Is there any Connection between Allergies and Mental Health?

Any recurrent sickness can ultimately get to you physically and mentally. Getting an allergic reaction is one such awkward situation you can’t have a hold on.

Imagine when you are young and when all your friends are enjoying pizzas and doughnuts, you are sitting paranoid munching on your salad because you are allergic to gluten, dairy or eggs. It can be safely said that any allergy, be it mild or severe, being a recurrent condition can lead to stress, and anxiety and disrupt your mental health. Allergies and mental health are not secluded phenomena and are entirely correlated. Hence, while you go for an allergy treatment, especially for your children, consult a child counsellor to understand the mental state of your child.

Food Allergies and Mental Health: The Connection

Having food allergies can be overwhelming due to its unpredictability and uncertainty. While adjusting to food allergy safety measures it feels like a regular struggle and impacts your health-related quality of life. It becomes a double-edged sword. While avoidance can prevent allergic reactions, it may also give rise to deficiencies and mental illnesses.

• It makes you feel extremely isolated and lonely.
• The restrictions on food may go to extreme levels sometimes disrupting normal eating patterns.
• Constant feelings of anxiety about possible exposure unknowingly.

The key is to balance your fear and quality of life, by managing allergies well with preparedness and awareness.

Children with food allergies experience higher stress, especially in the absence of their parents. An anaphylaxis shock after a severe allergic reaction may lead to Post Traumatic Stress Symptoms (PTSS). It may also happen if the chances of unpredictable exposure are too great.

Transition to adolescence is characterised by increased independence, risk-taking impulsive behaviours and social and peer pressure. For these reasons, teens have a tendency to suppress their anxiety and stress. A teen's perspective about the issues of their food allergies can be markedly different from that of their parents. An adolescent with food allergies will be more prone to generalised anxiety. They may also suffer from separation anxiety, anorexia nervosa and depression.

With a child’s mental health in the doldrums, a mother’s mental state is particularly affected. The severity of a mother’s depression and stress depends on the child’s ability to handle food allergy-related anxiety on a daily basis.

These types of anxiety can build up several phobias and fears like needle phobia, eating out, travelling, exclusion, bullying, rejection, humiliation and death.

Nowadays, socialisation is just another name for brunch, lunch or dinner. Every meeting, personal or professional is incomplete without food. Hence, food allergies can also increase the symptoms of social anxiety.

Seasonal Allergies and Mental Illness

An increased amount of research indicates a significant linkage between seasonal allergies and mental health. It gradually turns into a vicious cycle. Here’s how seasonal allergies can trigger mental illness:

1. Allergies worsen mood swings and the stress and depression from the mood disorders snowball the allergic responses. Seasonal allergies, particularly amp up generalised anxiety. During allergy seasons like spring, when pollination is at its height, conditions like allergic rhinitis worsen and sneezing, runny nose and watery eyes just don't seem to improve.
2. Studies show that the inflammatory response to tree pollens goes way beyond initial points of contact. The nasal membranes flare up due to these microscopic allergens, and the reactions travel through airways, spreading throughout the body and finally reaching the brain. Cytokine which causes this inflammation is a chemical that penetrates the central nervous system and interacts with neurological processes. It predominantly influences how brain cells communicate, and regulates hormones and behavioural irregularities that lead to depression and anxiety.
3. Seasonal allergies and mental health work hand in hand. If your entire head is throbbing, your nose is inflamed and congested, and your eyes are watery and red most of the time, it impacts your memory, energy level and attention span. You are always feeling under the weather and dealing with reactions constantly can take a toll. Nasal congestion especially is a major mood depressor and isolates those who suffer from severe allergic rhinitis.
4. Another major reason for allergens being a mental health dampener is the disruption of sleep. Adequate sleep is essential for sound mental health, but allergic rhinitis causes regular sleep dysfunction that results in fatigue. Poor sleep and constant fatigue can exacerbate symptoms of stress and anxiety.
5. What most patients and caregivers are not aware of is that some medications for allergies can trigger mental disorders. Some researchers have indicated a connection between the use of anticholinergics like Benadryl and increased risk of dementia especially in senior adults. Medicines like pseudoephedrine can also cause nervousness, anxiety and insomnia.

Hence, it is quite crucial to consult a doctor for the correct medication considering your mental health. Care Health insurance policies cover these outpatient visits and also pay for visitations to multiple specialists. Doctors believe that over-the-counter nasal steroids and antihistamines are better alternatives will almost nil side effects and impacts on mental health.

How Unsafe Mental Allergy is?

Allergies are considered to be an ‘evolutionary error’. When our body responds to stimuli (in this case an allergen) our immune system goes into action. However, the stimuli might not be dangerous, although it is perceived to be, by our bodies. Mental allergies are somewhat similar.

The emotional immune system helps us to identify certain situations that have potentially dangerous consequences like talking to a stranger, inviting a stranger into your home etc. In case of mental allergies you are bound to feel distrust, which is the natural reaction. Responding to these triggers can keep you and your family safe. If you have grown up in an unsafe and manipulative environment, this emotional immune system will not develop adequately.

When an emotional allergy or mental allergy is triggered, something safe might be perceived as unsafe. Even those offering help and love might be misunderstood and considered unsafe. Hence even when you need the love and support, anyone offering it might terrify you.

For emotional allergies, therapy and your relationship with your therapist play a critical role in the process of healing.

>> Also Read: Avoid These 6 Skin Allergies This Summer: Helpful Tips and Tricks

Multiple Personality Disorder Allergies

Dissociative Identity Disorder is a complex psychological condition where two or more separate and distinctly different personalities or identities control your behaviour at different times. More often than not, when you are under the control of one identity, you can hardly remember events or actions you did while under the influence of other personalities. These identities referred to as ‘alters’ may speak in different languages, have different attitudes, and may even react differently, especially to allergies. It is difficult to treat allergies in these situations as different personalities react differently to medications.

Ending Note

Since allergies are beyond your control, management is a wiser method to follow. For better guidance, identify the allergens that you are regularly exposed to, and speak to your doctor and allergist to learn various strategic ways to deal with them and improve your physical and mental being. You should have meaningful conversations with your toddler and teenagers to understand their mental state and thoughts about the allergies they are dealing with. Also, prepare for the unseen that may arise due to a health emergency, mental disorder or an allergic reaction.

In this journey, as our valued customer Care Health Insurance is always with you. With our health insurance plans Care Supreme or Care freedom you can keep a check on your mental wellness. These policies offer adequate coverage for allergies and mental health by helping you get access to 24800+ network healthcare providers. When Care Supreme offers 4 OPD consultations from 14 specialised physicians including psychiatrist consultation, Care freedom offers coverage for pre-existing illnesses including anxiety. For more information feel free to connect with our experts.

Disclaimers: All plan features, benefits, coverage, and claims underwriting are subject to policy terms and conditions. Kindly refer to the brochure, sales prospectus, and policy documents carefully.