I do tell people I have allergies, basically I can't eat any processed food or foods with high protein content. Which doesn't leave much! And then comes the horrified reactions where everyone interrogates me: "Can you eat this? And this? What about
this?" Some people take it as a challenge and bend over backwards trying to find me something I can eat, even though I tell them not to. I hate being the center of attention like that! I know this sounds awful but it's kind of a comfort to me that so many people have allergies these days. When I was a kid I was the only kid in our school who had severe allergies. Many adults didn't even believe in allergies and some tried to bully me into eating foods I was allergic to in order to prove allergies didn't exist. At least now society is more informed about
them. But there is still a stigma about
the subject. Just think of characters on TV or in the movies who have multiple allergies or asthma. They're usually portrayed as annoying losers, even the children. For some reason the media has decided allergy victims are fair game. I've decided to start writing the producers of these shows and complaining. It's hard enough for children to speak up about
their condition without worrying about
being labelled as a loser. I think I'd also like to write a magazine article about
the psychology of allergies.