FRUSTRATED!!!

[rebock98]

Hi, I am 23 and have been struggling with emetophobia since I was 7. I graduated college 2 years ago and now my emetophobiais gettingworse. Some days I can't even eat. I want to continue on with life, get a job, get married, but I cannot do this with this fear. I work as a waitress...It's horrible. But I don't know what to do for a living that won't cause me panic. Even worse, I think I am going to end up alone in life because I don't want my boyfriend to have to deal with this forever. Plus I can't have kids because of the emetophobia. I have spent thousands of dollars on therapy and nothing has helped. Has anyone gotten any relief? Is there any hope of us living a normal life? Or are we doomed to live in fear?

[marieb73]

No I don't think we are doomed, but I sort of think of phobias as something that must be fought with everyday. Even people who are "cured" must still fight, so I think we are always in a state of recovery.

My emetophobia has become truly awful over the past 4 months. I battle it daily, and often lose.

Remember to cheer yourself for any victories, no matter how small! And talk to your bf. Have him read about emetophobia. Really many people ave never heard of it. There are plenty of medical professionals even who are in the dark about it, so encourage him to understand this phobia of yours.

Welcome to the forums and good luck!

[katiepool129]

Thats good advice Marie. I wanna say welcome to the site to start off with, i'm sure you'll find that in time this site can be helpful to ease any worries and
there's always someone to talk to for support. I just wanna say also that your life doesn't have to stop because of the emets, it's important to try and work with it and still enjoy things in life. I know thats easier said than done because we all struggle with it from time to time. I think that if you found a partener who really loved you they would also accept that you have certain issues aswell. Many of us on this forum have parteners or are married and many have children also. Your life doesn't have to stop because of this fear, we are all here to help and provide advice when we can to each other.

Hope you start to pick up soon.

Katie