Always feeling like a burden with celiac disease?
This diagnosis is not easy. And when you're always worried about bothering people with your diet, it can take a heavy toll.
But with the right mindset & support, you can feel capable & safe to make your needs known - without the guilt.
In this post, I share 5 simple steps you can take to stop feeling like a burden and start feeling more confident with celiac disease - so you can travel, dine out, and enjoy being around food. Let's dive in!
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5 Steps To Stop Feeling Like a Burden With Celiac
About This Blog Post
One of the most common challenges I've heard from coaching celiacs over the last 5 years is the constant worry of feeling like a burden because of their diagnosis.
"I hate that I'm always bothering people"
"I should say sorry for inconveniencing them"
"I feel so guilty that my family/friends have to deal with this too."
If you feel this way too, you are not alone.
But you should know - your needs are not a burden, and you deserve to be taken care of.
In fact, every human being has needs. Every single one! It just so happens that yours are just about food.
If you are afraid of inconveniencing others - whether it's a server in a restaurant, your grandma who always makes you sugar cookies, or even your partner who now has more work (and a higher bill) when grocery shopping - you're probably someone who has a really big heart.
You care the most. You want your family, friends, and colleagues to feel supported. You go out of your way to make sure everyone else is comfortable and taken care of. You're always looking out for other people.
And while that is a beautiful and admirable thing, it also means you likely put yourself last.
You are so worried about everyone else being comfortable that you feel guilty prioritizing yourself. And then your mental, emotional, and physical health suffer because of it.
But the truth is you don't have to feel guilty for prioritizing yourself. You are allowed to focus on YOU. Your health is important, especially now that you have to maintain a 100% gluten-free diet.
And just like you want your loved ones to feel comfortable and supported, they want you to feel the same. You don't have to walk around feeling like a burden with celiac disease - you are allowed to let others help you.
How Feeling Like A Burden Shows Up
If you always feel like a burden with celiac disease, here are some examples of how this could be showing up in your daily life:
When Traveling: You’re flying to California to see family. You're rushing through the airport, hungry (you packed a few snacks but they’re already gone), and every restaurant has vague allergy signs or confused staff. You know you should ask more questions, but you don't want to seem high-maintenance. So you tell yourself you'll be fine and board the plane with a granola bar. A few hours later, you're starving and mad at yourself - and you haven’t even made it off the plane.
At A Restaurant: You’ve been invited out to dinner with friends. You want to go, but that familiar tension hits. You scan the menu ahead of time, prep your questions, but the moment the server seems impatient, your confidence crumbles. You order a salad, which seems “safe-ish” just to avoid friction. The whole night, you’re on edge, picking at your bowl, and later, when your stomach feels weird, you’re not sure if it’s gluten or stress—but you do know you wish you’d stood your ground.
In Your Career: It’s Friday at the office, and someone brings in snacks (cue the panic). You're not sure if anything’s safe for someone with celiac. You want to ask, but you worry about being labeled difficult or dramatic, so you stay quiet, skip the snacks, and try to pretend you’re not bothered. Later, you feel left out—and wonder if your silence is costing you more than just a cookie.
All of these situations are very real examples that you might be experiencing right now that make you feel like you're a burden because of your diagnosis.
But there is a way forward that doesn't include you feeling like a bother to those around you so you can enjoy being around food again.
5 Steps To Stop Feeling Like a Burden
Let's dive into the five steps you can take to stop feeling like a burden with celiac disease.
Step 1: Share your Story
“Speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have.”
-Oprah Winfrey
Your celiac diagnosis is a story that deserves to be shared. Every story is unique. How old were you? What were your symptoms? How long did it take to figure it out? How did you feel getting the news?
By sharing your story with others, you can shift the weight you feel carrying this diagnosis all on your own. Allowing other people to support you through this journey is the first step.
How you choose to share your story (and with whom) is completely up to you. But the action of putting words to paper and giving a voice to the thoughts/emotions you are keeping inside will help you to feel lighter and freer.
Action Step:
Share the story of how you were diagnosed. You can write out your story in a journal, type it out your story on your computer, create a post on social media, or discuss it with someone you trust. Be as detailed or as brief as you like, but get that story out of your head and into the world.
You can also share your story with one of the celiac organizations like Beyond Celiac or the Celiac Disease Foundation. They are always looking to hear from real patients. You can read my diagnosis story right here.
Step 2: Practice Gratitude
“Always have an attitude of gratitude.”
-Sterling K. Brown
It’s common to fall into the trap of saying “I’m sorry” when you feel like a burden with celiac disease. Suddenly, ordering food, going to Thanksgiving dinner, or taking a trip feels like you’re being a pain to those around you. You may feel you need to apologize for your diet, but you don’t. The first thing you can do to shift this belief of “I’m a bother” to “I’m worthy of care” is by saying thank you.
Gratitude is a powerful mindset tool that completely transforms the way you look at someone accommodating you. It will take time to reprogram your language and your brain, but as you do this, you’ll start to trust yourself and take your diet more seriously. Consistently showing up for yourself and having gratitude for those who support you will boost your self-esteem that your diet IS important, and it DOES matter.
So that when you have to ask the server to double check if the salad dressing is gluten-free, you do so with your head held high, instead of shrinking & trying to hide because you worry about being a burden.
Action Step:
Watch how often you say “sorry,” especially around food. Replace it with “thank you” or “I appreciate that”. Put a post-it note on your bathroom mirror that says “Thank you” to help you remember to be grateful instead of apologizing.
