need help with my phobia

[[Ni...]]

Since I was a little girl I always had the fear of vomiting. I realized over time its not so much the act of getting sick it having other people see me and the hours of possible nausea. I can deal with all the w/d symtoms I'm having which include chills, fever, heat waves, ringing in my ears, fatigue, depression, having no hope, benzo belly and worst of all nausea. How many of you had nausea coming off? Did it go away? I have sea bands and prescription pill for nausea, they work but I'm afraid over time it will end. I have 52 more cuts to do depending on how I feel it, it might be slower. But I'm so scared of the nausea, how many people delt with this and how long did it last and what did you do to help ease it? Thanks. Plus the anxiety makes it worse

[[re...]]

Well, I never vomited during withdrawal or recovery, if that's any comfort to you. Never had nausea. Never lost weight or gained weight. Never had any digestive disturbances. So, not everyone gets every symptom. Don't let yourself worry about symptoms you might get. That's worse than actually getting them.

[[Sc...]]

I have the same phobia and it is horrible.  I thought I was alone for so long...but then found out many others share this fear.  I would spend nights "waiting" to be sick...even though I didn't have a bug.  I couldn't watch it on tv, or listen to it in a movie. 

 

I have had nausea throughout my entire taper, and unfortunately still get hit w/ it at 7+ months out - however it is very slowly improving.  BUT I have worked very hard on this phobia and can give you some suggestions as to what has helped me.  I went through Cognitive Behavioural Therapy 2 yeas ago, before I knew the benzos were making me more sick and anxious.  The therapist did exposure therapy w/ me, so here are the exercises I had to do:

 

1)  gagging over the toilet:  take a tongue depressor and kneel in front of the toilet.  Make yourself gag over and over until your anxiety drops.  Do this daily for 1-2 weeks.

2)  watch movies:  go onto youtube and enter in "vomiting".  start w/ baby vomit movies (as they are the least scary...babies always spit up and it doesn't mean they are sick), then work up to drunk people vomiting (b/c they often laugh when they are sick, which takes the fear out of it) and then move to full "sick" vomiting...do this for many weeks until your anxiety drops

3)  letter writing:  write a story of you vomiting.  Make it extremely detailed and don't hold back.  Tell the story as how it could be the worst case scenario for you vomiting.  The story writing will bring on anxiety.  Then read it to yourself and then aloud to someone who will listen...just reading it brings on more anxiety, but the more you do it, the better it gets.  The point is to do it until you experience very little anxiety.

 

I know these sound horrible to someone who fears it...but it helped SO much.  It takes time and you have to be ready to face it.  But I am so glad I carried through w/ it as today I can say that fear is slowly going.  I still have it and having a young kid doesn't help as she brings home many germs...but I can deal w/ it much better than I could 2 years ago. 

 

I have not once vomited since being in w/d.  I dry-heaved and gagged (which has helped me work through my fear as well).  The nausea is GOING to pass.  It won't be constant and I have had many great breaks from it.  For some, it goes once their taper is done.  For me, I just haven't been as fortunate w/ it, but it will go and it is getting better. 

 

I know how you feel and can't 100% empathize.  Hang in there, b/c i WILL pass and if you can work on the fear, that will go away too.  I never though it was possible, but I have much less fear now. 

 

Hugs,

Schatje

[[Ni...]]

Thanks, I can watch people vomit on t.v and have no problem. I just can't stand the nausea feeling and how long it lasts. In my past I would get sick and realize wow that was not bad, its just the nausea leading up to it and will or if it might happen. Twice I had vomited in public the first time in elementery school in front of 6 different grades labeling me puke face, then I thought I was having an anxiety attack in HS and without much time I got sick in front of the whole lunch room, all the ewww and gross comments  made me feel nasty. I like to be alone at home around no one when I'm ill and I'm ok. But around people being my past issues I freak. The anxiety from w/d is making me have nausea and I'm on pills that are anti nausea and seem to work. I also have ulcerative colitis which adds to nausea and possible vomiting. I googled the phobia and there is a name for it, I can't remember how to spell it but its the 4th most common fear in the world or so google and the self help tapes say. At this point if I make myself gag I will get sick and it takes a lot of time to force myself to eat. Of all the w/ds I wish I did not have this one

[[Sc...]]

Have you tried homemade ginger tea?  It was the only thing that helped me some days.  Peel fresh ginger and slice into thin pieces (I used about a 1-2 inch section of ginger).  Bring to a boil with water and then simmer for 15-20 minutes. Drink and store what you don't use in the fridge to reheat.  A few members told me about it and it really did help me some days.  It just takes the edge off.

 

Take care,

Schatje

[[Sc...]]

Oh, and it's called "Emetophobia". 

[[br...]]

Sorry to hear it, Nicole. I can relate. No one likes it but it's worse for some of us than others. Dry heaves in the morning is part of my regular anxiety when it's up.  Nausea has been part of my WD in a big way, and part of my anxiety.

 

I use a little soda-water and chew on a tiny bit of ginger root. Seems to help, if only mentally.

 

Try to relax your attitude towards it. Easy for me to say, I know... but most people don't vomit in WD, as I understand it.

Nausea is going to come, so somehow... you just need to detach the notion of danger to nausea. It's just a healing symptom.

It sucks, it's awful... but it's not dangerous. Try to read up on the physical process of nausea and vomiting. The body is just

attempting to right itself. It's actually a very useful biological response that all animals have. Perhaps if you can look at it more clinically, you

be able to demystify it enough to be able to roll with it more. 

 

Hang in there.