A message to all emetophobia sufferers!

[asp]

Hey everyone ,

I just wanted to say that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and things will improve.


I have suffered with this phobia for as long as I can remember, although I wouldn’t say it has completely gone, I have reached a point where I can lead a relatively normal life and do the things I want to do without the phobia holding me back.

During the period of time where it was at its worst I didn’t want to leave my bedroom, I felt isolated and so alone, with no one who truly understood what I was going through, my anxiety levels would rocket when I had to go to class, I couldn’t bear being in crowded places, I wouldn’t eat during the day because it would make me feel sick but I would feel sick from not eating and the viscous circle began, all the anxiety and stress began effecting my heath and I began getting IBS symptoms which made the whole situation worse. However I’d like to leave that phase of my life in the past.

The turning point came when I realised I couldn’t carry on like this. I am extremely determined and ambitious and knew that my mind state and behaviour was going to prevent me from achieving my ambitions, and I’m the type of person who regrets missed opportunities especially ones from this phobia and I’m not going to let this phobia completely take over, no way!

I had to begin by being very brave by doing the things that I knew would take me out of my safety blanket, and get the panic going; I had to break the cycle. So each day I set myself a challenge. For example I would have a slice of dry bread for lunch at school and sure enough this induced the rapid heartbeat, the sweaty palms the nausea stomach cramping etc at this point I knew I had to build up a set of coping mechanisms. I had to be strong and tell the phobia whose boss! I used deep breaths (this is really effective especially for nauseous feelings) and distraction methods such as talking to school mates and trying to take an interest during class (instead of watching the clock counting down until I could get out of the classroom situation)

Then I would continue setting very small challenges until I was able to eat a whole meal during school, then I began eating round the table with my family, then as my confidence began to build I’d go to a restaurant with friends and eventually done the things I wouldn’t have previously dreamed of doing such as going to a theme park!

I learnt a lot from taking myself out of my “emetophobia lifestyle” The most important thing I realised was that a lot of my anxiety was due to over thinking things and too many what ifs such as what if that meat wasn’t cooked properly or what if that door handle was infected with a stomach bug, I came to understand I have to live for the now and worry about the what ifs IF they actually happen which is often very unlikely due to the irrationalness this phobia causes

Of course If I feel really sick, even now, I’d probably panic but know that in these situations where the nausea has taken over the worst thing to do is panic. I just try to relax, take deep breaths, have a mint sweet or ginger tea distract myself and think what is the worst thing that can happen?

I’ve probably rambled on far too much! But throughout this whole journey I felt forums like this have made me reassured me that I’m not the only one going through this, and It saddens me know to hear of people going through what I have gone through because emetophobia is a horrid phobia but it can be beaten, but you have to stay strong, and say I’m not going to let this get the better of me.


I hope this post of use to someone out there, send me a message if you would like any advice or tips and I will try my best to reply

Remember there is help out there and you’re not alone. Stay strong. Stay positive, and I wish you all the best of luck in overcoming this hurdle x

[stopthissong]

I read this with a smile on my face and was almost going to cry! This is the sweetest post! I'm so glad you've come so far, and fantastic job! I'm in a similar state where I'm trying to help myself, I don't really want interaction by other people. The challenges everyday are such a great idea I'm very happy for you. If there is just one less person feeling a little less fear, it proves that we can overcome this and make the biggest change in our life. We need a little more faith in ourselves. Thank you for this post, very inspiring. Stay on track. x

[punchbuggy]

I love the positivity of this post! I find that ( and I think others would agree) we don't have a lot of positives to go on when we are feeling down and out. Also we lack in positive threads here sometimes due to the nature of our mindstate frm emet. Good on you for posting this we will get there we just have to work for it ! Have an awesome wknd

[Caroline2000]

I have just admitted the severity of my phobia to my therapist and am ready to begin my journey to overcome it. Reading this has given me hope and encouragement. Thanks for sharing your story.

[asp]

I'm so happy that you are getting some help I wish you all the best in overcoming the phobia. you can do it! x

[LivelyLucy]

This really gives me hope that getting therapy when in reffered will be better for me.
I suffer a lot because my friends like drinking,and i wont have one glass,I hate rollercoasters and dread childbirth and right now im suffering from a allergic reaction combined with water exposure,which makes me hands dry and sensitive because i worry about the bug..

[sierraknight]

I actually did cry while reading this. Thank you for your encouraging story. I have been suffering with the general fear my entire life, and it only comes when I hear someone has had the bug. Right now, I have been hearing about it for months and everyone around me is getting it, it seems like there is no end. I don't have THAT many friends so it seems like I would stop hearing about it, but nope! It's happening every other day. Just last night I decided to hold a dinner at my house, and I was so excited! I knew everyone that I had invited had either already had the bug or had some other flu the previous month. Well the next day, I found out my friend threw up all night. When I heard this, my husband took me home from work and I balled my eyes out. I said to him, "I just wanted to have a good time and look what happened" I feel so sad inside, like it's torturing me and constantly haunting me. I hope that one day I can succeed in getting rid of my fear. Thank you for the hope.

