I have issues eating in front of people as well. I just force myself to go to dinner with people from my hall (I live in college dorms) rather than go by myself. After making myself go instead of turning down every dinner invite, it has gotten much easier. It is very hard the first few times. Just do it and I'm 100% nearly positive it'll work. You'll realize it's not as big a deal as you thought.

Absolutely, if and when you feel ready, tackle your fear!

But in the mean time I'd like to say you should not feel ashamed of your quirks. Everyone has phobias, limitations, and other things society looks down upon as weak and unseemly. Ironically, this makes people hide their struggles and shove them in a box instead of seeking support. I'm sure your new guy has a few things he's nervous about you knowing. The important thing is to demand respect and love despite your flaws. SOs can give their opinion respectfully if appropriate, but ultimately they should love you for who you are, limitations and all. You should improve yourself because you want to live a better life, not because you're ashamed of your flaws, and no one should pressure you to take leaps before you're ready.

Though if it comes to a point where you're malnourished, and be honest with yourself if you are, the time for waiting is over. Even if you think you're not in danger, you will never be criticized for being proactive about your health. You're no where near alone and there is support available. A little googling will find you non-judgmental help in your area, and friends or family are usually surprisingly willing to devote time to getting you better, though please leave the real counseling to doctors. It will be rough, but you will make it out a happier person.

I had this phobia too! Until college, I barely ate anything in front of people because I was afraid they would judge me based on how I ate or how much. All it really takes is practice. As Meeps said, you might be really afraid at first, but eventually you will get to the point that you're eating in front of someone and aren't even contemplating anymore about how you're holding your fork, etc. Good luck!

I have a similar issue. I don't really have a problem eating in front of friends and people I know well, but I always feel extremely self-conscious when I'm on the first few dates with someone. Guys would always suggest dinner, and I would change it to a happy hour so I could just sip a beer and if he wanted to eat he could, but then I could avoid eating in front of him.

I find that if I just tell them I feel uncomfortable eating directly across from them, they have no problem with me either sitting next to them or just not eating. Your problem seems more serious, but if it's just a mild phobia, you might try just sitting next to them while you are eating, so they can't see you as easily and you don't feel like you are being put on display.

I used to be really conscious of how i ate in public places because I have really shaky hands. Anything that was tricky to eat or required a fork in the left hand and a knife in the right hand was just a nightmare for me! I started with easy foods that needed less cutting or foods that I could eat with my hands. Now i don't even think twice about it. AND i wear braces. It's one massive dental minefield when I go to a restaurant but sure who really cares? I never look at other people eating because Im usually that hungry Im concentrating on my own food nevermind to look at someone else. The first few times are hard but keep at it and soon you'll see theres nothing to worry about.