Superstitions...WARNING!

[bluebirdee15]

Ok, so this is going to sound ridiculous.
For some weird reason, I get superstitions related to my emetephobia. If i wear the same pyjamas as I did when i was once Ill, I freak out and all theese weird things. Is it just me? Do other people get superstitos too? It really weird, and I dont know what to do to stop it. It's SOO anyoing. Oh and by the way (just thought i'd let you guys know) this is really off topic, but ALMOST every horror movie has a V* scene. YUCK! Thanks, I'd be really great if you could let me know about the superstiton thing! Thanks!

[KaydeeJayde]

Coincidentally, you said one of mine from when I was little. My mum made me a pair of pyjamas when I was about 3, and I got really sick while wearing them on my birthday, and I refused to wear them ever again. Also, I don't eat chocolate mud cake (That's what made me sick when I was wearing the pyjamas), babysit people's pets (someone's dog v*ed on me), or go to weddings on thursdays (the one thursday wedding I went to, the bride v*ed during the ceremony). I think superstitions are a normal part of a phobia like this.

[olschesky]

i agree........i hate that i remember every little detail from when i am s........everything i did that day, what i wore, what i ate, etc.

i'm getting much better reminding myself that i wore that outfit plenty of times before and didn't get sick, etc.......the mind of an emet....sheesh ....lol

[ButterfliesInHerEyes]

Yes, when I was VERY emetophobic I was VERY superstitious about a lot of things, including clothes like the pajamas you mention. Now that I'm recovered, I look back on that and clearly see that the supersitions were just another way of avoiding.... avoiding anything that my fear told me might cause me to vomit if I did or didn't do it. So it's just another thing that feeds the fear instead of keeping you "safe" from vomiting.

Think about it. How on earth can a pair of pajamas either make you vomit or stop you from vomiting? Doesn't make any sense. But if you let your fear do the thinking, instead of your common sense, then it makes all the sense in the world. See what I mean?

[bluebirdee15]

Thank you so much guys! That was really helpfull, and I am really trying to take onboard what ButterfliesInHerEyes has said, and everyone elses commments. Thanks!

[StaceySGMW]

Everytime I say that something is 'sickening'...I have to touch wood or I'll go mad.

[beccabubba]

Thats totally normal, you seem to have OCD tendencies. My son isnt an emet but once he had the most crippling constipation and had to go to hospital for a pessary. He was wearing a spiderman dressing gown and to this day he wont wear it as he associates it with getting constipated again! So instead his brother has taken it! Your not alone there and I think to a degree a lot of people if they have that tendency can be like that. Hope this helps

[beccabubba]

I also have to touch wood if I say "I wasnt sick"

[bluebirdee15]

haha haa! Thanks guys, why do you have to touch wood?

[beccabubba]

as its supposed to be lucky. So I dont like to jinx myself!

[CielSoraXQR]

If someone is sick in my house I have to stay area from the area they v'd on. I can't even step in the area, even with shoes on. It's just a thing I have.
I don't have any superstitions from personal experiences though.

[JustLacey]

Have Camomile & Peppermint Tea every morning and night to avoid sickness.

[andee]

Totally superstitious about this phobia too!!! I think it "goes with the territory" of us trying to control things...the funny part is all these behaviors really can't help us control things.

[kaiilyn_23]

Oh my God! I thought I was the only one!

I get superstitious about sleeping on the same side of the bed that I used to when I once was ill, I get superstitious about what day it was when people in my family have been ill (coincidentally it's been Sunday a numerous amount of times,). I thought I was the only one!

[Elski]

I think superstitions go hand in hand with our phobia. When I got an sv when I was young, I used to feel anxious about wearing the same nightie, I haven't eaten the food I ate the night I got the sv since that incident, it happened on Boxing Day and for years I was very anxious about the anniversary - all these things are very common with emets.

The only thing I'm superstitious about now is actually saying out loud when the last time I got an sv was as I feel somehow it'll jinx me and I'll get ill. This too, I believe, is very common. Reading this back, the rational part of my brain is laughing so hard at how ridiculous I sound but I just can't help it!!

