I was thrilled to get the opportunity to contribute to the Juvela 'Real Stories, Real People' series!
Juvela have been publishing stories from across the coeliac community in order to raise awareness.
I was lucky enough to be asked to contribute and I loved it! It provided me with an opportunity to share my story and also learn a bit about myself as I considered my responses to each of their questions.
In the article I speak about my diagnosis story and how much of my family were subsequently diagnosed because of the often hereditary nature of coeliac disease.
I also wanted to be super honest about my food anxiety. Many non-coeliacs probably don't realise the anxiety that comes with eating food - even with reassurance it can be a struggle to feel comfortable eating out. I wanted to share this experience because it's definitely not a rare one, so it might benefit others to know they're not alone.
Because I was diagnosed aged 4 over 20 years ago, I have the benefit of not remembering gluten-filled food, and so I'm always eager to share my positive attitude and outlook. Luckily, I rarely have the 'why me?' attitude and I think it's important that other coeliacs know its not all doom and gloom!
You can read the entire article here.
