Am i avoiding a problem or creating one?

[jalila09]

hey im new here and im trynna find some help for this problem. i wouldnt
really call it a phobia because i was comparing my situation to some of
the stories on it and i can say that it never got the levels that ive read
about. ive never avoided eating because of fear of getting sick. but i do
drink pepto bismuth if i feel the slight chance of being sick. this happens
sometimes before i go to sleep. i also experience the fear (ex. fast heart
beating and shaking) when someone elese gets sick, when they say there
gonna be sick, or even if i think they could be sick. i make mental charts
of people that have car sickness, get sick when they drink, or frequently
say their sick. and try to like avoid them or not be around them at certain
times so i feel comfertable. i drink sometimes but i would never be
around two of my friends if they drink because i know they've gotten sick
before more than once. i try to avoid seeing it all all costs. if someone
says they dont feel good i might get up and leave the room, and try to
make it seem like im doin somethin. but the worst thing is when i have
dreams about people gettin sick. i think
i've had about 3 or 4 and they dont come often but when i wake up i feel
the same fast heart beating and shaking as if i was awake, its jus that the
dreams are so graphic and they stay in my head alll day. everytime i think
im gettin better by not freakin out as much. i freak out another time
kinda bad and if makes me feel kinda sad. i think i need help. im not
really sure this is a phobia because its not extreme...but i jus need to kno
if im avoiding a problemEdited by: jalila09

[kenni]

I do a lot of the same stuff, like making mental notes of who is gets sick a lot and avoiding situations where people are likely to be sick. I also get nightmares occasionally and they freak me out. I also get thefast heartbeat and shaking around sick people. If someone issick near me, it ruins my whole day because my mindkeeps replaying it. I show no compassion to the sick person because I'm too busy running away or freaking out. Idon't know what classifies something as a phobia or just really hating throw up, but in my opinion if something bothers you enough to give you nightmares and bring you to this website, it's probably a phobia. Then again, I'm not a psychologist, I don't even play one on TV.

[christianne]

Hello there and welcome!!

I totally agree with Kenni--if it's gotten to the point where you are afraid of certain situations, it could very well be a phobia. After all, there are many people on here with different degrees of emet (some mild some more severe), and some fear v*ing in different ways (only others doing it, only themselves and so forth). We're all different in the way we act and react.
I myself don't avoid eating out or eating certain foods, but I am emetophobic in other ways such as fearing myself and others v*ing. And I also do alot of the same things as you when it comes to avoiding certain situations and friends.
Even if you just have a mild form of this phobia, you are definitely in the right place. There's lots of advice and help on this forum, and alot of amazing people on here willing to see you through this!

[jalila09]

thanks...i never thought id ever turn to a site for phobias but at some
point u gotta admit theres a problem. and im definatly willing to take
advise. and like i was saying before about how sometimes i think im
making progress to get over this, and then sometime its overwhelming.
well today one of my friends at school said that she felt kinda sick after
lunch and i was getting ready to walk to the bathroom to "escape" but i
didnt sat there and tried to get my mind off of it, and in my situation i
think i would call that progress. but it really shouldnt take me sitting
there purposly trying to ignore wats goin on around me to avoid my
friend possibly gettin sick. most of the time they dont get sick and i get
worked up over nothing, and im pretty sure next time someone says their
sick or looks sit ill leave the room for a while. i also have the issue of
pregnacy. im a lil afraid that when im pregnant im goin to be sick all the
time. yea that freaks me out.

[kenni]

Yeah, I know what you mean. I was pregnant last year and had moderate morning sickness, not a great thing for an emetophobe. However, I only v*ed once, and that was from a sv. Whenever I woke up, I ate some pretzels and ginger ale, both which sooth my stomach. Then I kept the water luke warm or cool in the shower, because hot showers make you queesier (sp?). I brushed my teeth with kid's toothpaste and didn't brush my tongue. During the day, I was constantly sucking on lollipops or eating small, easy to digest snacks. An empty stomach makes morning sickness worse, and having a lot of saliva (like you do with candy) makes it better. Finally, I had to lay down with a cold washcloth on my forehead when I felt very nauseous. If that didn't help, a bit of fresh air sometimes did the trick. I've also heard you should take your prenatal vitamins at night on a full stomach and take an ginger supplement tofeel better.


May be GRAPHIC


I did have the "dry heaves" every morning for two months anyway, but luckily it never went all the way to vomitting. So the good news is you can make it through pregnancy and morning sickness without vomitting. Some women, about half,never get it anyway. When I felt bad, I kept telling myself that morning sickness is a good sign, and that miscarriage is less likely. And when labor rolls around you can avoid getting sick during transition by getting an epidural, something I would reccomend anyway. I have a low tolerance for pain.


Sorry to be so wordy, I was just hoping this post could help other female emetophobes face pregnancy without fear. I am one of the most extreme emetophobes there is, so if I could do it, anyone could.