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loz04
09-03-05, 20:56
Hi everyone,
just wondering if anyone has ever tried exposure therapy 2 help them over their phobias???
All my life ive been seeing therapists 2 try 2 get me over emetophobia (fear of being sick) and none of them have ever worked. I went bac 2 c a therapist after my problem had been getting worse for a year and they suggested exposure therapy, which ive just been to my second session. Just wondering if anyone else has ever tried this, and whether it was successful n how they found it etc.
Laura.

nomorepanic
09-03-05, 21:03
Loz

I have only seen the success it has on TV programmes but it does seem to woek so I would give it a go. No harm in trying it is there.

Nicola

loz04
09-03-05, 21:09
true! since having it all my life it wud b liberating not to feel trapped with a phobia that controls every aspect of my day! will let ppl know how its going and whether its successful or not. not sure if it will work, im 50/50 on whether 2 b positive or not at this stage, but its definately worth trying. b4 i went 2 my first session i was sayin "no way is anyine going to expose me 2 it...no way!" but my therapist told me that at some point in my life, esp if i have kids, i will at some point see sum1 b sick and i have 2 b able 2 deal with it and not run away and after a while it all made sense. so yeh, i will keep u all posted coz if it can work 4 me, whose had 20yrs at thinking i'd rather die than ever face it, then it can work for anyone! fingers crossed!
Laura.

nomorepanic
09-03-05, 21:29
Loz

I do not have a phobia of sick or being sick etc but I don't like it when the cats are sick and I can't clean it up cos I end up feeling sick too. It is a normal reaction. What is important is that it doesn't stop me doing anything or in anyway effects my life and that is the stage that you need to be at.

You don't have to like it,, you just have to tolerate it and that will come in time I hope.

Good luck with it.

Nicola

kjen
12-03-05, 20:14
HI,

I also suffer wiith emetaphobia but only found out this was a recognised phobia yesterday........ I would really like to get rid of this nasty phobia that has affected my life for 11 years...........

Laura, please let us know how your exposure therapy works!! Good luck you're very brave!!!

I would appreciate any advice that anyone has..................

FAN
12-03-05, 23:16
hi keep us posted on how it goes

fan x

loz04
13-03-05, 16:12
Hi everyone, just updating on how my exposure therapy is goin!...(bit of a long msg - i apologise!)lol

In my last session i had 2 write down all the things i do 2 avoid anything to do wiv being sick, for example, whenever i hear the word sick i have 2 reverse it in my head and say its got nothing to do wiv me. i also suffer from OCD which means most of the things i do each day r centred around this, such as daily decisions. if i can imagine being sick after taking a bath, i wont have a bath, even tho i kno its just my imagination and it isnt logically true. These r called acts of 'protection' where im trying to protect myself in every way i can from anything 2 do wiv being sick, which also includes not eating meat. In my session i was told i had 2 no longer do these things and even tho its making me more panicking, i actually feel free 2 some extent, as it's nice not 2 feel i have 2 play mind games wiv myself all the time. it's difficult coz most of it is just habit, as ive been this way all my life, so i find myself doing little obsessional things without even realising! i also have 2 start eating more meat. i had a sausage roll the other day. i did worry but i really enjoyed it!!

Another major achievement ive had is that i went 2 a friends house the other nite and i had her 7 month old baby on my knee. apparantly she'd been sick earlier in the day, and at that point i wud have left, for fear of catching it, but even tho i worried lots i was able 2 b more logical and think 'babies r always sick, there's nothing wrong wiv her, she's fine!' and then 5mins later she was actually sick on me!! it was only a little and i kno it shudnt b a big deal coz baby sick isnt adult sick, but it was certainly a huge move forward for me. She got it on my sleeve and i had 2 sit wiv it there 4 the rest of the evening! it freaked me out a lot and for a few days after but i just cant believe i sat there wiv her and handled it! straight after she was eating bits of bread so i knew she was ok, but i did worry a lot. but wen me n my partner left he cudnt believe that i handled it, he sed he was amazed.

i definately wudnt have handled it that well if i hadnt been changing the way i think by these therapy sessions. i just kept thinking 'if im gonna b a mum one day, i have 2 handle baby sick as it happens 2 babies all the time!' i'm far from ready 2 handle any more than baby sick tho. it's still the worst thing that cud happen 2 me and i'd still rather die, but its still a positive step.