[bluebirdee15]

Thanks guys! You are so fab, and I too thought that I was the only one. The thing that really sucks, is that once I got noro on the 23rd of December. I now HATE the number 23, and (this really sucks) I get anxious about being exited for christmas!!! (Only because I was before the symptoms came) Ugh, and I get kind of worried about going to my nan's place (In Australia) because A. (A TINY bit graphic) Once i heard V*ing noises coming from the bathroom one morning when I was there ( Poor me, I was blocking my ears so hard, My ears looked reallllly inflamed!) and B. December the 23rd, was at my nans...ahh.

[G26]

I'm the same Bluebirdee. Not so bad with that now, but the OCD a few years ago and back when i was quite young was quite irritating. i.e. Not using the same cup that you used when you were previously ill even though you know other people have used it and it's been through the washer about 100 times. Aaargh! You aren't the only one, don't worry.

[bluebirdee15]

Hehe thanks guys!!! XxX

[MelP]

Most of us think superstitions unrelated to our emet are absolutely ludicrous! I know I do. I don't believe in any superstitions and when I think about the things I do that are related to emet, I realize how ridiculous it is.

Not talking about how long it's been for me, not letting others talk about their last time, not eating the certain food. It's all a way for us to think we can control it.

[NatalyKay]

You sound exactly like me! haha, I stopped wearing the clothes I wore when I was sick. The last time I was sick, I was wearing my FAVORITE black and white striped shirt, but then I stopped wearing it and gave it to my ex best friend

[MelP]

@Nataly Was that a tiny bit of evil giving it to your ex best friend? Sorta like maybe my superstitions will come true on her??? haha jk.

[NatalyKay]

ahaha, I didn't mean for it to be that way actually! She ALWAYS stole my clothes, and when she moved out of my house I guess she took that shirt with her! But I thought of it as good riddance to them both!

[gumdropper1]

I think all emets have these superstitions but eventually we realize that they aren't accomplishing anything. For a lot of emets, anything that can be associated with that awful event can cause problems. For most emets, it pertains to the clothes they were wearing or objects that were in the room (especially if they used them, like the cup they drank from), but some emets extend the superstition to books they were reading at the time, music that was popular at the time, and TV shows that aired at the time.

Doug

[NatalyKay]

I think all emets have these superstitions but eventually we realize that they aren't accomplishing anything. For a lot of emets, anything that can be associated with that awful event can cause problems. For most emets, it pertains to the clothes they were wearing or objects that were in the room (especially if they used them, like the cup they drank from), but some emets extend the superstition to books they were reading at the time, music that was popular at the time, and TV shows that aired at the time.

Doug

I've changed my entire thought process because of the event that caused my whole phobia. I stopped doing certain things, acting certain ways, going certain places, I even stopped watching really scary movies before I went to bed because I became violently ill one night after watching The Haunting when I was 8!

[MelP]

So here's a question. Do we not do those triggers because we are afraid that will bring it on, or... Do we not do those triggers because it keeps it at bay? Are they the same?

[NatalyKay]

So here's a question. Do we not do those triggers because we are afraid that will bring it on, or... Do we not do those triggers because it keeps it at bay? Are they the same?

I don't do them because they remind me too much of that day, and whenever I think too much about the last day I was sick, my whole body and mind are in a panic for hours.

[IceMaiden]

Baked beans... I have never and will never eat them again ....

[alexandria]

YES! Like someone else said on here, I had a pair of pyjamas I wore when i got ill, I made my mum throw them out and I will never wear another pair of pyjamas that look similiar to those which I threw out.

[Jill in Apartment 413]

As a religious viewer of all horror movies that come out, I can say that 90% of them have vomit in them LoL! But yeah I have superstisions too. SUch as I can't do things in threes...if there are 4 cookies I have to eat either two or all four I can't eat three. Same thing with pressing buttons, have to do it an even number of times (Usually twice, that's my thing) I've done it unintentionally for years, and when people ask me WHY I can't explain. If I for some reason only hit a button once I have to go back and hit it again. Also I don't step on cracks in the sidewalks. I think that's about it for me!

[Abbi.P]

The only time I got sick was almost a year ago. And I still live by those superstitions. I usually wear a bra to bed, and that night I didn't, and ended up sick. So now I HAVE to wear a bra to bed. I can't wear the clothes I was wearing. I won't eat McDonald's anymore (which is a good thing anyways!), I won't watch Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas because I watched it that night, and I won't pierce anyones ears anymore because that night, I pierced my friends ears. I know they're all very silly things, but I feel like any of those things could bring me back to that horrid day and that thought terrifies me. So you're absolutely not alone!