My Latest Blog entry...

[centipede]

is on dining out as an emetophobe.

www.fearsandphobias.blogspot.com

[kataimiko]

very nice read. ^___^

I have beaten my own personal fear of dining out in restaurants, but it did plague my life for many many years. In elementary school and middle school, I would actually skip lunch even. This earned me the title of "anorexic girl who doesn't eat". -____-

but over the years, I was able to re-train my mind into be able to relax and let me eat when I was out of my "comfort zone".

I can still relate though, to how you do not light large crowds in smalls rooms, etc. I need my personal space...and have been known to panic if I am confined in a small space with too many people.

[SimplyMe]

Yeah I can relate as well. I used to panic everytime I went to eat and couldn't really eat much which got me plenty of comments from waitresses and how this must be how I remain thin .... b****es lol. I can go out to eat now but again if it's really loud/crowded it sets off my nerves and I get it to go. Which isn't always convenient or appreciated my my dining companion or the waitress lol. But oh well. We have to do things as we can, so that you are eating in coffee shops and take away places is a good first step. You will work your way up to the more challenging restaurants but you will do it slowly and eventually you won't care where you're eating.

I also think/find for me that if I am focusing on something OTHER than how I feel, that I have to eat now, that I'm going to freak the heck out and run out screaming, that someone w/ snotty nosed kids are sitting behind me, how clean is the silverware etc etc and focus more on who I'm with, our conversation, the decor of the restuarant, that this is a GOOD step forward ... it tends to go easier and cause much less anxiety.