'My daughter only ate Yorkshire puddings every day for 7 years until we tried hypnosis'
A young girl who ate Yorkshire puddings every day for 7 years has finally overcome her addiction – thanks to hypnosis.
Tallulah Dent, 11, began eating six Yorkshire puddings for dinner every day since she was four years old, and was even served a plate of the puds instead of turkey and vegetables at Christmas.
Her mum, Gemma, 41, says she tried to encourage Tallulah to eat other foods but the schoolgirl says these made her physically ill and she would gag.
"When she came back one day from nursery she just started refusing certain foods," Gemma explains. "She used to eat chicken dippers and that was fine but then one day she refused to eat them because she said they looked different.
"I made everything from scratch for my kids. She used to eat absolutely everything. I thought it was a phase and just thought she would outgrow it but she just point blank refused almost all foods except Yorkshire puddings. She would eat an entire plate of them for dinner."
Gemma says it left her feeling like a ‘bad parent’, and she was worried about her daughter’s health.
"She physically couldn’t put other foods to her lips. You’d see her go red and she’d be shaking, it was horrendous," Gemma explains. "She wanted to try the food but she couldn’t physically not put it near her mouth.
"She used to say, ‘what’s wrong with me, why can’t I eat it?’ She just couldn’t understand why she couldn’t do it. At its worst, she would be having Yorkshire puddings almost every night. The other nights she’d have pancakes or a ham toastie but it was really restrictive."
Eventually, after a plate of chicken and vegetables left her in tears, Tallulah asked her mum if they could seek help.
Tallulah was eventually diagnosed with ARFID, or avoidant-restrictive food intake disorder
She saw a cognitive behavioural psychologist and underwent 12 weeks of intensive hypnotherapy which has left Tallulah trying all sorts of new foods, including salads and roast dinners with all the trimmings.
"I only really liked beige foods and Yorkshire puddings were my absolute favourite," Tallulah says. "I just couldn't get enough of them. I still like them but I want to try different foods too. Now I like peppers and noodles, curry nuts and dried fruit. I've tried boiled eggs and fried eggs too."
The link between hypnotherapy and food
Holistic life and self-development coach Nichola Henderson says hypnotherapy is a "structured therapeutic technique whereby the therapist uses the power of suggestibility to influence the subconscious mind of the client to move towards a positive outcome".
"Our subconscious mind is responsible for most of our habitual patterns and behaviours, therefore, as it works on a subconscious level, it can interrupt patterns of behaviour which are deemed negative," she adds.
"The relationship a person has with food is personal, and has been programmed over a long period of time. Usually, this means there are core beliefs in place which may need to be given some attention. If there are negative patterns that have developed, the therapist can work on reprogramming core beliefs which ultimately will change the clients behaviour, changing their relationship with food, but on a deeper level."
While hypnotherapy can work on everyone, Henderson says that the degree in which is works often varies.
"Everyone is suggestible through the power of language," she adds. "The variety of outcomes varies widely depending on multiple factors, such as belief system and willingness to change."
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