Weird how 24 hour sickness controls the other 364 days a year

[grrlga30]

Isnt that weird...i sometimes think about that...I may not even catch it, but if i do, its once a year and last a day...but in my mind i think about, and think i may catch it the other 364 days of the year...sad...ugh.

[NatalyKay]

I know what you mean. I v* once 4 months ago, after not v*ing for 8 years, and now I keep thinking that I'm going to get it like every few months.

[grrlga30]

Was it as terrible as we make it out to be?

[NatalyKay]

Not really. Throwing up for me wasn't even that bad, I mean it was gross yeah but I got over it right away. I just... get scared of losing control over it, getting nauseous and there's nothing I can do about it. I guess we're all really just afraid of getting nauseous, rather than actually throwing up..

[turbokinetic]

It is something I think about too.

I've been nauseous and puked three times in my whole life. Total time about an hour of being 'messed up' from a headache. Wasn't even a SV or anything to do with my stomach - just too much pain. I didn't even have food in me to throw up - it was just clear stuff.

That ONE HOUR happened twenty years ago. For 15 of those 20 years I thought about puking (in one way or another) every day. My logical mind laughs at that. One hour of puking to 15 years of worry. Wowsers! That's bad.

And then look at my post count. I've puked 3 times and yet I have made nearly 1400 posts here. Three pukes sure got me thinking about alot of puking to make 1400 posts! That's FOUR HUNDRED SIXTY SEVEN posts per puke. ¡Aye Caramba! That is a lot of posts-per-puke!

And finally the "Coup De Grace" For those 3 'real' pukes, I MADE myself puke intentionally as a misduided attempt to get over this DARN PHOBIA ISSUE..... and did it MORE THAN THREE TIMES.

So, I can say that my outlook on life has been really skewed by this phobia. I am so thankful to be over this and living a full life now.

Peace,
David

[andee]

Wow, David, that's putting it in perspective...I totally agree too. My husband once calculated something similar just to show me how many days I worried for nothing, and how much percentage I was totally fine. It was like 99 something percent. I spend waaaay too much time worrying about it, such a waste!!!!!

[NatalyKay]

My boyfriend does the same thing! He always says "think about all the other times you "didn't feel good", and think about how many times you didn't get sick from it. It's all in your head." I hate how right he is

[lisalulu]

My emet is tapering away to nothing and my whole family had noro this month. One thought that keeps popping up is 'It's no big deal! It only lasted one day!' It's something that sucks for one day and is over and causes no lasting damage. The next day you're laughing and hungry and fine. I think about that all the time now and how much I've enjoyed the past month knowing that and how much I'll enjoy the years to come.

[beccabubba]

Just a question, did making yourself puke make the phobia ease?

[elizam]

And then look at my post count. I've puked 3 times and yet I have made nearly 1400 posts here. Three pukes sure got me thinking about alot of puking to make 1400 posts! That's FOUR HUNDRED SIXTY SEVEN posts per puke. ¡Aye Caramba! That is a lot of posts-per-puke!

This is why I love reading your posts. You have a great ability to break things down and present them in a logical manner and always with some humor. You're a very intelligent guy.

Anyway, yes. I think about the absurdity of all of the time I spent in absolute fear of something that is such a short duration. I mean, the last time Brent had noro he vomited once. ONE TIME. It was over in about 10 seconds and that was that, and I've wasted years worth of time worrying about something so minuscule and really insignificant. But that's the phobic part of the brain, I guess. It's really annoying.

[turbokinetic]

This is why I love reading your posts. You have a great ability to break things down and present them in a logical manner and always with some humor. You're a very intelligent guy.

Thanks! It is always good when I can help make someone's day a little better!
David

[olschesky]

i love the title of this thread......should be a book title about emet

[slallen2009]

I spend hours "charting" and calculating.......its pathetic.....I could have my PhD if I spent as much hours in college.......as I do on emet..........and having "OCD" doesnt help much......I somehow feel that if I chart it I can figure it out or predict it...therefore controlling it.....and I know I know.....makes no sense. I was in the medical field for 10 years...constant close patient contact.....but now......eeeeekkkk.......no way.......oh and BTW....4th grade, 18 yrs old and in 2006.......are the only times I have ever thrown-up. Yet I have spent every single day of my life preparing for the next. I feel your pain hun!!

[turbokinetic]

Just a question, did making yourself puke make the phobia ease?

Not directly. I since learned the actual trigger for my phobia was the anticipation, and randomness of nausea and vomiting. It seemed random at the time because I didn't know what caused it etc. When I did that (made myself puke) it was not anything at all like being genuinely sick. I was a little 'excited' about it because it was such a 'far out' thing to try. But, since I was in complete control of it there was no real fear. Because of that it did not actually expose me to the real trigger of my phobia.

I say it didn't 'directly' make the phobia ease, but there was some good that came from it. I've never actually been "sick" other than from headaches, as a kid. (I had sinus and ear problems) And with those, I had not eaten anything and the vomiting was awful and nothing but acid. So I really didn't know what to expect with food inside me.

When I finally got brave enough to do it; I filled myself with something that I really like, and gave it about 30 minutes to mellow out inside me. BOY did I have butterfies during that 30 minutes! I wanted this to be as realistic as possible. It took alot of effort to make it come back out! When it did I was totally surprised. It did not hurt, it was very warm and tasted almost exactly like it did when I ate it. As soon as it was over, I felt completely 100% good and could have easily gone and eaten more food immediately. This had nothing at all in common with the sick headaches and their days of misery.

I learned that it's not easy to make one's self puke. That was reassuring because I learned it took alot more effort than I expected. Some of the unknown aspect was dulled by that.

The beginning mf my fear of puking was the sick headaches because of what happened and the amount of pain I was in. The pain got worse when I would puke and that reinforced the fear. That is specific to my situation. My self-induced puke expiriment helped me see that it CAN happen without the pain. I began to beleive what's inside is not bad and that I need not fear and hate it.

Sorry to go on and on about this! I wanted to explain how it did not directly help ease the phobia (because it's not the same as real nausea and vomiting); it DID help me with some other issues surrounding the phobia.

Sincerely,
David

[NatalyKay]

I spend hours "charting" and calculating.......its pathetic.....I could have my PhD if I spent as much hours in college.......as I do on emet..........and having "OCD" doesnt help much......I somehow feel that if I chart it I can figure it out or predict it...therefore controlling it.....and I know I know.....makes no sense. I was in the medical field for 10 years...constant close patient contact.....but now......eeeeekkkk.......no way.......oh and BTW....4th grade, 18 yrs old and in 2006.......are the only times I have ever thrown-up. Yet I have spent every single day of my life preparing for the next. I feel your pain hun!!

I know exactly what you mean with the OCD. The way I do it, is is I think long and hard about it, then I know it won't happen. I'm so OCD about my thinking, that I HAVE to panic to help me think that I'm fine.