(Yes, I'm alive. Yes, I know I haven't updated in two months. Yes, I'm sorry.)
I have some sensory processing issues that lead to what is called Selective Eating Disorder.
What that means is that I have trouble processing certain tastes and textures, which makes foods that taste normal to everyone else taste disgusting to me. For example, I cannot stand the taste of mint. Whenever I eat it, it feels like my mouth is burning.
This leads to what, in simple terms, is an extreme fear of trying new foods, which limits my diet even more.
This whole thing is the biggest pain in the ass I've ever had to deal with, especially now that I'm over the age where picky eating is acceptable.
This whole thing has caused a lot of very embarrassing moments that have just made me want to crawl into a hole and not need to eat to survive, but it has also caused some funny stories. And those are more pleasant to talk about, so I'm talking about those!
1: Toothpaste
Since, as I said, I don't like mint, toothpaste is a problem. As far as I know, they do not sell adult toothpaste that isn't mint flavored. So, my only option is to use this:
Hoppla! Dieses Bild entspricht nicht unseren inhaltlichen Richtlinien. Um mit dem Veröffentlichen fortfahren zu können, entferne es bitte oder lade ein anderes Bild hoch.
In case you were wondering, sparkle fun tastes like fluoride and artificial sweetener.
Anyway, I was at sleepaway camp a month ago, and because I am socially anxious, I went to extreme lengths to hide my toothpaste from my cabinmates. I kept it in my toiletry bag when I wasn't using it. But when I had to brush my teeth, I would legitimately wait until everyone else was asleep, which was usually around midnight, get up, get my toothbrush and toothpaste, keeping the front label of the toothpaste as covered as possible, and brushed my teeth in the dark, because the cabins were not the greatest, and we had to use a curtain as a bathroom door, and I didn't want to risk waking up everyone else.
On the last night of camp, of course, my counselor decides to use the bathroom while I was brushing my teeth. I heard her walking towards the bathroom, and I knew there was nowhere to hide, no way to get out of the situation, so I just froze.
My counselor flicks on the light switch, and there I am, brushing my teeth in the dark at midnight, with my sparkle fun toothpaste on the counter, with a terrified look on my face. She just stares at me for a minute, and walks into the stall.
Not my finest moment.
2: Ravioli
When you have Selective Eating Disorder, you likely have only a few foods you accept for each meal, and after awhile, you get VERY tired of it, but you have to eat it, otherwise the only alternative is starving yourself. So, any new food that you can tolerate is awesome. A new food that you really like is just about the most exciting part of your entire year. If you're like me and don't do anything interesting, that is.
Anyway, I've been attempting to expand my palate this summer. I've tried corn, raspberries, fettacini alfredo (don't know if I spelled that right), and ravioli. I can tolerate corn and fettacini alfredo, which is pretty cool, but ravioli...
MMM HECK IT WAS SO GOOD!
I got so ridiculously excited about fricking ravioli. Me trying something, and then liking it is something that rarely happens.
I was legitimately jumping for joy about a new food. I ate so much ravioli that night, I almost threw up.
I probably seemed completely ridiculous, but I didn't care. I was just so happy.
...yeah those are my two main food stories. I didn't have as many as I though. Oh well hope you enjoyed!
