Sage vs. My Psychiatrist ;)

[lostangeleno]

Dear Sage and everyone,



I thought you might be interested in knowing what my psychiatrist
thought of this Web site and Sage's papers in particular. Yes, he
paid a visit last week to educate himself before starting me on my
exposure treatment! Here are some of the things we talked about
in session afterward:



--Boy, did he feel sheepish after reading about the comparison between
asking a phobic patient to v* and asking a nervous flier to crash a
plane or a victim of rape to go out and get raped again! He said
he couldn't believe that he hadn't made that connection sooner and of
COURSE that would be the case!



--He offered to v* for me...I think he was half-serious. After I
finished laughing my patootie off, I explained to him that even if we
went that far in treatment, the volunteer COULD NOT BE HIM! He
agreed that although according to Sage, we could have a volunteer come
in and put on a floor show for me, it would probably not be
necessary. That type of exposure is something he calls
"overlearning"--it's attempting to desensitize yourself to something
that rarely happens. I have not seen someone v* in over six years
(though it seems some of you simply can't avoid it--my goodness!), so
it's not necessarily something I would need to put myself
through. My goal is simply to overcome the anxiety and panic
that's channeled itself into this particular stimulus, and so he feels
that even watching films and videos of poor sick folks might be
overlearning too. But that's something I may do anyway, depending
on how the treatment goes.



--My doc strongly feels that phobias like this are part of a larger
picture. In other words, don't call it a phobia--call it panic
disorder/OCD/PTSD that involves very specific triggers, symptoms and
treatment. I actually like his explanation of my problem better
than my thinking up until now, which was that I have this horrible,
evil, inescapable PHOBIA, the stuff of horror movies and nightmares,
except it's REAL! When I can call it panic disorder (thereby
relegating n* and v* to simple "triggers"), some of its power is taken
away, because panic disorder is treatable.



--My current prescription (other than my beloved Xanax and
Klonopin)? Sage's hierarchy of exposure! My doc thinks it's
perfect.



And speaking of that, I'd better sign off now so I can get to it and
everything else I need to do before hitting the hay! Just thought
you'd all like a peek inside the doc's office...I aim to inspire.



LostAngeleno



P.S. I've written the dreaded word in that special way a lot of
people seem to like out of respect for others here. I feel
comfortable enough with it to be able to spell it out, but I know some
of you might not be at that point. So, there you go. [img]smileys/smilies_46.gif[/img]


Edited by: lostangeleno

[crimgoddess]

Lostangelo-


First off, congrats on getting your therapy ontrack and feeling good about the person you are working with. That's AWESOME!


Second- don't worry about using signs for the word vomit if you don't want to. This subject comes up time after time (polls were done), and I think only one person out of the thousands that are registered to this site said that they were uncomfortable reading the word.


That, and if you think about it- another member once mention that it would be pretty rediculous for someone afraid of heights or flying to not say the words 'mountain', 'high', 'plane' or 'flying'. I guess the way I see it, if you don't spell it out due to fear you are giving it further power, and sending the idea that vomit is *so* horrible that the word can't even be spoken. To me that is very disempowering.


Once again, congrats!


*amber*

[sage]

hey thanks Lostangeleno, I'm glad your psychiatrist found my stuff helpful.


I also agree that it's "part of a larger picture". This is why I emphasize that if folks had some operation never to vomit again, they'd still have a huge anxiety problem anyway. The goal is to treat the anxiety, not try to stop/avoid vomiting at all costs.


My own story was similar to yours in that my therapist told me one day 'I think you have PTSD' and that made me feel so much better! Like it wasn't "just" a phobia - irrational, etc. But it was some sort of body flashback to the trauma of my childhood which was not one specific thing but day-by-day hell, so to speak.


I don't remember saying to bring someone in to do a vomit side-show...lol...but I did hear once of a therapist who did bring someone in - or some recovered emet dude who volunteered to do it and it helped the person...go figure.


I also told my therapist YOU can never vomit - I never want to fear YOU!!


Great stuff...keep working with this man - he seems to care a lot about you. That's so important.

[samara's on tv]

That's GREAT! It's also a good way to think, that it's a panic disorder and not really a phobia! My therapist has been to this site too, although she never offered to vomit for me LoL I wouldn't want her to either. I see her as more of a friend then anything and it would totally suck if I saw her vomit. Also I agree with what Crimgoddess said about blocking out the word vomit. I mean I do it sometimes, usually when I'm replying to a post where people have already blocked out the word but usually when I post new topics I don't block it out. But she's right about people who are afraid of flying not being able to say certain words. It is just giving the word and fear more power then it needs.


~Monica

[mjewell]

I agree with you all 100% that we all have some form of anxiety disorder. It's obvious - we are anxious every day of our lives to the point it is not normal anxiety...that is a disorder.

[sage]

specific phobias (like emetophobia) are clearly listed in the DSM-IV under anxiety disorders. So is OCD, panic disorder, PTSD. They're all really similar when it comes to how the brain is functioning. That's why the "cure" for them all is the same.