Category: Food Allergy Management

Food Allergy Awareness Week Day 6: Fight Food Allergy Fears

5/17/2019

Day 6: Fight Food Allergy Fears w/Facts

(If sharing this image, please be sure the logo is visible and The Food Allergy Counselor and/or Tamara Hubbard, LCPC are credited)

Fear is a present-oriented basic emotion that typically occurs as a response to a real or perceived danger/threat. Threats can be from:

Current situations that are perceived as dangerous or distressing
Disturbing thoughts, feelings, or memories occurring inside of you

Fear is often associated with a sudden onset of central nervous system changes, such as rapid heart rate, elevated blood pressure, breathlessness or dizziness. Additionally, when someone feels fear, they're typically more hyper-focused on the things which elicit the fear. Fear is a perfectly normal and adaptive emotion under most circumstances, as it can motivate and prepare someone to fight or flee a dangerous situation. However, when fear increases to levels which negatively impact daily life, is present in the absence of threats, or causes excessive avoidance behaviors, it's no longer a healthy level of fear. Constant elevated levels of fear can throw even the most limber person off-balance!

When managing food allergies, real and perceived threats pop up often, sometimes daily. Additionally, it's common to be thinking about potential food allergy threats even when not currently dealing with one. So what can people do to help tame and manage food allergy fears?

One Tool To Fight Food Allergy Fears Is...KNOWLEDGE!

Is it truly that simple - knowledge takes care of food allergy fears? No. However, knowledge is an important tool in the Food Allergy Fear Tool Kit individuals and families need to build in order to fight back against and ultimately manage fear levels.

Other crucial tools needed in the Food Allergy Fear Tool Kit:

Psycho-education to develop an understanding of anxiety and fear
Self-monitoring skills to gain insight into thoughts, feelings, behaviors
Thought-reframing techniques (i.e. thought challenging, self-talk, reality testing)
Problem-solving skills to navigate tough scenarios and decisions
Relaxation skills for moments of intense emotion effecting both mind/body

For the purpose of this article, let's focus on building your knowledge tool. One caveat that needs to be made about this tool is that you want to be sure that it is formed primarily with material that is evidenced-based in nature. That is, the information comes from reputable sources within the food allergy community, such as allergists, healthcare professionals, or well-respected food allergy organizations or groups. (While information gleaned from health support groups can be valuable, it's best to confirm information with your personal allergist and evidence-based resources).

Below are four links to information addressing common fear-producing topics, as well as a general list of reputable food allergy information sources.

Fear of Actual Use of Epinepherine: This Twitter thread from Dr. George du Toit explores the concept of patients electing to practice self-administration of their epinepherine autoinjector at their allergist's office as a means to decrease/demystify the fear surrounding what it might feel like. (This practice can be very empowering. Discuss/plan with your personal allergist).
Random Hives - Are They from Exposure to an Allergen?: Dr. Dave Stukus shared a handy chart during a food allergy Twitter chat that explains the main factors and timing to help determine if hives are food allergy-related or not.
When and For What Symptoms to Use Epinepherine: Even with the Emergency Action Plan we receive and review with our allergist, there's often hesitation and confusion around when and for what symptoms to use epinepherine. Dr. Brian Schroer did an amazing job explaining answers to these questions via a fire analogy. This is a must-read!
Best Practices for Diagnosing a Food Allergy: Diagnosing a food allergy isn't always straight forward. In fact, with all of the information needed to make an accurate diagnosis - blood tests, skin prick tests, instances of eating the allergen, and reaction history - it's a bit like putting a puzzle together. Dr. Dave Stukus, who aims to dispel food allergy/immunology-related myths, shares how he diagnoses a food allergy, in a step-by-step tutorial. He also highlights testing and actions he doesn't take, as they often prove more harmful than helpful.

Reputable Food Allergy Information Sources:

In case you missed the other Food Allergy Awareness Week mental health-focused tips, find them via links here: Day 1 & 2 (FA Support Groups & FA Mindset); Day 3: FA Thinking Errors Connected w/Anxiety; Day 4: Food Allergy Anxiety Resources; Day 5: Problem-Solving Method When Fear Rules Your Mind

If you find yourself needing support for food allergy-related psychosocial impacts, locate a food allergy-knowledgeable clinical behavioral healthcare provider
via the Food Allergy Counselor Directory.

Follow/connect on social media!
Twitter: @TamaraTweets
Instagram: @Counselor_Tamara
Facebook: Tamara Hubbard, LCPC
FABHA / FAC Directory Facebook: Food Allergy Counselor
FABHA Twitter: @FoodAllergyBHA

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Food Allergy Awareness Week Day 5: Problem-Solving w/Food Allergy Fear

5/16/2019

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Day 5: The I.D.E.A.L Method

Imagine this scenario.....

Your daughter comes home from the first day of school saying she made a new friend, and she's been invited to the friend's house to play the next day.

You're thrilled that she's made a new friend and has a smile ear-to-ear. BUT, you've never let her go to a friend's house without you, let alone to someone's house whose mother you've not yet met. You want to let her go and play, but your fear is keeping you hostage. The "what ifs" are playing loud and on repeat in your head, making it hard for you to think straight!

When you need to make a decision, but your emotions are taking over, having a problem-solving tool to help navigate the scenario can be beneficial.

That's where the I.D.E.A.L. Method comes in! This technique helps define the main problem in a situation, and guides you through creating and evaluating solutions. Essentially, it helps you look at things more objectively.

Applying the I.D.E.A.L. Method to the scenario above might look like this....

IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM:
(Describe it with detail - have you had similar scenarios before?)