[asp]

Thanks for posting I hope the phobia isn't getting you too down, try not to worry about the bug. stay positive and I'm sure you will get rid of this fear x

[VomitCanGoDie]

I will never get rid of it.

[asp]

Hey Cynna,

When it happens out of the blue, it causes you to panic and irrational thoughts come to mind. I understand what you’re going through J My advice to you is to find a technique that really makes you feel relaxed, so that when you are in that situation you can replace the panic response with a relaxed and rational one.

Deep breathing is very effective for stress relief /relaxation and it is easy to do and can be practiced daily. It is especially effective if done in the evenings when it’s quiet. Eventually you will associate deep breathing with total relaxation and can apply the technique to when you are in stressful situations - like the one you mentioned above.

Another thing is to tell yourself you are in control. You are in control of your body and thoughts – be firm with yourself and don’t let the phobia take control. The key here is to be rational. If you witnessed someone being sick tell yourself everything’s going to be okay- because it will be! Although the phobia is causing you these uncomfortable feelings just think of being sick as a normal process, just like going to the toilet lol. If the person who was sick is a family member or a close friend there will be a part of you that will naturally want to step in and reassure them. (chances are, that they will be feeling a lot better and absolutely fine!) also in this situation it’s best to keep as calm as possible so that if it happens again in the future you will be able to use these same strategies to remain calm so you won’t fear the situation again.

If you witness this situation try to turn it into a positive, see it as an opportunity to realise that the thing you’ve been fearing and building up a set of irrational behaviours towards wasn’t actually that bad – no one was harmed and everything’s okay

Hope this helps, take care x

[asp]

Aww, don't say that! Of course you will get rid of it. It's not easy but very possible. Don't give up hun x

[FreakAboutV]

I feel the same way, I do not believe I will ever get rid of this phobia....it sucks! I have had it for YEARS and have done almost everything I know to get over it and I still struggle every damn day of my life.

I am happy that you and others have been able to heal and get past a lot of what was holding you back.

Peace~

[aurora0917]

Wow, you are truly brave an courageous. When stuck in the emetophobic rut of thinking, it's quite hard to will oneself out of it! It's one thing to experience panic attacks from the catastrophic thinking, but sometimes we have to rise above the terror in order to diminish it. Baby steps, I guess. And with time, improvement. I think your post is what a lot of us really needed to hear, and it was also quite encouraging. So... kudos!

[martatomasir]

That's so beautiful. Not a day goes by where I hope that I will overcome this phobia. I always think to myself how stupid am I? Throwing up isn't so bad... But than the nausea hits and I freak out. I start shaking, the stomache begins to turn and my whole idea goes out the window. I don't know how to tell myself that it'll be ok. That is amazing that you have. It shows that it takes dedication and a stubbornness. I hope I can figure myself out pretty soon. I am so sick of this. I am typing this right now because I just had a panic attack. Everytime I rely on pepto and Gravol to help me through when I could've just waited and seen.

[asp]

That's so beautiful. Not a day goes by where I hope that I will overcome this phobia. I always think to myself how stupid am I? Throwing up isn't so bad... But than the nausea hits and I freak out. I start shaking, the stomache begins to turn and my whole idea goes out the window. I don't know how to tell myself that it'll be ok. That is amazing that you have. It shows that it takes dedication and a stubbornness. I hope I can figure myself out pretty soon. I am so sick of this. I am typing this right now because I just had a panic attack. Everytime I rely on pepto and Gravol to help me through when I could've just waited and seen.

Hey, you seem to be on the right path to overcoming this fear, you have acknowledged that the fear is very irrational and with the right thinking you can override the anxious feelings

A good way to tell yourself that you will be ok when you feel anxious is by realising that the nausea, shakiness and stomachache is just a set of behaviours the phobia has caused you to develop so just remind yourself that you have experienced the same symptoms before and it probably has never ever caused you actually to v* so it's unlikely to this time.

Keep thinking positive and rationally when the panic attack starts and try to distract yourself from the feelings of nausea. As you begin to recover you will notice that you feel nauseous a lot less this is because its the anxiety that makes you feel sick not a physical illness.

In terms of making further progress you could try to rely less on gravol and pepto prove to yourself that you can fix the irrational thoughts and behaviours associated with this fear.

I wish you the best of luck in overcoming this phobia x

[asp]

I feel the same way, I do not believe I will ever get rid of this phobia....it sucks! I have had it for YEARS and have done almost everything I know to get over it and I still struggle every damn day of my life.

I am happy that you and others have been able to heal and get past a lot of what was holding you back.

