Hello. I'm posting again because I feel really bad. I would like to elaborate things a bit. I'm 19 years old, male, and one day, a year and three months ago I started feeling constant 24/7 nausea and loss of appetite, from that day my body just doesn't want food or water. The smell of food is revolting, a big slurp of water or a regular sized bite of food leaves me feeling like I'll throw up. The only possible trigger to that could be that the night before I hadn't slept at all because I was in a bus on an overnight trip. I reached my destination, walked out of the bus and almost collapsed feeling dizzy, nauseous and just weird, an indescribable feeling that's still with me every day. Before, I've always liked food and ate quite a lot even though I was relatively skinny. Now it's an immense struggle to eat and drink, probably the single hardest task I could imagine, I just feel nauseous and appetite-less. College is starting again in a few months and I don't know how I'll handle it. The condition got better late last year in november 2018, i felt almost normal, I managed to gain 30 pounds in half a year and I could eat almost normally again. Those few months were like I was living a dream. I was happy. But it was short lived, by march 2019 I started to feel the same constant nausea and lack of appetite and since then I've lost 26.5 lbs. This is destroying me mentally since I started going to the gym last year, put on muscle and now it's all fading away. I can't even workout, I get a panic attack that I might feel nauseous or throw up and then i actually start feeling nauseous. Worth noting, when I have to go out of my home or when I'm anxious or expecting something or someone, when I'm in a room with no toilets or exits, the feeling of nausea and loss of appetite quadruples. I always carry a barf bag, every single day in every situation and the strongest benzo the psychiatrist could prescribe where I live. The benzo really doesn't help a lot, it relaxes me a little for a very short period of time. Sometimes it helps me eat but I can't pop 3 of them a day, one per day is allowed and usually it's overkill for most people and they take half. I've been to the doctors and done a wide variety of tests, the doctor then sent me to a psychologist, the psychologist sent me to a psychiatrist and the two psychiatrists say they have no idea what's wrong with me but they're relatively certain it's a mental issue not a physical one, or a series of mental issues two of which they are fairly certain is agoraphobia and generalized anxiety. Panic disorder is another one that the new doctor mentioned. I really need some help, I feel bad, I can't socialize I can't go out with friends, I can't have relationships and I can't workout (I used to love working out, I was really happy with how my body looked), I can't eat with my family I have to go to my room, distract myself while playing games and slowly eat for hours. It's excruciating and pointless. Anyone with similar symptoms? Anyone know how to deal with such feelings? Is it all only in my head? Is it an eating disorder?
Hi Jason, i sympothize with you, you must feel bad, i do not have the answer but if this is Anxiety,then you need to mentally overcome your feelings and then the sickness will subside, please try to meditate and think nice thoughts, please try distractions like a game on Iphone you can play regularly and dont think of feeling sick, I do hope you start feeling better soon all my best wishes to you, the tablets you are taking need to be looked at , and re-assessed x
Hi Jason,
I think you are suffering from emetephobia, a fear of vomiting. I suffer from this too and have nausea which, along with the constant worries, restrict my eating. Anxiety itself can cause nausea and stomach pain but the fear of being sick makes me anxious so it’s a horrible cycle. I had lost weight and managed to put it back but recently have started to lose it again.
Emetephobia can cause a bit of an eating disorder as it is hard to eat and you obsess over food. I can slowly eat for ages too and have to distract myself with TV and books when I’m eating to try and block out the thoughts,
I wish I had advice for you but I’m still struggling everyday with this. Just know that you’re not alone. It’s a real phobia, causing mental distress which causes physical pain and discomfort.
That’s exactly how I feel too. I too gained weight and then lost it. I also try to distract myself with games on my phone while slowly eating little bites of food and riding out the nausea after every other bite. I don’t know what to do, life is literally hell. I’ve been googling it for a while now and I can’t find a treatment plan or any way to relieve it… Only thing I found is exposure therapy which sounds excruciating and would probably lead me to uncontrollable vomiting for days.