this sounds so stupid i bet, but this is one of the most stressful things i’ve had to deal with. the hardest thing to do is sleep. in the past when i’ve gotten sick, it’s worken me up at night. now, i cant sleep without waking up for an hour or two on and off anxious. i don’t know how to get rid of this fear. it feels like the scariest thing. it’s the nit having control over my body i think.
It’s not stupid
I agree, it's not stupid. Emetaphobia is a legit phobia and can feel absolutely scary! I struggle with it as well and am working on this fear with ERP in therapy. ERP is helping me even eat some meals I wouldn't have gotten in the past due to my fear of emetaphobia. Keep hopeful. Things can get better. In the meantime, how do you feel about those Youtube sleep meditations? They can be so helpful. I like ones by Jason Stephenson.
@KingfisherLotus thank you so much! i’m going to bring up my phobia my next therapy session and see if i can start erp. i’ll check out that on youtube cause meditations seem to help sometimes
That s not stupid with ocd thats normal. At first i thought i was alone in experiencing these same symptoms you re dealing with but when i embraced the thought and i didn t try to resist them so they would go away before sleeping or while waking up it got better with time and it helped me sleep better. I still struggle sometimes but ive seen improvement from 3 hours sleep to 5 or 6 hours a day. And its only getting better. Also working out helped me with my sleep. Hang in there even if it seems it controls your mind and you can t get rid of the thoughts. But thats exactly the point of treatment is to not get rid of the thoughts. They will only persist and you will obssess over them more and more. Step by step by not rejecting the thoughts and trying to te get rid of them, your mind will give them less value and the anxiety that comes with the thought will be less overwhelming with time. You got this, actually we both got this because im a sufferer too and things seem to get better. You are not alone in this and you'll get better with time. Sending you support ❤
@fighternouha this helped more than you know. thank you
You're not alone. 💙
I get anxiety every single time I have a stomach ache and you know how often I have a stomach ache every single day I get anxiety every single day about the same things and even more things but it’s not just that so much things trigger it and I feel so misunderstood like people think oh you have a fear of throwing up well no one like throwing up or get over it but it’s not that simple I’m traumatized like I’d rather do something I absolutely hate than throw up. I literally avoid everything I can’t eat this can do that can’t share. i have to take vitamin c everyday to improve my immune system I don’t like travel because I’m scared of motion sickness I get scared on rides thinking someone will Throw up on me I cant drink even though I’m underage and alcohol is disgusting but still I can’t be around little kids because they have too many germs. I always think I have a fever and I’m constantly checking my temp. I’m constantly feeling my head and my cheeks to make sure they’re not hot. I get scared to go to my cousins house because they are always sick I can’t eat at certain restaurant i have to check dates on food. I can’t wear certain clothes. i have dreams of myself throwing up. When I get intrusive thoughts/ images about me getting sick or someone else. I Literally can not function on certain days from the past I got sick there is so much more how will this ever stop how will I ever be able to function I avoid so much and I literally miss out on so much things because of this like I literally want to shut down in my room and never come out that’s how bad it is. I have this extreme fear of getting sick/ vomiting and OCD has latched onto that fear ever since I was little and I have to do all these compulsions and this is just a list of some of the things I have to do. Anyone else relate?
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.
I've struggled with emetophobia my entire life, and when I was in 4th grade I got the stomach flu and was sick one night. It caused me to have severe intrusive thoughts around eating, being around other people, traveling, not being clean enough, and more. Over 16 years I got so much better, and thought I was basically "recovered". I was wrong 🙃 about 2 weeks ago, I got another stomach bug and was sick (threw up) for the first time since 4th grade and I relapsed back to that point. I've lost more than 10 pounds in less than 2 weeks because I have barely been eating, I've been struggling to go back to work, and I can't go 12 hours without having an anxiety attack.
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