New to the site but not to Emetophobia

[kellybeth]

Hi. Let me introduce myself. My name is Kelly, I'm 31 and I live in New York. I have suffered from this phobia for pretty much my whole life.
I have read alot of your stories and I see myself in all of them. My problems started as a child and peeked at about the age of 18 or so. I was unable to live my life and missed out on so much. The fear of getting sick was all I could think about. I would dream about it. I stoped eating other then toast and tea and was just waiting to die. I was suffering daily panic attacks and was diagonosed with anxiety, depression and anorexia. At 5'6 I had let my body waste away to a scary 89 pounds. I was little more then a shell of myself.

Somehow I was able to pull myself out of the hole I was in and started to get better and eat more. I went to therapy and started medication. I am a healthy weight now but still struggle with food everyday.

I am really exicited to be here and I look forward to shareing my experinces with you all.

This phobia is not well understood and it is great to know there are others just like me that fight this battle every day.

[SimplyMe]

Welcome to the site, Kelly!

I think about the same age (well 20) was worse for me. Glad you're doing so much better! Everyone here is great and glad you have joined (not glad you have the phobia but since you do and this place is great ...lol).

[kellybeth]

Thanks for the welcome. This fear is just awful, but it is also part of who I am. I am very open about it and hide it from noone. I have been looking around on this site for about a month or so now. It really is crazy how similar alot of the stories are. I can't wait to get to know people that feel the same as me. [img]smileys/smilies_01.gif[/img]

[hmw2000]

Hi Kelly! It is extremely interesting hearing everyone else's version of "your" story. It is crazy how much everyone with this phobia seems to behave in the same way. My emet peaked at the age of 19, very similar to you. I had to quit college, and stayed in the house, doing nothing. Daily panic attacks were routine. I lost so much weight that I ended up in the hospital being fed intravenously. Once the medications and therapy kicked in, I slowly began to eat again and have gained my weight back as well. I still struggle to eat everyday, and I think that I will for the rest of my life!
Anyway, welcome to the site! Look forward to talking with you in the future!

Holli