Children and young people who have allergies may also experience anxiety, which is feeling worried, nervous or scared. It’s completely normal to feel like this. This leaflet talks about the body’s reaction to worry, which can feel the same as an allergic reaction.
We have written this leaflet to tell you about panic attacks and explain what they look and feel like. It will give you some techniques that children and young people find helpful to cope with panic attacks.
What is anxiety?
When your body feels scared or worried, it automatically causes what is called a “fight, flight response”. Some children and young people tell us that this feels like their heart is beating quickly and strongly, their breathing gets quicker and their muscle feel tensed up. Even though it feels bad it is not dangerous. In fact it happens because your brain is trying to keep your body safe by preparing you to fight off the threat or take flight towards safety.
We can sometimes feel scared or worried when there is no actual danger. For example, someone might feel worried and scared about reading aloud in class, even though they are physically safe, and there is no danger.
Everyone’s body reacts differently to feeling scared or worried.
What happens to our bodies when we feel scared or worried?
When you feel scared or worried, you might get some or all of the following things.
You might:
- Have lots of thoughts
- A fast heartbeat
- Feel sick
- Have a stomach ache
- Have legs that are shaky and feel like jelly
- Have a tight throat
- Feel faint, dizzy or light-headed
- Have a sharp pain in your chest
- Think things might not feel real
- Be sweating, trembling or shaking.
Feeling scared and worried a lot usually makes you feel tired too.
The link between allergies and worry
Many children and young people with allergies get worried sometimes. This is normal.
As we are taught to avoid things that could harm us, so it is normal to be more careful when you have an allergy.
There are some common worries that many children and young people with allergies have. Things such as trying new foods, eating at parties or friends’ houses, being near someone who is eating something they are allergic to and eating outside the home.
The body’s reaction to worry and allergies
The feelings we have in our body when we feel worried can feel similar to an allergic reaction. For example, worry can make our throat feel tight, like there is a ball stuck in it. If this happens it is important to try and feel calm as doing this will make the feelings go away and you will know that it was worry all along and not an allergic reaction.
If you think you might have eaten or touched something you are allergic to, and your body does not feel right, then you should follow the advice on your allergy action plan. This plan will be made with you by your doctor.
The anxiety cycle
There are four main parts to worry: thoughts, emotions, physical feelings and behaviour. They all affect each other, so changing any one part will change the others.
Ways to manage worry
Children and young people have told us that these things can be helpful to do to cope with worry. We will tell you more things about these:
- Square breathing
- Muscle relaxation
- Grounding
When these are practiced and used more, they will change thoughts, feelings, and behaviour, breaking the anxiety cycle.
Square breathing
Our breathing can change and become shallow and fast when we feel anxious or worried. Square breathing helps you slow down your breathing, use the whole of your lungs, and signal to your body that you are safe. This can help some of the other physical feelings you may experience when anxious, such as a racing heart.
To start:
- Breathe in slowly through your nose whilst counting to four and feel the air filling up your lungs.
- Hold your breath for four seconds.
- Breathe out slowly through your mouth for four seconds.
- Repeat this until your breathing is slower.
Muscle relaxation
Children and young people tell us that when they feel scared and worried or have a panic attack, their muscles feel achy and painful.
Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) can help make your muscles feel less painful and more relaxed.
Here are some muscles you might like to try this exercise on.
| Right hand and forearm | Make a fist with your right hand. |
| Left hand and forearm | Make a fist with your left hand. |
| Left upper arm | Bring your left forearm up to your shoulder to “make a muscle”. |
| Forehead | Raise your eyebrows as high as they will go. Like you are pulling a surprised face. |
| Eyes and cheeks | Squeeze your eyes tightly shut. |
| Mouth | Open your mouth as wide as you can. Like you are yawning. |
| Shoulders | Bring your shoulders up towards your ears. |
| Chest and tummy | Breathe in deeply, filling up your lungs and chest with air. |
| Right upper arm | Bring your right forearm up to your shoulder to “make a muscle”. |
| Hips and bum | Squeeze your bum muscles together. |
| Right leg | Pull your toes up towards you on your right foot. |
| Right foot | Curl your toes down on your right foot. |
| Left leg | Pull your toes up towards you on your left foot. |
| Left foot | Curl your toes down on your left foot. |
Grounding
Grounding helps you to pay attention to what is going on around you, using your five senses: sight, touch, hearing, smell and taste. Grounding can help you to feel calm when it feels like you have lost control.
- Look for five things you can see. Say their names out loud. Which one is nearest to you?
- Find four things you can touch. Touch them. How do they feel under your fingertips?
- Listen for three things you can hear. Can you identify what is making the noise?
- Sniff two things that you can smell. Do the smells remind you of anything?
- Taste one thing in your mouth. What did you last eat or drink?
The worry box
If you have lots of worries on your mind you could write them down on a piece of paper and put this in a box next to your bed. This will keep the worries safe overnight. You can then look at them the next day and talk about them with your friends or family or staff at the hospital.
Distraction
Distraction helps your brain to think about other things, so there is less space left for worry. Distraction is a great way to stop your brain from focusing on worrying thoughts. Here are a few things to try:
Count the number of red things you can see in the room.
- Make a list of your five favourite films, songs, or TV programmes.
- Try and remember the words to your favourite song.
- Imagine the line-up of a football team.
Summary
This leaflet gives an overview of how anxious feelings and worries can impact allergies. It explains some things to try, which can help with these feelings and worries.
Managing anxious feelings and worries takes practice. Trying some of the strategies in this leaflet can help you over time. If you feel you need more support speak to your hospital team
