Teen Voices, Empowering Choices

Meet Dana Wrubel, a remarkable advocate who turned her personal challenges with food allergies into a powerful platform for change. Through the creation of the magazine and podcast Just Allergy Things by teens, for teens, Dana is empowering others to navigate food allergy anxiety and build resilience. She shares her journey of navigating high school, transitioning to college, and setting ambitious goals for the future. Tune in to hear how Dana is amplifying teen voices and paving the way for greater understanding and support in the allergy community.

FARE's Teen Advisory Group - FoodAllergy.org
Camp Blue Spruce – Creating connection & community for kids with food allergies
www.justallergythings.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 thefoodallergypsychologist.com and on Instagram (@thefoodallergypsychologist) and Facebook (Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, Food Allergy Anxiety Psychologist)
Email: welcome@dramandawhitehouse.com

Transcript

Speaker: 0:00

Welcome to the Don't Feed the Fear podcast, where we dive into the complex world of food allergy anxiety. I'm your host, Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, food allergy anxiety psychologist and food allergy mom. Whether you're dealing with allergies yourself or supporting someone who is, join us for an empathetic and informative journey toward food allergy calm and confidence.

0:22

Today on the podcast, I'm really excited to bring you another amazing advocate. This time, a teenager who's accomplished so much already in the years that she's begun working on this cause. As a teenager, Dana Rubel had the idea to begin a magazine for teens, written by teens, about allergies. And she named it just Allergy Things. That expanded into a podcast and now a whole organization of teens working together to create awareness and provide support for each other. Dana's now a sophomore in college She was kind enough to sit down with me and take the time to talk about starting this organization in order to advocate for herself and her peers, and to share a little bit about her adjustment through her teenage years and into college life. Dana, thank you so much for being here to talk.

Dana: 1:08

Yes, of course.

Dr. Whitehouse: 1:09

Will you, tell people just a little bit about you? You have so much that I want to share about where should we start in terms of people understanding how you got into, food allergy, advocacy and all the projects you have on your table.

Dana: 1:23

I'm Dana I'm currently 19 years old going into my sophomore year of college, and I was diagnosed with a Life threatening food allergies when I was one so I've had food allergies essentially my whole life, and I don't really know Anything different so I was diagnosed when my parents decided to give me egg. And immediately I reacted and I don't, I don't know the specifics cause I was one, but I know I reacted something GI I think was hives and vomiting something. And they took me immediately to the pediatrician and I was super lucky that the pediatrician immediately said, let's get her allergy tested. so they did some blood work and they found out I had all these allergies. that's sort of how it all started, and then, growing up, that's all I really knew. I had food allergies, and when I was younger, I didn't really understand the implications very well, because I guess, when you're a kid, you don't really understand the complexities of, of what's going on, but as I got older, I sort of realized how, how serious it truly was. So I started to be very precautious. starting when I was about eight, I really consciously, tried to keep myself safe and like washing my hands before I eat things like that. I got into food allergy advocacy when I was about. I want to say 13, 14. I got involved with FAIR and 13 advisory group and all that. And it was so amazing. And I eventually started a FAIR tag project. called Just Allergy Things, which I continue today. And we've sort of branched out and become, sort of our own entity in a way. and we publish articles and podcasts and I've truly enjoyed my work for that. And I started that my sophomore year of high school and it just started as an idea. And I was like, let me sign up to lead a tag project and start this. just has become something way bigger than I ever imagined today. And I'm really grateful that I, you know, was able to start that and that I'm able to continue leading it. So yeah, that's pretty much where we are today.

Dr. Whitehouse: 3:17

That's great. So getting involved with FAIR and TAG is the teen advisory group, right? and so then it sounds like they encourage the teens who are involved to come up with their own projects and start an initiative when you have an idea. That's

Dana: 3:31

So essentially there's this master sheet, or at least there was when I started where you could up to be part of a project or early a project. And it's sort of on your own initiative. so I had been in tag for a couple of years at that point, I believe. So I was like, You know what? I would really, I would love to lead a tag project. And I was just sort of brainstorming about things. And, I was always interested in like magazines and sort of journalism, that type of thing. And I was like, wouldn't it be cool to start, a teen food allergy magazine, and that's sort of how it was born and I just, came up with the name and the idea. had very few people starting off, but eventually I was able to recruit people. And, and as the years went on, people were really excited to just sign up and be a part of it and things like that. It's it's been a great experience for sure.

Dr. Whitehouse: 4:19

how do you take on a project like that at such a young age? That seems like such a big undertaking.

Dana: 4:24

I don't know. I was just I always wanted to To do something like that. I guess I had no idea of the specifics. I went to a high school that was pretty Fairly competitive and everyone wanted to do like everyone was doing amazing things and I was like wow so I really wanted to start something and I wanted to do something I was super passionate about and it sort of just came out of this idea of a passion project, something I truly wanted to do to, to help people and that I could, you know, feel good about doing, and that's sort of how it started and it just became this thing that I do like for now, or right now that I do, cause, cause I love it. so it was really great coming out of high school. It was definitely the thing I did that I was most proud of and that truly made me so happy. So that was just so cool to, to be able to have that experience.

Dr. Whitehouse: 5:11

That's amazing., so were, you said you were interested in journalism. Is that something that you were, considering for the future and that you are hoping that you might be getting into, or are you headed down that road or has it not really panned out that specifically?

