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When an organization finds itself in growth mode, it's important to have a team who understands the vision, supports the mission, and is equally dedicated to the purpose. So, as The FAC started focusing on 2023 growth goals, it became time to expand the team. Therefore, I'm SO excited for you to meet The FAC Advisors! These individuals were selected because they are forward-thinking change-makers who are passionate about positively impacting the allergy community. Each bring a variety of talents and are already making a mark in this community, so it's an honor to have them on The FAC team to offer guidance as we continue to expand! Without further ado, let me introduce you to these amazing individuals! To read more about these advisors, and The FAC's mission, visions, values, and story, visit the About The FAC page. Medical Advisor Alice Hoyt, MD is a food allergist who is focused on whole-patient care, and her allergy practice does just that. At The Hoyt Institute for Food Allergy, patients receive individualized care that includes access to an allergy-informed therapist at each step. In addition to her practice, Dr. Hoyt is the co-host of the Food Allergy and Your Kiddo podcast, and the executive director of Code Ana, an organization with a mission of optimizing safety for all students at school. Healthcare Advisor Olga Kagan, PhD, RN is a registered nurse, researcher, and educator with experiences across different healthcare settings inside and outside of the United States. Dr. Kagan has a passion for developing impactful resources and changes within the allergy community. She has been invited to contribute to textbooks, articles, and presentations in areas of healthcare informatics and innovation, health policy, and anaphylaxis education, receiving several awards for her contributions to research and leadership. Behavioral Healthcare Advisors Paige Freeman, PhD is a psychologist and experienced allergy parent. As a PsyPact-approved psychologist, Dr. Freeman is licensed to provide allergy-focused therapeutic services in 30 states via telehealth - and that number continues to grow! She is passionate about educating food allergic individuals (and their families and friends) about the very real psychosocial stressors of managing food allergies, and as such, is a frequent contributor to FARE. Additionally, Dr. Freeman is one of only a few alpha-gal informed mental health providers in the United States.  Lori Moussapour, MA, LCSW is a therapist, coach, consultant and educator. She has both a Masters Degree in Education and a Master of Social Work, as well as years of advanced training in areas such as Emotional Literacy (Yale University Center for Emotional Intelligence), Emotionally Focused Therapy, and Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies. Through her private practice, To Empower U, she focuses on helping people with the social and emotional burdens of living with food allergies. Lori also serves as an advisor to Equal Eats, whose mission is to support eating out safely, despite dietary restrictions, and she leads a peer consultation group for allergy-informed therapits through the Food Allergy Behavioral Health Network. Business Advisor Javier Evelyn is the Founder & CEO of digital health drug delivery company Alerje, where they create and deliver innovation that transforms the lives of over 220M families worldwide living with food allergies to help make every moment count. In addition to being a founding team member of MedTech Color, he currently sits on the boards of the Accelerate Blue Fund at the University of Michigan, MATTER Health, AdvaMed Accel, and the 'Case for Investment' Advisory Committee at Rock Health. Previously, he was named as an awardee of the inaugural Black Founders Fund by Google for Startups, made the 2019 Crain’s Detroit Business 40 Under 40 list, served as the 2017 Google x CODE2040 Detroit EIR, and served as a Millennial Advisory Board Member at First Independence Bank. Community Advisor Francesca Rose has a Bachelor’s degree in Math and Music, and is a freelance cellist and cello instructor. She has served as President of the Utah Food Allergy Network (UFAN) since May 2021, after having served as board secretary from 2018-2021. Her food allergy advocacy journey began 18 years ago when her youngest daughter was born with a food allergy to all milk proteins. Francesca is an active volunteer in her community and church, and cares deeply about helping the world be a better place for everyone. In addition to advocating for safe inclusivity for those with food allergies, she has advocated for women, families, and children at the United Nations and other venues. She is motivated by the belief that serving others through education and advocacy creates positive change in the world. Now that you've learned more about them, you probably understand the excitement about this amazing team of advisors who are helping to guide the growth and expansion of The FAC. So, please help me welcome them all, and I hope you check out their links to learn more about their work within the allergy community! Remember, support is there if you need it! Don't forget to check out the Food Allergy Counselor Directory, the Exploring Food Allergy Families podcast, the Food Allergy Behavioral Health Resource section, and the allergy-specific therapeutic worksheets. And if you're an allergy-informed therapy provider, then visit the Provider page! Don't be shy - reach out and say hi! I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this post and other FAC content. And don't forget to sign up to receive helpful allergy psychosocial tips and updates via email! 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[This is one of those articles that may stir up feelings of anxiety. But remember - anxiety isn't the bad guy (even though it makes us feel uncomfortable) - and it can actually push us towards meaningful change. So harness any anxious feelings you may feel as you read this, and focus on exploring why they're there and how the information presented may help you create a more workable approach to anxiety]. Scrolling through allergy social media accounts, you may have come across posts with the following kinds of messages:
