Before I step on the stage at my Ted-x talk, I want to check in with you all. I hope you are all doing well, healthy and that your family are safe. It is really hard to check in with everyone in your life and even yourself, please let me know in the comments or send me a personal email or DM if you want to chat or just say how you are doing. I wish nothing but the best for you.

This blog is not going to be giving you tips, or telling you what I am doing to stay sane during these times - to be honest I am a bit bored speaking about it - however, I started this blog as a sort of diary and sometimes I just want to speak my mind so I can reflect back on it in the future, and maybe one of you will take some good away.

I wasn’t going to write about my thoughts on isolation, mainly because there is so much information and loads of blogs about it now that I am not sure if I will say anything helpful or important. Alas, I have been asked to speak on my thoughts and how I am feeling with allergies, living and working from home.

Dan Kelly from May Contain did a campaign a couple weeks ago called #STAYALLERGYSAFE, about staying safe whilst working from home. I, along with others, sent in a video with our top tips for being safe at home. This campaign got me thinking about how my life has changed in quarantine and whether it’s better or worse. I have to preface this by saying that every home environment is different and some people don’t feel safe in their own home, especially when it comes to allergies. That was me about a year ago, living in a house share and cooking my meal preps at mums house because that kitchen wasn’t safe. Now I live with a friend who is very aware of my allergies, and doesn’t bring my allergens in the house (an interview with her coming soon).

I would love to know how you guys are handling this, what you are doing to keep calm, and what you are eating? Are you living by yourself, family? Do you feel safer? Please leave a comment down below , I would love to know!

Living at home in isolation has made me feel safer, especially when it comes to my allergies. I am no longer eating in areas where there could be an allergen present. I feel less pressure to try anything new and going out to eat. No one is offering me their culinary abilities and I am eating all the foods that I love and are safe. I know I am lucky, but I also know how different it would be if this virus had happened a year ago or even before that when I wasn’t living in allergy safe houses . I am privileged to go to the shops, pick up what I need, and that I am able to cook it.

At the beginning of lockdown I was really worried. I was scared that if I had an attack the NHS (health care system) wouldn’t be able to cope with me. I haven’t eaten any brand, food, or substance that I haven’t eaten before, in lockdown, I am doing my very best to not have a reaction. Environmental allergy season is increasing, so I am touching my face a lot, using lots of tissues, therefore hand-washing is at an all time high. I make sure I am moisturised and drinking enough water (my eczema tips). All in all, I feel a lot safer with my allergies in quarantine and my allergy food anxiety has gone WAY down. (I also got another auto-injector as my epipen will run out soon).

One thing I have noticed about this virus is that people are more aware of cross contamination. I am not sure that they have noticed the allergy side of it, but they are cleaning down surfaces, using gloves, washing their hands before preparing food, or when they get home. It is incredible to me how they can be understanding, when it affects them. This is a prime time for allergy reactors to explain to their friends and family that this is what they should be doing when it comes to allergies.

When I go out of the house, I just say to myself, ‘every person is eating a bag of nuts’ and you won’t catch me standing any closer than 3ft. This is what we have to deal with every day and now on top of it we could catch a virus. It is a scary time, but trust that your allergy practices will come in handy and you have been preparing for this your whole life.

What I eat in a day:

My meal preps have been a life saver for dinner. I know how much food I have left, which really helpful for the sporadic shopping sprees. It also helps with getting different sources of micronutrients. I am enjoying a delicious baked good at the end of my day, to give me some normalcy.

The biggest thing that I have found that reduces my anxiety during all of this, is to limit talking about it, reading about it, etc. I look at the news highlights for my country once a day after the briefing and that is it. I don’t want to talk about the virus with friends or family (I do check on them and see how they are). It just helps me to reduce the fear I carry around all day.

Enjoy the day with reading, watching tv, working (if you are still able to), facetiming, napping, meditation, writing, mindless scrolling, walking, home workouts, colouring, drawing, anything that brings me joy!

Nobody knows what is happening, no expert or your friend. You can do whatever you need to in this time! Please don’t feel guilty or shame if you are not coping, everyone has such different circumstances, nobody is doing it “right” we are just doing it right for us. This is just how I am handling it, sort of a diary for me to look back and remember. I would love to know what you are making, how you are going. Please leave a comment, or if you have anything to share with me, I would love to chat!

Be safe, stay home. I hope everybody is well.