Irrational Thinking

[samara's on tv]

Okay on another forum (ERHeadquarters.com) I made a post about Emetophobia to find out if there was anyone who had it. A few responded and one even joined this site! Anyway in that specific thread we were talking about Cancer and Chemotherapy. In it I said Repeatedly that I would rather DIE then Vomit again. My friend is trying to convince me that dying vs vomiting is stupid. He doesn't understand how bad the phobia is. Anyway I was wondering does anyone else think this way? Also is there a way to change this thinking? I've tried talking to myself (Like in my head not outloud LoL) that vomiting is NOT worse then death but I can't seem to believe it for some reason. Is there anyone else out there who DOESN'T Think this way? And if so how did you get to that point? I think MAYBE if I can get past this Vomiting vs Dying thing it might help me.


~Monica

[yenn]

I'm guilty of thinking that way too. People say to me "you're not going to die if you v" which is exactly the problem - I have to actually do it and then live to remember it!! Irrational I know. My anxiety was very very high at the beginning of July because there was an sv in the house but I've managed to get it down a little - much as I don't want ever to v, the couple of times recently I've thought it might possibly happen I've thought to myself that I can handle it and tried to sort of bribe myself by telling me it might make me feel better in the long run. I think I'm rambling but that's my take on it anyway :-)

[tcsarah]

My fear of v*ing if I am at home with nobody there watching or listening, has got so much better than it used to be. I still hate it but if the worst comes to the worst I go off to the bathroom and do the dreaded deed (I still have to close my eyes and flush the toilet chain to disguise the noise!). Once it's over it's over, I no longer dwell on it or starve myself the next day because of it.


Howevermy fear of v*ing in public is just as bad as ever, and I honestly think I would rather die than do this in front of other people whilstI wasout and about.


I think the phobia got better regards being ill at home, after I went through a particularly bad few years regards depression and anxiety (I now take a brilliant anti-depressant that has worked wonders for me). I would get so worked up about v*ing in public my stomach would churn so badly it actually made me sick! It was pure hell and a complete vicious circle. There became fewer and fewer things that I felt I could do, my life became so limited. The upside to it was I was ill through nerves so many times I kind of got used to doing 'it' at home. A few times I've had too much to drink too, so that has made me ill - more practice v*ing! So I guess the thing that has made me fear v*ing less (well at home anyway) is going through it over and over.


Having said that, the last time I was ill due to anything other than nerves or drink, was 15 years ago when I had gastric flu - it was a much worse kind of sickness.


There is no easy answer with emetophobia, v*ing several times over a period of time may make you less frightened but it's a drastic step for an emet to take and some may think it could make their phobia worse, I don't know. It's not like you can start by being a little sick and then gradually build up, like with other phobia recovery programmes - with our phobia, unfortunately it's all or nothing. [img]smileys/smilies_06.gif[/img]

[peachfeet]

I used to think like that, but I guarantee you once you were actually faced with death those thoughts would dissipate into oblivion and you would, more naturally on instinct, flee from it. Vomit to you would look like such a miniscule, tedious little thing as opposed to the Reaper. Now vomiting in public is understandable. Not because of Emetophobia, but it's just humiliating I think for anyone, Emet or not, to get sick in a crowd and not in the own comfort of your home... or bathroom.

[Galadriel]

Yeah this is a hard one. When I don't feel sick, V*ing doesn't sound quite so bad as dying, but then of course when I'm in the middle of a major panic because I feel real nauseas, then I wish I could die just to not feel that way or possibly v*. Its a really hard one to get around. One thing that helps is to take it in perspective, v*ing usually doesn't happen often at all, and when it does its just so many minutes out of gajillions of minutes that make up life. Course its prolly the worst few minutes, but still it happens then its over.

[r311dude]

Take it from me. V* is nothing. It's just the before feeling that I hate. I would never say I'd rather die than v* or feel sick, well because that would be admitting defeat. I WILL NEVER let emet beat me. Sure it' wins at time, but that's just little battles, I'm going to win the total war. Just gotta keep positive.

[willow2]

r311dude - i LOVE you're attitude!!!!!!

[jesskali]

I tend to think like that at times, but then I try to remind myself that there are things in life much worse than *v*!

Jess