Allergies and Feeling Left Out

I know I am not the only one who feels left out in terms of allergies and eating food.

When you are sitting at a table and everyone is eating chocolate cake or some other delicious dessert exclaiming how good it is, its hard to get excited over a glass of water, or an apple. This is particularly hard as a teenager.

Being a teenager means a lot of socialising with friends. Going out on shopping days, playing xbox at a friends house, dinners out on a friday night and movie nights in with snacks. Not to mention parties.

In all this social confusion, its easy to feel left out! When your friends want to go to a certain restaurant because its meant to be 'so good' but you have to decline because you cannot eat there. When you go out shopping and your friends all grab a coffee and cake and you have to sit there and watch them consume what looks so good.

It's so easy to start thinking: Oh I wish I didn't have allergies; I wish I could walk into any restaurant and just pick what I feel like without having to ask the waiter the ingredients or; I wish I could go and buy a piece of cake from a bakery. But this talk isn't positive and certainly doesn't help the situation.

Its perfectly NORMAL to feel left out! It has taken me a long time to realise that fact and that there are better things to do in this situation than feel sorry for yourself.

Firstly: Acknowledge the feelings! Don't push them away, acknowledge the fact that you feel left out because of your allergies, but ask yourself why? Is it because everyone else is doing it? OR do you want that particular food? There are plenty of ways to eat the same type of food (e.g. chocolate cake) but make it safe for yourself!

Although they are small things, here are a few little sayings that help me turn the situation into a bit of a positive!

1) I'm saving money for better things! Okay, so maybe this ones a bit odd but hear me out! Whenever your friends or family go and buy an ice-cream or cake and you miss out, think of what else you can spend that money on! Maybe a new video game, makeup, cool new clothes, ANYTHING!

2) Think of the calories you AREN'T consuming. I'm not the one to count my calories to make sure I'm not overeating, but this one makes me feel a bit better! Everytime you feel down because someone is eating that delicious thing that you can't, think of how much healthier you are being! E.g. Instead of that chocolate cake, Im having a fruit salad! So much better for me!

3) If your house is anything like mine, then all of my allergy friendly food is left just for me (because no one else enjoys sweet william chocolate!) BUT this is a good thing! You totally have more just for you! When Mum bakes a cheesecake or yummy pudding, it has to be shared with the whole family! But when I get a block of chocolate, its all just for me! Think of how special your food is, and how you get it all to yourself!

4) When you go out, think of all the special preparation that goes into your food. The waiter/waitress has to remember your allergies and your order and relay that to the chef, who takes special care and attention to make you an amazing meal! You get that little bit more care and attention into your meal than anyone elses: That makes you so special, and everyone else should feel left out!

5) Finally, just realise that allergies are a part of your life. There is no magic potion to cure allergies overnight, so its something we all have to deal with! But here's the thing: YOU ARE NEVER ALONE! There is a whole community of people online who completely understand your feelings! Out of all the people you see on the street, a high percentage of them will have an allergy to something! So whilst you might feel left out, just remember you are not the only one feeling that way, and it will get better as more people understand allergies and include you :)

Based on the content of this post, I would like to give a special shoutout to my amazing friends! They never complain about how my allergies affect their plans and always give consideration to what I can and cannot do and eat! I am truly grateful to have such awesome and understanding people around me :)

Let's start a discussion in the comments below on how having allergies makes you feel and how you deal with it, support each other and have a great day :)