A WOMAN who ate nothing but chips for 15 years has finally eaten her first proper meal after she was hypnotised to help her forget her fear of food. By: Sarah Ann Harris Published: Tue, April 15, 2014
Hanna Little is thrilled to finally be able to eat food other than chips[CATERS]
Hanna Little has eaten chips every day since she was just five because she was sick whenever she tried to eat other foods, leaving her terrified of every meal.
The 20-year-old suffers from severe Selective Eating Disorder (SED) which, until recently, completely controlled her life.
Hanna, from Truro, Cornwall, would suffer anxiety attacks at the thought of eating new foods and could never eat with friends, having to check menus before she ate out anywhere.
She said: "Refusing foods started when I developed colic as a baby - I've had SED for as long as I can remember - I never really knew what scared me about new food.
"Different foods terrified me, it made me physically sick and anxious and I never knew how I would react.
"I would go to parties, picnics and barbecues with my friends but I would never be able to eat anything.
"I think I can eat chips because they're just plain - it was the idea of different flavours mixing together which really freaked me out.
"I could manage a slice of dry toast for breakfast, but lunch and dinner every day always had to be chips.
"Now I can eat whatever I like - my favourite food is pizza - I could never have imagined being able to eat it before the treatment but now I love it.
Lauren was able to eat chips because they are so plain [CATERS]
Different foods terrified me, it made me physically sick and anxious and I never knew how I would react
Hanna Little
"When I was old enough to date I went to my boyfriend's house for dinner but I hadn't told him about my SED.
"His mum made me an incredible pasta bake meal and I couldn't eat a bite of it - I pretended that I was allergic to tomato sauce - it was so embarrassing.
"Everyone I spoke to had no idea what it was and just thought I was odd - I didn't find out about SED until I was 16."
Hanna finally decided enough was enough when she had to quit her factory job because she kept passing out due to her limited diet.
But she was thrilled when, after just one hypnotherapy session, she was able to eat her first proper meal – pizza – in more than a decade.
She was treated by psychologist and clinical hypnotist Felix Economakis, at The Heath therapy clinic in North London.
Mr Economakis said: "SED is usually caused by a trauma associated with food - it is often something that has happened as a baby that the patient has no conscious memory of.
"The fear of food stems from this trauma and the anxiety associated with it.
"By unlocking the subconscious I can get the patient to process the past and learn to let go of the fear - de-traumatising the experience.
Hanna is no longer terrified of other foods and is enjoying trying new things [CATERS]
"The hypnosis process takes just over an hour and at the end of the session Hanna was able to try several types of new food without anxiety.
"The results of the therapy are immediately measurable and with 90 per cent of the SED patients I have worked, hypnosis treatment has been incredibly effective."
Hanna is relieved to finally be able to try new foods without feeling constant panic.
She said: "I'd seen so many dieticians and psychologists before I went to Heath for hypnotherapy but nothing had worked.
"I could feel my health deteriorating worse than before and I knew I had to do something about it - that's when I met Felix and he told me about hypnotherapy treatments.
"The first thing I ate after the hypnotherapy was a mango - it was so sweet and delicious and it is now my favourite fruit.
"The hypnotherapy treatment was amazing, I was so restricted before and now I can live a normal life.
"I feel so much healthier and I am putting weight on - I have so much more energy and I feel much happier."
Hanna Little is thrilled to finally be able to eat food other than chips[CATERS]
Hanna Little has eaten chips every day since she was just five because she was sick whenever she tried to eat other foods, leaving her terrified of every meal.
The 20-year-old suffers from severe Selective Eating Disorder (SED) which, until recently, completely controlled her life.
Hanna, from Truro, Cornwall, would suffer anxiety attacks at the thought of eating new foods and could never eat with friends, having to check menus before she ate out anywhere.
She said: "Refusing foods started when I developed colic as a baby - I've had SED for as long as I can remember - I never really knew what scared me about new food.
"Different foods terrified me, it made me physically sick and anxious and I never knew how I would react.
"I would go to parties, picnics and barbecues with my friends but I would never be able to eat anything.
"I think I can eat chips because they're just plain - it was the idea of different flavours mixing together which really freaked me out.
"I could manage a slice of dry toast for breakfast, but lunch and dinner every day always had to be chips.
"Now I can eat whatever I like - my favourite food is pizza - I could never have imagined being able to eat it before the treatment but now I love it.
Lauren was able to eat chips because they are so plain [CATERS]
Different foods terrified me, it made me physically sick and anxious and I never knew how I would react
Hanna Little
"When I was old enough to date I went to my boyfriend's house for dinner but I hadn't told him about my SED.
"His mum made me an incredible pasta bake meal and I couldn't eat a bite of it - I pretended that I was allergic to tomato sauce - it was so embarrassing.
"Everyone I spoke to had no idea what it was and just thought I was odd - I didn't find out about SED until I was 16."
Hanna finally decided enough was enough when she had to quit her factory job because she kept passing out due to her limited diet.
But she was thrilled when, after just one hypnotherapy session, she was able to eat her first proper meal – pizza – in more than a decade.
She was treated by psychologist and clinical hypnotist Felix Economakis, at The Heath therapy clinic in North London.
Mr Economakis said: "SED is usually caused by a trauma associated with food - it is often something that has happened as a baby that the patient has no conscious memory of.
"The fear of food stems from this trauma and the anxiety associated with it.
"By unlocking the subconscious I can get the patient to process the past and learn to let go of the fear - de-traumatising the experience.
Hanna is no longer terrified of other foods and is enjoying trying new things [CATERS]
"The hypnosis process takes just over an hour and at the end of the session Hanna was able to try several types of new food without anxiety.
"The results of the therapy are immediately measurable and with 90 per cent of the SED patients I have worked, hypnosis treatment has been incredibly effective."
Hanna is relieved to finally be able to try new foods without feeling constant panic.
She said: "I'd seen so many dieticians and psychologists before I went to Heath for hypnotherapy but nothing had worked.
"I could feel my health deteriorating worse than before and I knew I had to do something about it - that's when I met Felix and he told me about hypnotherapy treatments.
"The first thing I ate after the hypnotherapy was a mango - it was so sweet and delicious and it is now my favourite fruit.
"The hypnotherapy treatment was amazing, I was so restricted before and now I can live a normal life.
"I feel so much healthier and I am putting weight on - I have so much more energy and I feel much happier."
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