Why You Should Approach Fear With Curiosity Rather Than Pushing It Away Like It Is a Bad Thing

Fear is a big hurdle every food allergy parent has to navigate. From an evolutionary standpoint, fear helped mankind survive. If we don’t feel fear, we would not run from the saber-tooth tiger or fight it. We are designed to feel fear for a reason.

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Fear also causes a great deal of distress, often leading us to feel paralyzed. What if we don’t label fear as “bad” and try to suppress the discomfort that comes along with it?? Instead, we can try to understand the lesson(s) that it is trying to teach us:

• Fear wants us to pay attention to some very important lessons

• Fear reminds us to carry our epi-pens wherever we go

• Fear reminds us to read the ingredients list every single time

• Fear wants us to be prepared for an acute reaction.

Once we hear what fear has to say and learn from it, fear becomes smaller and much more manageable. Maybe we can even see fear as “a teacher”, one that we can approach with curiosity. Perhaps then fear may not seem “as scary” anymore.⠀