Will keep u posted on my progression, as if im successful and can get this under control once and for all, i will b preaching it to everyone who has a phobia!
fingers crossed!

Speak 2 y'all soon!
Laura.

nomorepanic
13-03-05, 16:38
Laura

Wow you have done so well and come so far in such a short space of time.

A bit pat on the back for you and I am so pleased that it seems to be helping and obviously working well.

You must be chuffed with yourself for this and rightly so!

Nicola

FAN
13-03-05, 17:03
brilliant that your doing so well.......keep it up :D

fan x

Karen
13-03-05, 23:58
Well done Laura. Great progress.

Karen



It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.

sal
14-03-05, 00:07
Hi Laura

Seems to have helped you loads, well done on the progess you have made.

Love Sal xx


Dont mess up the best things in your life, just because at present you are unsure who you are.

kjen
15-03-05, 10:51
Hiya,


Laura well done!!!! you r making good progress!!!

Well I suffer from emetaphobia too and just lately its been playing more on my mind then ever so I decided to see the doctor last night. He was very nice about it and agreed that I probably need some support for this problem. He prescribed me some anti-emetics (which I found quite reassuring!) He told me to go back in a month to see how it's going........ is that the normal way to go about it??? I thought he would have sent me for help with my fear instead of prescribing me tablets???? Perhaps he will refer me when I go back in a month cos I don't think this thing will go away with tablets!!!!! what is the best therapy???????? Can anyone advise????? [?]

tattybear
15-03-05, 10:55
Hi guys

Ive had a fear (well anxiety / worry) about ebing sick for the past nearly 6 or 7 years............i would worry that in certain situation sid be sick or feel sick or be sick somewhere embarrasing....i constantly feel sicky ..... although if i look back to when i am sick I can see this is a diferent feeling all together.

Could this be the condition emetaphobia? Ive never heard about it....ive just lived with the feeling for years...ive just seen your post talking about this condition.

Any info / feedback would be appreciated.



Tatty B xx

kjen
15-03-05, 11:17
Tatty B,

I only found out about emetaphobia last Fri!! I have lived with my fear for years (since I was 9 - I'm now 20!) and I find that at it's worst it affects just about every part of my life.......... from constantly checking dates on food (to make sure they're not out of date!) to avoiding alcohol (even though I would LOVE to get drunk!!) avoiding people who may be ill, not eating properly, sometimes even the feeling of absolute dread that I might be sick! etc..... etc......

Maybe you could read up on some emetaphobia web sites and see if you recognise your symptoms??? That's what I did............ It helped alot to know I wasn't alone................. (I thought I was just barking mad!!!!!)

Good luck x x

tattybear
15-03-05, 11:32
Hi

thanks a lot...I also am the same with drinking alcohole.........but ive never conected it before....As soon a s i satrt drinkin it...i think im gonna be sick! Im also the same with checking dates on food etc.

Thanks

Im gonna do some research on it now!

[^]

Tatty B xx

Cathie
17-03-05, 23:17
Hi,

I'm the same 2. Been phobic of sick for 6/7 years now, I'm 19. It takes over everything, and I panic at the slightest odd feeling.

Has helped finding this website, and have been seeing a counsellor. I'm really bad with food and alcohol. Havent got drunk in ages, 2 scared.

It's great to know its not just me!

Cathie
xx

zena
18-03-05, 17:08
I don't suffer from the same phobia as you but from Agoraphobia. Right at the beginning I didn't go out for 18 months or so. Then I met hubby and we started stepping out the front door to begin with ...then to the 1st lamp post...then to the 2nd etc..I suppose this was the same thing as exposure therapy.
The only thing is that you can't beat yourself up if you can't repeat the thing you done the day b4. Took me along time to stop doing it but wisdom comes with age.
Keep it up. It's amazing what happens when things start going right for you.

