych), Jennifer Rollin, Robyn Nohling, Haley Goodrich, Marci Evans - there are so many now which is great and their wisdom and information they share has helped me so much the last few years. Most have blogs and are on Instagram too. Hope that helps x

 

Thanks everyone- I contacted a registered dietician here in town (Minneapolis) who practices HAES, Intuitive Eating and works with eating disorders. When I explained to her all the symptoms I've been trying to "fix" with all my elimination diets over the past decade +, her first response was that she wanted to refer me to another local dietician she knows who works with functional medicine issues, food sensitivities, fibromyalgia, etc- which makes me believe that if she's a functional medicine person, she'll want me to eliminate certain foods, make me take a bunch more functional medicine-type tests that aren't covered by insurance, and make me take all sorts of supplements. My kitchen cupboards are bursting with half-consumed bottles of supplements, probably over $10,000 worth of supplements. I almost feel like I have PTSD from all the naturopaths, functional medicine practitioners, etc that I've spent money on over the past 15 yrs to no avail- so when this dietician recommended this other functional dietician, my initial reaction is that I don't want to go to either of them- no one can help me. I feel very hopeless.

 

Loads of people here have overcome this snare, myself included. I'd venture to suggest that a preoccupation with food/diet is the single biggest distraction from TMS.

Most people pass through a strong phase of needing to see someone else suffering with their exact condition, identify it as TMS and then recover. While I have a lot of compassion for this vulnerability (spent a long time there myself), it betrays a lack of comprehension into the true nature of TMS. Which is this, TMS is the preoccupation and obssession. TMS is the mindgames, the emotions, the psychology behind the symptom or manifestation. Once you grasp this the whole healing vista opens wide before you.

For this reason you don't need a specialist in any area. It's nice if someone gets the nuances of your situation but the hamster wheel of failed cures is truly ubiquitous. What you need is someone who can cut through to the real issue and someone you like and warm to. The most powerful factor in any and all therapy is the relationship you have with your therapist. The whole diet and food business (literally an industry) is one of the worst traps of the modern era.

Here's one success story that leans into the issue:

http://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threads/loving-my-life-again.17943/#post-97656 (Loving my life again)

Fear is the juice of TMS. Once you put the kibosh on that, everything changes.

 

My two cents on the issue: I did not have distinctive eating disorders other than overeating and subsequent bloating, so I can't claim experience overcoming food intolerance - so my cents are rather small. But, for what it's worth:

I identified my TMS as a result of general anxiety disorder. Rather miraculously, with the departure of my main symptoms, I noticed that I overeat less, bloating practically stopped and I lost about 6-8 pounds which put me into a normal weight range, although loss of another 5 pounds would make me much happier looking in the mirror. As I used meditation as my main medicine, I noticed that the more I meditate, the less my food cravings are, the easier it is for me to stay on a healthy diet. I also was able to notice that eating was my way to get out of anxiety attack. I had no idea before, how much my anxiety fed my bad eating practices. I eat pretty much everything, except for meat, chicken, sugar and white bread, but still allow myself a piece of baguette when at the Italian restaurant and they put it right in front of me - ouch! I certainly stay away from fatty foods but once in a while I eat French fries. I used to be very stressed about every ounce of white bread and sweets, but no more. I simply don't crave that stuff much and don't obsess over it. The key was to recognize my major problem - anxiety and be honest and mindful about it. Fear and obsession is what feeds our miseries.

 

So sorry to hear that and for such a late reply. Could you try another HAES practitioner? I know the ones i mentioned do skype/face time appointments and you may get a different response if you try someone elise? Good luck with everything x