 [Image Source: AmberMB on Pixabay] Do these messages raise your anxiety levels? Do they flip on the pressure to be perfect? Or make you want to curl up in a ball and hide (so you don't have to deal with the possibilities of making mistakes)? These are normal emotional responses to those kind of statements. While messages with these themes mean well - encouraging people to exercise caution and take food allergies seriously - the reality is that they may do more harm than good. Let's explore (3) reasons why these fear-based messages may not be the best approach to relaying the seriousness of food allergies, particularly within the food allergy community itself. 1. They Can Lead To Excessive Anxiety & WorryIncreased anxiety has already been noted, but let's expand on the potential "allergy anxiety domino effect" that fear-based allergy messaging may give way to. Excessive anxiety and worry can lead to avoidance of experiences in order to seek safety. Avoidance of experiences can then lead to even more anxiety due to a lack of confidence in one's ability to manage their allergy without avoiding things. This then reinforces the narrative that life with food allergies is too scary to navigate. And, you guessed it - that tends to translate to even more avoidance. Experiencing some anxiety can actually be useful, often motivating us towards action and change. However, when it becomes excessive, our stress levels rise and our confidence in our ability to manage situations decreases. This is when we tend to feel scared, stuck, and without any control or impact on situations and their outcomes. Therefore, when messages use extreme language and themes, they're likely overshooting their target, leading readers to feel less empowered and more trapped by allergy fears. 2. They Can Lead To Setting Unrealistic ExpectationsSimply put, no one is perfect! That means that mistakes WILL happen. I know that's a scary thought when managing life-threatening food allergies, but it's a thought that is better addressed than avoided. With that said, not every mistake leads to a reaction or anaphylaxis, and that's an important thing to remind yourself. When messages lead us to believe that every mistake ends in catastrophe, our brain interprets that as a threat - we must keep ourselves and/or our child from having an allergic reaction at all costs (including costs to our own well-being). This then triggers a feeling of panic and fight/flight/freeze response. And understandably, that primes us to seek safety by creating an unrealistic safety bubble for fear of making mistakes. That's why fear-based messaging does more harm than good. When we're in fight/flight/freeze mode, our focus is safety, not learning to live with food allergies. If we stay in that mode, we will expect ourselves (and others) to be perfect, never making a mistake - telling ourselves that this an achievable goal. And if a reaction does happen, we may then deal with intense guilt that is fed by this unachievable goal. Yes, our overall goal is to prevent reactions, but it's unhelpful to believe that this is achieved through perfection. It's more useful to accept that there will likely be mistakes - maybe even made by ourselves - and focus on learning how to navigate reactions, should they happen. 3. They Can Lead To Overparenting BehaviorsWhile parenting a food allergic child does require additional stressors that non-allergy parents don't deal with, it's still possible to overparent an allergic child. Overparenting is paved with good intentions, but can result in a child experiencing increased anxiety, inadequate life skills, and a lack of resilience. There's data exploring how maternal distress is an identified risk factor for psychosocial difficulties in youth with food allergy, and restrictive parenting practices can lead to poorer health-related quality of life in this population. And even with allergic children, parents' goals are still to work themselves out of a job. This means that allergy parents should focus on helping themselves grow through each stage of an allergic child's development in order to raise a self-sufficient allergic young adult. Connecting this with the first two points, fear-based messaging tends to lead to the exact opposite by opening the door to excessive anxiety, which then sets the stage for avoidance of experiences, aiming for unrealistic perfection, and overparenting children in order to achieve safety - none of which is helpful. So then how can people express the seriousness of food allergies with less fear-based messaging? Below are (2) helpful tips for developing messages that evoke action and empowerment rather than paralyzing worry and fear: Focus The Message on Building Confidence:
Strike a Balance Within The Message:
Tips For Navigating Fear-Based Messages:If you haven't already, you'll likely come across fear-based allergy messaging online, because, let's face it - food allergies can feel scary! But don't let these kinds of narratives have the power to make you feel inadequate about how you're navigating life with allergies. Here are helpful reminders as you come across fear-based messaging:
[It's important to note that if you and/or your child has experienced an allergic reaction, it may feel harder to disengage from these fear-based messages. Monitor how you're coping after reactions, and if you find it hard to regain daily functioning, discuss this with your allergist and consider reaching out for therapeutic support]. Remember, support is there if you need it! Don't forget to check out the Food Allergy Counselor Directory, the Exploring Food Allergy Families podcast, the Food Allergy Behavioral Health Resource section, and the allergy-specific therapeutic worksheets. And if you're an allergy-informed therapy provider, then visit the Provider page! Don't be shy - reach out and say hi! I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this post and other FAC content. |
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