Do you experience anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder as a result of your life threatening allergies, anaphylaxis and past allergic reactions? It can be really debilitating trying to cope with something that could be catastrophic if you or someone else makes a mistake. Living on high alert is wearing, exhausting and can cause real anxiety problems.
I know I’m not the only one who has experience anxiety and PTSD from anaphylaxis.
So when I received this survey request via email recently and thought some of you might be interested. Please read the entry criteria below before taking part but I think it’s great to see some research into this. I really struggled with panic attacks after having two serious anaphylactic reactions that caused me to be unconscious and rushed to A&E. Dealing with that has been really hard and I’ve had CBT therapy to help me, which was really useful. Watch out for a future blog about this because I don’t think I’ve ever shared that experience yet.
So I am very grateful to the team at Aston University in Birmingham, England, for conducting this research. Thanks also to Allergy UK for supporting and circulating the survey.
The research team is looking for participants for this research study which aims to understand if there are differences in levels of anxiety and post traumatic stress symptoms (PTSD) between people with and without food allergies. The research team also wants to find out whether participants who have experienced anaphylaxis are more at risk of developing anxiety and PTSD.
Who can participate in this study?
Participants must be adults aged 18 and over, with a medically diagnosed food allergy or with no food allergies.
What will I be asked to do if I take part?
If you decide to take part, you will be asked to complete an online survey to assess your levels of anxiety and stress symptoms. The survey will take approximately 20 minutes to complete.
Interested in taking part in this research?
If you would like to take part in this research, please click the following link to access the online survey:
Useful resources if you need help
I would suggest visiting your GP and speaking to your allergy consultant if you are experiencing any anxiety and PTSD symptoms. There is help out there both through the NHS and privately. The following resources may also prove useful; both the Anaphylaxis Campaign and Allergy UK have support help phone lines.
Anaphylaxis Campaign – https://www.anaphylaxis.org.uk
Allergy UK – https://www.allergyuk.org/
Anxiety UK – https://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/
Mind – https://www.mind.org.uk/
PTSD UK – https://www.ptsduk.org/
If you have any questions about the research project, please contact the main researcher: Sana Ahmad on 180067606@aston.ac.uk or supervisor: Dr Rebecca Knibb on r.knibb@aston.ac.uk
You may also be interested in…
- Anaphylaxis – The Essential Guide – The book everyone living with anaphylaxis should read
- 10 tips for dealing with anxiety and rage about your allergies and anaphylaxis
- Focus on the Positives – How allergies and eczema CAN be a gift
Hi Ruth congratulations first of all on winng another award. I’m writing as I know the feelings you talked about regarding anaphylaxis approximately 4 years ago I was having asthma attacks and anaphylaxis attacks up to 3 times a week with an allergy to perfume and depending on the perfume and how much of it depended on the severity of the attack and which one it was both were really scary as with both I could not breath enough and every time I would end up going to hospital on blue lights and spending a minimum of 4 hours there and always with the fear of a second reaction as a lot of staff had some sort of perfume deodorant or washed their clothes in something that was equally as strong or the porters wearing aftershave so it was always scary. Fortunately I had an attack at an appointment at the allergy clinic and they see how bad and quickly reacted to perfumes and since then I’ve been on 6 antihistamines a day and after a week of taking and still taking them has helped a lot but I can still have reactions just not as bad
Hi Ian, thank you, thank you, thank you. asthma and anaphylaxis can be terrifying and cause so much anxiety. And having it to perfumes and fragrances must be awful – you can’t control what other people do and the fragrance industry is so strong, all geared up towards us all smelling nice! when we should all just have our natural smell. In my opinion anyway. I’m so glad things have improved for you. I just wish I could wave a wand and cure you. Thanks again. If you have time, please do take part in this research. Thanks again.