- Username
- J1888
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 2y ago
I also have emetophobia that became ocd! I honestly dont have much for help yet because I just downloaded this app today and havent gotten very far into getting specialized help yet, but it’s comforting to see that other people feel the same way and I’m not just crazy :)
Hey! Sorry I never replied. Thanks for reaching out. I'm now doing ERP with a therapist here, starting with my Emetophobia first. How are you getting on? Here for chats if needed ☺️
Hi there. I saw that you posted this a few months ago, but I too have emetophobia and contamination OCD. Have tried many different types of therapies and am hopeful that ERP will be the way to overcoming both. I often feel very alone in my fears and it’s reassuring to know I’m not the only one dealing with them.
Hey, thanks for reaching out. I am now doing ERP with a therapist and working though Emetophobia. It's still early days for me, but I can start to feel a shift. Keep in touch if you like? It could help along the way. I know how it feels to feel alone in this. I'm here for chats ☺️
@Jb1888 Thank you so much. I would love to be in touch. Just talking to someone else going through similar struggles would be super helpful!
@JMK13 I just followed you ☺️ I don't know how good this app is at alerting my phone when I have messages, as I just went in to this app now to check and I missed this from 2days ago. So I will check in more often☺️ happy to chat whenever you need. I think it's good to have a wee support system. Take care💓
@Jb1888 I was trying to figure out if there was a way to chat with you directly! I haven’t spent much time with the app yet. Do you know if that’s an option?
@JMK13 Hey. I've had a check and can't see any options to have one on one chats... Do you have any OCD support groups you are apart of? I have a WhatsApp group for where I stay locally, we do zoom meetings etc. You can find them through your doc, and they have them on this app too depending on your time zone. What I may think about setting up is an Emetophobia/OCD group maybe WhatsApp group or something. Not sure if you can ask people about joining up here, but can have a look at the rules etc. Hope you're good ☺️
@Jb1888 Hey there. How are you doing? It’s been a rough few days for me… have you found things get harder before they start getting easier?
@JMK13 Hey, yes not too bad thank you. Sorry you had a rough couple days. Of definitely I have found that. Even when I'm moving in the right direction if getting better, there are still many triggers and intrusive thoughts. Are you receiving therapy? :)
@JMK13 Also, there's a book you should get on Amazon. The Emetophobia Manual By Ken Goodman,
@Jb1888 I just added it to my cart and bought it. Thank you! Is it helpful? Yes, in week three of therapy. There are days where I feel empowered and ready to beat OCD and other days like yesterday and today where I feel frozen and unable to recall any of the concepts I’ve learned. It’s so hard.
Ken Goodman is amazing, he is so educated in it. If you look at peoples reviews for the book anywhere on line you can tell it's the best resource to buy :) it helps your journey, especially along side therapy. I still have a lot to read, but I believe it's a great thing to have! That's great - Remember that's only week 3, and so much to learn. Give yourself a break, and it will come naturally soon enough. I've only had about 9 sessions and I'm learning! I made little flash cards with RPMs on them for things I do (exposures) day to day. Then you can't forget! That means responsive prevention messaging. Let your therapist know how bad your Emetophobia is. My therapist has started with exposures for emet, as it's the main thing that brings me anxiety! So as exposures I listen to sounds and look at images etc. I go outdoors and look at people and I listen to the sounds. I do all this with my flash cards with RPMs on them. Hope this helps
Would you mind sharing some of the RPM flash cards that you’ve made? That sounds really helpful. My therapist is totally aware of how much I struggle with emetophobia and we are using emetophobiahelp.org for exposures with sentences/paragraphs/photos etc. I haven’t gotten to the point where I can look at actual pictures - still on cartoons/drawings. Even I was shocked at my reaction - I don’t think I was even aware of how much just reading sentences/paragraphs would bother me. Definitely have to remind myself that it’s not an overnight process… that it’s taken me many many years to get to this point and that it isn’t going to go away as quickly as I wish it would.
