Do you think you can force yourself to get over 'it'?

[Tasha'93]

I was thinking to myself earlier on today, I wonder if this phobia can be overcome by simply(I use the word simply loosely here by the way..) forcing yourself out of it? For example, I have trouble sleeping before midnight as i'm positive the longer I am awake the less chance I have of vomiting. So, I thought to myself as a first step to getting over this, is it just to force myself to go to bed before midnight and lay there until I eventually fall asleep? & then once I have achieved this, is it to force myself to do other things or avoid doing other things rather, that all help make this phobia as strong as it is? I just thought I would post a thread on this and see what everyone else thinks. Can we really 'force' ourselves out of this phobia just by being strong? Is that all it takes? Discuss!

[Elski]

What you're describing is pretty much how CBT works. The therapist would ascertain your 'safety' behaviours (staying up late as you feel it prevents you getting sick) and get you to do gentle experiments to test out whether or not there's any substance behind it (maybe going to bed an hour earlier) and the idea is that the first few times you'd be anxious but the more you do it and push through the anxiety, the less anxious you become as you re-programme your brain to see that the safety behaviour is actually futile and not keeping you safe at all, only feeding your phobia

Have you looked into having CBT? I think it might work quite well for you....

[Tasha'93]

What you're describing is pretty much how CBT works. The therapist would ascertain your 'safety' behaviours (staying up late as you feel it prevents you getting sick) and get you to do gentle experiments to test out whether or not there's any substance behind it (maybe going to bed an hour earlier) and the idea is that the first few times you'd be anxious but the more you do it and push through the anxiety, the less anxious you become as you re-programme your brain to see that the safety behaviour is actually futile and not keeping you safe at all, only feeding your phobia

Have you looked into having CBT? I think it might work quite well for you....

Thanks for your response. I thought it might be like CBT what I was thinking of. I guess like you say it is just pushing through the anxiety that is one of the main things to get through. I am actually on a waiting list to start my proper CBT treatment but I have had two introductory sessions so far.

[Blushes]

I ask myself that question everyday, but I do what I can to challenge my "safety behaviors" as Elski put it. I've also considered CBT treatment and hopefully if I can go through with it, I'll be keeping updates on this forum when I can.

[Tasha'93]

That's excellent Blushes, i'm glad you're also seeking help. I think if the help is available everyone should try CBT to be honest.

[nendre]

i'm actually doing that- forcing myself constantly. it really works, few weeks ago i felt like i used to before this phobia. then i had a fall back, mostly because my period made me very sick, and now i'm getting back on track. so for me, forcing works

[Tasha'93]

That's really cool. I think i'm going to start writing things down that I really struggle with at the moment, whether it be struggling to do things or avoiding certain things/situations. I'm going to do it, until I get better.