Dana: 5:25

at the moment, not so much. I'm interested in economics. I'm an economics major. When I was, you know, in like an eighth grade, I did like the school newspaper and I was super passionate about that. And I just really like, you know, like writing that type of thing. I was always interested in like the history fairs and the science fairs and the literary fairs when I was in middle school. So, that sort of writing aspect, sort of was always. in me. So I wanted to, to do something with that. And honestly, Justology things has transformed into an organization that encompasses much other than just a magazine side. I've been able to, explore different things other than, writing, articles, that type of journalism, we've also done like podcasting, which has been so much fun. I've definitely, that's sort of a passion project of mine as well. And, and also just social media. Now it's more so like managing an organization rather than just magazine, which is really cool. So it sort of started as like journalism and then it sort of morphed into just this broader organization.

Dr. Whitehouse: 6:23

That's how I found you was the podcast. when I was doing some work for my own podcast and I, it has been a struggle for me as a grown up adult to learn how to do this. And I was so impressed that as such young kids, you pulled together that, but, like you said, not just a podcast and a magazine, but this whole organization, it seems like such a good experience for you, carrying forward all that, those different projects and business. experiences that you had.

Dana: 6:49

Yeah, thank you. The podcast, I honestly am surprised that was able to do so much at, at 15 because I look back now and I was like, wow, that actually took a lot of to, to figure out, just getting the podcast and like different streaming platforms and learning how to edit a podcast. And, and things like that. I never knew how to do. So it was just a lot of researching and trial and error. And I'm, I'm honestly surprised myself that I was able to do that when I was 15, but I was just super passionate and I wanted, I wanted to, so I did it.

Dr. Whitehouse: 7:20

Yeah. You sound like you were very motivated. Did you have some help with it?

Dana: 7:24

at the beginning, no, no, it's just me. At the beginning, eventually I was able to, to garner a leadership team. but at the beginning it was just me and I was trying to motivate some, some other members to, to write some articles for me and, and that type of thing. So yeah, it was, it was really great just learning how to do everything from the ground up. So. amazing.

Dr. Whitehouse: 7:46

Wow. I'm, I'm totally amazed, especially, you know, the quality of what you were putting out. you know, obviously your voice sounds young and you shared the details about your age, but, it's really the, the podcast episodes that I was able to listen to are so helpful and everything that I have seen that you've been doing. Is such quality, content that you're putting out and I have to say I'm biased as a, you know, I live in the food allergy world as a food allergy mom, but I was like, that makes sense that a food allergy kiddo, like can pull something like this together and, and be so independent and, and resourceful. Do you think that's a point? part of it or am I, am I reaching with that? Yeah. And you

Dana: 8:22

in general has taught me a lot advocacy. I remember like just hearing about, a few weeks ago, someone mentioning that it gives them anxiety to go up to like, You know, if they join a new gym to talk to the person at the front desk and ask for a day pass. And that was really striking to me. I'm like, wow, people do really struggle with things like that. And I have no fear going up to someone random and just saying like, Hey, I have these food allergies. Like, make sure you tell the chef. Like every, the whole spiel, you know, the food allergies spiel, the classic. Um, and that really translates to, uh, Translates to every facet of my life. Um, and has really helped me just talk to anyone about anything, not just my food allergy. So that, yeah, that really has translated. And I think that having food allergies and cells, like a real sense of resilience and independence. And I think that definitely contributed to, to me starting the magazine and executing it.

Dr. Whitehouse: 9:15

bring up a good point because I think sometimes, we can talk more about it, but there are some hard things about having food allergies. Right. And I think we can forget that, In some ways we've learned skills and it's made things easier or other people have their own challenges. It may be, like you said, maybe that person's just shy, but some other people have anxiety about other things. And I think we can forget like, Oh, that that's hard for them. That wouldn't have occurred to me that that could be challenging because it's so simple for me. I have to do that all the time.

Dana: 9:43

Yeah, exactly.

Dr. Whitehouse: 9:45

Going back to, that age when you first got involved, can you talk to me about what it was like for you as a kid with allergies who then was introduced to this organization that's advocating and other kids? I imagine there were so many aspects of that that were helpful for you. As you were navigating your own life,

Dana: 10:04

Yeah, definitely. It was really a transformative experience because I grew up with being the only person in my class, in my school with food allergies. So it was really, it was, you know, really eye opening to me that so many people have the same, you know, struggles deal with the same things day to day, and it was hard to grasp that when I was younger because I didn't see it. being part of like the fair like community and, you know, just the broader food allergy advocacy community. I was able to connect with people and inform. relationships, with, you know, my peers who have the same issues, even though they were at, different parts of the country or even the world. So it was really great. And it was really, you know, it's a bonding experience because you, you go through so much with having food allergies. I think that was really a positive aspect that I gained from having food allergies was just the community.

Dr. Whitehouse: 10:56

what has been the hardest part of all the things that you, that we do have to navigate? What's been the toughest for you?

Dana: 11:03

I think it's just the uncertainty. I. I am lucky enough to never have had anaphylaxis, never have had to use my EpiPen. So, I think the uncertainty of just going day to day, of not knowing that looks like for me, is really scary. in the news recently, I've seen a lot of things about, you know, Epinephrine not being 100 percent effective or biphasic reactions, which are like delayed anaphylactic reactions, which can result in fatality has, you know, it's really been tough to have to deal with those realities. And, just not having those answers has been difficult. so I would say that's definitely the hardest, just the uncertainty and understanding the gravity of food allergies that, if you have severe food allergies, it has a Potential being life threatening. So that's definitely been the hardest.