Saying thank you is one of the BIGGEST yet most simple changes you can make that will completely transform how you feel being accommodated with celiac disease. Just look at one of my followers said after implementing this:
Step 3: Enlist Help
“Asking for help is never a sign of weakness. It's one of the bravest things you can do. And it can save your life.”
-Lily Collins
Asking for help is hard. It makes you feel vulnerable and opens you up to rejection. But please know, you don’t have to go through your celiac journey alone! Your loved ones, your family, your partner, your friends, and your colleagues can help you if you let them.
This will take time, so be patient. Just as you had to educate yourself and learn about gluten, cross-contact, and label reading, others will too. But they CAN help you if you only give them the chance to try.
Before you start thinking, "No, I can't ask them to help me! This is MY diagnosis, it's my problem."
Think about this for a second:
If the roles were reversed, and you did not have celiac, but your best friend/partner/loved one did - how would you want them to feel? Because if they came to you crying saying, "I'm so sorry we can't go to the pizza place anymore, I feel so bad" or "I feel like I'm just bothering you when I ask you to check Find Me Gluten-Free"...
What would you say?
Chances are, because you are such a giving & kind soul, you'd reassure them with love and support. You'd tell them, "Don't apologize, it's totally okay! We will figure this out together."
Right?
You OWE yourself the SAME type of support. Remember that.
Action Step:
Ask for help with 1 thing non-celiac related. It could be asking your partner to help you do the dishes. Have it be something easy and simple that won’t take a lot of thought. Practice asking for help with simple/easy tasks, and then build up to celiac-related tasks (like restaurant research on Find Me Gluten-Free).
Struggling to dine out in a restaurant & worried about getting sick? Here are the 5 mistakes that can lead to anxiety & celiac exposure so you can avoid them.
Step 4: Allow Time to Rest
"Self-care is how you take your power back."
—Lalah Delia
Have you noticed you feel mentally tapped more than you used to? Does celiac feel exhausting every single day?
It’s because following a 100% gluten-free diet requires so much decision-making. This can frequently lead to decision fatigue and burnout if you aren't careful (more on that in this blog post here, and how to move past it).
Additionally, you're exhausted because you're constantly trying to make sure you aren't bothering anyone. Your energy is tapped from trying to anticipate everyone else's needs and not offend someone.
This wears you down and depletes your energy and mental capacity. In reality, you need to focus on you and your needs first. That's where relaxation, self-care, and rest come in.
While self-care can be super cliche these days, it’s integral to support yourself so you feel capable of taking on another day in the gluten-filled world. Giving yourself space to rest and recharge is allows you to focus on prioritizing what is most important - YOU.
Rest is productive here, and don’t let your brain tell you otherwise.
Action Step:
Give yourself a mental break. Rest, sit in silence, or meditate. Go for a walk or get outside. Practice a hobby that relaxes you and has nothing to do with food. Watch your favorite comfort show. Visit a dedicated bakery or order a GF treat online. Here's a list of some of my favorite gluten-free small businesses that ship.
Step 5: Keep Connecting
"Alone, we can do so little. Together, we can do so much."
-Helen Keller
If celiac disease feels really damn hard every single day, you’re not the only one thinking that. It IS hard, and it is a huge lifestyle adjustment to the way you think, eat, travel, dine out, attend holidays, shop & so much more.
But here’s the thing: You are not alone.
You are not the only person frustrated by people who think gluten-free is just a fad diet. You’re not the only one upset in a restaurant eating a salad and water because nothing else is safe.
You’re one of MANY celiacs working through the same struggles, emotions, challenges, and celebrations every single day.
And the more you connect with other celiacs and know they, too, feel awkward asking questions in restaurants, they feel bad that their partners can no longer eat anywhere because of you, and they, too, are working to remove unnecessary sorries from their vocabulary...
It helps you heal.
Action Step: Find other celiacs you can connect with either online or in person. Follow celiac influencers or bloggers, attend expos or meet-ups, or join a community of like-minded celiacs just like you. Here's a list of resources, bloggers, dietitians, and reputable organizations you can connect with!
Ready to Stop Feeling Like A Burden? Your Next Step
You don’t have to keep carrying that weight by yourself. You don't have to walk around with celiac feeling like a burden and that you're bothering those around you.
You deserve to take up space. You deserve to feel supported.
The Confident Celiac Community was created for people just like you: celiacs who want to stop shrinking themselves to make others comfortable and are ready to feel empowered, supported, and understood.
Inside CCC, you’ll find a warm, welcoming space where you can drop the guilt, learn to advocate for yourself with confidence, and connect with others who truly get it (like the excitement you feel when you see the words "Dedicated fryer" on a restaurant menu!)
With live support, practical tools, and mindset coaching, PLUS in-person gluten-free retreats every year (yes!) you'll finally have the freedom to live your gluten-free life without anxiety, shame, or people-pleasing holding you back.
Just take it from members who have seen their lives transform:
Ready to have more freedom in your life and stop feeling like a burden with celiac disease?
It starts right here. Click here to become a member today!
Final Thoughts: How to Stop Feeling Like a Burden With Celiac
I hope you find these five steps helpful to move away from feeling like a burden with celiac. You are worthy of love, care, and respect for your celiac disease. Don't forget that!
Looking for more celiac disease posts?
Flying somewhere and worried you'll be starving in an airport? Not to worry, this post on flying with celiac disease has you covered!
Newly diagnosed and struggling to find good resources to follow? Check out this detailed list of organizations, bloggers, and dietitians.
Do you feel like a burden with celiac disease?
Which of these steps are you going to try?
Leave a comment and let me know.
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