You might say “I’m too scared to let my child go to a play date at a new friend's house, but she really wants to go, and I would like to let her, if I could just get past the worry.”

DEFINE YOUR GOALS:
(What would you like to happen? You’ll need to sort through the feelings in order to make a tangible goal)

You might say “I need to determine if there’s true risk for her playing at her friend’s house, and I need to decide whether I can become comfortable with her going. Also, should I stay the whole time? What things need to be in place for me to feel okay with this?"

EXPLORE POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS:
(What solutions are there? Which is best? Is it safe? List the pro/cons of each).

I can talk to the mom ahead of time about safe foods, how to use epi, and let my daughter go and stay without me
I can talk to the mom ahead of time and stay for the first 15 minutes until my daughter and I both feel comfortable, then leave
We can invite her new friend to play at our house

ACT ON IT:
(Pick one of the solutions and try it)

I talked to the mom ahead of time about my daughter’s allergy, packed our own snacks, reviewed the epi pen with the mom, and stayed for the first 15 minutes until my daughter and I were both comfortable enough for me to leave.

LOOK BACK:
(Did it work? If not, what will you do differently next time?)

Benefits of the I.D.E.A.L. Method....

This is an easy-to-use tool that you can use yourself, teach to your child/teen, or even use as a family when there's a decision needing to be made;
It aids in balancing the emotions and the facts - essentially helping you become "unstuck".
By using this tool, it helps decrease the power of the fearful emotions, and increase the focus on where you DO have control or impact in a situation.

(If sharing this image, please be sure the logo is visible and The Food Allergy Counselor and/or Tamara Hubbard, LCPC are credited)

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Food Allergy Awareness Week Day 4: Food Allergy Anxiety Resources

5/15/2019

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Day 4: Food Allergy Anxiety Resources

Anxiety isn't necessarily a bad feeling. Neither is stress. They can be useful feelings, driving us to problem-solve, power through roadblocks, or evaluate risk/safety levels in any given scenario.

However, when we assign a negative meaning to it, that's when we interpret it as an emotion that drags us down. If we find ourselves feeling overwhelmed with anxiety or stress, find that it's negatively impacting our daily lives, or that it's leading to avoidance behaviors and the inability to function with balance, then it may be time to reach out to a licensed clinical behavioral health or counseling professional.

But if you're looking for ways to address these emotions on your own, below is a brief, yet comprehensive list of CBT-based resources to help kids/teens and adults/parents learn how to manage anxiety related to food allergies, asthma, eczema, or EoE. While not food allergy-specific, these concepts and resources are still useful in this context. (Find additional Food Allergy Mental Health-Related Resources here).

General Resources About Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) & Anxiety:

Self-Help: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - (adult article) - Anxiety Canada
CBT Articles & Videos - (adult articles/videos) - Anxiety Canada
Managing Worry & Anxiety for Kids - (children's video) - Flocabulary
Fight, Flight or Freeze - (children's video) - Anxiety Canada

Resources for Children/Preteens/Teens:

5 Tips for Parents of Kids w/Food Allergy Anxiety - (article)
Written by Tamara Hubbard, MA LCPC
What to Do When You Worry Too Much -Dawn Huebner, PhD - (workbook) Hands-on workbook for kids 6-12 years old and their parent/caregiver
Outsmarting Worry by Dawn Huebner, PhD - (workbook) - For 9-13 y.o.
Child Therapist's Favorite Resources for Calming Anxiety in Kids - (list)List of kid-tested strategies used by child therapists for calming anxiety
Canada Anxiety Youth - (website) - Multiple resources for teens
Anxiety in Youth - (article & video for teens) - Anxiety Canada
My Anxiety Plan (MAP) for Children & Teens - (learning module)
My Anxiety Plan (MAP) is an anxiety management program based on cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) offered by Anxiety Canada. Within these modules, you and your child will learn about anxious thoughts/feelings/behaviors, how to identify them, how to address them, and calming strategies. It provides parents/caretakers with actionable items to implement with your child or teen.

Resources for Adults:

The Happiness Trap: How to Stop Struggling & Start Living by Russ Harris - (book) - This empowering book presents the insights and techniques of ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy - an extension of CBT), a revolutionary new psychotherapy based on cutting-edge research in behavioral psychology.
Mindfulness & Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety by Forsyth/Eifert, PhD - (workbook) - This ACT-based self-help workbook helps adults become unstuck from their anxiety/fear, and learn how to move towards an emotional balance.
My Anxiety Plan (MAP) for Adults - (learning module)
My Anxiety Plan (MAP) is an anxiety management program based on cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) offered by Anxiety Canada. It is designed to provide adults struggling with anxiety with practical strategies and tools to manage anxiety. MAP includes 6 easy to navigate units with 45 lessons.

Resource for Parents:

WEBINAR by Tamara Hubbard, MA, LCPC:
Parenting w/Food Allergies: Understanding Anxiety & Developing Resilient Mindset
(Find an easy-to-share PDF w/embedded links to resources related to this webinar below):

Parenting w/Food Allergies: Understanding Anxiety & Building a Resilient Mindset (clickable PDF))
File Size:	129 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

**UPDATED TO ADD**
The Latest Food Allergy Anxiety Resources (FAC blog, 10/19)

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Food Allergy Awareness Week Day 6: Fight Food Allergy Fears

Day 6: Fight Food Allergy Fears w/Facts

One Tool To Fight Food Allergy Fears Is...KNOWLEDGE!

Food Allergy Awareness Week Day 5: Problem-Solving w/Food Allergy Fear

Day 5: The I.D.E.A.L Method

Food Allergy Awareness Week Day 4: Food Allergy Anxiety Resources

Day 4: Food Allergy Anxiety Resources

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