Track and field athlete with Emetophobia

[dkwtd]

I have been struggling with emetophobia for as long as I can remember particularly when I workout.I am a track and field heptathlete and have serious trouble not losing it during hard workouts, where I push myself so hard that I could potentially throw up. It has only happened to me once but that was enough for me to forever fear it. I really want to get to the next level in track and field and that will require really hard workouts but I am just really terrified of what could potentially happen if I were to push too hard during on of these. If you yourself are an athlete struggling with a similar problem, please let me know how you deal with it. I have run out of ideas of how to fix this problem, and at this point, finding someone with a similar problem might just be the solution!

[crd08]

I love working out and I love running. I do 5Ks now, but would love to train for a marathon. However, I get such terrible anxiety when I work out that I have to stop. Even when I know I haven't pushed myself nearly hard enough to get ill, I still panic.
I was in track in high school and I never saw anybody actually get sick from it. You know your body and you know your limits, so trust yourself. You should never want to push yourself so hard you actually throw up. You will know when you need to stop.
But in general, stay hydrated and don't gulp or drink ice cold water. That can upset your stomach during a workout. Also I was told never to bend over to catch your breath, but to squat down. I guess the bending over can make your stomach think it's over full when you're taking the deep breaths. Not sure how true it is, but I do it anyway.

[gumdropper1]

You are brave to run when you know it has caused you to vomit in the past. Marathoners and other long-distance runners puke often. After a major marathon, someone always manages to take a shot of a runner puking, sometimes without even stopping. Maybe you should discuss this with other athletes. Find out how they feel about vomiting during a run.

[emmalinda]

I feel anxious about this too when excercising but i think you would be pushing yourself way too hard if that were to happen. You are already physically fit as well so your body can take a fair bit, dont question your limits if youre afraid to go further, but you dont have to be sick getting there. I mainly think very unfit people get ill when they have a vigourous work out because theyre bodies arent ued to it. Yours is so keep doing what your doing and just a little bit more at a time. If you think about it all the time when youre running then you will only feel sick form worry..not excercise

[chicajojobe]

I feel anxious about this too when excercising but i think you would be pushing yourself way too hard if that were to happen. You are already physically fit as well so your body can take a fair bit, dont question your limits if youre afraid to go further, but you dont have to be sick getting there. I mainly think very unfit people get ill when they have a vigourous work out because theyre bodies arent ued to it. Yours is so keep doing what your doing and just a little bit more at a time. If you think about it all the time when youre running then you will only feel sick form worry..not excercise

Unfortunately, this isn't necessarily true.

I had a friend who was an experienced marathon runner and after every freaking race she'd end up saying "Yeah, I got violently ill afterward."
Needless to say she wasn't an emetophobic.

The bigger problem, though, is that as a culture we think of an athlete pushing them-self until they get sick as a badge of honor, a sign of how dedicated they are.
Really, though, as others have advised, just listen to your body and just work to your limit during each individual workout. As time goes on you should be able to do more before reaching your limit and eventually you'll reach your goal.

[emmalinda]

I don't think telling this person that you know a friend who gets violently ill after every race isn't going to be the advice that we're after here.... :/

[chicajojobe]

I don't think telling this person that you know a friend who gets violently ill after every race isn't going to be the advice that we're after here.... :/

I'm sorry if it seemed that way, but I wasn't at all saying that the OP should expect that. That was an exceptional case, and that girl flat out bragged about it because, as I said, in sports, especially running, it IS seen as a badge of honor to go until you get sick. That is the culture the OP might run into.
What I was trying to say was that there's no real basis for it in exercise science, and she should not feel that she has to go past her limits to reach her athletic goals.

[CharlieCat666]

Well, actually, the reason athletes bend over to catch their breath isn't so much about breathing as it is about blood flow. When the body is pushing the muscles too hard, oxygenated blood that would normally go to the brain is redirected to the muscles, causing lightheadedness and, in some cases, nausea. By bending over, blood is forced to return more quickly to the head, relieving this sensation more efficiently.

I'm curious, did you have emetophobia before the incident you described in the OP?

[RIV]

CharlieCat666 - your replies are always so amazing. I love them. I also used aminos and creatine which helped me feel better, ensuring my blood sugar levels were good for the exercise.

Dkwtd - I feel your pain.

I was an elite swimmer in my teens making national junior teams and almost the Commonwealth team. My crippling emetophobia ruined any chance of me being truly successful. But that is not to say that you wont be.

Like CharlieCat666 said, my physios always told me to do this and it worked so well.