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Dear List,

I have been thinking about the psychological results of having a longterm
undiagnosed nutrition-related illness that affects your health, such as
celiac.

Specifically, I was considering episodes in childhood where I experienced
moments of anxiety or school phobia, and others where I felt as if many
ordinary endeavours were too much trouble. As someone who was undiagnosed
until adulthood, I wonder how many of our enduring concepts about our own
personalities are based on physical and cognitive symptoms stemming from
being deficient in many nutrients? I find now that if I allow my B12 to
get low, I can experience anxiety attacks, but I have learned since
diagnosis that I am not necessarily an 'anxious' person although I thought
so as a child. I have also learned that if I am 'too tired' to do
something it may be more about nutrition than perhaps laziness/lack of
ambition etc. Have other people had to rethink basic self-concepts once
they became GF? I find for myself that a lot of negative self-concepts
have changed since I can attribute them at least in part to nutritional
deficiencies. Hoepfully this is another positive aspect of getting a
diagnosis that may be the flip side of whatever people find is negative in
getting this as a lifelong condition to be dealt with.

Thanks,
Lissy