I tend to keep things on the Celiac Press pretty positive most of the time. With Peter’s help, I’ve learned so much about cooking that makes living with celiac disease (coeliac disease) and a plethora of food sensitivities seem manageable. Honestly, most of the time I either forget that I have all those dietary restrictions because we’re cooking at home and I don’t feel terrible all the time.
That being said, sometimes I get a really bad case of the celiac blues.
What are the “celiac blues”?
You’ve probably heard of the “baby blues” or “puppy blues” before, but basically it refers to feeling really really down about something when it first happens and it causes a big lifestyle change. This can be a common effect of celiac disease. The celiac blues were kind of like that at first. I went from feeling relieved to know what was wrong with me to realizing that I’d have to make some pretty serious lifestyle changes. But the thing about celiac disease is that sometimes those feelings come up out of nowhere. Everything will be fine and then I’ll just start thinking about how I’m never not going to be celiac.
When do I get the celiac blues?
Sometimes this comes whenever I think about a certain food or restaurant that I miss. Other times it comes from thinking about foods that I haven’t ever tried. But most of the time I get the celiac blues when I think about how I’ll always be that person who needs “special food” at restaurants and parties. It also comes whenever I go to a work or social event that promises “free food.” For most people that sounds like a great thing, but for me it always requires that I pack food in advance.
More than anything, the idea that all of the planning, packing extra food, calling restaurants in advance, paying more on average for groceries, and refusing basically any food that I’m offered can really be frustrating—especially when I know that I’ll have to do that for the rest of my life. I know I even sometimes think about places I’ve never gone and wondered how much I’d be able to travel there if I can’t eat the food. Living with celiac disease is a permanent thing, so coming to terms with what that actually means can be tough.
It’s not like I feel this way 100% of the time. Trust me, if you’re new to this whole celiac or food sensitivity thing it will feel that way. But at the same time, those feelings of frustration still hit me every so often.
Most of the time, this feeling passes when something else comes up or I make something that I can eat that I really love. It’s honestly just when there’s a big event or holiday, a wedding to attend, or I’m going somewhere I’ve never been—be it a restaurant or a new city—that I get the celiac blues the most. In the past, I’d also had a lot of people get frustrated with me because I’ve ruined their plans with my celiac disease, or they’d even cut me out of plans entirely. It’s not like celiacs are trying to be difficult, it’s just that we need a little extra accommodation.
How to manage living with celiac disease
Now that I’m in a point in my life where I have more people around me who understand my struggles (including Peter) and I know my limitations and how to handle them, it’s made these bouts of the celiac blues much more infrequent. That’s not to say that they don’t happen or won’t happen, but finding ways to enjoy other aspects of food help me not to focus on how limiting my food sensitivities can seem. I’ve also come to realize all of the things that I can eat if I make a few changes, especially now that I’ve learned much more about navigating the kitchen.
Living with celiac disease can definitely be a struggle—and these moments will come up from time to time—but it’s not as all-encompassing as I first thought it would be.