Can't do anything! Emet is ruining my life!

[caragilmore]

I've been emet for as long as I can remember but its got worse in the past 3years. I suuffer bad panic attacks, and anxiety! I used to be able to go on rollercoasters, car and bus rides, areoplanes into crowded places, but now I cand do any of them, I can't understand cause its not like I ever had a bad experience when doing any of them. I'm just so fed up! Is anyone else like this? Can anyone explain why?

[Erica1649]

Do you take any other kind of medication??? I changed my birth control in May and ever since then, my emet and anxiety has gotten so bad.

[Paisley]

I too have gotten progressively worse and developed agoraphobia (which is what you describe) as a complication of emetophobia. My world has become smaller and smaller as I've avoided more places and things for fear of getting sick.

What happens is, for example, you have a panic attack in the grocery store, and your mind immediately thinks, "This means I'm sick, I'm going to vomit" and you don't want to do it in public so you run home and think, "Whew! I avoided getting sick in public" and then your panic attack goes away at home and you feel fine. It doesn't take long before your brain makes the (mistaken) link: Grocery store means panic attack which means possible vomiting and home means safety. So you learn to avoid the grocery store. Well, pretty soon you start avoiding pretty much everything because nothing is safe "out there".