Implementing new diet

Hi,

I’m having a tough time with my health at the moment, it is looking likely I have an autoimmune condition, on top of recently being diagnosed with EDS and being referred for assessment for ADHD. I’m struggling daily with the symptoms and with fear around what the future will hold. I’ve been doing a lot of self coaching and really focusing on allowing myself to feel my emotions.
There is so much I would like to get coached on, but the first thing I would like to bring is about implementing a change in diet. From what I have read, a low histamine diet would be a good place to start and so I am planning on implementing it.
I have had disordered eating (restriction and binging) since a teen, I also more recently have realised I have some sensory sensitivities around food (I particularly hate mushy foods like smoothies or soups). Food is something I look forward to throughout the day, something I share with my husband who does the cooking and loves to make delicious meals. I have strong thoughts about myself and cooking and food prep, including ‘I can’t cook’ and ‘I find cooking stressful’. I find the planning, tracking of time, multiply things to concentrate on and the pressure difficult. Standing in the kitchen does also seem to trigger pain for me, particularly when I’m already in pain from a day at work. I’ve worked hard over the last few year to have a better relationship with food and I have finally got to a place where I don’t obsess over how much I eat or how much I weigh.
I want to give this diet a fair try. I don’t want to approach it from desperation, it is hard not to when there seems very little else out there to help me. I know it will be restrictive, that is the nature of it. It is likely I won’t like the flavour or texture of much of the food – I’ve tried many similar suggestions in the past when ‘slimming’. I’m worried about losing weigh (I am already at my thinnest, from being ill, and really don’t want to lose any more weight). Dealing with other people’s thoughts and feeling on how hard it will be plays into my own worries. I feel quite alone and although I’m looking into a functional medicine practitioner, it is so expensive and my saving are ebbing.

C- Low histamine diet
T- This will be so hard
F- Dread
A- ?? Dread it! Think about all the ways it will be hard. Feel activated and worried.
R- Reinforce thought

I can’t find any ladder thoughts for an intentional model that feel authentic or at all believable.

Many thanks

Answer:

What I am seeing come through in your post is a willingness and a curiosity that you have. When you put each of those feelings in the F line (different models, though!) with the C remaining the same, what thoughts come to surface? Do you notice any that could serve as a ladder thought?
This diet may help you, and it may not (we hope that it helps in all the ways you are looking for!). Either way, if you don’t like the way it makes you feel physically or emotionally, or how it’s impacting your mind and body, you are 100% allowed to reexamine your choice and make another decision about what to do next. The best we can do sometimes, is guess what might be the next best step for us and give it a try. You’ve got this, and we are here in support of you.