Dr. Whitehouse: 11:53

Yeah. I think those, those, extreme and rare, but you know, obviously very scary stories are one of the hardest parts for all of us to hear. how do you kind of process that when you hear something really awful like that, that's happened in the news?

Dana: 12:07

I just try to remind myself that, that, that tragic situation doesn't necessarily impact me at this current moment. I've lived my life for 19 years in a certain way and, know, learning about something so tragic doesn't necessarily have to change anything for me personally. Especially since I've been, so lucky for the past 19 years to not have had anaphylaxis or anything like that. So I just try to myself that in this present moment, nothing Is actually gonna change just because I, I read something that, that was tough to read. So just, just reminding myself that, you know, while that's tragic, and it's so sad that that happened for that person, I can't control, I can't control it, unfortunately, I can only control the way I react to it, and, you know, I just choose to, To stay present and just not let my mind, you know, start overthinking things and just remind myself to keep doing what I'm doing because it's working I always have my medication and, I have my allergist if I have any questions and I just try to remind myself to, to just focus on what I can control and what I can't.

Dr. Whitehouse: 13:09

I think that's a great point, especially what you said about this. It is awful. It doesn't change anything for me specifically, right? There's nothing for me to learn from this in terms of I was doing this wrong or I made this mistake. It's, it's, it doesn't change how you need to go about your day to day life. can you talk about that uncertainty that you mentioned? Can you just talk about the impact of that on your wellbeing, on your mental and emotional state? As you've been growing up,

Dana: 13:38

Um, I would say that I didn't really. Think about it a lot when I was younger. Honestly, I've only really started to think it, think about it over the past couple of years. And I would say in middle school, I definitely started developing, that sort of awareness of the gravity of the situation. So I, I don't, thankfully I didn't really have to deal with that when I was younger. And obviously there's pros and cons to that because I was more careless and I'm very lucky that nothing happened to me. but as I got older, you know, I sort of noticed things and I just honestly became more proactive and protective of my safety. and that's, it's been very beneficial because I haven't, I haven't had a real allergic reaction since I was, About eight years old and I'm 19. So it's been a very long time and I have multiple severe food allergies. So if you're, if you're very precautious, while, at the same time, not inhibiting the way you want, if you want to live a normal life, it's doable, you could, you know, try to avoid food, allergic reactions. It's always a possibility. and that's just something you have to accept. but just know that you have your emergency medications and. And just trust yourself and, and, if you're younger, you trust your parents as well.

Dr. Whitehouse: 14:51

and of course it's different for everybody, but it sounds like you have found what works for you in terms of balancing, like you said, that sense of normalcy and I can go about my life in the way that I want to and manage safety. Do you have any tips on how you do that or how you feel? You decide what the balance is and when to, when to skip something or when to do the experience that you want to have.

Dana: 15:14

Yeah. I just like to establish clear boundaries in my head. Like for me personally, for like products that say may contain, Manufactured in the same facility as manufactured on shared equipment. I always stay away from those just because, I try to minimize the risk of having a reaction for, you know, a reason that, you know, is so simple like that where it says it on the packaging. So I try to avoid things like that. I try to avoid, when a restaurant says they can't guarantee that there won't be any cross contamination, then I just, I won't eat there. or even if the restaurant is giving me, some signals that I notice are sort of red flags, right off the bat, they're like, oh, how do you, how do you eat out with those allergies? Or, ooh, that's gonna be tough, I'm gonna have to ask the chef. I don't know if we could Accommodate that, certain things right off the bat that I noticed that if I'm getting bad signals, then I won't eat there, to some people, that might seem like an overreaction, but to me, that's just, the risk isn't worth it at that point. so I think having those clear boundaries is very helpful right off the get go. Um, and just in general, you have yourself and trusting yourself and and being trained and how to use your EpiPen and knowing you have your, other allergy medications, Benadryl, Zyrtec, whatever you take on you is is really important and just keeping your peace of mind. Just really trusting yourself and knowing you do have your medication has been the biggest, helpful factor for me.

Dr. Whitehouse: 16:38

You're not far removed from those high school teenage years, what do you think kids need at that age? What do they need in terms of support? What do they need to be hearing? Or what are adults maybe not doing or giving them in terms of what would help them to adjust well and to be more confident about their allergies?

