What will happen?

[breezie]

I know we all have our reasons for being EMETS...but if you v* or if you see somebody else v*...what do you think will happen?


A chain reaction?
Disturbing thoughts?
Embarassment?


Me personally, I always think that if I see somebody v*, that I'll die or something terrible will happen to me and it'll be burned into my memory for weeks.


I just wanna know what other people fear will happen.

[yamyat]

I think i'll somehow catch it. I knowthat stomach things go by pretty fast..thank god! but its still the fear of getting it.

[susie_q]

I am afraid of the whole act of v*, whether it be me or someone else that I can see.

[punchbuggy]

Im scared of the act of it too, if i see someone it makes me nau. and its definietly burned into my mind - not for weeks but months.


this is kind OT but do you guys ever think that you will be grossed out by looking at your own v*

[breezie]

Yes definetly. And the cleaning it up...cuz it's not just the v* itself...it's the smell





It has a horrible, un-mistakable smell whether it comes from you or somebody else That's always been one of the worst thing about v*Edited by: breezie

[hippychick]

Thinking about it logically I don't know what I'm afraid of. When someone else is sick I am afraid I will catch it but if I was to be sick then i don't know. I know that I won't die. I know that I will cope. I guess I just don't want to lose control or something

[calibmom24]

Hippychick- That is exactly what I think! Couldn't have said it better myself!!

[aprilcats]

im scared of losing control...and for some reason, also scared of someone
ELSE seeing ME v*.

i hate everything about it actually. blehhhhh! [img]smileys/smilies_11.gif[/img]

[longgone]

I am afraid of the whole act of v*, whether it be me or someone else that I can see.

Same here.

[Galadriel]

I know we all have our reasons for being EMETS...but if you v* or if you see somebody else v*...what do you think will happen?


A chain reaction?
Disturbing thoughts?
Embarassment?


Me personally, I always think that if I see somebody v*, that I'll die or something terrible will happen to me and it'll be burned into my memory for weeks.


I just wanna know what other people fear will happen.

Well if I v*, I know it'll be scary at first, but that it will be ok and that I won't die.

If I see someone else v*, it will probably shock me, but hopefully I'd be able to just think "wow that poor person," and move on with my day without it affecting too much.

[x hannah x]

I was wondering that the other day, what it is about seeing people v* that upsets me. I don't usually worry about catching something unless I spend extended periods of time with someone who's been v*ing constantly and it bothers me almost as much to see it on tv as in real life so I think what I'm worried about is that I will see someone v* and it will make me v* myself. Which I logically know is stupid but hey. Thats why I'm working on overcoming my fear of v*ing myselfbecause hopefully that will eradicate the fear of other people too.

[sage]

I know when I had emetophobia there was no cognition (logical thought) I could identify. That drove both me and most of my therapists nuts. "What's the worst thing that could happen?" one of them said to me, exasperated. I didn't know. I was an intelligent, educated woman...so I knewI wouldn't die, have a heart attack, or go crazy. It was just this overwhelming sense of horror, terror and fear so bad it was like I was about to be murdered.


The more I learned about the brain over the years, the more I came to realize that that's just what it was - an automatic response from the amygdala or "fear centre" of the back of the brain that just fires off DANGER! signals with UNBELIEVABLE speed and intensity. Once I (and my therapist) realized it's just so automatic, and there is in fact NO "thought" associated with it - it's just pure FEAR AND HORROR, then it was easier to treat. He stopped trying to do "cognitive restructuring" and convince me of stuff I already knew, and we just worked on the phobia itself plain and simple. Treatment went a lot more quickly after that.


I'm not saying this is everyone's reality, but it may help someone else with similar frustrations.

[hippychick]

Thanks Sage I find that really helpful. I know when I was talking to a therapist about this she would say "what are you afraid of?" and I'd reply with "being sick" so she'd ask so you're sick? Then what? What will happen? and it used to bug me b/c I KNOW that logically I'll get through it be fine, maybe even happy b/c I finally did it but it didn't stop me being terrified.

I know that I won't die, I know that I'll be just fine but if I felt right now like I was going to be sick I would be so scared, it's almost automatic and any reasoning is long gone.

Edited by: hippychick

[breezie]

Sage that makes so much sense...I can't wait til I reach that point

[kellybean]

That is very interesting, Sage.

[xxsophiaxx]

I'm scared of the lack of control for myself. I'm a major control freak. Even if I just get a cold or something, it really bothers me because I feel that I haven't done enough to prevent myself from getting it if I do come down w/ one. So it's probably not the act itself that bothers me, just the fact that it's out of my control.


As w/ others, I just fear getting their illness.

[moonshadow]

Thanks, Sage. That's exactly how I am. I don't think 'anything will happen.' I don't think at all! It's just an automatic response of horrified panic, which I may or may not be able to conceal, depending on how 'strong' I'm feeling at that moment!


If it happens to a family member (hub or mum, in my case) there is a secondary fear that it will go on for hours and hours, and the thought of getting through those hours seems like climbing a mountain, so miserable and exhausting.

[xxsophiaxx]

k now i know for sure what it is that I fear. The lack of control and umm the lack of control. Once you start it it's hard to stop . And i fear it happening in public most