Does making yourself V* remove the fear?

[BenBHartnett]

Some of my friends and family have told me that if I make myself v* it will remove my fear. Is this true?

[wargerbil]

The overwhelming consensus on that is no. Lots of people have posted on the boards that they've gotten ill and are still phobic afterwards, so why torture yourself?

[person54321]

No. I read someone comparing this to making yourself get in an airplane crash to get over a fear of flying. It can make a person more fearful rather than less. Many people report feeling temporarily relieved, like "wow that wasn't so bad!" but then they return to being fearful within days to weeks. The ultimate goal isn't to stop fearing v*, but to stop being afraid that of the possibility that we will v*. Do you know what I mean by that?

[BenBHartnett]

No. I read someone comparing this to making yourself get in an airplane crash to get over a fear of flying. It can make a person more fearful rather than less. Many people report feeling temporarily relieved, like "wow that wasn't so bad!" but then they return to being fearful within days to weeks. The ultimate goal isn't to stop fearing v*, but to stop being afraid that of the possibility that we will v*. Do you know what I mean by that?

That makes a lot of sense! Someone told me to make myself v* over and over till I am over my fear. I am more afraid to do that than to actually v*!

[turbokinetic]

It won't help much, if at all. Or, you could give yourself a BAD experience and make your phobia worse.

[gumdropper1]

On my web site (see link below) are stories of people who:
a) made themselves puke and were cured
b) made themselves puke and were not cured
c) experienced natural vomiting and were cured
d) experienced natural vomiting and were not cured.

Doug

[afraid213]

A TON OF PEOPLE have said the same thing to me... ive actually almost done it... but its deeper than you think....it could quite possibly make things worse for you...i highly suggest not doing it.... (so does my therapist)

[asianeko]

It really depends on the person. I think that if you do not want to make yourself V, it won't help you to do it anyway. I know a few years ago there were a few who got fed up with their fear and forced themselves to do it, and they said it helped. But it's something too serious to just do, it has a high potential of backfiring.

On top of that, I've found many people are afraid of not being in control of their emet. Even if they are okay with forcing themselves to be sick, they are scared of being sick when they don't know it's coming.

Doug's resources are awesome, you should check em out