We tend to think of diagnosis as a resolution or an end goal, but a chronic illness like food allergies is a journey that is often life-long. Diagnosis is only the first step on the path of learning to cope with the stress of food allergies in your life.
Patricia Fennell, MSW has written several books about the process of adjustment to a chronic illness, from initial health crisis, through stabilization, to resolution and integration of the illness into one’s life. Wherever you are along the path – researching signs and symptoms, newly diagnosed, struggling to learn to read food labels, or fully adapted to your new reality – it helps to just recognize that you are on a journey.
You can’t learn everything there is to know about living with food allergies in a 15 minute doctor visit. It takes time to integrate allergies into your life, and adjust to the new “normal.”
A 2008 review published in Lancet found that there are four strategies that help people mentally adjust to chronic illness and to have better health outcomes. While the studies were not done on people with food allergies, the strategies can still help you adjust to living with food allergies.
- Exercise: Regular physical activity can improve your mood and make you healthier – which then cycles around and improves your mood!
- Express your emotions: Talking or writing about your feelings about your allergies and their impact on your life – both positive and negative - can actually make you physically healthier.
- Manage your allergies: Learning to avoid your trigger foods and stick to your special diet can help you stay healthy. It can also help you be happier overall and better able to cope with the stress of living with allergies.
- Focus on the potential positive outcomes of your allergies: Thinking about positive aspects of your food allergies such as eating healthier foods or having a renewed appreciation of life can help reduce your stress and lead to better health.
It is possible to live a full, active life with food allergies, despite the stress and uncertainty that allergies can cause. Joining a local support group or participating in an online forum can give you space to talk about your experience and meet other people living with food allergies.
Sources:
de Ridder, D., et al. Psychological Adjustment to Chronic Disease. Lancet 372.9634 (2008): 246-55.
Fennell, Patricia A. The Chronic Illness Workbook : Strategies and Solutions for Taking Back Your Life. 2nd ed. Latham, NY: Albany Health Management Pub., 2007.
