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Hey ppl,
Just updating my progress with my exposure therapy...had a session this afternoon.
It's beginning to get more and more difficult and i know that its supposed to but man its hard. i've been trying new foods and avoiding obsessions and not turning away wen ppl r sick on tv but now things have stepped up a notch. I now have to have a sick bowl in my bedroom!! it's coz my therapist sed i gotta start confronting wot im afraid of and so wen i panic and cant calm down i have to get a bowl out. i was in tears as i cudnt c how i wud ever do that. i avoid any association with sick to the best i can and wen im panicking, logically knowing there's nothing wrong with me, the last thing i need is a sick bowl right infront of me! i need to take my mind off it to calm down and especially wen i know i aint gonna b sick n that its just me panicking, i dont c how it will help. but she sed that its a way of confronting it and saying 'nothing to be afraid of, its a survivable thing.' so that i begin facing the fear and she thinks it shud if anything begin to calm me down once i've had it in my room. it's just another part of the exposure i guess, but it is certainly getting tough. i just wanna kick it so bad so i have 2 try, even if i feel it wont work. oh well...so not such a nice session today, we're getting a little too close 2 confronting the phobia, but thats the idea so i gotta try and stay positive!
Keep u posted!
Hope u r all well!
Laura.
x
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Laura,
Its great that you're managing to keep up .. Well done on putting yourself through it
One issue I had had with people having exposure therapy is that you get moved on so quickly that in itself it gets overwhelming - try to get your therapist to slow down and if you need to stay at this particular stage for 2 visits before moving on again then do so.
Its better to get really comfortable with this weeks progress than move on quickly and get overwhelmed and quit
Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com
Watch your thoughts, they become your words...
Watch your words, they become your actions... Watch your actions, they become your habits... Watch your habits, they become your character... Watch your character, it becomes your destiny...
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Thanks Meg,
I have been at this stage for a few weeks so, trying new food and avoiding obsessions and ive found it not too much hassel as its not actually dealing eith the phobia. i feel ready 2 move onto the next level, it just feels like a big leap from eating new foods to suddenly having a sick bowl in my room as a way of trying to not get in a state about it. i'm determined to get through this. i never thought this would work for me and i can feel things in my head starting to get better even tho i still panic and worry a lot. i'll give this bowl thing a go. she sed she wanted me 2 do it only wen i was panicking but i just felt i wasnt ready 4 that yet so we compromised and said i'd have it in my room wen im not panicking, even tho it'll prob make me nervous everytime i c it! but oh well, gotta keep it up and try. can always put the bowl away if i cant handle it and try at a later date.
Thanks for your reply, i think this website is great, ppl really like to help each other out and its nice to know ur never alone!
Laura.
x
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Good for you Laura ..
We're rooting for you
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Laura
Sounds to me like you are making some great progress so well done you!
Stick at it cos I am sure in time it will all fall into place and be a big help to you.
Keep us updated ok?
Nicola
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Hellooo everyone, had another exposure therapy session today. kinda went ok but i left very panicky. From my session two weeks ago i had to start having a 'sick bowl' in my room, so that i cud eventually look at it without it making me panic and think of sick all the time. i've had it in my room a while now and i'm coping really well, it doesnt make me panic wen i c it anymore...unless im panicking but im doing really well. i'm still getting panic attacks and still finding it hard 2 eat new foods, like peas and carrots, but i still feel im moving along ok.
Today i was given some ingredients...and guess wot iv got to make?! yup...i gotta make some sick! gross!!!! wen i was first told i went straight into panic mode...how the hell am i gonna b able 2 do that? nobody in their right mind wud b happy making sick! i gotta put vegetables n stuff n mosh it all up, that kind of thing. then i have to just get used 2 seeing it. it's gonna b so difficult, and it sounds such a twisted thing 2 do! but apparantly, by familiarising myself with it and seeing it lots, it will help to overcome my phobia. i even have 2 carry some around wiv me in my bag! it's so twisted, but i can c why i have 2 try and do it. if i ever have kids i'll have 2 deal wiv em being sick so i gotta get over this phobia. dunno how well i'll cope...from my reaction of just hearing about wot i gotta do wen i was first told 2day, i dont think its gonna b easy. it's hard coz by moshing up food, using vegetables n stuff, it's gonna make it harder 2 try the new foods as im gonna automatically imagine wot it looks like as sick...which will make it harder 2 try food...and i havent even got very far on that yet! but oh well, i got people around me 2 support me and they sed they wil help me make it and they wil help me try 2 stay calm.
wish me luck! this really is so difficult, and every session i go 2, the exposure just gets more brutal!
Anyways, thought id just update 2 y'all!
Hope u r all doing ok!
Laura.
x
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hello Laura,
[Wow!] I think you are so brave to stick to it hun. I agree that it wouldn't be pleasant for anyone but it's the only way you will get over the phobia. Good luck!!
Sarah :D
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Laura,
Really well done.
I know it feels awful and brutal whilst you're going through it, but just keep thinking how great it will be to be able to cope with your kids when they're chucking up down your shoulder one day !!
Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com
Watch your thoughts, they become your words...
Watch your words, they become your actions... Watch your actions, they become your habits... Watch your habits, they become your character... Watch your character, it becomes your destiny...
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Hey everyone,
sorry i havent updated on my progress in such a long time, its coz ive only had a couple of sessions but they were both on the same thing as last time, in that i've now started trying new food. i still seem to have a phobia of food, which is linked 2 bein scared of being sick coz i imagine wot the food looks like if it was sick, which puts me off eating colourful food, so my diet is pretty restricted...namely, i can eat lots of crisps and chocolate, chips etc, but not fruit and veg! im still trying new foods but havent got very far coz ive had exams so i didnt have time to sit down half hr a day and try anything, but they're over now so i can start to focus on it all again. i can now eat grapes and strawberries, which is a huge improvement!
I found that wen i stopped doing my exposure program to focus on my exams, i meant that my phobia of being sick got worse agen and i worried about it a lot more, so kinda feel ive slipped back a few steps, but im still determined to get thru this.
in my last session my therapist told me that because my phobia involves a lot of powerful images that uncontrollably pop into my head and wind me up, she says i need another image that is just as powerful that provides the feeling of strength and courage to replace the other images of being sick. she told me to apply it 2 wen im trying new food, as i tend to wind myself up a lot wen im eating it, especially by the third mouthful. my image is going to be me being in a field with flowers around me and a blue sky. all my life ive felt trapped and locked in chains so in my image the chains drop off and i float upwards towards freedom. sounds really cheesy, but the image provides me with determination to beat this phobia once and for all, after ive spent all my life battling with it and it stopping me from living my life without restrictions everywhere i turn. im trapped and by eating new foods and seeing that image it'll hopefully give me the courage to carry on trying because freedom is what im hoping to achieve!
Hope everyone is doing ok! and hope everyone has a good summer!
Luv Laura!
x
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Hope the exams went well Laura and well done indeed on grapes and strawberries too.
Enjoy your imagery.
Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com
Watch your thoughts, they become your words...
Watch your words, they become your actions... Watch your actions, they become your habits... Watch your habits, they become your character... Watch your character, it becomes your destiny...