Dana: 16:59

I mean I think just communicating is really important because everyone's different everyone has their own threshold for what they're comfortable with So just understanding like if you're a parent understanding your teens Thresholds for that or even your child's is really important and just instilling a sense of fear in them is so important I think because I think my dad was a little, I guess when I was a he didn't understand the gravity of telling an eight year old like Make sure like you're careful because your allergies are serious and you know, it's it's true Like it's important for them to know that but at the same time You know, kids are so young and they're immature and they don't understand that, that that's like, it's okay because you know, you have your medicine and you have your teacher and all of that, but you know, you could scare them. And I got scared when I was little. So I think maintaining that balance is really hard, but really, really important. And for teens, I think it's important to just communicate with them because, you know, for me personally, I. Went to a school that served lunch and everyone ate lunch at school and I didn't feel comfortable with that. and I wanted to bring my own lunch and my parents were very happy to do that cause I did that middle school as well. And just things like that, but everyone's different. Cause I also knew someone in high school who had the same exact allergies as me, but he was, eating lunch at school every day. Without checking anything and then he, he seemed to be okay. So everyone's different with food allergies. Everyone has their own threshold. Everyone has their own sensitivity level for their allergens. So I think just communicating with both your teen or child And just, you know, helping them take the lead when they're a teen to explain their allergies to their teachers and, to wait staff even, it's also really helpful because when I was in high school, my parents sort of the gears a little bit and let me take the lead. and just letting my teachers know like who I am and just in general, giving me some confidence and giving me the skills to just talk to anyone and everyone like I mentioned earlier. if you have your 504 meeting at school with your teen and they're in high school, let them know. Say a few words on their own behalf if they feel comfortable enough doing so. I think that's so important and, you know, it lets your teachers, their teachers know their name. And I think I definitely established relationships with every single one of my teachers, and not just really, you know, instilled a sense of getting to know my teachers in me that lasts till today. I was in college last year and every, every one of my professors knew my name, even if the lecture was 2000 students, it was for different reasons. It wasn't because of my food allergies is because I made myself known to them and established in a relationship with them, but I think that's a skill that really. goes with you throughout your whole life, even in the workforce. So, I think giving them that, that freedom to sort of establish relationships with their, teachers or waitstaff on their own from, sort of their teen years is super beneficial just overall.

Dr. Whitehouse: 19:46

That's such a great point. I always encourage people to do what you said and involve the kids in the 504 meetings, but I find that a lot of times they aren't. They aren't involved. And I think when you do not only does the does it affect how the child, perceives the situation in terms of, being able to build that confidence about speaking for themselves. But I think it helps all the staff realize like, Oh, this kid actually knows a lot about what they need and how to keep them safe. And I can ask them, they're a resource. They don't have to just bypass them and communicate with the parents all the time. They know what's going on here.

Dana: 20:17

Yes, definitely. And then the other thing I will say that I didn't do throughout my teen years or childhood was, my parents sending me off on some sort of business trip. Program during the summer, some sort of camp, anything. I know those are, could be quite expensive, but if you do have the opportunity to do so, I would, recommend your, your kid, your teen on one of those programs. Because prior to college, I had never spent any time away from my parents. because, you know, because of my food allergies and they weren't comfortable with that. And I think that sort of was, that made the transition slightly harder for me and, made me slightly more hesitant because I had never been away from my parents and I was never used to someone else. food for me, like a camp would. so I think if you have that opportunity and they're able to accommodate your child's allergies, and obviously if your child feels okay enough to do so, try, try and get them outside their comfort zone a little bit. Try to get them outside your comfort zone as well as You know, a food allergy parent. I think that's so important and something maybe I wish I should have done. I could have done when I was, when I was smaller, but you know, it all, it all worked out in the end for me, but that's just a tip I would give someone as a food allergy parent.

Dr. Whitehouse: 21:28

I think it's a great point. And I wonder, looking back now, obviously we don't know, but is there anything that you think would have helped make that easier to do or, Made it seem more accessible to you as a kiddo. Like you're going to go to this camp and you're going to spend a week and they're going to cook your food for you. I can see how a lot to a lot of families, that's a lot to take on.

Dana: 21:47

Definitely. I think either having a dedicated allergy friendly camp. I know there's one in, I want to say Oregon. That's like a dedicated allergy, like food allergy friendly camp.

Dr. Whitehouse: 21:57

That's camp blue spruce, right?

Dana: 21:59

Yes,

Dr. Whitehouse: 21:59

Okay.

Dana: 22:00

That one. Um, either like a camp like that, that you know that your child's going to be safe and you have that, that clarity or honestly, just sending your kid on a program right next to your house and allowing them to stay over and just you being a car ride away would be very beneficial to you because, you, the kid, your kid might have a bit less anxiety surrounding it, knowing that you're only a phone call away a car right away. would be really helpful. So I would say one of those two things, either, a dedicated allergy friendly camp or just having one close to your house would be beneficial. It doesn't have to be far away, just as long as they have that time away from you to sort of establish that independence. while the stakes aren't very high and they're not going off to college or, into the workforce or something, and you do have that, ability to come and get them and it's not that big of a deal. So,

Dr. Whitehouse: 22:50

Right. There's a little bit of comfort around it in terms of that, that leap. So then how did it go for you when it came time for you to transition? And it sounds like you. Freshman year, you just headed off to college, right?

Dana: 23:02

Yeah. It was a bit tough. Um, like at first, I would say, But once I was there, I was really happy with how I handled it. And I lived in an apartment my freshman year. So I was able to cook for myself. And that was also a learning curve in itself, because I didn't really know how to cook. but I got a random roommate and I, Was so lucky because she was the sweetest person ever, and she never had any of my allergens in the apartment, and it was amazing, she was so kind, and again, I was so lucky because it was random, I think being in the apartment was really helpful, but, again, I think that was partly because I had never know, someone made, make my own food or had a communal bathroom or something like that, where it made the transition like infinitely easier for me, but I think having that experience prior probably would have made me feel more comfortable going directly like into a dorm or something like that. yeah, but honestly it was a great experience for me. So I'm really happy that I had that transition period and, I, I still Was in college taking classes like everyone else, but I was in an apartment. and it was great. So I'm really happy. I did that.

Dr. Whitehouse: 24:08

And then you decided this year to transfer schools, right?

