Most unusualy habit?

[Mummy2Grace]

I sleep half sitting up, with 3 pillows and a materntiy pillow! also have to have water and a light by side of bed, the dark brings out my phobia, and makes me feel sick!

[mslizziebee]

I keep my TV on all night.

I also sleep with a trash can next to my bed! ALWAYS!

I constantly use hand sanitizer..before I do anything! My hands are constantly dry.

I keep a plastic bag in my car just incase it comes while I am driving!

[drizzle418]

I have a very ritualistic bedtime routine...in my opinion its verging on OCD but I havent said anything to anyone.

Getting ready for bed is a proccess on it own but this is how i get into bed...
I set my alarm/alarms (I usually set 3 or 4 different alarm clocks and then I check them all...if I dont set more then one then I sleep walk from anxiety and end up exhausted and panicky the next day)
Then I put an audiobook in my CD player and turn on the lamp on my night table (I can't get up to turn off the light until the book on tape is playing becaus eI am afraid it will skip and when it skips I get super panicky)
Once I am sure that the CD is working I dim the hall light and then close my door.
Then I turn off my light and get into my bed
With the lamp still on I distract myself with reading and spider solitaire until I am sure that I am calm enough that I wont have a panic atttack or harm myself
Then I turn off my lamp and go to bed
If I start panicking anyway but I am not so panicked that I become paralysed then I will just turn on my lamp and continue to distract myself until I can go back to sleep...if i do become paralysed from the anxiety then I just sit terrified and frozen knowing that I am in for a sucky night hahah...

Wow that was long and crazy huh??? But its my strangest emet ritual....the rest are less exhausted and more common. But I do the usual, gum chewing, water, sanitizer and all that. One thing other thing that I do which is not as common is when I feel sick I sit directly in from of my electric heater...but I know a lot of you guys prefer cool fresh air.

[katherines6]

i have to sleep with a fan on because im afraid of overheating and getting sick, i cant wear jeans or anything else with a tight waistband because i worry that it will squeeze my stomach so much i will get ill, i cant watch tv in the basement with my sister on sunday nights (this sounds really specific but the opportunity arises a LOT but its just one of my little things: nope, i cant do it! its sunday night!) because i got sick in 7th grade on a sunday night after watching desperate housewives downstairs with my sis, i cant go to sleep without water by my bed in case i wake up and i cant swallow, cuz i worry that will make me v* so i need water just in case. also i have this new thing of putting my hand on my chest to check my heartbeat all the time since last week when i got sick i could always tell if i was going to v* that night because my heart would just start racing for no reason...

[cycle]

@ phoenixangel, your hands defs have a smell when sick! i know what you're talking about lol. i chew loads of gum and pop mints and use chapstick. freakin weird. i also chew on ginger when im getting my period

[bakogirl]

I see like most it's common. I wait till way after midnight to fall asleep because my kids have woke up sick around that time. Now it's later because I woke up real ill in January around 2 or 3. So I usually wait to sleep around then. If I feel someone might be sick I try to make sure there is a clear path to the bathroom and I cover the floors with blankets/towels I also keep a bucket near. If I have been around someone sick I automatically quit eating for 3 days thinking if I do get sick I won't have recently eaten anything. I hate it.

[steph23]

I absolutely love love love this quote!!

[steph23]

I pace around because in my mind if I was really nauseous, I wouldn't be able to walk around. Cold and fresh air help me too. And I always sleep with the tv on.

[steph23]

sorry, I love the quote crd08 has!

[kukos]

This topic reminds me how far I've come. Even though I relapsed with the emet from the fear p.o.v. my ritual behaviour did not relapse. As a child I couldnt eat: pizza, ice cream, cake (well any party food) because I had v* after a party. I couldnt eat on a thursday at all because I had v* on a thursday. If I saw the number 6 I would get panicky because it sounds like 'sick'. I remember I was in an elevator and I thought I would get sick because I had stood too close to the button for the 6th floor...

[EmmaO]

I always sleep with the tv on - I'm happy I'm not the only one. Without it, I'm just stuck with myself and my racing thoughts.

I suck on cough drops obsessively. It's gotten to the point where if I run out I immediately have a panic attack. I always go for mint flavored ones since mint is used to help settle the stomach. However, I'm pretty sure if something was really wrong with me, a cough drop wouldn't do me much good at all.

I chain smoke (I have a friend who says she can't smoke if she feels n* so to prove to myself I'm not n*, I just smoke and smoke and smoke).

My absolute worst habit is that when I feel n* I will take any sort of medication close to me. Pepto, gasx, tums, emetrol, klonopin, seroquel, advil, bonine, dramamine, laxatives. I will take it all in a fit of panic where I feel n*. This is a horrible habit because who knows how much damage I have done to my stomach because of my pill popping habit. I can't seem to control it though when I'm n* and panicking.

