Depression Support Group
Depression is a real and debilitating condition that is often misunderstood by family and friends. Its meaning can range from a prolonged period of sadness to an actual mental illness with specific symptoms. Find and share experiences with others who are going through the same struggles.
i'm in the transition of switching from lexapro to zoloft, and am reliving anxiety daily. it is controllable but really messing with my mood and sanity. my emetophobia has also returned and is scaring me. my stomach keeps feeling upset which makes me feel like i need to vomit.
in the past, i have forced myself to vomit by gsgging just for the release of tension it gave me. now i am PETRIFIED that this is going to become my next ocd ritual and that i won't be able to stop. what if i am forced to vomit up each meal because of this? what if my anxiety becomes so severe that i will keep gagging over the toilet? i am having panic attacks due to just this fear alone.
does anyone else have this fear or am i alone?
in the past, i have forced myself to vomit by gsgging just for the release of tension it gave me. now i am PETRIFIED that this is going to become my next ocd ritual and that i won't be able to stop. what if i am forced to vomit up each meal because of this? what if my anxiety becomes so severe that i will keep gagging over the toilet? i am having panic attacks due to just this fear alone.
does anyone else have this fear or am i alone?
i just want you to know you're not alone. i have emetophobia too. do your best to fight that urge to make yourself throw up. it's good you know that could become a dangerous habit. keep telling yourself it's better to have an upset stomach than to throw up.
i'm around to talk if you need to. :)
I feel very alone because my emetophobia appears to manifest itself differently than it does in others. For me, it is more of an OCD fear that this is going to become a ritual. Unlike others, the actual process of vomiting isn't what is so scary. It is instead a fear of vomiting when not necessary out of pure fear alone. It's more of a fear of losing control than anything else. I am convinced that my OCD is such that my body will become compelled to gag whenever I eat or whenever I am nervous and that this will become an unstoppable habit..
POSSIBLE TRIGGER
As a child, I used to suffer from a massive fear of emetophobia in the manner that most people look at it as being. I was petrified of getting sick in public and scared of the overall process of vomiting. This fear is not so much what I have now.
The beginning of this new bout of emetophobia started around four years ago or so. What triggered this is that for a number of years, I could not brush my teeth without gagging and/or vomiting. I found this to be really odd and started to feel like a bit of a freak because of it. It later got to the point where just picking up a tooth brush or thinking about brushing my teeth would cause this reaction of gagging.
Because of this, I am convinced that my brain can then be triggered to gag by another thought, such as eating or having a panic attack. THIS is my fear...