Peace~

hey, thanks for your response

as soon as you start believing that you can overcome this fear, you will be on the right tracks to recovery. It is not easy and may take a long time but you can overcome it. It's about slowly undoing the irrational thoughts that cause the irrational behaviours and replacing them positive rational ones. I know this is easier said than done but I defiantly think you should keep working on it.

best of luck x

[Rls1994]

asp, you're awesome! I loved your post and it brought a smile to my face.

I'm also thinking that I will never overcome this horrible phobia as I've had it for a while now. I just wish I realised I had this phobia sooner, then I wouldn't be suffering now most probably. I'm having exposure therapy at the moment *Gulps*! and it's making me pretty nervous, but I'm going to get through it, if it means getting rid of this phobia forever!

[asp]

asp, you're awesome! I loved your post and it brought a smile to my face.

I'm also thinking that I will never overcome this horrible phobia as I've had it for a while now. I just wish I realised I had this phobia sooner, then I wouldn't be suffering now most probably. I'm having exposure therapy at the moment *Gulps*! and it's making me pretty nervous, but I'm going to get through it, if it means getting rid of this phobia forever!

Hey! Thanks for you post

I'm glad to hear that you are getting some help

good luck -I'm sure you will overcome this phobia soon, keep up the hard work have an awesome new year x

[julybabe]

Hey everyone ,

I just wanted to say that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and things will improve.


I have suffered with this phobia for as long as I can remember, although I wouldn’t say it has completely gone, I have reached a point where I can lead a relatively normal life and do the things I want to do without the phobia holding me back.

During the period of time where it was at its worst I didn’t want to leave my bedroom, I felt isolated and so alone, with no one who truly understood what I was going through, my anxiety levels would rocket when I had to go to class, I couldn’t bear being in crowded places, I wouldn’t eat during the day because it would make me feel sick but I would feel sick from not eating and the viscous circle began, all the anxiety and stress began effecting my heath and I began getting IBS symptoms which made the whole situation worse. However I’d like to leave that phase of my life in the past.

The turning point came when I realised I couldn’t carry on like this. I am extremely determined and ambitious and knew that my mind state and behaviour was going to prevent me from achieving my ambitions, and I’m the type of person who regrets missed opportunities especially ones from this phobia and I’m not going to let this phobia completely take over, no way!

I had to begin by being very brave by doing the things that I knew would take me out of my safety blanket, and get the panic going; I had to break the cycle. So each day I set myself a challenge. For example I would have a slice of dry bread for lunch at school and sure enough this induced the rapid heartbeat, the sweaty palms the nausea stomach cramping etc at this point I knew I had to build up a set of coping mechanisms. I had to be strong and tell the phobia whose boss! I used deep breaths (this is really effective especially for nauseous feelings) and distraction methods such as talking to school mates and trying to take an interest during class (instead of watching the clock counting down until I could get out of the classroom situation)

Then I would continue setting very small challenges until I was able to eat a whole meal during school, then I began eating round the table with my family, then as my confidence began to build I’d go to a restaurant with friends and eventually done the things I wouldn’t have previously dreamed of doing such as going to a theme park!

I learnt a lot from taking myself out of my “emetophobia lifestyle” The most important thing I realised was that a lot of my anxiety was due to over thinking things and too many what ifs such as what if that meat wasn’t cooked properly or what if that door handle was infected with a stomach bug, I came to understand I have to live for the now and worry about the what ifs IF they actually happen which is often very unlikely due to the irrationalness this phobia causes

Of course If I feel really sick, even now, I’d probably panic but know that in these situations where the nausea has taken over the worst thing to do is panic. I just try to relax, take deep breaths, have a mint sweet or ginger tea distract myself and think what is the worst thing that can happen?

I’ve probably rambled on far too much! But throughout this whole journey I felt forums like this have made me reassured me that I’m not the only one going through this, and It saddens me know to hear of people going through what I have gone through because emetophobia is a horrid phobia but it can be beaten, but you have to stay strong, and say I’m not going to let this get the better of me.


I hope this post of use to someone out there, send me a message if you would like any advice or tips and I will try my best to reply

Remember there is help out there and you’re not alone. Stay strong. Stay positive, and I wish you all the best of luck in overcoming this hurdle x

Thanks for your positive and inspiring post.

I have posted a similar thread to this, and from reading your post you are describing how I feel. Like me you are ready to take control and stop being a slave to your fears and anxiety. It makes me realise that I am on the right track. For as long as you let your fear run your life then you will never be free, let us take control and start living the life we want, instead of the life anxiety chooses for us. May I wish you all the very best.

[julybabe]

To VomitCanGoDie
Maybe you are just not ready yet to confront your fear , but do try to stay positive and I hope that you do eventually feel in a better place. Please do not give up trying. Big hugs to you.