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Destiny Davis, the Chronic Illness Therapist, joins me to discuss the powerful connection between attachment styles and coping mechanisms for managing food allergy anxiety and trauma. Together, we explore how attachment patterns—secure, anxious, avoidant, and disorganized—influence emotional regulation and stress responses in individuals with food allergies and those caring for them.

The conversation explores how understanding one’s attachment style can help build healthier coping strategies, improve relationships, and reduce anxiety in challenging situations like allergen exposure and medical trauma. Destiny also provides practical tips for parents and individuals to recognize their attachment styles and effective tips for managing anxiety.

Destiny offers clinical insight and accessible advice for anyone looking to deepen their self-awareness and enhance their coping skills, whether they are managing food allergies themselves or supporting a loved one.

Episode Highlights:
-Attachment styles and our coping skills
-Mindfulness
-ACE strategy from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): Acknowledge/Accept, Come back into my body, Engage with the world/my values
-Brene Brown: FFT (the [Fricking] First Time)
Quotes:

1. "Pay attention to what your symptoms are without trying to make meaning" (a.k.a., constantly searching for THE diagnosis.)
2. “Mindfulness is not a way to cure your anxiety. It’s a way to pay attention to your anxiety.”
3. “Typically, if you are the type of person that fearfully moves toward a problem, you are likely more anxiously attached. And if you fearfully move away from problems, you're more avoidantly attached. Securely attached is when you know how to ebb and flow and move toward and away as appropriate, and there's not a lot of anxiety with it. It's more just a feeling of sureness and calmness...Fight is moving toward a problem, flight is moving away."

Action steps:

1. Listen to the Chronic Illness Therapist Podcast: Podcast links — The Chronic Illness Therapist
2. Go to Destiny’s website for groups and other opportunities: The Chronic Illness Therapist
3. Check out Brene Brown’s work: Brené Brown (brenebrown.com) (I highly recommend starting with the book Atlas of the Heart)

#FoodAllergyAnxiety #AnxietyRelief #TraumaRecovery #AttachmentStyles #CopingSkills

Special thanks to Kyle Dine for permission to use his song The Doghouse for the podcast theme. www.kyledine.com

You can find Dr. Whitehouse at www.DrAmandaWhitehouse.com
or on Facebook (Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, Food Allergy Anxiety Psychologist)

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In our summer book club, meet children’s book author Emily Reed, who channeled her own anxiety about her son’s food allergies into a book to teach him confidence and self-advocacy. Emily and I dive deep into her journey as a mother navigating the complexities of having two kids with food allergies and FPIES, the fears and guilt that come with it, and how she channeled those emotions into creativity and advocacy. We discuss the role of literature as a powerful tool in transforming anxiety into empowerment for both parents and children.

Mentioned in this episode:

Red Sneakers For Oakley

Home - Allison Rose Foundation

Big, Brave Voice: Advice for Children Living with Food Allergies a book by Emily A. Reed (bookshop.org)

Email Emily at bigbravevoice@gmail.com

FREEBIE:
For my free food allergy book recommendation printable go to www.DrAmandaWhitehouse.com/

Special thanks to Kyle Dine for permission to use his song The Doghouse for the podcast theme. www.kyledine.com

You can find Dr. Whitehouse at www.DrAmandaWhitehouse.com
or on Facebook (Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, Food Allergy Anxiety Psychologist)

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Food Allergy Bravery Clinic | Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (chop.edu)

What is Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)?:
Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder - NEDA (nationaleatingdisorders.org)

Three things:

1. After Anaphylaxis resource: Cards (mountsinai.org)

2. Tell your story to a safe, trusted person, all the way through to the point of conclusion and return to safety

3. Epi Experts group starting 8/21/24: www.DrAmandaWhitehouse.com/epi-experts-group

Special thanks to Kyle Dine for permission to use his song The Doghouse for the podcast theme. www.kyledine.com

You can find Dr. Whitehouse at www.DrAmandaWhitehouse.com
or on Facebook (Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, Food Allergy Anxiety Psychologist)

Send us a text

3 Action Steps:
1. Request my Epi Confidence Weekend Challenge FREEBIE at www.DrAmandaWhitehouse.com/connect

2. Make an appointment with your allergist to review any questions about epinephrine use
FARE Allergy Action Plan: https://www.foodallergy.org/media/935/download

3. Join me for my Epi Experts Group
4-week small group, virtual sessions
Wednesdays 7-8:15 pm EST beginning 8/21
Replays available if you can't join live
www.DrAmandaWhitehouse.com/epi-experts-group

Resources discussed in this EPIsode:

EPINEPHRINE AUTOINJECTOR UTILIZATION AND ACCESS IN A NATIONALLY REPRESENTATIVE FOOD-ALLERGIC ADULT SAMPLE - ScienceDirect

Anaphylaxis: A 2023 practice parameter update - Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (annallergy.org)

