Senior Member
I was just wondering if you all view avoidance as a sort of 'protector', or do you feel that if you practice avoidance, you are letting emet win? I, unfortunately, am not advanced in emet therapy, in that I view it as a protector.
~*~Charlene~*~
Senior Member
I "avoid" the sv* as much as possible. Really...no one, emet or not, wants to catch that. I am pushing the boundaries of my emet in other areas, so I don't see avoiding exposure to sv* a bad thing.
Be Here Now
Senior Member
I think avoidance is letting my emet take over. Well I guess in not all cases. I mean, I think even a non-emet would steer clear of a house where someone had a sv*. But I would say away from that house for a good solid week and still be edgy. I also avoid places because I think they are a place that would have a lot of sv* germs that I don't think a non-emet would even give a second thought. [img]smileys/smilies_05.gif[/img]Meh, it's like not even 6am...this probably won't make much sense when I get home.
\"Don\'t mistake innocence for ignorance. Don\'t mistake purity for inexperience. Don\'t mistake humility for weakness.\"
Moderator
Can't it be both? Avoidance is giving into the feelings of anxiety and letting emet win in order to "protect" yourself from a perceived threat IE. a stomach bug. I'm not saying we all have to go out there and start idk, kissing people with stomach bugs etc but the more you avoid and restrict the more you WILL avoid and restrict.
Also putting all your energy into fighting a stomach bug, thinking about it, cleaning, obsessing doesn't leave much energy left for fighting the horrible fear that is driving these thoughts. In the end though I do believe that at some point V* will happen and if I've spent the last 5 years avoiding it and putting everything I have into avoiding it then I will not be equipped for when it happens. I hope that by putting my energy into fighting my fear and challenging myself that I will have the tools to deal with what happens when i vomit.
So my answer is both haha I see avoidance as protecting me but I also know how bad it is for me because I don't want emet to beat me.
But again I do understand that everyone is in a different place with their phobia etc and I don't judge anybody for what they do with this phobia. We've all been down and we've all been in that place at some point.
Edited by: hippychick
Be courageous, believe in yourself, and be the best woman you can be. I'm with you all the way.
Senior Member
1st choice.
You only live once
Senior Member
I voted for the 1 answer, but I really think for me it's both. No one wants to be sick with anything, but me emet does take over with things like not wanting to eat out.
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Senior Member
My emet is pretty bad, so I voted the 1st choice. I feel by avoidance, I am protecting myself from a horrible foe. I know it's a bit irrational, but that's where I'm at.
Moderator
Depends on what I'm avoiding. Yes, we all avoid getting sick. That's natural. I think it's when you avoid stuff like eating out, traveling and enjoying life that you are letting emet take over.
Mary
"Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right."
Member
I think avoiding things like roller coasters, etc. are okay but when it
comes down to normal everyday things in life than it is too much.
My goal with this phobia is not to avoid v* for the rest of my life
(when I am feeling calm) but to not let the idea or the act of v*
bother me anymore.
Senior Member
Originally Posted by daffodil
I feel EXACLY the same wayIt's like, I am comfortable with avoidance right now.
WOW--thank you all for the great responses!!!!
~*~Charlene~*~
Moderator
Avoidance is a comfort, because it's like if you have OCD. You hear the thought about idk SV or wwhatever and you carry out your rituals and you feel like you are safe and protected. But I don't know if anyone ever is "safe" It's good to push the bounderies of the things that scare us most. It doesn't feel comfortable to confront things but it's what each of us have to do to get over emet.
But like I have always said, you can't push until you are ready to do so. I feel like I have to push, I can't stay in this however comfortable it may be and however easy it may be. I want more from my life now. I'm not suggesting that anyone who does avoid doesn't want to get over this phobia, just that's where I am now.
It's tricky and it's a personal thing, avoidence is the temporary relief of our anxiety but it's never going to get us over it.
Edited by: hippychick
Be courageous, believe in yourself, and be the best woman you can be. I'm with you all the way.
Senior Member
I agree--it definitely won't get us over emet. I am just not real comfortable pushing most boundaries right now. I do "flirt" a little with some things that I may have shyed away from a year ago, but I really need to take things slow for me, or I feel that I may go into a depression again. Baby steps for me
~*~Charlene~*~
Senior Member
Yeah, I agree with what Hippychick is saying, it's just so hard to do. Right now, I'm trying to work on my depression, because it makes me weak, and unable to fight the emet beast. When I'm not as depressed, I am stronger, and more 'normal.'[img]smileys/smilies_02.gif[/img]
Senior Member
I pretty much agree with hippychick (Louise). I have gotten a lot better about not avoiding, but then again my emet has gotten much better than it was in the past, and I feel I can try to face more things, such as not refusing to be around a coworker who said they have had the sv, and making myself go to work when I don't feel good (but if I was really sick I would stay home). Its not easy definately, but I think (at least hope) that by after enough times putting myself in the situacion and realizing nothing horrible happens then it may lessen the anxiety.
Sometimes tho when you just feel you can't face it right now, its ok to know your limits and not drive yourself over the edge.
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