At 9 months old, my daughter, Emma, had hives reactions to dairy, eggs and peanuts, and we later found out through blood tests that she was also allergic to tree nuts. In an instant, my world was turned upside down. I was in a dark place of depression and it was truly a time of grief for me. Grief because the life I had envisioned for our family was suddenly taken away. I’m here to tell you that even though I would never wish this life for anyone, it has grown our entire family in ways I never thought possible.
Life is HARD y’all. There is not a single person in this world that doesn’t deal with struggles in their life. I can tell you that our biggest life struggle thus far has been learning to deal and cope with allergies. Let me share with you a few things I’ve learned through this journey:
- I am not in control. This one is tough. I like to be in control of EVERYTHING and allergies make me feel completely out of control. Once I learned how to let go of that control, it has brought me peace. SO much peace. For me it was giving control up to God, but for others, it me be something different. Whatever it is you have to do to get there, DO IT, because you will feel so free!
- Don’t miss out on life. I didn’t even realize how much our lives revolved around food until we were dealing with food allergies. Food is everywhere and part of every occasion and is impossible to avoid. I decided we can either stop living our lives and put Emma in a giant bubble the rest of her life, OR we can learn to work around the food. So for holidays, birthday parties and all events we go to, I always pack food and snacks for Emma. That way she won’t miss out, and we also have peace of mind that what she’s eating is safe!
- Learn to live in the moment. This one goes alongside the whole “control” issue. If I let my mind wonder and worry about the future, I will find myself at the beginning of an anxiety attack. But let me tell you, after you let go of the control issue, you can learn to live each day. Don’t worry about ten years from now, just focus on the right NOW! I’m telling you… it’s a much better place to be in.
Hopefully these tips will allow you to live a fuller life despite allergies. Another thing that helps with living a stress-free allergy life is having amazing companies like Ohh! Foods I will be forever grateful for Ohh!Foods and all the allergy-friendly companies for giving our kids a chance to experience some normalcy. I know these companies go through a lot of obstacles to make sure our kids are safe, and I love that they make delicious snacks that everyone can enjoy!
