DOSE:

3.5 g

oral

Mushrooms

BODY WEIGHT:

150 lb

🌟 A one-time dose of 3.5g of psilocybin mushrooms cured my lifetime ARFID [Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder] "picky" eating disorder.

Before August 2022:

Eating:
As a toddler, my parents called me The Garbage Disposal. I ate everything. My food preferences? Anything.

What changed:
At 2 years old I had an ear surgery to open a fluid-filled tube. I was born deaf in one ear and half deaf in another because of this excess fluid. When I awoke from the surgery, my parents said I didn't eat for days. I had an immediate sensitivity to textures like the pressure of socks on my feet and cold temperatures.

Getting help:
I was diagnosed with a sensory sensitivity disorder. Gradually across my childhood, my parents tried to help me eat. They learned I could tolerate Sara Lee white bread and Cheez Whiz. Through therapy, food exposure work, and a patient home, I gradually increased my diet to include other dairy and bread. I maintained a strong aversion to all fruits, vegetables, meats, and whole grains. All fresh fruit, for example, smelled of rotting flesh; I could smell an unopened orange across the room. In college (2013) I learned of the newly-defined ARFID eating disorder, and I saw myself.

Adulthood:
As an adult, I've done extensive therapy. This year I started working with the one (out of network) therapist I could find in Georgia who specializes in treating ARFID. She helped me introduce mindfulness into my exposure therapy, but trying (and thinking about trying) new foods still caused me great distress. 95% of foods did not read as food to me – they smelled, tasted, and felt like foreign objects that were impossible to consume. Mentally, I've felt fear and anxiety around food my entire life. I've lived on variations of cheese, bread, low-sugar protein shakes, and supplements.

August 2022:
I watched How to Change Your Mind on Netflix with my husband, then did extensive reading on psychedelic studies. I found a way to take 3.5g of psilocybin mushrooms. I'm on an SSRI, so I anticipate this was a low dose experience. Trip reports I've found online confirm my experience was milder than most 3.5g experiences. I followed the Johns Hopkins protocol and set my intention as "Goodbye ARFID." 1.5 hours into the experience, I removed my eye mask and asked my husband to prepare me a nectarine and a kale salad – the first of each I'd ever tried in my life. I ate them. They tasted like food.

After August 2022:
I'm a good eater! I've tried hundreds of new foods since August 13, 10x the amount I tried in my entire adult life before August. I haven't eaten a frozen pizza since this experience. Previously I ate one or two per day.

I love food! I've found new favorite foods I'd previously hidden from: avocado, oranges (like Gushers but actually good!), Caesar salad, mango, bone marrow, crunchy peanut butter, prosciutto, chunky salsa, sushi (any kind!), ube, kiwi, edamame, coffee, corn nuts, spring rolls, sea slugs, gazpacho, pistachios, and so much more.

My life is new! I feel reborn, not just from a powerful psychedelic experience – but because I'm fully experiencing this sense for the first time in my conscious life. I'm like an adult baby; every new food experience is filled with curiosity, joy, and exploration. I stay fuller longer. My body thanks me.

My social anxiety – closely related to my former eating disorder – is virtually gone. I feel deeply at peace with my life. I have a chance to be healthy.

I've shared this throughout my personal life and with a few researchers. I also posted my experience in a Reddit thread in response to a user who had a similar experience the week before mine. That's the only other account I've seen of someone healing their ARFID through psilocybin or curing it in any way.

Exp Year: 2022	ExpID: 116702
Gender: Female
Age at time of experience: 29
Published: Oct 4, 2022	Views: 478
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