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New and need advice
My name is Chelsea and I am in desparate need of help. I have had an uncontrollable fear of vomit. I am always using the flight technique, and I instantly find myself having a panic attack. I need advice on how to cure/deal with this phobia. I do not want this to hold me back from my goals in life, and as of right now that is exactly what is happening. I am currently an early education major, and I am afraid that my phobia is going to get in the way of my passion. I just got a job at a daycare, and I do not want to let anyone know about my fear. I want to be able to handle this problem, and I am afraid that I will lose my job if I let my boss know what is wrong with me. I would love to learn coping mechnaisms, or even hear about treatment programs that have worked. I need to let go of this fear once and for all, but I feel as though it will always be there. Any advice will be greatly appreciated!
Thank you,
Chelsea
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Re: New and need advice
Hey Chelsea, welcome to the forums!
I'm sorry you're having such a hard time with this anxiety, it's awful, and everyone here understands what you're going through. First off, I don't think that your boss is allowed to take your job from you because of anxiety. I know that in Australia, it's illegal under a fair work act, perhaps research and see if it's similar where you are. Anxiety is something that makes life a whole lot harder than it's supposed to be and having the people around you (especially your boss) can make it a bit easier.
As for treatments, there are so many you can try. I've tried counseling, hypnotherapy and CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy). CBT is working well for me at the moment, by challenging the way I think about my phobia and the way that my mind automatically reacts to situations including vomit. Hypnotherapy was nice, relaxing and all, but it didn't help with my phobia much, and I don't know about the US, but here, it's so expensive and as an alternative treatment, it's not covered by health insurance, so I couldn't afford it. Counseling was a waste of time for me, because I felt like I was paying someone to tell me that I have a problem, when I already know, and it didn't teach me anything new.
There are also medications that can help you. I'm on Lexapro, which I don't like so much but I'm going to talk to my doctor about changing, there are so many choices. Have you had a chat to your GP about this?
I hope that this forum helps you. There are so many lovely people who all know how you're feeling and who are willing to help and answer any questions you might have!
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Re: New and need advice
Welcome to the site!
I have an article on my website about treatment programs (as in, how to find a good therapist). As Kaydee Jaydee said, CBT is the method that has been tested scientifically as effective for treating phobias. The link is below.