with good wishes

Zena

FAN
18-03-05, 17:57
hi zena your right every thing takes time and you do have blips where you find yourself back at the beginning but keep going forwards works every time

fan x

loz04
10-04-05, 15:46
Hey everyone, had another recent session of exposure therapy, and ive been told im doing really well. i've been eating more meat than usual, things like burgers and sausage rolls and my worrying for getting food poisoning is slowly dying i think, its still there but not as bad. i dont like eating out in restaurants, unless i only eat chips as i know most of my friends and family have had food poisoning from such stuff and at the moment i dont c how i cud ever trust a restaurant and eat different food as i feel i'd just b asking 2 get food poisoning. but my therapist sed i will get there eventually and that she sed she's had food poisoning from eating out but that if she adds all the times she eaten out and the times she's been sick from it (being only one occasion) she sed it was worth enjoying all that food and that i will eventually c the same. i hope so in a way but i still cant c how i'd b happy eating out, not knowing who's cooked my food, whether it was in date, whether it was cooked too quick and not properly, or whether sum1 cooking has a bug and has coughed or something all over the food. these worries still apply 2 me at the mo but hopefully it wil go.
I can definately feel something changing inside my mind. i still worry but just not as much, and even tho its still the worst thing that cud happen 2 me, i dont feel i'd rather die than b sick anymore. it's so true that by changing ur behavious u change how u feel about it. i mean, everytime i think about being sick, ive been told 2 say 'if it ever happens, i will survive and get over it and move on.' and so it's slowly starting to take affect. i used 2 feel i had 2 keep saying i'd rather die (and i genuinely felt that way and prob still cud if i thought like i used 2) and that by saying it it wud prevent it even more - like an obsession really.
anywayz, will still keep u posted. that was only my third session of the treatment so i feel ive come a long way after such a short space of time.
but i seriously believe that if i can do this and i come out better off, then u ALL can do it too, as i've lived with this phobia feeling id rather die than go thru it for over 15yrs of my life, so if im strong enuff 2 take part in the biggest battle anyone wud eva have 2 deal with then u all can too!
i just keep thinking, if i battle this huge phobia, then all the other phobias in my life (little ones like moths!!) will b a piece of cake.
no fight in my life will ever be as big as the one with myself, my own inner demons and if i can battle it, then my future will be free from the chains that surround me at the moment and i'll b able 2 get thru anything!

Hope u're all ok!
Stay positive, we r all in this 2gether, only we kno wot its like living with a phobia so big and only we have the true power to destroy it.
Laura.
x

Meg
10-04-05, 16:25
Laura,

Great that you put yourself through this and can see the other side..

Well done


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...

loz04
20-04-05, 17:19
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

Meg
20-04-05, 17:30
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...

loz04
20-04-05, 17:37
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

Meg
20-04-05, 17:38
Good for you Laura ..

We're rooting for you

nomorepanic
20-04-05, 18:32
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

loz04
04-05-05, 18:17
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

seh1980
04-05-05, 18:52
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

Meg
04-05-05, 19:06
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...

loz04
15-06-05, 17:27
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

Meg
15-06-05, 17:35
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...

loz04
15-06-05, 18:00
thanks meg!
think exams went ok, i certainly tried hard enuff!!hehe
Speak 2 ya all soon!
Laura.
x

nomorepanic
15-06-05, 18:12
Hi Laura

The imagery thing sounds lovely - I used to do a similar thing in hypnotherapy and it does work.

Well done on eating a bit of fruit at least.

Keep it up ok?


Nicola

"Nearly all happiness comes into our lives through doors we don't even remember leaving open"

loz04
29-06-05, 13:13
Thanks nicola!
Just updating again, as yesterday i had another session. I'm still trying new foods, mainly fruit and salady stuff at the moment. I'm still getting panic attacks quite frequently and my obsessional thinking is still there, im still constantly worrying and body-checking (to see if there is anything that cud suggest there was something wrong with me 2 do wiv being sick). But at the same time i keep telling myself that wot's the worst that cud happen? if i was sick i'd just have 2 deal with it...wot else can u do?...so why b afraid? telling myself this makes me feel stronger in a way. for example, last week i was out walking my dog in some woods and i suddenly felt panicky and i thought 'oh my god, i'm 20mins away from home, wot if i panic? wot if i feel ill? its a long way to run home!!' but then i thought, 'well, why do i need to run? im in some woods, if i felt sick and was sick, i wud just have 2 carry on.' The fact that i realised i didnt need to run anywhere made me feel less stressed about it coz i've always felt the need to run to a safer place wen ive panicked. Even though i'm telling myself i have nothing to be afraid of and that being sick is survivable, i still dont quite believe it yet. its something ive been told to keep telling myself by my therapist, but im not yet at the point where i believe it. like i sed, i'm still constantly terrified and constantly worrying and panicking about it. My therapist sed that's normal coz i've had about 15yrs of my life thinking and worrying like this and that it will take a long time to reverse that way of thinking.

