Eating · Exposure
Fear Food Hierarchy
A 12-rung ladder for reintroducing avoided foods
Eating-disorder recovery means re-introducing foods that anxiety has ruled out. List them, rate the fear (0–10), and reintroduce in order — easiest first. The goal isn't to love every food. It's to eat it without negotiating with anxiety first.
The fear under the food
Who I'm doing this with (support)
#
Food
Fear
Tried
Repeated
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
Hardest at top (12). Climb in order. Repeat each food until fear drops by half.
After an exposure
What I ate, and where
Fear at the first bite
nonemost
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Fear 30 minutes later
nonemost
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
What I learned (did the feared thing happen?)