Don't Feed the Fear: Allergy Anxiety & Trauma

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Many of our nervous systems become very skilled at scanning for danger. This is not a flaw. It is a protective response that develops when life has required us to stay alert. But when the nervous system spends most of its time looking for what might go wrong, it can begin to overlook the signals of safety that are also present.

This session introduces the concept of glimmers. These are small moments, usually sensory experiences, that signal safety to the nervous system. They might be simple things like warmth, supportive contact with the ground, pleasant sounds, or a brief sense of ease in the body.

This practice helps you gently train your attention to notice moments when your body receives the message that, right now, you are safe. 
Over time, intentionally noticing these moments can help your nervous system become more flexible, settled, and responsive.

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

Find Dr. Whitehouse:
-thefoodallergypsychologist.com
-Instagram: @thefoodallergypsychologist
-Facebook: Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, Food Allergy Anxiety Psychologist
[email protected]

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This is the first guest episode in a season of the Don't Feed the Fear podcast dedicated to something many of us are feeling deeply right now: the excitement and overwhelm that comes with how quickly the food allergy landscape is changing.

With more options, devices, information, and opinions bombarding us, many feel unsure of what to trust, what actually matters, and how to make decisions that feel grounded rather than reactive.

My guest today is Dr. Farah Khan, a board-certified allergist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital who has become a trusted voice online in the food allergy community. Dr. Khan often says she’s not quite sure why her audience grew so quickly, but I think it's because she offers something many are craving in their uncertainty:  clear, direct, evidence-based answers.

In this conversation, Dr. Khan walks us through epinephrine myths and misinformation, the different devices available, and what matters most when choosing yours. We created this episode to help you feel more confident and less overwhelmed as you navigate your options.

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

Find Dr. Whitehouse:
-thefoodallergypsychologist.com
-Instagram: @thefoodallergypsychologist
-Facebook: Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, Food Allergy Anxiety Psychologist
[email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

Living with food allergies or celiac disease often requires careful decision making. Reading labels, asking questions, and evaluating risk are important parts of staying safe. Over time, though, the nervous system can become so used to scanning for danger that it becomes difficult to tell the difference between healthy caution and anxiety driven fear.

This guided meditation helps you slow down and notice how these different signals may feel in your body.

Instead of trying to eliminate caution, this practice supports learning how to recognize the steady, grounded feeling of appropriate awareness while also noticing the sensations that tend to come with fear, urgency, or anxious overthinking.

By becoming more familiar with these physical cues, many people find it easier to make decisions from a place of clarity rather than pressure or panic.

During this meditation you will be invited to:

• tune into subtle body sensations
 • notice how caution and anxiety may feel different internally
 • create space between physical signals and anxious thoughts
 • reconnect with a sense of grounded awareness when making safety decisions

This meditation may be especially helpful if you:

• live with food allergies or celiac disease
 • feel stuck in constant food safety decision making
 • notice your body becoming tense or overwhelmed in situations involving food
 • want to strengthen trust in your ability to read your body's signals

No meditation experience is needed. Simply listen and allow yourself to notice what your body communicates.

Over time, practices like this can help restore a sense of steadiness and confidence when navigating food related decisions.

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

Find Dr. Whitehouse:
-thefoodallergypsychologist.com
-Instagram: @thefoodallergypsychologist
-Facebook: Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, Food Allergy Anxiety Psychologist
[email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

Of course you feel anxious sometimes managing food allergies and celiac. Many patients and families believe that a little anxiety keeps us safe, that fear keeps us vigilant, and that without it we might become careless.

But is that actually true?

In this episode, Dr. Whitehouse explores the difference between stress, overwhelm, anxiety, and trauma, and why those distinctions matter so much for food allergy families. She explains how the nervous system works during threat states, why anxiety can actually impair decision-making, and what truly supports safe, sustainable allergy management.

You’ll learn:

• Why anxiety and caution are not the same thing
 • How nervous system regulation affects allergy decision-making
 • Why fear is a poor filter for complex choices
 • What actually keeps food allergy families safe
 • How to shift from fear-driven vigilance to informed awareness

If you’ve ever wondered whether the anxiety you carry is protecting you or exhausting you, this episode will offer a fresh perspective.

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

Find Dr. Whitehouse:
-thefoodallergypsychologist.com
-Instagram: @thefoodallergypsychologist
-Facebook: Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, Food Allergy Anxiety Psychologist
[email protected]

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Lisa Cohen created the Kyah Rayne Foundation in honor of her daughter Kyah, who died following to an allergic reaction.

As we approach Kyah’s birthday on March 17, Lisa shares Kyah’s story and the mission behind the foundation, with a focus on food allergy education, epinephrine access, and the importance of knowing how to respond in an emergency.

Together, we discuss common misconceptions about epinephrine, why hesitation can be dangerous, and how education empowers individuals and communities to act with confidence. This emotional conversation honors Kyah’s life the best way her mother knows how: with life-saving insights for families, caregivers, educators, and anyone who wants to be better prepared.

https://www.kyahraynefoundation.org/

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

Find Dr. Whitehouse:
-thefoodallergypsychologist.com
-Instagram: @thefoodallergypsychologist
-Facebook: Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, Food Allergy Anxiety Psychologist
[email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

Food allergy care does not exist in a vacuum, and neither do the families managing it.

