Allergic To The World

In the Todd Haynes film “Safe,” Julianne Moore plays a woman who is allergic to everything in modern life, and by the end of the film, she retreats to a sanitized yurt far from civilization.

For those who have the controversial diagnosis “environmental illness,” Snowflake, Arizona has become “Safe’s” real-life yurt community.

About 20 families live there who claim they’re allergic to what they describe as the pollution of the modern world: scented products, wi-fi, pesticides, plastic, synthetic fabrics, smoke, car exhaust, GMO foods, preservatives and artificial flavoring and coloring.

Although many mental health care professionals say that their symptoms are the result of anxiety and sometimes even PTSD, the fact is their suffering is real. We will see more communities like Snowflake pop up, places that traffic in what we call Extreme Safety, excessive focus on safety and preparedness, and in this case, protection from the world’s pollution.