Understanding Sensory Processing and Food
Why Eating Can Feel Completely Different
For some people, eating is simply part of the day. For others, it can be an intensely sensory experience involving smell, texture, taste, sound, light, movement and the internal signals of hunger and fullness.
In this compassionate article, I explore why food can feel completely different for autistic people, people with ADHD, individuals with ARFID, and anyone whose nervous system processes sensory information differently.
This subject is deeply personal to me. Growing up, I was described as fussy, difficult, awkward and picky. I did not have the language to explain that certain smells could take away my appetite instantly, that textures could make me gag, or that a busy restaurant could leave me too overwhelmed to eat. Receiving my autism and ADHD diagnoses later in life did not change those experiences, but it changed the way I understood them. I was not failing. My brain was processing the world differently.
The article gently explains the familiar senses of sight, sound, taste, smell and touch, alongside the three less widely understood sensory systems: proprioception, vestibular processing and interoception. It looks at how these systems affect everything from holding cutlery and chewing to recognising hunger, fullness, nausea and anxiety.
I hope this article helps you feel understood, whether these experiences belong to you or to someone you care for. Food difficulties are not a lack of effort, and safe foods are not something to be ashamed of. With curiosity, predictability and compassion, eating can begin to feel safer.
With warmth,
Maggie
Psychotherapist | ADHD, Autism & ARFID Specialist
Space to Breathe Therapy
