"Replace fear-based thinking with love-based thinking. Every time you're making a choice, ask yourself if it's going to cultivate the experience of unity and love or the experience of separation and stress." – Deepak Chopra

We all experience fear. When it comes to living with a chronic condition like a food allergy, fear can manifest in many ways.

Sometimes our initial diagnosis gives us fears about our quality of life. Dealing with the realities of our "new normal," with a food allergy can put us in a chronically fearful state of mind. Will I have a flare today? Will I be able to attend to my daily tasks stress-free? Fear about outcomes that are beyond our control can facilitate fear taking root.

"I finally came to realize that my fears about having a food allergy and what that could potentially mean were ADDING to my pain. Once I consciously decided to relieve myself of that burden I could better focus on managing my food allergy." – Member of MyFoodAllergyTeam

Here are recent conversations from MyFoodAllergyTeam:

• "My new goal despite obstacles is to keep finding the good in every experience. As long as I leave something alive and well, I vow to let go of the fear I was feeling the whole time, instead of retaining those anxious feelings."
• "I'm trying to get my own reactions under control and learning what I can and cannot have and it is getting slowly easier."
• "While stress doesn't actually cause allergies, it can make an allergic reaction worse by increasing the histamine in your bloodstream."

Dealing with fear will look different for everyone. Sometimes it means arguing with our intrusive thoughts. Sometimes it looks like meditating to clear the mind.
How do you stop fear from taking over? Join the conversation below.