Yesterday i was told i am doing brilliantly and that i should carry on doing wot im doing...trying new foods, telling myself being sick is survivable, and keep making fake sick so im around it lots and pouring it down the toilet as part of the exposure programme. I did that yesterday and altho pouring it down the toilet still makes me really panic and it makes it seem so real, i coped much better than the previous times and it didnt make me cry and shake like the times before.

I've been told to use different tools to help me when im panicking. These are: distraction (as most of the time this takes my mind off of panicking and then i calm down), another is getting angry, like im fighting a bully and telling it to basically f**k off...so that it gives me a determination not to let it bother me, and also my imagery...of the chains falling off me and becoming free from the phobia, and another tool which is to keep saying 'so wot? this cannot harm me.' such tools will work in different situations, such as the imagery will work well wen trying food, as it will help me c wot each mouthful of food is helping me move towards: freedom.

That's all i did yesterday really. i was treated to lunch, to practice trying food and 2 show my progress. This time i ate the food in the canteen around ppl, which helps as i cant pull faces and spit it out (pride and all that) - which obviously helps me eat it more than if i was in a room on my own!

Anyways, hope everyone is ok! will keep updating! One thing that has become apparent to me is that i think i expected this process to happen quicker than wot it is, when in reality, undoing 15years of my mind working in a certain way is going to be a long battle indeed! but it's a battle that i am determined to win, as i cant do this for the rest of my life!!!

Thanks for listening to my looong essay! i'm writing this, partly to reflect on my experience, but also for other ppl to c wot exposure therapy is, wot kinds of things r involved in it, and hopefully, if my story becomes a success, i will b able to encourage other ppl who suffer to try this, as we all deserve freedom from damn phobias and all the baggage they bring with them!
Luv Laura.
x

Meg
29-06-05, 15:23
Laura,

You are already a success. No doubt about that at all.

You sound like you're in an excellent recovery programme and you are well on the way to recovering- you're right , its not an overnight thing this healing.


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...

loz04
29-06-05, 18:03
thanks meg! no it certainly isnt an overnight thing! i think the program im doing is definately a good one, as its working at ur own pace and wot suits u as an individual. it sometimes feels like things are progressing too quickly but then wen u accomplish those things or c improvements, u end up surprising yourself of just how strong u r as a person!
thanks agen for the reply.
Take care!
luv laura.
x

tammyg
16-08-05, 11:47
Hi,
I am new here and have just read all your posts Laura thinking wow... surely she hasn't done all those things! You are so brave, well done. I too have been emetophobic since I was five. Anyway, was just wondering how its all going? Are you still having the therapy?
Tam x

"We have nothing to fear but fear itself"
Franklin D. Roosevelt

loz04
19-10-05, 19:10
Hi everyone, hi Tammy! Thanks for the message, sorry i havent replied until now, i havent been on here in ages!

Im just writing to let everyone know that i've been continuing the exposure therapy techniques ive written in all my previous posts and can now proudly say that i've only one or two more exposure therapy sessions left!!

All my life i've felt that being sick is worse than death and every minute of everyday i was worrying about it happening to the point that it was simply stopping me from living. Exposure therapy has broken me free from my obsessional thinking. I used to think that altho i cudnt help panic and worry about being sick, i used to believe that if i wasnt always worried about it that then it wud happen wen i least expected it...so felt i had a duty to worry about it all the time (even tho i cudnt help it) and that if i ever viewed being sick as not being that bad, that i was somehow asking for it. Exposure therapy made me realise none of that was true. No amount of worrying wud ever prevent it from happening and that rationally i'm luckily a healthy person so have nothing really to worry about anyway.
In the therapy sessions i had to begin saying 'if im sick i will survive like everyone else and just move on.' At first i didnt believe it, but after repeating it so many times, and doing the other exposure techniques, its slowly beginning to undo all the obsessional thinking i've had for the past 17 years of my life.