Hey 👋 I could write them for you, just to make sure you won't find the words triggering? All words like Vmt and more. Just let me know before I write it all here :) And what type of things you will need them for. Like I use mine for eating outside my home, prepare food and eating in my home, and listening to noises indoor and looking at images, and a few more.. everyone is different with Emetophobia I think, same principle but we are all worried about different things sometimes. Like I'm watching a germ video for exposure too as I worry about that aspect most with Emetophobia, like the passing on of a germ/virus. It is crazy how much you shock yourself, I have found that my anxiety actually has lowered with looking at things I found hard at first. But doing exposures daily is the key! :)
Hello, I'm new here. I wanna recover but I feel like I don't know how to do that properly on my own. I have been waiting for treatment for months now, I have received wrong treatment before (from a therapist that encouraged compulsions/reassurance, I developed my contamination OCD because she suggested I would do compulsions to cope with my germophobia actually). I want to connect with people who have recovered if possible, so they can guide me on the right way. I feel like I don't really know what I'm doing. I've tried ERP on my own but I don't know if I am doing it correctly as I do not see progress. I cut one thing out and another gets worse or a new thing pops up. Anyone experienced with this? Is it normal? Anyway thanks for reading and have a nice day!
Hi everyone. First time here. I suffer from Contamination OCD. I have a good support group in friends, family, and my boyfriend, but I have not met anyone else with OCD and I needed to reach out to others to find help. I first got OCD when I was 17 (I am now 33) and was able to go into remission, but COVID brought it back. I was struggling at work (which was outside with the public). I found a therapist and she wrote me a doctor’s note suggesting I be allowed to work from home. My work was not accommodating at all and only offered me FMLA leave, so I took it as my only option and eventually got on Short Term Disability. The whole process took forever and was incredibly stressful. My leave was supposed to be a time of healing and it just made my OCD symptoms worse. My employer basically treated me as though I was trying to get out of work and proved to me that though they talk about the importance of mental health, they don’t take mental health seriously. I ended up having to leave my job “involuntarily due to health reasons” as they would not grant an extension nor let me return with any restrictions/accommodations. My therapist seemed good at first, but it became clear that she wasn’t really helping me. She would often use our sessions to vent about the insurance company and in one session, she basically called me a hopeless case and kept saying “I don’t know. I am concerned. I don’t know how you are going to be able to function” and threw out the word hospitalization, though she did backtrack on that one. I struggle everyday. I am worried that something from outside of the home touched something clean and is now contaminated. I need help working through this. I am constantly looking for reassurance, question if things are clean, wash my hands, use too many disinfectant wipes, and take showers upwards of 50-60 mins. I feel like my mind is being taken over by my OCD, I’m losing time, and it’s straining my relationship. For anyone who is struggling with contamination OCD brought on by COVID - any tips? My therapist never gave me anything specific to work on with this - to help me focus on something else. I am in the process of finding another therapist, but until then - any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
hi everyone, im new to this therapy & it has been really daunting leading up to getting help. I’ve been struggling immensely with emetophobia for my whole life, but it has taken a huge toll on my life within the last year and a half. my emetophobia has progressively transitioned into agoraphobia and I can’t ever leave my room. just this last day was my last straw, when my roommate came home with the norovirus. he’s not very considerate when it comes to staying clean and quarantining so my head has been spiraling wondering when or if I’ll get it too. i haven’t slept in 3 days & haven’t eaten & I feel that im inducing more harm to myself. I just want to feel better, not worry so intensely. I want to live a normal life without restricting my meals or restricting public places & constantly asking my boyfriend for unfortunate reassurance that I’ll be okay. I really hate to be that girlfriend. if anyone sees this, I really hope that I do get better & that if anyone struggling with the same obstacle as me can get through it. it’s draining, it’s daunting, & so much for one to handle.
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