{"id":557236,"date":"2026-06-27T17:09:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T17:09:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/557236\/"},"modified":"2026-06-27T17:09:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T17:09:31","slug":"hypnotherapy-cures-food-phobic-who-only-ate-potatoes-for-40-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/557236\/","title":{"rendered":"Hypnotherapy cures food phobic who only ate potatoes for 40 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"SWNS\"
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

A mom who could only eat potatoes, chips and mash for 40 years has been cured thanks to hypnosis<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rachel Hall, 42, could not stand eating fruit or vegetables<\/a> and would physically gag if she put them near her mouth.<\/p>\n

The only foods she could stomach were jacket potatoes, mash and chips with the occasional chicken breast.<\/p>\n

The mom-of-two would go through sacks of potatoes every month and even ate a plate of mash for Christmas dinner<\/a> and birthday meals.<\/p>\n

A mom who could only eat potatoes, chips and mash for 40 years has been cured thanks to hypnosis. James Linsell Clark \/ SWNS<\/p>\n

Rachel Hall, 42, could not stand eating fruit or vegetables and would physically gag if she put them near her mouth. James Linsell Clark \/ SWNS<\/p>\n

The only foods Rachel could stomach were jacket potatoes, mash and chips with the occasional chicken breast. James Linsell Clark \/ SWNS<\/p>\n

She said, \u201cPeople can\u2019t believe it when I tell them the only thing I ate were potatoes until I was 42.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t so much that I loved potatoes or was hooked on them, in fact I found them quite dull.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was more that I had a phobia about almost every other type of food and had a high gag reflex which made it almost impossible to swallow new foods.<\/p>\n

Rachel is pictured eating a baked potato. Rachel Hall \/ SWNS<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a real phobia of choking and if I put anything, like fruit or vegetables<\/a>, near my mouth I\u2019d start gagging.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy parents told me I was a fussy eater and I\u2019d grow out of it but I never did.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d eat potatoes in any form so I\u2019d eat chips, jacket potatoes, roasties and piles of mash heaped onto my plate day after day.<\/p>\n

Rachel is pictured as a child. Rachel Hall \/ SWNS<\/p>\n

\u201cI liked potatoes because they are safe. They are boring and bland \u2013 the idea of flavor or spice really scared me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The teaching assistant, who also runs her own cleaning company, first developed her food phobias when she was weaned on solids as a toddler.<\/p>\n

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She said, \u201cIt started when I was a really small child.<\/p>\n

\u201cApparently I would spit out baby food from a jar and just close my mouth and shake my head.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery birthday I\u2019d ask my mom for a birthday cake but I never ate a single bite.<\/p>\n

One of Rachel\u2019s meals is pictured. Rachel Hall \/ SWNS<\/p>\n

\u201cI liked looking at it but the idea of eating cake made me feel sick.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d just stick to my safe foods which were mainly potatoes. If I was at friends\u2019 houses, I\u2019d have chips or if not then I wouldn\u2019t eat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rachel decided to tackle her food issues earlier this year after her GP told her she had high cholesterol<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hypnotist David Kilmurry is pictured. SWNS<\/p>\n

She contacted cognitive behavioral hypnotherapist David Kilmurry and was diagnosed with ARFID<\/a> \u2013 avoidant-restrictive food intake disorder.<\/p>\n

Rachel, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, said, \u201cWhen I was told I had high cholesterol because I\u2019d eaten potatoes and chips I knew I had to take action once and for all.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was also getting me down just eating potatoes day in day out. I wanted to experience colorful exciting flavors but just didn\u2019t know how.<\/p>\n

Rachel, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, said, \u201cWhen I was told I had high cholesterol because I\u2019d eaten potatoes and chips I knew I had to take action once and for all. James Linsell Clark \/ SWNS<\/p>\n

\u201cI was also desperate to try fruit for the first time without gagging.\u201d<\/p>\n

After undergoing eight hypnotherapy sessions, Rachel has now been able to enjoy fruit, veg and healthy chicken casserole for the first time.<\/p>\n

Rachel said, \u201cSince overcoming phobia I\u2019ve tried so many different foods. I love bananas<\/a> and strawberries<\/a>.<\/p>\n

After undergoing eight hypnotherapy sessions, Rachel has now been able to enjoy fruit, veg and healthy chicken casserole for the first time. James Linsell Clark \/ SWNS<\/p>\n

\u201cThe other day I had my first ever egg and cress sandwich and it was delicious.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel amazing and it makes me feel good that I\u2019m eating healthily and I\u2019m full of energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hypnotherapist David, who runs clinics in Coventry and in London\u2019s Harley Street, said, \u201cI am so proud of Rachel for not only conquering her food phobia but inspiring other adult food phobics.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more common than we might think and many suffer in silence with no straightforward answers.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A mom who could only eat potatoes, chips and mash for 40 years has been cured thanks to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":557237,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[274],"tags":[18,9219,135,238343,19,17,3521,462,227339,92,5248],"class_list":["post-557236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-medication","tag-eire","tag-fruit","tag-health","tag-hypnotic","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-lifestyle","tag-medication","tag-phobias","tag-therapy","tag-vegetables"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116823181013015112","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=557236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557236\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/557237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=557236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=557236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=557236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}