How do you tell if it's illness or anxiety?
I've got better at this over the years but sometimes I really can't tell if my n* is being caused by anxiety or by 'the real thing'
Some ways I try to tell if I'm actually ill or just anxious:
- I think about the likelihood of me having a bug.. have I been exposed? Are we in summer or winter? Do I have any other symptoms?
- I think about the likelihood of FP... have I eaten anything that wasn't safe? Do I have stomach ache or D*? Does my boyfriend feel ill?
- Is the n* coming from my throat or stomach? If the n* is coming from my throat then it's probably anxiety
- Are my safety behaviours (nibbling crackers and sipping water) making the n* worse or better?
- How long have I been feeling n*? If I were going to v* would it have happened by now?
How do you guys tell what is causing your n*?
Re: How do you tell if it's illness or anxiety?
My main indicator is thinking of my fave food and if my stomach is repelled, I know its real. But my anxiety with breakups and arguments and exams have almost caused me to want to v* so it just makes it that bit harder.. quite often if an "incident" occurs which is caused by stress, I will quite soon go off EVERYTHING. I did a performance last week (I'm a pianist) and it was quite a big event and I am only just beginning to eat "properly" as the whole day I had zero appetite due to nerves.
Hunger is criminal for trolling us too - soooo many times I have woken up, looked forward to a good breakfast but left it a little too long only to be scared to eat cos of the hunger n*...
Re: How do you tell if it's illness or anxiety?
Omg if I don’t eat my stomach burns so bad like it’s on fire! If I get to that point I have to slowly eat
Re: How do you tell if it's illness or anxiety?
My suggestion would be, rather than overthinking all the possibilities - just tell yourself that it IS anxiety and do your best to calm yourself down. For us emets, it's anxiety 99% of the time, so it's counterproductive to needlessly worry about the things that aren't going to happen. I know, I know, that's what we do, but I can tell you from experience that after almost 53 years of not v*ing (and that's not a typo), eventually you will be able to convince yourself that you're fine. Really.
Re: How do you tell if it's illness or anxiety?
I can tell you from experience that after almost 53 years of not v*ing (and that's not a typo), eventually you will be able to convince yourself that you're fine. Really.[/QUOTE]
Oh my gosh! That is incredible - are you male or female? Only asking as us girls are blessed with more triggers for v* due to hormones etc... Also do you think you've ever used willpower to not v*?
Re: How do you tell if it's illness or anxiety?
Oh my gosh! That is incredible - are you male or female? Only asking as us girls are blessed with more triggers for v* due to hormones etc... Also do you think you've ever used willpower to not v*?[/QUOTE]
I'm female, and yes absolutely - I made another post about "mind over matter". I'm a true believer.
