Food Allergy Awareness Week Day 4: Food Allergy Anxiety Resources

Day 4: Food Allergy Anxiety Resources

Anxiety isn't necessarily a bad emotion. 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 and other evidence-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.

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

• Self-Help: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - (adult article)

• CBT Articles & Videos - (adult articles/videos)

• Managing Worry & Anxiety for Kids - (children's video)

• Fight, Flight or Freeze - (children's video)
  

Resources for Children/Preteens/Teens:

• 5 Tips for Parents of Kids w/Food Allergy Anxiety - (article) 

• What to Do When You Worry Too Much -Dawn Huebner, PhD - (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)

• 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 their 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
  

UPDATED TO ADD

• The Latest Food Allergy Anxiety Resources (FAC blog, 10/19)

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