Rituals for Relief

[misslady]

Just curious how many people out there have certain rituals or routines that they do if they start feeling panicky or n*. I usually take tums and chew a piece of gum. Sometimes I'll take a xanax. I figured out that these rituals are all a form of control. I think subconsciously I make myself n*, and that triggers my need to perform the ritual. I think I'm heading down the road of serious OCD. I should probably see a therapist about this. ARGH!

[rubysoho120]

I do things like over analize...am I n* am I getting sick? Then i
procede to what I need to feel better, food, a peppermint, meds,
whatever. But I have rituals, with my hand washing, and with which way
my towel hangs, and what order i was myself, ect. it goes on, even
which way i wash and cook my food

[emmalou]

I always need to have my towel hanging the exact same way, and the bathroom door always needs to be closed. I think I might have a little bit of OCD, because I do that with a lot of things now that I think about it.

[katsamsmom3]

my ocd is getting worse...i wash my hands till they crack and bleed and i feel the need to check my alarm clock until i am satisfied that it is set correct;y/..///and i gripe at myself for doing it.

[marby]

I take a Tums first, then pace. If it starts getting worse, I take a Phenegran and put a cold/wet washcloth on the back of my neck and run really cold water over my wrists. For whatever reason, it seems to take away some of the n*. If I'm on the brink of v*, I start talking outloud about how I'm not going to let it happen and praying outloud not to let it happen (yes - my family thinks I'm a complete lunatic when I do that). :0

[new.slang]

If I really feel like I'm actually going to vomit I will lay on my left side perfectly still and try to slow down and shallow my breathing. If I just have a little stomach nausea then I'll pop some gum and take some ginger.

[susie_q]

I walk around and pace. I look for things to do, like check to make sure the oven is off, the refrigerator door is closed, the alarm is set, all the dresser drawers are closed, the doors are locked and other things. I check and recheck and recheck and recheck until it feels right and I am satisfied. I also do these things every morning and evening. Every time I do it I keep telling myself this is dumb, but I continue to do it. I definitely have OCD.

[angeltearsMC]

first, i chew gum. if for some reason i don't have gum, peppermints work too.



if that doesn't help, i take pepto-bismol. (i need to invest in dramamine)



i've also been known to pray a ritualistic prayer that i've said for
probably 15 years. (i used to say it EVERY night before i fell asleep
to ensure that i wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night and v*...
and it seemed to work... i never did in all the years i said it!)



diet sprite sometimes helps too, or crackers, if i can talk myself into
eating. but usually i'm too freaked out to put anything in my
mouth.

[mitch04133]

I pop altoids like there going out of style, or I have a breathing technique that works winders. I stand up, put one hand on my stomach, the other goes on my upper chest, and I take 5 slow long deep breaths, it always relaxes me!! Try it, it works!!

[didee]

I take Tums, and also pace....I put a cold face cloth around my neck, mostly I talk to myself...I really believe that mind over matter helps me...

Man sometimes I think I will go crazy if I don't wash my hands!

[hairfixer35]

If I am in a panic then I pace and take a xanax. If I feel n or like v* I lay flat on my stomach and refuse to go to the bathroom. That's like giving in, so I might have a towel near by. I just freak out inside and try to stay as calm as I can which is really impossible.

[domino2006]

I take ginger. I keep one bottle at home, one at my parents' house, one at my desk at school and one in my car. I pop it secretly between classes so my students don't think I'm a druggie! Ha! I take it as a preventative before I eat, I even take it when I feel okay just to make sure. One of the signs of emetophobia on this website or some website I saw was taking massive amounts of ginger or antiemetics. I definitely qualify. I also put fresh ginger in most things that I cook. It goes beyond the physical effects of ginger, it is a like a totem.

I also do this weird thing: when I shop for apples or oranges or other things in produce I take the ones the furthest back and hardest to reach because I know they weren't touched. I saw that on the list of emet symptoms, too, and now everytime I do it I think someone is thinking "There's another one of those crazy emetophobes like I saw on Dr. Phil!" Ha! I also ALWAYS wash orange skins before peeling and eating. Is that really so weird? I never thought so.