Immune And Cured

[norrok]

Question for ya saga - is it possable to be cured of emet, but still maintain our ability to prevent being sick - or are the two joined into one, andwhen we are so scared to be sick, that its almost impossable for us to be able to? and thus, having emet removed - would mean no more ability to prevent being ill?

[nobodyknowsit]

Sorry, I don't have the answer to that, but was considering asking Sage that exact question...let us know, Sage![img]smileys/smilies_01.gif[/img]

[sillygirl]

I have wondered that too. I think it is what keeps me from putting my best effort out to overcome the phobia.

[japa]

Sage posted the following to Yen and Sweetness at the end of July in the general discussion section in a thread entitled "get rid of it or avoid it." This answers your question. Thinking that you are preventing yourself from being sick by having this phobia is a part of the faulty thinking that leads to continuing to have the phobia.


Yen and Sweetness,


This kind of "faulty thinking" that is going around in circles in your brains will contribute to a lifetime of suffering for you. First of all, you will NOT get sick more because you're cured of the phobia. People without emetophobia - the ones who "don't like vomiting" only do it once every 20 or 30 years. So do emetophobes!


Secondly, it's ALSO true that while you will still care if you get sick (I know I do!) you will not be PARALYZED WITH FEAR anymore about it. Which is the point of getting it treated.


It's just a superstitious myth that your phobia 'helps you' stay healthy. It simply isn't true. And this faulty belief system is ruining your life.


I KNOW it's hard to comprehend...you sort of have to say it over and over to yourself on a daily basis until you start believing it.


All the best!

[nobodyknowsit]

But does that mean the whole thing about emetophobes vomiting less isn't true?

[japa]

I certainly don't think it is true that emetophobes vomit less than non-emetophobes. Of course, there has neverbeen a comparative scientific study, butjust check the constant threads that come up here in which someone vomits from a bug or food poisoning. Some people catch things a lot and get sick; some don't. It doesn't correlate with the phobia in my opinion. It correlates with the strength of your immune system. I think that the whole idea of emetophobes getting sick less is just another myth that keeps the cycle of the phobia in motion.


Also, you may want to check the thread that someone asked in General Discussion about who has caught a stomach virus. That shows that emets. catch this stuff too.

But does that mean the whole thing about emetophobes vomiting less isn't true?

Edited by: japa

[hippychick]

I think that emetophobes may V* less and maybe that is what contributes to them having emet! But at the same time, I know many non emets, who dont wash their hands before eating, eat out, get drunk and they don't ever V*. my friends sister was around someone with a stomach bug......didn't take any precautions we would and still didn't get sick. We're never gonna like V* thats for sure but as long as emet doesn't stop you living your life, as long as you dod everything you want to and know that you CAN cope when and if you V* then I consider that pretty damn cured!

[sage]

I do think that emetophobes vomit less than people who don't care about it at all. But they don't necessarily vomit less than those who hate it beyond all belief (like my husband - he didn't vomit for 26 years! - and he's not the least bit scared of it) I mean, there was even a Seinfeld episode about setting records for no vomiting, so it must be a common thing. Some folks barf several times a year and don't give it a second thought. I don't imagine that day will ever come for any of us.


But it is also true that emets don't never vomit...sooner or later, it seems to come to everyone, as you will see if you have been on these boards for years.


Just remember that curing the anxiety is your goal. It has nothing to do with the ability to stay germ-free, healthy, and not give in to nausea if you don't want to. That's a "skill" you'll keep for life - I know I have!

[nobodyknowsit]

Some folks barf several times a year and don't give it a second thought. I don't imagine that day will ever come for any of us.

What does that mean? Does it mean even if any of us are cured, we would still give a lot of thought to a v*ing episode?

[samara's on tv]

Man I can't imagine V*ing several times a year. That would just be horrible. I haven't V*ed in about 8 years *knock on wood* And if it was up to me I would never V* again. I always thought that Emets didn't V* as much as Non-Emets because they were more cautious and held back whenever they felt N*. I mean I was completely N* the other day because I skipped a dose of my meds and I didn't V*. I just wanted to throw in that there was an episode of "Everybody Loves Raymond" where Ray was making a list of things he wanted to do in his life before he died and one of the things on the list was "Never Vomit Again" LoL...I just thought that was funny.


~Monica

[japa]

Right, my roommate from 2000 - 2002 drank a lot of beer every night, and he was also a bit of an anxious person about graduate school (whenever we had presentations to do). He threw up in the morning at least four times per week due to either the drinking or anxious feelings. To him, it was nothing, and he said it alleviated his anxiety at times. He would want to throw up. So yeah, I doubt any emetophobe will get to that level.


So even if you don't fear throwing up anymore, then you may still want to take anti-emetics if you are actually sickwith something, right? I mean, I'd imagine that no oneherehassneezeaphobia, but if you were having an allergy attack or a really bad cold, you would probably take some kind of pill to stop the bodily stress of sneezing over and over again all day long. And even non-emetophobes that I know try to avoid catching colds by hand washing, eating well, getting rest, and trying to minimize their contact with cold sufferers. They also don't go outand purposely find allergens to start their reactions up. At the same time, they are not constantly afraid, "will I catch a cold? Oh my God, that person might have had a cold, and I had to sit next to her. Will I get it?"


Or who has headacheaphobia? Well, maybe migraines people should fear because they are pretty awful. But most people take something to make a headache go away, but they don't fear getting a headache for days in advance and try to avoid all possible headache inducing stimuli (again, maybe migraines excepted).


What if you have a cough (o.k. I know that there is a coughing thread up somewhere)? Is it comfortable? No. Can you sleep at night? Probably not. Do you like having it? I doubt it. Do you take medicine or cough drops to alleviate it? Yep. Do you try not to catch it in the first place? Absolutely. But are you terribly afraid of the actual act of coughing yourself? No.


I believe that these are examples of how it would be to be an average non-emetophobic person, not the person who doesn't care at all about throwing up.

I do think that emetophobes vomit less than people who don't care about it at all.

[shiva]

I think that there are a lot of people out there who I would not consider emetophobic who go out of their way not to get sick. I assume once cured we will be a little like them.


Interestingly for me. Most people who I know prefer to go vomit and get it over with. They cannot stand the feeling of being nausiated and prefer to just puke and feel better asap. I doubt we will ever be like these people who see it as such a nautural thing. I wish that someday I could feel this way, but I am guessing I will always kinda fight it. My hope is just that I will not foreverfeel thatI am debilitated by it.

[s0ccer_princess]

I think that there are a lot of people out there who I would not consider emetophobic who go out of their way not to get sick. I assume once cured we will be a little like them.


Interestingly for me. Most people who I know prefer to go vomit and get it over with. They cannot stand the feeling of being nausiated and prefer to just puke and feel better asap. I doubt we will ever be like these people who see it as such a nautural thing. I wish that someday I could feel this way, but I am guessing I will always kinda fight it. My hope is just that I will not foreverfeel thatI am debilitated by it.

Funnily enough many people I know are like this too!

I say to them: "I hate it when I feel nauseous" and they say: "Me too!".

So I think I've finally met one of my friends who hates it like I do when they say: "So I just love it when I finally v* and then it's over with."

That's when I politely nod and am ever reminded how different we really are :P