The whole of Vincent Rankila’s childhood was characterized by the fight against a rare eating disorder. He experienced special scents, flavors and textures as extremely disgusting while adults stamped him as “picky”.
– Throughout my upbringing, I have wondered what is wrong with me and why it is just me who can’t eat like everyone else, he says.
He describes it as an “extremely unpleasant feeling” when he tests a certain type of food. The body also reacts strongly, usually with suffocations, but in the worst case vomiting. Adults in his vicinity believed that the problems would disappear over the years – but it was not. Several years later, it turned out that he was suffering from the rare selective eating disorder inheritance.
– Everyone saw me as picky. But it receives as much for me to eat a regular dish, as it does for others if they were to eat worms and soil.
Strong social press
It is above all the social press that contributes to the unpleasant feelings about certain food.
– It is a strong social pressure around the dining table, you should eat like others and not leave food. If you are picky you get very degraded, it became a great shock to me as a teenager when expectations increased extremely, it is not really someone who prepares yet for this, he says.
The diagnosis is fairly unknown, it got its name twelve years ago and is relatively unexplored. During Vincent Rankila’s upbringing he did not even know that it existed, and even today he describes it as “invisible”.
– I have been sent to various dietitians and psychologists. If you are looking for care, it is like a Russian roulette to find someone who even knows what it is, and even though you do, it is not certain that you get help, he says.
Lisa Denkler is researching the aging to create a greater understanding of the disease. In a previous article, she also describes that more research is needed and that “the children are themselves in their suffering and sent around with the care”.
¨I am a research object
Vincent Ranklia has taken the matter into her own hands to spread knowledge about her illness. He writes a book called “A picky leash” and has trained as a social educator. On his Tiktok platform, he also tells about his experiences and sometimes shows when he challenges himself by testing food.
– I usually call myself a research object. I myself have developed over time to the extent possible and have worked with my eating disorder for the past five years, he says.
Recently he went on a longer trip to Thailand to see how his eating disorder would react when his usual diet was not nearby.
– Asian food is long what I eat usually. It felt great to dare to explore myself in so many parts.
So manage to children with arrid
Vincent Rankila’s three best advice for parents and relatives of children with a selective eating disorder.
1. Separate exercise and hunger
– When exercising to try new food, it should not be at dinner or lunch when eating properly. You will not get everything and not be measured either. I strongly recommend eating a normal meal first and then try a little less of food that you are not used to.
2. Never take in compulsion
– Coercion only exacerbates the diagnosis. It should be open to the person to try for yourself. Instead, create curiosity about food at an early age, it will give the person the opportunity to open their food routes.
3. Normalize
– It is very important with information about the diagnosis, as with ADHD and dyslexia. It creates more normalization and an accepted view of it. Many people do not know what the disease is for something or how to help those who have the problem. One should be accepting and respectful, always, no matter what someone eats.