Dana: 24:12

yes, I did. I actually got Um, the school I got into Cornell last year, and it was sort of a A thing where I was like, I would like an extra year because of my food allergies. I was able to, to work something out and I'm, I'm able to go for my sophomore year at Cornell, which I'm really happy about.

Dr. Whitehouse: 24:29

I see. So that was your plan. You knew you wanted to be there, but you wanted to do a little bit more gradual instead of making such a fire move and leap all at once first year.

Dana: 24:39

Yes. Yeah.

Dr. Whitehouse: 24:41

So what's it going to look like for you this year? You're about to head off right after we record this interview.

Dana: 24:47

Yeah. Um, So I'm going to be on a meal plan. Um, Cornell's rated really high for, food allergy friendly dining, which I wasn't aware of, honestly, before, but it's, it's great. Were rated. They have a dedicated, nut free and gluten free dining hall that I'll be dining at, uh, from all my meals. Um, and I'm not gluten free, so, but I am nut free, so it'll be good. that specific dining hall has extra food allergy training, and And they serve a couple other people with food allergies, dedicated meals that they make ahead of time. So it's a little bit different than the traditional, buffet style. They make my and a few other students foods ahead of time at the beginning of the day, and set them aside for you until you pick them up. And yeah, Cornell's great because they have everything labeled in every single dining hall for the top nine allergens. Also if you have any other dietary needs, like vegan, whatever, vegetarian. but they don't label if something is cross contaminated. If it's manufactured on shared equipment as, or on the same, production line at the actual dining hall in the university. so it's great if you have very low sensitivities. to your allergens, but I take things very seriously when it comes to my food allergies. So I wanted to make sure it was dedicated, made just for me in a separate, area of the kitchen or at least a clean one. I really tried to work with a nutritionist and she's been great in answering all my questions and I'm very meticulous when it comes to things like that.

Dr. Whitehouse: 26:17

Well, that's a lot of good info. Thank you for sharing, because I think you mentioned a lot of things that people can take as questions in terms of, the way you explain that they handle things at Cornell. And is this, is this a, Are they cleaning in between, or is this free of these but made on shared lines? I think, sometimes people don't even know what to ask in terms of, of sorting out those differences and deciding what they feel comfortable with. So you sound like you've got a wealth of information to share that you've, you've collected along the way.

Dana: 26:44

Yes, yeah, I've honestly done that more recently in the past couple years because before I really just relied on ingredient labels and I didn't fully realize that manufacturers don't necessarily have to disclose if something's cross contaminated like made on the same line As an allergen so i've made it habit recently to contact manufacturers just to double check because I have found quite a few products that you know If I hadn't asked they would have been cross contaminated with food One of my allergens, if I hadn't asked, so I've been making that habit like lately. more recently I outgrew an egg allergy, which was so exciting. And, I wanted to eat a croissant, for the first time in quite a while. Cause I could eat baked eggs for a long time, but I couldn't eat whole eggs. I got cleared for whole eggs. So I wanted to really incorporate everything with eggs back into my diet fully, and I wanted a croissant. So there was practically no croissants that weren't cross contaminated with like sesame that I could find and nuts. So I found this one brand I contacted them and they and I told them my allergens and I said, do you guys cross contaminate? Do you clean your lines? And they said that they do like they have shared lines with other nuts certain products. So, you know, definitely dodged a bullet there. potential cross contamination. And I just ate the products that they said, okay, these should be safe for you a week. these aren't cross contaminated with anything you listed, so I was able to see safely eat those products, so I think it's pretty important if you if you do have a high sensitivity to contact manufacturers because they really, they don't, they aren't legally required to label if something's cross contaminated only if it contains it. So I would be very careful with that, especially if you have a sesame allergy with single type of bread be very careful unless they clearly say we are a dedicated sesame free facility because there's so many bread brands are adding sesame into their products. Um, it's literally insane since the faster act, it's had sort of a counter effect, unfortunately. So it makes it almost impossible to find bread, but always double check with manufacturers for. You know, certain things like that.

Dr. Whitehouse: 28:52

Yeah, that's a good point. And I think people who don't, we have sesame in our house too, and I don't think people are familiar with that change and how it kind of, you know, how it affected things down the line. We just, we just, we have a bread maker at home. It's so much easier than

Dana: 29:04

Oh,

Dr. Whitehouse: 29:05

for all the bread. Um, that was the, one of the toughest things that, is out there to navigate with that specific allergen.

Dana: 29:12

absolutely.

Dr. Whitehouse: 29:14

What, do you see in terms of your future of, of just allergy things? Do you have goals for growth or how you want, want that organization to change or things you want to accomplish with it while you're trying to manage college? Or is that kind of on the back burner right now while you've got school to navigate?

Dana: 29:33

yeah. So I'm really lucky. I have a great leadership team. I've been able to train a few more people to, to help out while I am at college. I still want to be, involved in the magazine, like. It feels like such a passion project to me, but I definitely want to make sure that we're still going at full speed. So I was able, we have some more leadership members, so they'll be helping me and they've been amazing so far. And we've always had that leadership team in the background, which has been so great and I'm just really happy that I'm still continuing it, after all these years I'd love for it to continue to grow and, just continue its charitable, endeavors and educating people with food allergies, giving them advice, tips, comfort, anything, or even if people who don't have food allergies who want to learn. So I'm just, I'm just happy to keep, doing it and being involved.