Oh. And definitely my weirdest habit is that I will eat toothpaste. Not "eat" it. Ill put a tiny bit on my tongue. I find the mint flavor calming. Once again, this is another contradictory thing since toothpaste comes with a warning label about how you're not supposed to ingest it...

[Erica1649]

I have to fall asleep on an angle too because I am afraid to wake up with that indgestion feeling and it immediately sends me into panic

[Maggyxmoo]

I Have more than one habit lol, I Too used to keep a black bucket under my bed and before bed i'd always pull it out and make sure it was there safe and sound if it wasnt i'd panic so much, i slolwy kicked that habit but now i have a habit of when i do feel nausea i have to chew 3 chewing gums,sit upright in a cool room and read the same magazine i always do...strange right?

[out_of_order]

I used to sleep on the couch with the tv on too but when I moved that stopped for some unknown reason. Now my weird emet habits are - I sleep with the bathroom light on, that way if I wake up having to v* I can run in there and the light is on I guess? lol silly I know. I also have a bucket next to my bed, just in case I can't make it to the bathroom. I always have a good supply of mints on hand to suck on when I feel nauseous or if I think I might feel nauseous. When I go out anywhere I always wear those Seabands as a preventative measure. I never eat when I'm at work or out anywhere, I wait until I'm home because should I get sick, it will happen at home and not "out there". I count the hours after I've eaten a meal until it's digested so I can feel "safe". If someone around me is sick, I won't eat (or eat very little) until I feel "safe" again, because I feel that the less there is in my stomach the less will come up should I get sick. And lately I've started taking apple cider vinegar shots before a meal - I read that people do this when they're travelling to avoid getting sick, prevents food poisoning and stomach flu. I don't know if it really works, but it makes me feel better. It's the organic, raw, unpasteurized, unfiltered vinegar, not the cheap stuff in the grocery store. As you can see, I have A LOT of weird habits.

[Murder-my-soul]

I fan my face when I have anxiety about it. I also chew a bunch of tums or take a walk outside just in case I v* I don't want to be in the house and do it.

[katherines6]

When i was little one of my bad emet habits was always feeling the side of my neck. of course, being an idiot, i didn't know that it was my pulse that i was feeling lol, and one night before i was sick i put my hand there and felt the pulse, and came to associate that with getting ill. after that i used to always put my hand there to check if i was sick, and only on certain times would i put my hand in the exact right spot to feel the pulse because i didn't know where it was exactly, and then i'd freak myself out for the rest of the night :P

[drizzle418]

Another wierd thing that I always do when im feeling sick is suck my tongue into the very bottom of my mouth. its hard to describe exactly what i do but i guess thas the best description. i just do wierd things with my tongue when i feel sick

[jet1550]

Anybody have really weird food habits?

-I refuse to eat less than 5-6 hours before bed or before having to go out anywhere.
-I only feel happy and "safe" from nausea and vomiting when I get hunger pains (yeah, I know being hungry won't stop you vomiting if you have to).
-I can no longer imagine eating out somewhere, even though I'd love to.
-I eat a lot of bad food like cake, pastries and chocolate even though I love vegetables, fish, rice, spices etc. I'm not really worried about getting food poisoning from them, but the thought of vomiting up carrots or rice makes me feel ill.

Also
-I always find myself taking deep breaths in an attempt to get rid of my nausea and anxiety.
-I always have to have my window open and the fan running, no matter how cold it is. The feeling of stale air is terrible - I need fresh air circulating!
-I always need to have a fresh jug of water which I'm always sipping from.

[kristinhorror]

I bite my hands till I can see teeth marks. I bite and pull and sometimes draw blood and bruise my hands

[AleahM]

I can't tell you how relieved I was to find this site and this type of forum. I thought I was strange and alone. I have many unusual habits (which now don't seem unusual! yay!). I do have ones that disrupt my life. Once I hear that someone I know has been ill and v*-ed, I stop eating regularly and count the days I will have to wait to feel "safe" again. I, too, dread the night. If my daughter wakes up, which is unusual--my knees start shaking knowing that it is never good!! It is hard to believe anxiety can manifest itself into so many physical ways.

Wow! I thought I was alone! I just found this site today. We are on our third phase of the stomach bug this year. I also will not eat anything when I know someone has been sick or is feeling sick, i know that if my stomach growls than im ok. I also count the days until I/we are safe again. With my daughter I wake her up at night to ask her if her belly hurts. I keep the monitor right next to my head so I can hear anything from both my kids. I kept my daughter home today because I'm expecting her to get the bug that my son has. I keep a towel in their room so I can grab it. My family is not allowed to share any food or drinks. They are always made to wash their hands and sanitizer is kept in the car for when we get in the kids know they have to use it. I'm sooo glad to have found this!