My fiance also helped helped me in my exposure therapy, in a different and accidental way. For the past 6 years i've always had Recovery Remedy (something i called my 'calming bottle'). This went everywhere with my and i clung to it like it was life support. It's helped me in a major times of panic and i really felt i cudnt ever surivive without it. In the summer me and my partner went to Majorca for a week, something i thought i'd never b able to do, so it was a huge step for me to take. But on the first nite there, my partner accidently smashed my calming bottle!! At a time wen i felt i needed it the most!! I was in shock at first, hyperventilating and not knowing how i wud possibly surivive without it. Then after i calmed down i realised i had no choice but to live without it. For the first time i had to go out for walks and shopping without it...even had to get on a plane and travel home without it! even though i got myself another calming bottle wen i got home i never felt the need to touch it and i left it at home and never gave it much thought. Then last weekend i took it to the sea side and threw it over the pier into the sea! it was both a terrifying and liberating moment!
After making my fiance feel so guilty about breaking the bottle on holiday, i now thank him as he pushed me one step closer to recovery...it forced me to realise that i really didnt it.

My exposure therapy program and the Majorca experience both together allowed me the freedom i never thought possible. I'm by no means completely rid of the phobia, as i still worry a little...which is understandable considering my mind has been trained this way for 17 years...but I'm certainly free and living my life as i've always dreamed but never thought possible. I'm finally free from the chains that have surrounded me and prevented me from living my life, and finally, 21 years later I'm beginning a new journey...one of freedom.

I hope everyone is ok, and i just want to say that no one deserves to live with the trauma of having a phobia so bad that it prevents you from living. I never thought exposure therapy would work, as i thought it wud only make me panic more...but over time its actually done the opposite. It's been a frightening journey but a rewarding journey and i only hope people can learn from my experience and give the therapy a try. I always felt there was no way out...but there really is.
Take care.
Laura. x

Meg
19-10-05, 19:26
Laura

What a fantastic continuing story.

Very well done on all your very hard work.

You have done extremely well and we are terrifically proud of you.

Thanks you very much for coming back to report ypour progress. It will help others so much.



Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com

Your anxiety is the human representation of the pictures that you paint using your many vivid colours of revolving and reoccurring thoughts.
How big is your gallery ?

loz04
19-10-05, 19:30
aww thanks so much meg!
It was my pleasure to write all about it. I'm so glad i recorded my progress, i really hope it helps people realise there is a light at the end of the tunnel! Its weird looking back on my posts on this thread, things have changed so much, i read it as tho it was a completely different person!
This website has my full support, i think its such a great thing to share problems and help each other out.
Take care everyone!
Laura. xxx

Buby
13-11-06, 17:40
Hey all,

i also fear being sick and others, but what is exposure therapy? iv never heard of this.
x

gaz406
08-12-06, 21:56
Hi

I've suffered with emetaphobia for about 14 years, I never liked being sick before that, but what seemed to trigger the extreme fear of it was when I was sick in primary 4! I remember everything about that day so clear, the horrible abdominal pain leading up to lunch time, it was the pain that makes you unable to walk properly, then after lunch I remember crying for my mum, standing at my desk and vomiting everywhere!! It was so horrible and the class went so silent. So from that day on I've had the fear of myself being sick and other peoples reactions, and seeing others being sick.

Nowadays its still pretty much as bad, but I do have a lot of different things to help me cope with the phobia and the extreme anxiety I suffer. My doctor prescribed me Buccastem which is an anti emetic drug and also I've been described domperidone, both of which I only try and use under extreme nausea or anxious nausea, indigestion, upper abdominal pain, you know the physical symptoms anxiety can cause. I also tend to eat a lot of strong peppermints or chew chewing gum, sometimes I will go for long refreshing walks which I feel is great at beating anxiety and therefore reducing nausea. I also take Cipramil for anxiety and depression which is starting to kick in a little bit as i dont feel as depressed as I did.

My phobia effects me most in certain situations i.e travelling (esp by plane), dining out, hearing that people have come down with stomach flu, if I feel a little pain in my stomach or nausea, going out for a drink with friends, going to theme parks, before my evening meal, when I was at work, and being around drunk people. Just now Im trying tapping techniques with my therapist, but i was wondering if neone else with emetaphobia has tried other techniques, also I would like to get in touch with someone who has this phobia, as I would find it would help a lot because no one understands as much as another emetaphobic person would!

Thanks Garry xxx

garry O'Donnell

Charlottie
09-12-06, 21:45
Do they actually expose you to sick if you're emetophobic o.O How?!

Zmunchkin
12-12-06, 09:32
Can this be applied to fear of childbirth I wonder....

honeyp1e
14-01-13, 03:37
I've been emet since I was about 10 yrs old (now 30) I hate everything about it I woke this morning feel fine then got anxious belly tight feeling just above belly button now it's nearly 3am n am still awake with anxious belly :(