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Thread: Ups and Downs

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    2

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    I'm 37 and I've had emetophobia for as long as i can remember going back to early childhood. But, mine seems to come and go in intensity. A couple of years ago, I rarely worried about it--I worked with kids, I rode public transit, I drank a little too much sometimes--I even skipped washing my hands before eating once in a while!

    In my late teens, however, I was a basket case. I could barely eat, witnessing somebody being sick would send me into a total panic for hours. It was heinous.

    In my early 20's it faded. I moved away from home, I made new friends, I relaxed and I stopped worrying so much. I even got over seeing other people get sick.

    And lately, it's been really intense again. I started grad school last fall, I moved to a new city and for the past few months, it's been a lot of work for me to live normally. it's hard to eat, it's hard to differentiate between "butterflies" in my stomach and "real" nausea. I sit by the classroom door, I carry Pepto to class with me. I have a hard time going to sleep. There have been no clear triggers that I'm aware of, just a general increase in my fears.

    Next week, I'm going away for spring break--flying all the way across the country, staying in an unfamiliar place and obsessing over what to eat, what to do if i get sick. Oh, and on top of that, I'm taking an antibiotic for a sinus infection and obsessing over how that may affect me. AND, there's a stomach virus going around my school--and I'm obsessing that I've been infected and won't know until I'm on the plane....

    But I'm going anyway. That's the good news--it might be a lot of work to live normally, but I'm making it happen. There's nothing going on right now that I haven't done before--without being sick.

    So, I guess I'm writing this to reassure myself that things are going to be fine, but also to let others know that living a normal life is possible. (If anybody wants an emetophobe's travel tips, let me know!).

    Does anybody else notice their fears ebbing and flowing like mine? With not clear-cut triggers?





  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Milwaukee
    Posts
    486

    Default



    Yes, i am 17 and mine in the last few years have been a constant ebb and flow. Do you see a therapist? I do and i recommend it because i have learned that i have Generalized Anxiety Disorder along with being and Emet. So i too worry about things with no clear cut triggers, if you do have GAD then you can try different things to help it like EMDR and even meds. I do both, and even though its hard work and very emotionally draining, in the long run i hope it will help.


    I hope this has helped you, and know that we will all be here for you on your bad days!


    Erin
    \"The habbits of inattention and absence are strong, yet the experience of life, moment by moment, is precious\"

    AIM = burnbaby1017

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    2

    Default

    I'm not currently seeing a therapist, but I, too, have GAD--which I suspect is a major aggravating factor. I think that if I can keep my anxiety low, the emet. tends to decrease as well...but lately that's been a little hard to do.




 

 

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