Orthorexia and Arfid: Woman has hypnosis for junk food phobia and now eats burgers as 'medicine'

Amy Doyle went from scoffing chips daily at university to being too terrified to eat any processed foods after she was misdiagnosed with cancer and diabetes. An increasing desire to manage symptoms via diet and a determination not to be hospitalised saw the 30-year-old eliminate many food groups. This left 5ft 6in Amy fearful of foods she didn't consider safe and when confronted with them she would shake, scream and cry. Amy would only eat plain chicken, vegetables, potatoes and pasta - and so was unable to eat most foods, including the beloved junk food she'd eaten every day at university.

The size 8 runner's weight rapidly plummeted over three years from 2021 leaving her a shocking size 0 and weighing just 5st, which doctors mistakenly believed was caused by anorexia. Campaign manager Amy was even banned from going on holiday by concerned medical staff who feared her heart would give out while flying.

Faced with the prospect of being detained under the Mental Health Act, Amy searched for help online and found articles about how hypnotherapist David Kilmurry had helped others. Amy, who was signed off work for six months, said that after just one Zoom session in August 2024 she had sausage and mash for the first time in years.

On her first trip to the Harley Street clinic weeks later, she was confronted with a beef burger and fries and was stunned to find she was able to sink her teeth into it. Amy admits she's still in the early stages of overcoming her orthorexia and Arfid but is now able to eat a more varied diet. Orthorexia is a proposed condition - not being officially recognised yet - of being preoccupied by the health value of food rather than eating for pleasure - paradoxically an obsession with health like this can become unhealthy. Arfid is Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, in which people dramatically limit the amount they eat.

Despite previously fearing fat and sugar-laden treats, Amy is now able to indulge in moderation, branding chips, ice-cream, chocolate, burgers and pizza her medicine. Footage shows Amy on her 30th birthday chomping down on a burger while out for dinner with her mum encouraging her from behind the camera.

Amy, from Loughton, Essex, said: “Growing up I was also absolutely fine, I never had any interest in losing weight. I was a very successful athlete running for my county, I did half-marathons and was very sporty. I went to uni and again was absolutely fine, I ate burgers, pizzas and chips every night and I was still slender. I could eat what I wanted growing up, I've never reached over a size 8 in my life.

“In my fourth year of uni I became more conscious of what I ate because other people were, I was swayed by that. I then had a random lump that appeared on my neck out of nowhere and I went through so many investigations.

“It was terrifying because they said 'we think it's probably a lymphoma'. In the end they still don't know what it is. During investigations they also misdiagnosed me with diabetes so I was then put on a program where I had to cut back on fats and high cholesterol. I was just trying to do everything I was being told to do to stay out of hospital.”

Amy developed orthorexia and Arfid but was being treated as though she had anorexia for nine months, with treatment never dealing with the root cause of her food fear.

Amy said: “I just spiralled and became so over the top with I can't eat that - I became so scared. I was fearful and cutting everything out meant that I lost more and more weight.

“I was at the stage at every meal that if I was faced with something that I wasn't comfortable with then I would shake, scream and cry. I had a phobia of eating things like burgers. At my age it was so embarrassing to have that fear of food, my parents didn't know what to do. Everyone thought ‘oh she's trying to lose weight’ but I never would, I hate being skinny. I went down to a size 0 with a BMI of 13 at my lowest, it was terrifying. It wasn't just the food aspect, there were also the medical reasons causing further weight loss. They said you're not going on holiday, on a plane, your heart could stop at any minute.”

Amy, who's able to enjoy more varied food again, credits Dr Kilmurry's sessions for helping her overcome her severe phobia and urges anyone in the same situation to seek help.

Amy said: “I went to an eating disorder unit because I didn't know where else to turn to. I couldn't gain weight, they were treating me like an anorexic patient and that made me worse. I had to move back home with my parents because I was just too poorly, I could barely walk. We reached out to David and he basically jumped in and took me under his wing. I felt comfortable right from the start. After one Zoom session I had sausage and mash for the first time in years. My parents couldn't believe it because that was a huge fear food for me.

“He had me in a therapy session once and had me eating a burger and chips after. It was the first time I'd had anything like that in five years. I felt so empowered, it was a massive relief. I was like ‘it didn't kill me’. If anything, a burger is my medicine. I can have crisps now and realise that's medicine for me, anything is as it's fuelling me.”

Now on the road to recovery, Amy credits working with Dr Kilmurry for helping her and urges anyone in a similar predicament to seek help. Amy said: “There's always help and support out there. I would advise anyone who's a bit sceptical to give it a go, there's nothing to lose. I was sceptical myself but your brain is clever and you can adapt. You can move on from that. Be mindful of any misdiagnosis that if you feel it's not right, you're accountable for your own help, seek the right advice you need.”

Cognitive behavioural hypnotherapist Dr Kilmurry said: “It's not every day that I take lower-nutrition burger meals to Harley Street but today was that day. Knowing how far we'd come online I confidently presented it to Amy immediately after she opened her eyes from the empowerment hypnosis and thankfully Amy tucked in. Unfortunately orthorexia and Arfid are regularly misdiagnosed as anorexia despite sufferers having had no body image issues or previous issues.

“Amy wanted to put weight back on and lived a normal life until the misdiagnosis started. I'm honoured to have played a small part in Amy's recovery and wish her well as she reintegrates back into normality as a healthy young city girl with the world at her feet.”