Page 127 - The Ultimate Guidebook for Teens with Food Allergies

Giulia - I think it can sometimes be tough to be confident about your allergies because you are afraid of receiving bad news. For instance, it can be quite defeating to find out that you can’t eat that cupcake that you wanted to try so badly.
How do you overcome insecurities in different allergy-related situations?
Dylan - I overcome insecurities by speaking up for myself. I find that a lot of my insecurities often lie within the ignorance others display about my food allergy. By speaking up and educating others, I can often create a better, allergy-safe environment around me.
Erika - When I feel insecure in allergy-related situations, I remind myself about the potential consequences if I do not speak up. I also think about times when being confident about who I am and trusting myself have helped me stay safe and avoid a reaction.
Giulia - I surround myself with people who understand my allergies. Their support helps me feel confident about myself and my insecurities tend not to emerge as often.
Why is it so important to be confident with allergies and how can it be achieved?
Dylan - I think my life would be more difficult if I weren’t confident about allergies. With confidence in myself and about my allergies, I can do anything I’ve dreamed of doing without worrying that the world is out to get me! I achieve it through baby steps as I educate myself, my friends, and my family. Then I step out and challenge myself by educating teachers and restaurant staff. I don’t think it’s necessary to reach out to everyone. But I find that challenging myself in a safe environment, through learning, is rewarding and helps me gain confidence.
Erika - It is extremely important to be confident when living with food allergies because you are your own best advocate. And there will be times when you need to stand up for yourself. The keys to becoming more confident about your food allergies involve continuing to speak up about them, becoming knowledgeable about them, becoming knowledgeable about how reactions occur, and learning to trust yourself.
Giulia - If you’re not confident, nobody around you will be confident about your ability to take care of yourself either. Confidence is key when it comes to getting people to respect you and understand you.
To wrap it up...