Dr. Whitehouse: 30:21

I think it's such a good resource. I think that teens need to hear from other young people about things. I think the message comes across much differently when it's more of a peer talking than us old people and moms coming at them with information and things like that. So I really feel like you hit on a need that's out there in terms of a resource for kids.

Dana: 30:40

Thank you. Yeah, I agree. I think it's a good resource for people, young people with food allergies and one I would have loved to had when I was a lot younger. so I think just increasing exposure is also a big goal of mine.

Dr. Whitehouse: 30:53

Can we go back to, the, the whole span of you growing up and talk a little bit about the social aspect of things? I think, you can tell me if I'm wrong, but I think for a lot of kids beyond that uncertainty that you mentioned, that immediate safety, it's the way that they have to navigate and are affected socially by, with their allergies that causes a lot of trouble at that age range. Would you agree? And what do you have to say about your own experiences with that?

Dana: 31:19

Yeah, I would agree. Um, I was lucky enough to not really experience much teasing when it came to my food allergies. But there were definitely some instances, when I was younger where someone would pick on me for my food allergies, which, you know, being older is so bizarre to me. It doesn't make any sense. but luckily it wasn't constant. It wasn't a thing I had to really worry about. It was, I just remember like a couple instances of someone like sticking their food in my face and being like, Oh, I hope this doesn't have like. Not Senate or something. Or, and, and then another time where Someone, I think someone didn't want me to sit at their table or something, and they're like, Well, I have a peanut butter sandwich, you can't sit with us, or something. Something really rude. I don't know why kids do that. It's just kids. Looking back, it's so insane that anyone would have, anyone would ever tease someone with food allergies for something that They can't control and like, should be saying like, Oh, like, can I help you? Like, cause it's, it's harder on the person with food allergies than it ever would be for, for the other person. So it truly doesn't make any sense. But just like if you're a parent and your child's going through that, just like be there with, for them. And I was lucky enough, my mom and dad were super supportive growing up. And, um, I was able to, um, in a separate place, uh, like in the library, which honestly back then it was so cool. Like I got to eat in the library because there was like this little like spot with like high chairs where no one really went and I got to bring like two friends with me every time I ate lunch. So, um, people would always want to go because it was like a secret hideout and they got to bring an extra friend. so that was super great. Just communicating with school staff. If something like that is ever happening is so important and just being there with a for your child and just, affirming them that. this isn't their fault and like, they shouldn't feel bad about it because it's the other person who should feel bad about it, not them. And just like trying to instill in them from a young age that, other people shouldn't control the way you perceive yourself, it's just you who should do that and just, if something like that happens, really use that as a learning opportunity rather than something where you're just like, I'm so sorry that happened. Just like. Say, like, affirming that like, this isn't your fault and, don't let this affect your, the way you perceive yourself, because it absolutely, like, you know, it shouldn't objectively, but of course, if you're young, it does, so, just trying to, to encourage them to, to feel confident in themselves, despite something like that happening, could be really powerful, and you could transform a really negative situation into something that, might you. help boost their confidence throughout their whole life, when I was younger, I, I really didn't think about it that much because it didn't happen to me very often, which again, I'm so lucky about, but, if it had, I think just using that as a point of confidence and like, okay, well, I'm not going to let you affect me would have been, a really powerful tool, but. Again, I'm lucky I didn't really have to experience that very often.

Dr. Whitehouse: 34:14

Yeah. I'm glad that you didn't. And I hope, I'd like to think that that's changing, but I don't know if, do you have a sense of that? Do you think kids are getting more used to other kids in school having allergies and having to accommodate and it being normal or,

Dana: 34:27

I think that it's definitely shifted a bit. I think also the times are changing a little bit, which is so refreshing and, hopefully the education around like school staff and things. Cause I had some things happen to me when I was younger. Like when I was in, kindergarten, one of my teachers, Parents, which are like the PTA parents that, volunteer for your room, did a blind taste test, for kindergartners. Like they could choke you're like you're blindfolding five year olds and feeding them things that's ridiculous. Who thought of that? No idea. so they did that with us and they gave us M& Ms. Thank God it was just the normal M& Ms, which, are cross contaminated with peanuts,

Dr. Whitehouse: 35:04

right?

Dana: 35:05

could have been bad in itself, but they weren't peanut Ms. I just, I had no idea what it was, because I obviously had never had one, and this little girl next to me, I remember her name, her name was Lindsay, she was like, M& M, and immediately I spit it out, which I'm happy I had that instinct. Since I, you know, when I was so young. I knew, I was like, oh my gosh, M& M's, no. So, thankfully nothing bad happened to me, but, you know, hopefully the education's getting a little better with, you know, especially teachers, who should know better.

Dr. Whitehouse: 35:34

I hope so that I can imagine because you don't even know what an M& M tastes like cause you hadn't had it. So if she hadn't said that, you wouldn't have even known necessarily that that's what you were eating. Right.

Dana: 35:44

Yes.

Dr. Whitehouse: 35:45

Oh, well, how about as you were older, not necessarily with, people being unkind, but. From the people that you were closer with, from your, closer friends and relationships, what was your experience about people helping you and supporting you and how that impacted your social experience as a teenager?