[AleahM]

Oh yes, and night time is the worst. It's when everyone is sleeping and no one will be awake to help me take care of the kids and work through my panic attacks. Once day breaks and people are up...I feel better.

[katherines6]

I bite my hands till I can see teeth marks. I bite and pull and sometimes draw blood and bruise my hands

i do that too not regularly, only if i'm having a panic attack. i had end of the year tests last week and i was panicking because i was scared id v* during the test, and by the time it was done i had a bajillion bite marks on my hand and wrist... i feel kinda weird doing it but it helps for some reason...

[kristinhorror]

It's hard to hide in public and my family and friends all know when I'm having because the biting gives it away

[Dixabelexandria]

Oh man...I have so many strange ones to list:

Sleep with the fan on 24/7, even if it is cold, just so I won't get clammy and sweaty and then wake up worrying I might v*.
Have a bag in my car just in case I might v* there unexpectedly.
Have to sit close to an exit on planes, movie theaters, classrooms, etc. - cannot sit in the middle. EVER.
ALWAYS have mints, or something minty to suck on when I get nervous or n* from anxiety or anything else. People just assume I like having 'fresh breath' all the time.
Freak out to the point of paranoia if I have no pepto or gasx in my purse.
Carry a water bottle everywhere and have three on my night stand.
Keep the path from my bed to the bathroom clear, just in case.
Make sure I know all the exits to the room and the quickest path to any bathroom. This is especially true in public places - I always mark them on the map to make sure I know I can get to one if I need to.
There are two games that distract me the most from my anxious thoughts of n* and v* - Jigsaw Detective on Pogo.com, and Solitaire on my phone or tablet. They are my go-to at night if I can't sleep and start to feel n* because of my anxiety.
I keep a heating pad nearby and always put it on my tummy if I feel any pressure. I always assume the heat will make any gas or bloating disappear.
I leave my master bathroom open (it connects directly to my room) and the toilet seat up at night, just in case.
I always have to have a garbage can next to my bed.
In hotels, I have to sleep closest to the bathroom.


I'm sure there are a ton of other things that I do....but I cannot seem to remember any right at this moment.

[Ejoy520]

Wow! So glad I'm not the only one with these 'weird' habits. I must always have a water on my bed stand, along with sticks of gum, tums, maalox and pepto within hands reach. I also always have all those things in my purse. I always have to have the closest side of the bed to the bathroom, I scope out where the bathrooms and exits are when in public, etc. I know I'm forgetting things but I've done them all my life so it's just a normal thing to me.

[jessica6]

I always have to have gum, a water bottle, and gravol with me at all times. i also sleep with the fan on if i can for some noise and if i cannot fall asleep cause im anxious or i wake up in the night i play solitaire cause it keeps my mind off of it most of the time!

[yoon]

I feel so much less alone! I too have to sleep with my TV on, but my odd habits have manifested themselves into a really bad case of OCD. :/

I suppose my most unusual would be... Wow, they all seem very unusual. hah!

Hm. I guess one thing that isn't really my OCD is that when I feel (I'm having a very hard time thinking of a word that doesn't make me cringe) icky (wow. four year old vocab. XD) I tend to sit down and then stay literally in the exact same position until parts of my body go numb and I'm forced to move, though even then I only move fractions of inches.

Also, does anyone else who sleeps with their TV on have to have it on the same channel and volume every night or is that also the OCD? ><;

[dettoxfairy]

im with the nightime tv being on brigade!i cant drink if i feel unwell so i dont have water nearby.i do suck mints<mainly tictacs>.i have "safe" foods-dry bread and mints,and tick off the days not eating when we have been around people who have "keeled over"

[jennjt]

I know I'm late posting on this thread, but I'm new to the site and it's crazy how much you all "get" me! I thought my habits were just weird, but they're common emet habits, really...
I sleep with the TV on, and I have to have it on HGTV-- preferably House Hunters. The narrator's voice calms me
I ALWAYS have peppermints, Orbit mint gum, and water
I, too, freak out if I'm in public and feel n* and don't have my Tums with me (have to eat 8 at a time?)
I reach for my Zofran and Vistaril as soon as I feel n* or think I do
If I feel n*, I cannot stand to have ANYTHING touching my stomach-- I have even been in public & tucked my shirt up into my bra!
Have to sleep with a fan to circulate air and have to prop up with pillows
I don't eat anything that I have ever eaten when I was s* either
It's comforting to me to know I'm not alone! I get really anxious at nighttime, too. It's like the quietness freaks me out & it's usually when I have my full-blown panic attacks-- has been like this since I was 7, and I'm 31 now!!