when i'm anxious i...

[katherines6]

just wondering how most of you deal with worrying about v*, and wondering if what i do is different. c:

[DeadxxInside92]

Haha I do a number of the things you listed so I am not sure I can narrow it down...hmmmm lol

[DeadxxInside92]

Haha never mind, I saw you could choose multiple ones

[katherines6]

yeah i made it like that because i saw the things i was putting as options and i went, "but i do so many of these!" haha

[katherines6]

does anyone who clicked other want to share what they do? you totally don't have to if you don't want to, i'm just curious.

[Jdpillow]

I usually panic and try to calm down some way. 99% of the time I feel sick I'm not so I try to come on here or somewhere else in the internet and calm down.

[drizzle418]

For other...i steer clear of the bathroom and all other people going to my bedroom or a spare room if im away from home. I clench my teeth and do a wierd thing with my tongue that I don't know how to describe. but my main thing is getting somewhere alone.

[asianeko]

I distract myself by playing games or watching TV. I also confide in my BF that I'm not feeling well, that way he has a heads up. I usually deal with it pretty calmly, so I chose that as well.

[jmoore10]

My husband can tell when I'm struggling, even before I tell him. He will sit with me and rub my hand ( not sure why, but this helps to calm me). I always ask him to tell me a story, basically just talk and tell me anything to help keep my mind distracted. Theyre not always the most interesting (golf stories, anyone.) but what a saint to pout up with me! Sometimes this helps prevent a full-blown attack. If not, it usually means we're in for a long night. Don't understand it, but many times mine will happen in the middle of the night

[DeadxxInside92]

I never really elaborated on what I do when I am feeling anxious so here I go...
I will take any anti-emetics I have on hand, usually Dramamine or Bonine or I sip water and nibble on something easily digestible. More often than not, I will talk to my boyfriend and cry lol
If he is not available then I come on here or play computer games to keep my mind of things. Sometimes none of these things work and I just straight up panic. I pace back and forth, bite my lip, pull my eyelashes, dig my fingers into my skin, etc. etc. Sometimes I will skip class if I am unable to compose myself, but then I always feel ten times more anxious because I feel shitty about skipping class and then I fall behind and my grades drop. I'm pretty much a complete basket case.
I honestly have no idea how people put up with me...

[katherines6]

Don't understand it, but many times mine will happen in the middle of the night

This got me thinking.... sometimes nighttime is the most panicky time for me too. i always felt like i got sick the most at night. does anyone else feel this way, like if theres ever a time when you'll get sick, its at night? any idea why?

[drizzle418]

@Katherine - yes! I am always worse, and feel sicker or more anxious in the middle of the night! I dont really know why...but unless I had direct exposure and then a panic attack my overall emet anxiety is worse at night too!

[asianeko]

Mine was worst at night as well, but it was for the very specific reason that I had my worst attacks due to something happening at night.

[katherines6]

I got sick all the time when I was younger, and I'd always wake up RIGHT before I was about to v*, and sometimes I didn't even make it to the bathroom. It was always in the middle of the night... I'm pretty sure this contributes to my fear.

[meg_pro]

For the other, I usually curl up in a ball usually on the couch or my bed with a lot of blankets and if i'm brave enough a towel and bowl (I hate seeing something to vomit in, it makes me feel like i'm going to more) and make someone close to me hold my hand. (Which is very embarrassing afterwards, my sisters make fun of me lol for that).

[ShadeKat]

When I'm anxious my reactions generally are different depending on where I'm at.

If I'm out at work or something during the day, I'll rub my throat a lot with my hand, and I constantly am trying to touch my forehead with the back of my hand or with my wrist to check my temperature.

If it's at home at night, I'll end up more and more panicked and nothing will help me as I get worse... so I'll end up in the bathroom checking my face in the mirror to see if I'm going pale, probably standing there for minutes or a half hour or so before going back to what I was trying to do. I don't touch my throat as much as if I'm out, but I still do that, and I still check for fever a lot. I also make sure I'm curled up or otherwise in some sort of ball, even sitting in a chair like that. I also end up sticking my tongue back towards my throat, I suppose it's my mental effort to try and close it off. I'll start to feel anxious and then when I'm trying to talk myself down, it just gets worse and worse until I'm shaking uncontrollably and am completely sure I'm going to v*. ... and it never gets better until I can get sleep at night, whenever that ends up being. :/

[hairyfairy]

I always take an anti-emetic if I feel the slightest bit sick, as I don`t want to take a chance on ti being a false alarm.