Dana: 36:02

when I was in high school, as I like, got older, like I said, I noticed people cared a lot less, which was so refreshing, and like, I just did my own thing and people didn't question it, you know, as, it should be, So it was really great, I brought my own lunch, even though everyone, ate lunch at school, and no one cared, no one said anything, no one did a double take, and it was great, and as I got older, and, and, post, online school COVID deal, um, I was back at school, and I was really dreading it, because I enjoyed being at home and not having to, I guess worry about I mean, I didn't really worry about my allergies, but it was just convenient. I guess, a lot of people my age felt that way at the time I think at least the ones I went to school with they were happy to just be in bed doing zoom school But we had to go back and and I was dreading it a bit and but I was so lucky I found some really great friends when I went back my junior year and they were Incredibly kind about my food allergies and they literally didn't question it and when I they were like, okay Dana go ahead and like explain your allergies like you go first you order first and it was amazing Um, they were really kind and like I went to a few parties my junior year hosted by like my really good friend at the time and it was great and she was so Kind about my food allergies and I don't know, she would just be like, Yeah, let me know if you don't want me to have like nuts or something. Something like that. I think she said, if that'll make you more comfortable. It was great. So just trying to find some really nice people is important. Just trying to find some really great friends and, And just being open to being friends with anyone, because I found, I found a friend, like, not even thinking that we would become such close friends at the time, but it turns out she was so nice, and, um, were able to, to be really close, and she was so supportive about my allergies, so, Just trying to find some genuinely nice people, when you're in high school and middle school, what have you. those tend to be the most understanding about food allergies.

Dr. Whitehouse: 37:53

That's great. I'm glad. I think regardless of what the culture of a school is or an environment, we can always choose, I'm going to stick with these people. I'm going to focus on what this group of people, is doing because this is what matters to me. So I think that's a good point too.

Dana: 38:08

Yeah.

Dr. Whitehouse: 38:10

What are your goals for yourself for the future? what are you going to hopefully do after you finish up at Cornell and move into as a career?

Dana: 38:18

I'm really not sure. I'm just trying to take things day by day. And that's something I found really helpful, especially someone with food allergies, just not overthinking the future, is really important. so I, I'm a big proponent proponent of taking things day by day in the ambiguity and just really enjoying how exciting it is that I don't know what I want to do tomorrow, I, I'm an economics major and I really love economics. Economics in itself is such a versatile major, so I'm just sort of feeling out my options and taking things day by day and not trying to, to set myself on any one particular thing, because me personally, I've noticed that that doesn't real yield the results that, that are, beneficial to me. And I noticed that the best things tend to happen to me when I just sort of roll, roll with things as they come.

Dr. Whitehouse: 39:05

you've had such a focus in your life of this advocacy piece, and advocating for food allergies. I know that you've helped a lot of people with the resources that you've been creating. I'm curious about the impact that, being a food allergy advocate has had on you.

Dana: 39:22

I think it's been great. I, I noticed, uh, I had some, like, orientation type of things to do, and I am just not afraid to just lead the room, and I think that that's, leading Just Allergy Things has taught me that skill, and just, know, especially on zoom, since, most of just allergy things, leadership work is done over zoom because we're all over the country. Um, so I think that's been so helpful to just have that experience of just leading people. And just in general, I think having food allergies really helps instill a sense of advocacy and, being able to talk to different people in, in anyone who has food allergies. So I, I think that's been really good. I think it's helped me in many other. Parts of my life, in college, I'm able to, establish relationships with my professors, and I, I feel like that's been really beneficial, and just talking to people, and I think that's so helpful, because I think, social awareness, and, and being able to communicate with other people is more important than, Then your intell your academic intelligence in so many ways. And, you could get an internship by just talking to someone and, them liking you. So, I think that's so important to just have those communication skills. And I think anyone with food allergies who, takes them seriously and talks to people about them, wait staff and that type of thing, has those skills. Already, so I think it's really great. And it's important to recognize the positive things that food allergies give you. Of course, like, it's very difficult. I feel like anyone with food allergies would rather not have them. But, it's always nice to recognize the certain positive things that have come from it.

Dr. Whitehouse: 40:57

Yeah. Well, and on that note, I like to ask everybody, even though there's lots of hard things, what's something that you do like or appreciate about having food allergies?

Dana: 41:06

I was doing an academic program my first year of college last year, where the director. Yeah. she was very intense and, were scared of her, but she told us, like, she, she's scared to talk to people on the phone, like, when she orders, take out or something and I was like that would never occur to me as a trait anyone would have like I didn't realize that that was a thing and like people mention that they're like to talk on the phone or something like it gives some anxiety and I And I have never even thought that that was a possibility and I think That's a hundred percent attributed to food allergies because that's never been an option. And that that's honestly like a good thing, a good thing, cause it's, created these skills. And I think that that's so important. Just the communication aspects, like I said, can really get you so far in life. I think that that's been great and just knowing how to talk to people. And I'm, I'm really great with talking to adults. I would say, uh, especially, um, when I was younger, it was more difficult to. It was easier to talk to adults compared to kids, but I'm sort of start translating the skills now since I'm an adult to the people my own age, and it's been really great. but I think just talking to adults has also gotten me like really far when I was younger, like I said, I established those relationships with my teachers and, you know, that's what helped me, you know. good grades if I had a question, I knew my teacher was always there for me and, and things like that. I think it was so important. And I think communication is definitely the most positive, positive thing that has come from my food allergies.

Dr. Whitehouse: 42:34

I can see that so much in interacting with you. You seem mature beyond your years in terms of your interaction skills and your presentation. Like you have so much more practice and rehearsal with it. both from your, your food allergy management and all the advocacy work that you've been doing. That's awesome.

