Cafeterias

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So, I’ve been at my university for over a month now. I’ve become used to the way the dorms are constantly busy, and there are people going everywhere at anytime of the day. I can handle the bathrooms and laundry room. I can make it to class (luckily they’re all small). The only thing I’ve been having trouble with is getting food.

The cafeteria is overwhelming. There are so many people going so many different directions and so much food that I sort of just want to run away and hide in my dorm room. All of the cafeterias are like this, except for the one that is more of a grocery store than a cafeteria, but even that has so many more varieties of food and the smaller isles makes the smaller amount of people look like more and I just hate getting food, anywhere.

In public school I didn’t usually eat in the cafeteria (bad things always seemed to happen to me in cafeterias), or if I did, I ate with my class and there were only a few classes in a given space at any time and it was structured enough that I could handle it. Here it’s like a free for all and I just feel sort of lost and confused in the jumble.

I only eat in the cafeteria when my friends drag me. But even when I go with them I still get overwhelmed by all the people, and by the end of eating with them I just want to crawl off somewhere quiet and take a nap~ even though I probably have schoolwork to be doing.

I’ve tried going during the quieter hours too. Like, I’ll eat at 2:00 and at 7:00 because most people eat before and after that I’ve found. But just being in there where all the people and colors and sounds are (even if they're less during certain times) makes me anxious. Which makes me even more clumsy and prone to dropping things. Like today, I was standing in line and I set down my food to pay for it, and I accidentally knocked my bowl over and my salad went everywhere.

It’s not that any of the staff are mean or anything. I have a friend who works at the grill, and the cashiers are all really nice people. The other students are nice too. The majority of them are anyway. It’s just that there are too many things going on in that one area and I don’t know how to handle it.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with such an overwhelming place? I mean, I’ve tried, I really have, and I want to be able to eat with my friends and have a good time. I’m just afraid of the cafeteria.

And it doesn’t help that it’s an irrational fear. I’ve tried to use logic to make myself less afraid of it, because it’s just a cafeteria and I’ve been in plenty of them. I’ve been eating in them in school situations since I was six years old. Not frequently of course, but enough that I should logically be able to handle this. But that only seems to make it worse because then I feel dumb for being afraid of a stupid cafeteria and hiding under my desk crying about it.

I hated cafeterias for the same reasons.

I had a better reason... I ate there once and was quite ill.

University Cafeteria food is usually similar to the sort of stuff you find in the bottom of garbage bins. Eat someone else.

McDonalds isn't exactly healthy but it's less likely to kill you.

I'm glad I'm not the only one.



Oh dear, cannibalism isn't usually a viable option.

I'm kidding, I get what you're trying to say. The food itself isn't the problem. I'm a college student. I'll eat anything. (I'm kidding...sort of.) But I'm afraid of restaurants almost as much as I'm afraid of the cafeteria. They're also full of people and options and as such overwhelming. Plus they're a lot farther of a run back to my desk. And I never liked going to those as a child either. Actually I didn't really like to leave the house but that's besides the point.

Yeah.. I get that the food isn't really the issue.

We don't have cafeterias in schools in Australia, so we don't get quite the stigma from them.

You might want to consider eating at home and just taking things like Muesli bars to college. I know that's running away from the problem but it will at least give you the option of not going there on particularly stressful days.

Other than that, there's not a lot you can do. You can try reducing the input, (eg: sunnies to cut down light, turned off MP3 player to reduce sound volume etc), and you can try eating at slightly odd hours - as you're already doing. Also, try selecting corner/wall tables.

You're going to have this problem for most of your life, so it's probably worth while that you put some effort into conquering it now. Also, consider buying packaged food which won't make a mess if you drop it.

I live at my university. I can’t eat at home. But once my family realized I wasn’t eating they sent me some food bars like you mentioned. So I can not eat there every day (and I won't simply go without eating like I did the first few weeks), but like you mentioned that’s running away from the problem and it’s a problem I want to try to solve now before I miss the opportunity and become a hermit. That’s a gross exaggeration, but I’m sure you get the idea.

I’ll try reducing the input next time, and steering the group towards a wall. Our cafeteria is actually a circular building, so we don’t have any corners. I kinda wish we did.

I never thought of that. Buying pre-packaged food so it won’t make so much a mess. I’ll try that. Though with my luck I wouldn’t be surprised if it exploded on me anyway.

Thanks for the ideas.

One thing that might help is to go when it is absolutely not busy at all and draw yourself a map of the food service area. Then, check to see if you can get an advance look at the menu before you go to get your food. Your university may have that online, or you may be able to talk to food services and get it as an accommodation for your disability. With this information, you can decide what you are going to get to eat and know where in the food service area to get it. Then you walk in knowing where you are going and don't have to look around everywhere.

You could also look for alternate places to eat your food once you get it. You could get your food in take out containers and go back to your dorm room, or to a more isolated area of the dorm like a study room.

I actually like cafeterias. Mainly because of the BC Ferries cafeterias and the significance thereof (meant we were going on vacation, whee!)

I didn't get cafeteria food in school until University. There was one in the High School but I never used it. I just went over to my Grandma's apartment which was conveniently located right next to the school and got a real lunch

The one at University was awesome because it had such things as rack of lamb dinnerlunch for like, 4 bucks.

The only time I have a 'problem' with Cafeterias is the seating and whether there is enough of it.

Never was cafeteria in my high school..just a student common area and then the students just ate wherever they pleased in the halls or the classrooms...School was too small and too poor (financially) to have a cafeteria.

Red Deer College has a small cafeteria and 2 nice bar and grill places (the farside and the bruin bar).They are all not too big and not too small.A person can have a decent conversation without having to raise their voice...It isnt crowded and I always find that I am able to go find a corner table to sit in off in the distance away from everyone else.I dont like being out in the middle in the open..I like sitting in my own quiet little corner.

Carl's Jr. is even better than McDonald's.

And if a regular restaurant is in my price range, Chili's is the best, but at times they can be just as crowded as the cafeterias.

I put my food in a box today and when I almost dropped it, nothing happened! I’m very happy about that. That was a really good idea gbollard.

There’s no point in getting a menu since the menu never changes, but I like the map idea. I’ll draw up a map and see if that helps. Maybe I can pretend I’m in the map instead of the actual cafeteria when I’m there and it will help. Thanks cowlypso, that’s a really good idea.

I’ve never been to a school so small it doesn’t have a cafeteria, or transportation, or special programs. It would be weird to be in such a small school.