I feel so bad now...

[lnieber]

Hello everyone. I have been managing my anxiety and emet for over 6 years now, and have seen a lot of progress. What hard (and unpleasant!) work it has been- but I thought that with my counseling sessions, my relaxation techniques and my low dose of anti-depressants, I was getting better. and then I am tested! i spent the weekend with my friends out of town. on saturday morning, my mom informed me that my sister was sick all throughout the night- which made me feel the panic wheels "turning." (do you know what i mean?) i managed to stave off a full blown attack, but worried all day. i HATE sitting there, when i am supposed to be enjoying time with my friends who i do not see that often...and instead of talking to them and laughing, i am worrying about v*ing. WHY?!!?
This morning, my friend woke up and was sick multiple times. We were drinking last night, but she seemed to have an actual stomach bug, rather than just a bad hangover. I am so upset today. I hate having the feeling that I am actually MAD at the people who were sick- after all, I know it isn't their fault! But something in my brain tells me that I am being "punished" or "tested..." it sounds crazy, I know! Does anyone else feel this way? I am hoping I can sleep tonight...but it is unlikely. my anxieties get so much worse at night. i wonder why?
hopefully reading some of your posts will help me realize i am not alone. =]
good night all.

[olschesky]

you are not alone in those feelings. i can feel just fine for weeks and then someone i know gets sick and poof...i'm back to square one. i get more angry at myself for backsliding and do my best to get back to normal and try not to obsess over it......although the 2-3 day rule sticks in my head and i do count the hours till the "possible sick time" has passed.

don't be too hard on yourself.....it's part of this stupid phobia.....just try and get back to normal.......sorry for the situation.......it's hard when something you look forward to get ruined by emet...ughhhhh

[Rissa8]

I would of reacted the same way. Whenever I find out I have a friend or relative sick, I totally begin worrying thinking im going to get the sickness. Once, even my friend was spenind the night, and I wake up seeing a note that she got sick over 5 times over in the bathroom like, four feet away from me, and went home. I totally freaked out and made myself believe I was going to get sick.

Gee, emetophobia sure ruins the fun in everything.

[jbsmom]

I know the feeling. I am guilty of reacting exactly the same way you are and then some. The best thing I could suggest is if you have anti-emetics keep them close by, Zofran is awesome! Mints will help, stay on the computer or watch TV to keep your mind off it. Lots of times you will come out unscathed.

[BensMom]

I know it's been few weeks since the initial post on this thread. I'm new here...just joined tonight. I know exactly how you all feel. I've been to this site many times and find it a comfort reading the posts when I'm ridden with anxiety over my emet.

My husband came home from work Wednesday night, walked in the door and said "Dont freak out but I'm not feeling well. He had just been sick outside our house (God love him, he didn't want to run in to the bathroom and freak me out even more!). Anyway, he was convinced that it was what he'd had for dinner because once he got rid of it all he was fine....however, I've not been fine. I've been a panicked mess since. I really haven't eaten much but crackers since for fear that it wasn't something he ate and that it is a SV. I have a serious case of acid stomach going on, which is burning up in my throat...it's no wonder though since I haven't eaten and have been having panic for 3 days. I hate this, hate this, hate this...I've been this way since I was 16 years old and I am now 41! Alot of the time I go about life ok, then BAM, something like this happens! I think I'm really struggling with it so badly this time because when these things come on, it's always been my mom that I turned to to talk me through it. She would pace with me, lay down with me and walk me around the block when I needed some air...Unfortunately, my mom died this past May and it's my first BIG worry about SV since then and she's no longer here for me to reach out to...that's only added to my anxiety/sorrow/distress. Anyway, just wanted to tell a little bit of my story and whats been going on and tell you all that I understand what you all go through too and I hope my posts can be as soothing and comforting and helpful as the ones I've read have been to me.

[Whatshername]

It's harder at night because you can't control anything while you're sleeping. You aren't keeping an eye out for that nauseated feeling.
I know exactly how you feel in this. Its amazing how if you think you're doing a little better, and someone you know gets sick, it can ruin how you feel for not just hours, but days, weeks.
I wanna say keep fighting the fight, i know its hard, i'm living the fight right now too.
Cheers.

[Callalin]

You are not alone! I always get mad at people being sick, it's just another silly reaction that this phobia gives us. I'm pretty much mad all the time, mad because I have the phobia, mad because it's keeping me from doing things I want to do, mad because I can't take care of my 4 year old when she is really sick. I realized that I need to turn that anger into action now. Unfortunately I live in a small town in Michigan and emetophobic specialists are very very rare and far away. I continue to work with my Psychologist every two weeks though. We are working on EMDR installation therapy to reduce the anxiety when things like this happen. Good Luck to you in your fight!

[hairyfairy]

I don`t think being mad at people for vting is all that silly, after all, I always find myself thinking: if I can stop myself from vting, why can`t you?, & I have no sympathy with them. I`m even very cross with myself for vting in the past. I think : I`m a really dusgusting creature for doing something so revolting.