[Rebecca85]

If I really truly feel nauseous, I sit or lie as still as possible trying not to do anything that might make me feel worse!

[bex]

I pinch myself realllly hard - I don't even mean to, I just do it without thinking. I pace around, open a window, and try to shake the feeling out of myself. I can't be anywhere near a toilet/bowl as that will only reinforce how crap I feel and make me panic more............

[LouiseR]

I always get away from people and go somewhere where I am on my own, outside if i'm out somewhere or up to my room if i'm at home.
I can't be curled up, I feel like it makes my tummy worse, I sit up completely straight of lie flat on my back with my head on pillows. I tend to rub my chest or my thighs back and forth with quite a lot of pressure and I check my forehead.

I also put my hand over my mouth.. not sure what I think this is going to do, if i need to burp i will always put my hand to my mouth when I do, I find this one quite odd!

If its really bad and i genuinely think i'm gonna be sick and need to be near a toilet i pace the corridor outside the bathroom. If not I just stay in my room and maybe watch something, those noise aggravates me a bit when i'm stressed so really depends

[stoneskipper]

There are a million different things I will do depending on how bad I feel and where I am. Of course when I feel sick I always automatically think it is anxiety and try to distract myself, drink water, lie down, rub my stomach, take deep breaths, use affirmations, etc., all the rational stuff.

If it's not helping, I usually go to anti-nausea meds next, Tums or Pepto Bismol. I start checking my forehead to see if it feels hot, checking my face to see if I "look sick", rubbing at my throat or pulling my shirt away from my throat/stomach to avoid any pressure.

In public, I have often pinched or scratched myself covertly since I feel like there is not much else I can do with people around.

At home, if it gets really bad, I get afraid to swallow, so I spit out any saliva I have (sorry, gross). Sometimes I will stand over the bathroom sink and do this and I know that spitting is something some people do before getting sick so I imagine that's what I'm doing and for some reason it makes me feel better, like in sort of acting it out it makes me realize that I'm nowhere near close to doing it.

I also like to be in a bathroom, but the toilet scares me, so I get in the bathtub. I've been doing this since I was pretty young I guess, and bathtubs are very comforting to me. It feels like a place I can get sick but it's not the standard place to so it doesn't cause anxiety.

[KimberlyP]

There are a million different things I will do depending on how bad I feel and where I am. Of course when I feel sick I always automatically think it is anxiety and try to distract myself, drink water, lie down, rub my stomach, take deep breaths, use affirmations, etc., all the rational stuff.

If it's not helping, I usually go to anti-nausea meds next, Tums or Pepto Bismol. I start checking my forehead to see if it feels hot, checking my face to see if I "look sick", rubbing at my throat or pulling my shirt away from my throat/stomach to avoid any pressure.

In public, I have often pinched or scratched myself covertly since I feel like there is not much else I can do with people around.

At home, if it gets really bad, I get afraid to swallow, so I spit out any saliva I have (sorry, gross). Sometimes I will stand over the bathroom sink and do this and I know that spitting is something some people do before getting sick so I imagine that's what I'm doing and for some reason it makes me feel better, like in sort of acting it out it makes me realize that I'm nowhere near close to doing it.

I also like to be in a bathroom, but the toilet scares me, so I get in the bathtub. I've been doing this since I was pretty young I guess, and bathtubs are very comforting to me. It feels like a place I can get sick but it's not the standard place to so it doesn't cause anxiety.

You and I are so much alike. I pinch and scratch myself too, but not only in public. I do it anytime I think I will be s. I also will take a bath. Its very comforting to know that I am right there, if needed but I am terrified to look into the toilet because I don't want to remember.

[DoonDoon]

I selected a few of the options, but I also selected "other" for the following reason:

One thing my psychologist told me to do when I am feeling anxious is to utilize logic. I can stop and ask myself basic questions about why I might be feeling sick. Logical thoughts might be "I have IBS, and I haven't been eating well... that's why my stomach is upset" or "I know I am very hygienic, so I know that there is little to no chance that I have a sv*" or "Though I feel sick, it does NOT feel the same way it did the last time I v*d". It ALWAYS makes me feel better.