To assure that this is my phobia..

[Shawnetg]

Hello! My name is Shawn, and for about 5 years, I have suffered from general anxiety.. Throughout the course of this disorder, I always questioned what could possibly be the problem, like.. What caused it?

I narrowed it down to stress, and the extreme fear of vomiting.

The reason I am posting is to confirm that my anxiety is caused by this.

• I feel light headed and terrified when I eat anything and my stomach feels a bit sick.
• If I feel any sort of sickness coming on (only from my stomach), I suffer a panic attack.
• If I feel scared, my stomach will feel sick (reversed, pretty much).
• I never often finish my whole dinner, and I am pretty skinny (I don't believe I have an eating disorder, I can still eat a large percent of my dinner).
• I avoid drinking all the time.

Reasons I believe that my anxiety is not caused by it:

• I've taken medication for a couple weeks about 2 years ago and felt better (placebo effect?)
• I can watch other vomit, and not get scared.
• I can view seriously disgusting things without feeling sick.

Anyways, what do you think I can do? I am very confused about this all. Does anyone know what I am going through? Does anyone else experience these EXACT symptoms as well?

Thanks, Shawn.

[mindride]

Hello! My name is Shawn, and for about 5 years, I have suffered from general anxiety.. Throughout the course of this disorder, I always questioned what could possibly be the problem, like.. What caused it?

I narrowed it down to stress, and the extreme fear of vomiting.

The reason I am posting is to confirm that my anxiety is caused by this.

• I feel light headed and terrified when I eat anything and my stomach feels a bit sick.
• If I feel any sort of sickness coming on (only from my stomach), I suffer a panic attack.
• If I feel scared, my stomach will feel sick (reversed, pretty much).
• I never often finish my whole dinner, and I am pretty skinny (I don't believe I have an eating disorder, I can still eat a large percent of my dinner).
• I avoid drinking all the time.

Reasons I believe that my anxiety is not caused by it:

• I've taken medication for a couple weeks about 2 years ago and felt better (placebo effect?)
• I can watch other vomit, and not get scared.
• I can view seriously disgusting things without feeling sick.

Anyways, what do you think I can do? I am very confused about this all. Does anyone know what I am going through? Does anyone else experience these EXACT symptoms as well?

Thanks, Shawn.

Hi Shawn,
My name is David and I have your exact symptoms almost to the letter. I can almost eat anything until i get the slightest bit if uncomfortable feelings in my stomach and then it stops. Largely followed by major panic... You are not alone. My opinion is that you suffer from this phobia internally. What i mean is that all of your fears and anxiety are generated by your own feeling and not outside influence. I can watch someone get sick, see it in movies, talk about it and even help friends but when it's in my head, forget it...no one can help me and i am in hell till it passes. Meds only mask the anxious feeling so that is not the permanent answer. While it helps, it doesnt address the main issues you have. Try seeing a specialist near you on this and try to kick it's ass soon. I have had this my entire life and i am 44. So think about that...hell for as long as i can remember. It's kinda sad when you have all these great memories of childhood overshadowed by this stupid phobia and the impact it has made on my life. Fix it now so you dont carry this with you. Best of luck!

[Shawnetg]

Wow.. Thanks David. I think I will look around this site more now, and how can I go about finding a specialist? My doctor just likes to talk about the anxiety itself, and not much about what can cause it. Thanks.

[Domin]

Your post flags up a number of interesting points. I'm sure ALOT of people will relate to what your going through.

Keep in mind though, that a phobia is not like a badge that someone earns by ticking a certain amount of right boxes. Each person will experience fear to differing levels over different elements depending on their own experiences in life etc. The fact that you are able to watch others vomit without it affecting you is probably a sign that your fears are related to your own experiences; of course many others would find that situation very difficult to deal with, because often they will jump to the conclusion that their own chances of vomiting are increased by the fact that another person has already done so.

The reason why I mentioned the phobia not being a "badge that you earn" is because unfortunately, the more and more we claim the badge to be 'ours' the harder it is to rid ourselves from it. Coping with the phobia, is very different to removing it from our lives. Any effort towards the former, should always be for the benefit of the latter goal.

I wish you well on your journey. PM me if you ever fancy a chat.