In this episode, pediatric psychologist Dr. Linda Jones Herbert and pediatric allergist Dr. Hemant Sharma from Children’s National Hospital join the conversation to explore how disparities in food allergy diagnosis, treatment access, and outcomes are shaped by psychosocial and systemic factors.

We discuss insights so far from the FORWARD study about how stress, culture, language, and resources impact allergy management in underserved communities, and what it means when families are underrepresented in oral immunotherapy research and access. Dr. Herbert also shares her work on the GAP study, which examines global access to psychological care for individuals and families managing food allergies.

This episode is a call to move beyond assumptions and toward allergy care that is culturally responsive, equitable, and grounded in real-world context.

Links:
Food Allergy Stages handouts:
https://www.aaaai.org/tools-for-the-public/conditions-library/allergies/food-allergy-stages-handouts

https://www.aaaai.org/Aaaai/media/Media-Library-PDFs/Allergist%20Resources/Statements%20and%20Practice%20Parameters/Addressing-Health-Disparities-in-Food-Allergy-position-statement-Jan-2025.pdf

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

Find Dr. Whitehouse:
-thefoodallergypsychologist.com
-Instagram: @thefoodallergypsychologist
-Facebook: Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, Food Allergy Anxiety Psychologist
[email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

Living with food allergies often creates distance between us and friends, family, schools, and communities that don’t fully understand what our safety requires. This episode compassionately addresses the growing sense of isolation many food allergy families experience and why advice like “just go no contact” or “let them” often misses the reality of chronic illness.

Isolation can feel protective but ultimately becomes unsustainable and unhealthy. This episode offers a more nuanced framework for boundaries, influence, and connection that balances safety and belonging.

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

Find Dr. Whitehouse:
-thefoodallergypsychologist.com
-Instagram: @thefoodallergypsychologist
-Facebook: Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, Food Allergy Anxiety Psychologist
[email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

What does food allergy safety look like when systems don’t work equally for everyone?

In this episode, I’m joined by Erin Malawer, founder of Allergy Strong, to explore how inequities in education, resources, and institutional support shape the lived experience of food allergy families. Erin’s work focuses on improving safety and access at the community level so that protection doesn’t depend on privilege or proximity.

Together, we discuss:

• How gaps in food allergy education and policy disproportionately impact certain families
• Why awareness alone isn’t enough without structural change
• The emotional toll of navigating systems that don’t reliably protect children with food allergies

This conversation invites listeners to move beyond individual responsibility and consider what it means to build food allergy care that is safer, fairer, and more inclusive for everyone.

Follow Allergy Strong:
@AllergyStrong
allergystrong.com

Erin's blog, Allergy Shmallergy:
https://shmallergy.wordpress.com/

In this episode, Erin also mentions the work of Lianne Mandlebaum, No Nut Traveler, on airplane regulations and policies for food allergies:
@nonuttraveler
nonuttraveler.com

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

Find Dr. Whitehouse:
-thefoodallergypsychologist.com
-Instagram: @thefoodallergypsychologist
-Facebook: Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, Food Allergy Anxiety Psychologist
[email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode, I’m joined by Renia Butler, founder of Black Allergy Mama, for an honest and powerful conversation about race, food allergy advocacy, and mental health.

Renia shares her personal journey navigating food allergies as a Black mother, the systemic gaps she witnessed firsthand, and how those experiences fueled her advocacy work. We explore the emotional labor families carry, the importance of representation and trust in medical care, and how food allergy spaces can—and must—become more inclusive and trauma-informed.

This episode is essential listening for parents, clinicians, advocates, and anyone who wants to better understand the full human experience behind food allergy care.

https://blackallergymama.com/
@blackallergymama

Also mentioned in this episode:
Elijah Alavi Foundation: https://www.elijahalavifoundation.org/
Food Equality Initiative: https://www.foodequalityinitiative.org/

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

Find Dr. Whitehouse:
-thefoodallergypsychologist.com
-Instagram: @thefoodallergypsychologist
-Facebook: Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, Food Allergy Anxiety Psychologist
[email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode, psychologist Lisa Lombard, Ph.D. shares insights from her clinical experience and research background in food allergy. She also shares aspects of her work that led to the creation of Comfort Kits, tools designed to support children experiencing trauma. We talk about why safety and imagination matter so much for healing, and how small, intentional interventions can make a meaningful difference for kids and families.

We also explore Dr. Lombard’s extensive work with hypnotherapy, including her role as President of the National Pediatric Hypnosis Training Institute (NPHTI), where she trains clinicians to incorporate hypnosis into pediatric care. Dr. Lombard breaks down common misconceptions, explains what hypnotherapy actually looks like in practice, and shares why it can be especially helpful for children navigating chronic illness, procedures, and anxiety.

This episode is for parents, clinicians, and anyone interested in gentle, evidence-based ways to support regulation, resilience, and healing. It’s a reminder that care doesn’t have to be forceful to be effective, and that feeling safe is the necessary foundation for healing and growth.

Episode Links:
lisalombardphd.com
NPHTI.org
comfortkitsforchildren.org

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

Find Dr. Whitehouse:
-thefoodallergypsychologist.com
-Instagram: @thefoodallergypsychologist
-Facebook: Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, Food Allergy Anxiety Psychologist
[email protected]