So the reason for my post today is the Vomit Phobia, having woken up feeling nauseous I've spent the last 2 hours stood by the bathroom window not daring to move because the breeze keeps me from throwing up - so there's that my horrific phobia of being sick. Which then triggers my anxiety thinking I'm literally going to die.
So then the anxiety starts and I shake, sweat, make myself feel inevitably more sick than I did in the first place. Leaving myself a trembling wreck.
This kind of falls hand in hand with the day to day depression I face and cope with by taking fluoxetine which has helped but i did get really bad side effects to begin with which were really hard to cope with.
The actual reason for my post is mainly the Phobia, as I've realised after not being sick for 10 years I'm probably going to have to face it at some point which petrifies me. I've woken up with what I think is a stomach bug, pain and pressure across top of stomach, feeling sick, having that lump in your throat. I'm literally panicking like crazy, so any help or advice, how to deal with phobias, anxiety and keeping that under control would massively help me out.
I know how you re feeling Lauren. I had (still have) vomit phobia for years. I would do anything to avoid vomiting. I ve spent sleepless nights with a bad stomach, sweating, panicking, crying and I knew inside me that the solution was as simple as just doing it. All I needed to do was just stand up, go to the bathroom, stick my fingers up my throat and get over and done with it. However the mere thought of doing something so simple and effective would give me shivers, shakes and fill me with terror, like asking me to shoot myself or something, my body would just refuse to do it.
Then, one day this year it just had to happen. There was absolutely no way to hold it back. And you know what? it was much easier than I had imagined. i mean, the act of vomiting is not pleasant business and it's not designed to be this way but after I was done, i felt as if I had accomplished something major. Yeah I know, it sounds rediculous,my first world problem but I did feel better and this feeling stayed with me and helped aleviate my anxiety in general. iIam not saying that I am comfortable with it now but I know that I can do it and that it will make me feel on top of such a silly (because it is silly if you think about it) phobia.
I know that asking you to just do it may seem an impossible task. It did for me for all theseyears. But it is the ONLY way to start overcoming your phobia unfortunately. It will only last for. whatever, 10 minutes and it will make you feel great afterwards. Not the actual sensation but the fact that you managed to overcome something that seemed impossible just a few minutes back.
Oh I know it is just so silly, and I'm sure if it just happened I would as you say look back and think what the hell was all that fuss about. I have no idea how this Phobia started out, I've just always had it right from being a very young child. Even now I find myself doing things that are purely habit just to avoid catching bugs or feeling sick. Luckily for my I have a really understanding partner, but the dramatics of me feeling sick are just totally stupid really and in a funny sort of way like you said I kind of hope it would just happen so I had to deal with it face on. On the other hand I'm that frightened and in the moment anxiety takes over and puts me into sick avoidance mode where I just do anything possible to not be sick.
As soon as I feel a wave of nausea I cry, panic, flap around, my anxiety levels go crazy, and all I can think of is how to avoid it. I'm so glad to hear of someone who has not overcome it but has had it bad like me and now feels at least at peace with it. It gives me a small amount of hope - so thank you.