Nervous going out to dinner

[centipede]

I'm nervous because I'm going out to dinner tonight at a nice restaurant.

It's ironic how this would sound to a normal person but to all of you, it can be understood with compassion. I don't go out to dinner at nice restaurants often. Usually I'll go to take out places or cafes that offer quick service.

Nice restaurants have slower service and it scares me because if I should feel ill, I can't get out of their quickly. This stems from childhood as I remember frequently after going out to restaurants I would have stomach pains with d*. Sometimes it would start halfway through dinner adn I suffered until I got home.

When I go out tonight, I'll probably eat 1/4 of my meal and take the rest home. I always do this to avoid the full, heavy feeling which will cause me to panic and feel nauseous and the last place I want to be during this is at a restaurant where the smell of food is prominent.

[bandnerd]

I get nervous about this too. The nicer the restaurant, the more I freak out. My husband thinks it's the expense that causes the anxiety, but you all understand.
You will be okay, just eat what you can and pack the rest. Sometimes a half glass of wine relaxes me enough, if that is your thing.Have a great outing!
BandNerd

[centipede]

I'm back from dinner and it wasn't bad at all. The conversation with the others at the table took my mind off of it. I only ate a portion of the food but I left feeling fine.

I go through this everytime a scheduled dinner outing comes up. Before my emetophobia, I used to love going out to dinner and looked forward to these outings. Now, I dread them.