Please help! Emergency right now!! I'm scared and anxious because...

[Hay]

Hi I'm new this is my first post,
im severly emetophobia and have recieved professional help but of course, I still have this phobia.

My emergency

I regularly have anxiety attacks where I may feel 'ill' for a few minutes or few hours. Sometimes they are bad. This evening I have had an ongoing anxiety attack for no reason. I was of course scared of being s*. I'm now panicking more and have locked myself in my room as my younger sister has just been s*.

I don't know what to do. This is the first time a family member has been s* since my phobia has become worse in the last 2-3 years. I'm not prepared for this situation, I'm in shock, help, what can I do?



What
if my anxiety attack was not anxiety? Maybe I'm actually I'll and have got what my sister has? I'm scared because I shared a bowl of marshmallows with her before she was .

Hayleigh, 18.

[EmmaO]

Hi Hayleigh,

there are many reasons why your sister could have been sick - it doesn't mean it's a sv*. I strugglle ALL the time with "what if this is real this time?" thoughts. I also suffer from severe panic attacks, mostly lasting hours and almost always centered around being sick.

Keep breathing - I THINK (I'm not 100% sure, so someone should please correct me if I'm wrong) that you cannot catch a sv* until someone starts showing symptoms - so sharing a bowl of marshmallows before that happened should be fine. Just be careful now - wash your hands, etc. etc.

How is your sister doing now? How are you feeling?

[Hay]

Thank you so much for replying.

I feel a little relaxed now because of your reply and because my sister spoke to me (from a far distance) and talked to me as if nothing happened. Right now I can hear her laughing!! I'm still a little anxious but I thought I would be much worse. I'm feeling a little tense and my stomach is making weird noise due to anxiety I think.

At the mo I am more worried that we have both eaten something dodgy and I could be ill soon.

And you're correct, there are many reasons why my sister could have been ill. She is not OCD like me, she rarely washes her hands before eating and she is ALWAYS biting her nails when they could be filthy germy!!

Thanks again.

[EmmaO]

I'm glad that you've calmed down at least a little. Does she have any idea why she was sick?

I think you're gonna be just fine!

[Hay]

Help I'm panicking again

My sister said she had a stomach ache before being s*.

My stomach feels weird And tense and I'm anxious and feel n* due to the fact of weird stomach. I have ibs too if that means anything.

[Hay]

Also, it's 11:30pm right now I'm I feel tired but I can't sleep and refuse to sleep because I'm scared I'm going to wake up and be s* and be alone. (bad memory and experience)

The next 72 hrs will be very anxious until I get out of the safe zone. How am I going to avoid catching it when I live in the same house as the ill person? I'm not ready for this, I feel like running away and living with other healthy people for the next 72 hrs until it is all clear. God help me. I hope I get through the next few days.

[EmmaO]

Just try to breathe. Remember - there are a million and a half reasons why your sister could have gotten sick, and you are not doomed to also get sick.

Can you go outside and get some fresh air? Go for a walk and try to distract yourself maybe? Get out of your house and away from your sister for a little while?

When you have panic attacks your digestive system shuts down because your body thinks it's in danger so it saves that energy. That could definitely be why your stomach is off.

[EmmaO]

Just wash your hands a lot, don't touch your face, bleach surfaces if you can - my brothers are CONSTANTLY sick and I live with them and I have yet to get a sv* from them.

I also share your fears about sleeping (so many bad memories of waking up and being sick as a child) - but not sleeping will only make it worse. Do you have any anti anxiety meds?

[Hay]

I wish I had as many positive thought as you right now. I want to believe your positive thoughts but my negative thoughts overdrive them!!! I just pray I will be ok. Thank you for listening. I can't talk to my family for support right now as I had shut myself alone in my room and dont want any contact. now my throat feels odd, I feel high tension in my throat and my throat feels strange. Is this normal in a panic attack, everything is a bit crazy right now, I have a million thought going through my mind.

[Hay]

No,I don't take any pills. I usually hide my anxiety from my family and silently have anxiety attacks but my family know I'm emetophobia. How did you ensure you didn't catch germs through cutlery and sharing the toilet? Germs are everywhere and I'm really paranoid of course. This is the first time a family member has been s* since I have suffered from emetophobia badly. How do you cope???

[anxiousinmi]

I am married and have 2 children and have never caught a sv from them. Be careful to wash your hands especially after using the bathroom and before eating. I always spray everthing with lysol too. As long as dishes are washed you should be ok there, I was dishes by hand and put a tablespoon of bleach in the water....rinse well. You will be ok. You are not destined to catch it. Also, the feeling in your thoat is common....I get it alot!

[zombie0037]

Hi, hay
Sorry you having a rough time, the fact that your sister is laughing is a good sign, she prob just has an upset stomach nothing to worry about, just try and relax, i was on the fone to my mate, for an hour earlier, so have you got a friend confined too

[Hay]

My plan for the next week is to be EXTRA CAREFUL with hygiene and cleaning, providing I haven't caught anything already. The bleach in washing up sounds a good idea, and I will definitely not share any food or hand towel. I haven't got anyone close to chat to right now as it is 00:19 in the UK right now. Can't sleep due to anxiety. I'm going to browse the Internet for as long as possible I think for distraction. Thanks.

[EmmaO]

Coping is hard... I usually lock myself in my room and claimi
m not hungry for a few days... I'm also lucky enough to have my own bathroom. BUT just be careful and wash your hands and don't share utensils! Washing them will be enough to kill the germs.

I always get that feeling in my throat when I'm anxious. It's not a good feeling but only a symptom of anxiety.

Do you have Skype or something? If you want to talk there (I also use gchat) ffeel free to personal message me your info and we can chat... Having someone to talk you through a panic attack can be so helpful

[zombie0037]

Mainly about distraction, if i am feeling bad, i tend to play loads of games on facebook,, try and find the hardest online game, so it takes all your concertration, ps see ya gp seems like you need someone to talk too

[Hay]

I don't rreally want to talk to my GP again as I did before and they referred me to a psychologist which helped to an extent. I was discharged from the clinic and I don't want to go back there as I have overcome a lot since. It's just that I have met a big hurdle right now and im struggling to cope.
EmmaO, I would really like to chat to you more as none of my friends my age know about my emet as I'm embarrassed. I will contact you soon.

This forum really helps. I feel less alone.

Just a question for you guys, do you suffer from related illnesses like IBS, OCD, social anxiety, hypochondria, general anxiety and stress like me? I just want to compare my situation with others.

Thanks .

[anxiousinmi]

I do.....diagnosed ocd and general anxiety, but suspected ibs as well and I can definately be a hypochondriac....early in our marriahge my husband actually threw our medical books away....but now I have google.

[EmmaO]

I am a massive hypochondriac. I will convince myself that I have something and then actually start feeling the physical symptoms - one time it took me going to the ER and getting a battery of tests done just to prove that I didn't have an ulcer. I also have a severe panic disorder - actually starting CBT for it tomorrow. All of these things take a toll on my life and my body

[kristinhorror]

I know how you feel about having panic attacks from the v* I'm glad that there is a website where I can talk to other people dealing with this phobia. I'm almost 30 and have had this fear since I was 5. My intense OCD and phobia was the worst when I was 12 and I was committed to a mental institution. I'm on paxil and it has helped alot but the panic of v* has never went away.