FARE Allergy Action Plan: https://www.foodallergy.org/media/935/download

Proposed Modified Anaphylaxis Criteria for Infants and Toddlers:

Mass General for Children Investigators Propose Modified Criteria for Identifying Anaphylaxis in Infants and Young Children

Development and Evaluation of Modified Criteria for Infant and Toddler Anaphylaxis - The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice (jaci-inpractice.org)

Allergy Confidence Activities:
Song - Epi Man by Kyle Dine (kyledine.com)
Power Pose TEd Talk by Amy Cuddy: Your body language may shape who you are | Amy Cuddy | TED - YouTube

Epinephrine injector instructions:
howtouseepipenautoinjector.pdf
ifu-poster.pdf (auvi-q.com)
epinephrine_1872-01_PI_Art5 page 1 without Legend (epinephrineautoinject.com)

Special thanks to Kyle Dine for permission to use his song The Doghouse for the podcast theme. www.kyledine.com

You can find Dr. Whitehouse at www.DrAmandaWhitehouse.com
or on Facebook (Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, Food Allergy Anxiety Psychologist)

Send us a text

In this inspiring episode, I sit down with a remarkable musician and educator Kyle Dine who has turned his personal challenges with food allergies into a powerful platform for awareness and advocacy. Join us as Kyle shares his journey of living with food allergies, from his own struggles in childhood to becoming a confident advocate.

Kyle delves into how and why music became a unique and effective medium to spread awareness about food allergies. He discusses how his songs entertain and educate listeners on the realities of managing food allergies, fostering empathy and understanding.

Listeners will hear firsthand accounts of how Kyle navigated his own food allergy management, developing strategies to build confidence and ensure safety. He even describes what it feels like to use his epinephrine injector, in hopes of reducing fear and increasing trust in the treatment. By sharing his experiences, he hopes to empower others to live fully and fearlessly despite their allergies.

www.kyledine.com
www.equaleats.com

Mentioned by Kyle in this episode:
www.foodallergy.org (FARE)
foodallergycanada.ca
www.jacionline.org

Plan ahead for August's Book Club episode now by reading Big, Brave Voice by Emily Reed:
bookshop.org/p/books/big-brave-voice-advice-for-children-living-with-food-allergies-emily-a-reed/21215362?ean=9798822915657

Special thanks to Kyle Dine for permission to use his song The Doghouse for the podcast theme. www.kyledine.com

You can find Dr. Whitehouse at www.DrAmandaWhitehouse.com
or on Facebook (Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, Food Allergy Anxiety Psychologist)

Send us a text

In our first episode, let's dive into the intricate connection between food allergy anxiety, trauma, and the autonomic nervous system. For those living with food allergies, the fear of accidental exposure and the potential for life-threatening reactions can create a pervasive sense of anxiety and trauma. But why does this happen, what makes it different from anxiety about other topics or other traumatic experiences, and what role does the autonomic nervous system play in these experiences?

Join Dr. Whitehouse to explore how the autonomic nervous system—responsible for regulating many involuntary functions in the body, including the fight-or-flight response—contributes to the heightened state of alertness and fear commonly experienced by individuals with food allergies. Using everyday language, Dr. Whitehouse helps you understand the science behind how our bodies react to perceived threats and how past traumatic events related to allergies can further exacerbate this response.

Understanding that the autonomic nervous system is deeply involved in our responses to allergens, we shift our focus to practical strategies for establishing a sense of safety and reducing anxiety. We emphasize the importance of creating a supportive environment, both physically and emotionally, to help calm the nervous system and mitigate the intense reactions it can trigger.

To wrap up the episode, you'll hear three actionable steps listeners can take immediately to begin applying what they have learned:

1. Look for Glimmers
2. Watch the movies Inside Out and Inside Out 2
3. Subscribe to the Don't Feed the Fear podcast and/or Dr. Whitehouse's mailing list at www.DrAmandaWhitehouse.com

By understanding the connection between the autonomic nervous system and allergy anxiety, and by implementing these practical steps, listeners can begin to reclaim a sense of safety and well-being in their daily lives. Tune in to learn how to navigate the complexities of food allergy anxiety and trauma with knowledge, resilience, and confidence.

Join me for this empowering episode as we uncover the physiological roots of allergy anxiety and trauma and equip you with the tools to establish safety and peace of mind. Don't miss this opportunity to transform your approach to living with food allergies and take control of your emotional health.

Special thanks to Kyle Dine for permission to use his song The Doghouse for the podcast theme. www.kyledine.com

You can find Dr. Whitehouse at www.DrAmandaWhitehouse.com
or on Facebook (Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, Food Allergy Anxiety Psychologist)

Send us a text

Special thanks to Kyle Dine for permission to use his song The Doghouse for the podcast theme. www.kyledine.com

You can find Dr. Whitehouse at www.DrAmandaWhitehouse.com
or on Facebook (Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, Food Allergy Anxiety Psychologist)