Don't Feed the Fear: Food Allergy Anxiety & Trauma
Welcome to "Don't Feed the Fear," where licensed psychologist Dr. Amanda Whitehouse offers expert guidance on managing the social and emotional challenges of food allergies and related conditions. Tune in for compassionate advice, practical strategies, and inspiring stories to help you navigate anxiety and trauma with confidence and resilience. For more info on resources from Dr. Whitehouse, go to www.thefoodallergypsychologist.com Theme song: The Doghouse by Kyle Dine, www.kyledine.com Used with permission from the artist
Episodes
This episode is a heartwarming and eye-opening look at what life is like with a food allergy detection dog. My guest, Natalie Rice, shares how their family decided to train a peanut detection dog to help manage her daughter's food allergy. Natalie shares how having this remarkable companion has transformed daily life, and how she is using Harley's skills to help others with allergies, too.
We also discuss:
Food should bring joy, comfort, nourishment, and safety, but food allergies and chronic illness often turn food into something stressful, restrictive, or scary.
Lauren Less, creator of Less with Laur, is here to talk about her experiences with adult-diagnosed food allergies, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS).
Lauren brings h...
This 11-minute guided reflection helps food allergic/celiac individuals and food allergy parents pause, reset, and listen to their own internal “yes” and “no” signals during the busy holiday season. Using gentle, polyvagal-informed cues and somatic reflection, you’ll explore what feels nourishing versus uncomfortable and create an internal guide for identifying boundaries to honor this holiday season and all year long...
In this special crossover episode, Dr. Whitehouse shares a recent guest appearance on The Itch Podcast (episode 132), where she joined hosts Dr. Payel Gupta and Kortney Kwong Hing for an open and compassionate conversation about navigating difficult family interactions during the holiday season. Together, they unpack how to set and maintain boundaries, communicate effectively, and stay grounded in the face of emotiona...
This grounding meditation supports tweens, teens, and adults navigating oral immunotherapy (OIT), Tolerance Induction Program (TIP), sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT), or any allergy dosing protocol. Using science-based nervous system strategies, you’ll practice shifting from anticipatory anxiety into a steadier, more regulated state—without increasing interoceptive focus or fueling symptom-checking.
Through ge...
This gentle, imaginative meditation helps kids feel calmer and more confident during oral immunotherapy (OIT), Tolerance Induction Program (TIP), or sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) allergy dosing. Together with their trusted adult, children visualize their dose as a tiny seed planted in an imaginary garden, growing stronger over time. Through slow breathing, grounding, and playful imagery, this practice helps settle t...
The Food Allergy Nursing Association (FANA) is celebrating one year of transforming the landscape of food allergy care. In this special anniversary episode, I’m joined by FANA’s president Dr. Olga Kagan, and secretary Sarah Pederson to talk about their mission to elevate nursing education, improve patient care, and establish certified allergy nurse educators.
Together, we discuss how FANA is working to integrate food a...
Feel anxious about food allergies? This 10-minute guided meditation helps teens and adults gently observe anxious “what-if” thoughts without being overwhelmed by them.
Using a calming sky and drifting clouds visualization, you’ll learn to notice your worries, label them, and watch them float away, without pushing or holding onto them. This meditation teaches that you are not your thoughts and provides a scien...
This playful 5-minute, science-based meditation helps kids (and their grown-ups!) understand how their brains work, and that not every thought is true.
Children learn that just like hearts beat and eyes blink, brains think thoughts: some helpful, some worried, and some downright silly! Together, you’ll explore why anxious thoughts happen (your brain’s way of trying to protect you) and discover how to shift ou...
This gentle 5-minute guided meditation helps children with food allergies calm their worries and feel safe in their bodies and their world. Together with a trusted adult, kids will imagine creating a special “bubble of safety” around themselves that travels with them wherever they go.
Through simple breathing, imagination, and connection, children learn how to notice their worried “what-if” thoughts and gentl...
In Part 2 of my conversation with Dr. Michael Pistiner, pediatric allergist at Mass General for Children, we focus on anaphylaxis management in young children and epinephrine use.
Dr. Pistiner walks us through which epinephrine devices are appropriate for infants and toddlers, and demonstrates the best techniques for administering them safely. He shares practical guidance for holding a squirming baby, minimizing fear, ...
In this first of a two-part conversation, I’m joined by Dr. Michael Pistiner, pediatric allergist and Director of Food Allergy Advocacy, Education, and Prevention at Mass General for Children, Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Pistiner discusses his work on developing the newly updated criteria for recognizing anaphylaxis in infants and toddlers, breaking down medical terminology into clear, everyday language parents can und...
In this special holiday episode, I welcome Megan Lavin, the creator behind Allergy Awesomeness. She is a trusted voice in the food allergy community, allergy mom of four, and now a morning TV anchor. Together, we explore what it means to create a happy and connected (not perfect) holiday for our families.
We also discuss Megan’s recent experience with a brand partnership, how she approached it with honesty, and her tak...
In this deeply personal Thanksgiving episode, I reflect on the ways that grief and gratitude are intertwined.
This episode is dedicated to my brother Adam on his birthday. Acknowledging Worldwide Bereaved Siblings Month, I share how his death reshaped what gratitude means to me.
Join me to explore how we create meaning after trauma, how you're doing gratitude wrong, and ways to utilize it for better healt...
This inspiring episode features Devin August Sailer, teen allergy advocate and founder of Safe to Eat, an organization providing Top 9 and gluten free foods to domestic violence and emergency housing shelters in upstate New York.
We talk about what it's like navigating the world with food allergies as a young person, how Safe to Eat was created, and how even the smallest acts of advocacy are important.
...
In this episode I am joined by Zoë Slaughter, the influencer behind the Invisibly Allergic blog and social media accounts and author of the upcoming book by the same name. Zoë shares candidly about her airborne and contact reactivity, her experience using the new nasal epinephrine Neffy, and how she has navigated a safe work place. We also talk about what it means to advocate for change in a world where food allergies...
Food allergies don’t just bring the fear of anaphylaxis. They also bring unique social challenges that are often overlooked. In this episode, I sit down with psychologist clinician and researcher Dr. Melissa Engel, whose recently published paper introduces a new model for understanding social anxiety related to food allergies.
We discuss why this distinction matters, especially for adolescents navigating peer relations...
In this episode of Don’t Feed the Fear, Emery Brown, school psychologist and FAACT’s Behavioral Health Director, joins me to talk about how parents and schools can better support children with food allergies. We explore practical strategies that help children and their parents feel safe, understood, and able to thrive. This episode is packed with helpful tips from Emery's real-life personal and professional exper...
In this episode of Don’t Feed the Fear, the family behind the ADINA Act joins me to talk about the federal bill's recently reintroduction to Congress. The Act seeks to require clear labeling of the Top 9 food allergens and gluten in prescription and over-the-counter medications. It's a critical step toward safety and transparency for people living with food allergies and celiac disease.
We explore the story b...
In this episode of Don’t Feed the Fear, Gabby Hemond (@noglutengabby) joins us to talk about being a young celiac influencer diagnosed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. We talk about the unique challenges of navigating a new diagnosis in young adulthood during the global shutdown, the insecurities and uncertainties that came with it, and coping through connecting with others. Gabby shares how she began posti...
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