Dana: 42:48

Thank you.

Dr. Whitehouse: 42:49

Is there anything that you wanted to talk to talk about today that we haven't gotten to?

Dana: 42:55

do you have any tips as a food allergy therapist and you know, balancing the fear versus the, the normalcy,

Dr. Whitehouse: 43:04

yeah, it's such a broad thing, right? Of having to do that. I'll say this. I was just speaking with someone else about what I tell my clients and how it became the name of my podcast. Don't feed the fear, to think about your actions when you find yourself in that situation where you're deciding, right? Like, how do I balance this? Do I, do I, Step out of my comfort zone and do something new. Um, or do I, is this something that I'm not necessarily going to go for? I think we always talk in sessions with my clients about not feeding the fear. You know, think of the fear as this entity outside of yourself that is not helpful for you. Fear is different from. trusting your instincts or knowing your boundaries and your limits, but not to take actions that feed the fear that enhance it and make it stronger, right? So if you have a worry, instead of ruminating on it and thinking about it over and over and coming up with all the worst case scenarios that helps the fear grow stronger, take action. Actions, right? Take action steps to find out the answer to the question or do something to prevent that fear from happening, which it sounds like you do a lot of you sound like you have a very practical hands on approach where you have control over your environment, which is what is one of the biggest things that helps us with with any of that kind of stuff is knowing. Oh, I can just call and ask. I know how to find out if this works for me or if this is safe, right? Mhm.

Dana: 44:25

Yeah, definitely. And you mentioning that just made me remember something great about, else that's great about food allergies is just knowing that Your ability to talk to people is really just really an indication of what they're going to do for you I recently went to the vet with my parents and they had to bring my pet, my dog to the, to the back. And, she has a little bit of separation anxiety. So I, my parents were really anxious about it. Cause the, I guess they have separation anxiety for my dog too, in a way. but I was just trying to communicate with like the vet technician, Yeah, she's older, please, take care of her, if she, if you notice anything, like, please keep an eye out because she has some separation anxieties. I was just trying to talk to him in a very calm and objective way so that he would want to help me rather than Just like my parents were just freaking out like, can she stay here? Can she stay here? Can she just stay in the room with us? I was just trying to communicate it in the best way possible for him to want to help me and help my dog so I think that having food allergies is the ultimate test of that skill And that's really the way that you get you get what you want Like you call a customer service line because you don't like a product and you know You're communicating skills with them is the determinant of the call. So You I think that's the ultimate skill. And that having food allergies is, is the ultimate test for that skill.

Dr. Whitehouse: 45:45

You're so right because it's something that we can be so anxious about, right? But if you communicate it in an anxious way, you just pass that on to the people that you're interacting with, And then they either maybe don't feel as confident about helping you or they aren't as motivated because they're feeling uncomfortable because your anxiety is spilling out like, you mentioned with your parents in that scenario. But if you can do it calmly, that's, that's hard to do when it's something that's so challenging. But the fact that you've learned to do that so well is so great. It's so huge for you. Can you tell everybody, where they can find all of the good stuff that you're putting out there? The, the podcast, the magazine, what else do you want people to find that you're creating content around?

Dana: 46:27

Yeah. So, the magazine's website is justologythings. com. You could check us out there. We have all the articles and everything. Um, our Instagram is at justologythings. Um, and, um, our podcast is justologythings as well. So you could find us on every streaming platform there too. So yeah, check out the magazine. We have a lot of resources if, if you want to. Look at them.

Dr. Whitehouse: 46:48

Thank you so much for taking the time to talk. I'm so impressed with all of your, that you're doing, I can't wait to see what your future holds because you're taking so many good skills, and qualities into it from all the experiences you've had so far.

Dana: 47:01

Thank you so much and thank you for having me on.

47:04

Dana brought up some great points today. So here are three action steps from our conversation that you can put into place right away. Number one, she made such a great point about getting your child involved in any meetings that are about managing their allergies or decisions that need to be made about them. So getting them involved in their 504 planning meetings at school is a great plan. your child might have an individualized health plan instead of a 504, but the idea applies for any kind of accommodations that are being made in the school setting. And often that can be true when we need to take steps to protect our kids in other settings too. So if they're involved in an activity or somewhere else that they're going where someone's caring for them and you're having a conversation with the leadership or the staff in order to help them understand what your child needs, It's a great idea to consider the amount of involvement that might be right for your child in that conversation. Number two, check out all the great resources that Dana and her peers have created. As she said, the website is Just Allergy Things. She's on social media under Just Allergy Things, and that's also the name of their podcast. That would be especially helpful if you have Tweens or teens or even young college students who are managing allergies. I think it's really powerful for them to hear from other kids instead of just from us adults all the time. And number three, with the Thanksgiving holiday coming soon here in the States, Take a minute to step back and observe your child. Think about the amazing qualities that they've developed, the strengths that they have, the things that you're so proud of for them doing, for managing their allergies. And particularly if those are college kids who are coming home for the break, give them an extra squeeze. Amidst the stress, just take a minute to be thankful and acknowledge all of the positive connections and growth and strengths that managing the allergies has created for all of us. the content of this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only, and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any questions about your own medical experience or mental health needs, please consult a professional. I'm Dr. Amanda White house. Thanks for joining me. And until we chat again, remember don't feed the fear.