Constant n*

[eekelsey]

Hello, I am a new poster who just found out that this phobia had a name
and a community (but not from Dr. Phil).I am not sure whether or not I
really fit in here because I am much much much more afraid of someone
else being s* than myself.I mean, I would rather die than be s* but I
know with my body I am in control. With other people, especially kids, I
cannot be sure.That's why reading how often non-emets actually do get
sick just gave me more fuel for the phobia.(I didn't know that most
people would only tolerate n* for 20 minutes!!! I've gone through 2 weeks
of n* straight! I can't believe other people get s* once a YEAR!)

Because of this difference I am not sure that being here would be really
helpful.I mean, it is really tough for me to even talk about this at this
point. Some of the stories here are a little graphic but focus more on the
germ transmission aspect (which is a little more on the OCD than panic
side) that I don't really have in common.Most of the time I am fine,
there is just always this notion that at any moment any where someone
could be s* around me, and I will have to be able to bolt at any moment
and everyone will tell me to calm down while my skin flies off and I am in
complete panic mode.Boats, movie theaters, theme parks are all off
limits but it could still happen *anywhere*.

Likewise I don't know if my comments would be helpful to people who are
afraid of being s* in public, because I can't help HATING anyone who IS s*
in public.Like, thank you for your casual disregard for self-control, you
have ruined my entire week (at least) and given me fuel to my nightmares
for the rest of my life.... I hope that doesn't make anyone MORE anxious
about possibly being s* in public, or if everyone else hates people when
they do that too and that's why they are scared of becoming that
hated person.

I also have lactose intolerance so I feel n* more or less every day.I feel
much more n* in the middle of the day but sometimes I wake up in the
morning n*. Bouts of this can last as short as a few hours but
occasionally for weeks at a time, where I won't want to eat because I don't
know every ingredient in something and I'm not sure what will happen.
Do other people feel n* all the time too?

[kate1966]

I have gone through periods of constant nausea...and i honestly think it's stress...anxiety nausea....i remember one day it was from the time i woke up until that night...it was the worst nausea i have ever had in my life......every single second i felt like i was gonna v every single second...it was horrible.....it has subsided now for some reason...i don't know why this happens....i am under so much stress all the time...i think that has to be the cause...anyway welcome to the board...and i hope you find the support here you need....K

[samara's on tv]

Welcome to the board! Anyway I sometimes go through weeks where I'm constantly feeling N*. I don't know HOW I go through it and not V* but I manage...some how. I know exactly how you feel...but I'm pretty sure my N* has to do with stress or anxiety. And I know how you feel about people getting S* in public. I hate them too I just want to go over and smack them for making me get all panicky...not to mention because of the germs they are spreading!


~Monica

[s0ccer_princess]

Actually, it's funny you post his, I've been going through this constant nausea for a long time now. I mean I once went about 6 months with this dull sick feeling in my throat, but then it finally went away. Now it's come back, only it feels different. It's not just in my throat, it feels for the first time in my stomach too.

It has been suggested to me by various people that I could be lactose intolerant. At the moment the worst nausea is when I wake up. Then it is terrible and I have to force myself to eat. It usually gets slightly better by lunchtime, but still feels like I could be sick at any moment. I don't know why I feel like this. I've had this since the last few days of the holidays before I went back to school, but I doubt it's school related.

I'm sorry to bore everyone with this. Just I am sick of feeling sick. It stops me from doing what I want to do, and I have gone off various foods. In fact, it sounds kind of like prenancy in a way, but I know that's impossible. Anyway, maybe you doctor can give you some medication for nausea if you know you're lactose intolerant? Or you could enlist the help of a dietician to help sort out meals which would work for you.

Good luck!

[gubba]

I think that you do belong here. i am one who found the name for this from Dr. Phil, but it is such a relief to find others who feel that way too. yes, at some point daily i feel N*, but there are also the days that i feel that way for 24 hours or more. i have no clue how i do not V*, but I manage not to. I also am constantly thinking that people around me will be s*, so I really try to keep to where I can get out easily. I am usually neara door. In theatres, I won't sit near anyone and I always am on an end. I rarely go to a movie. I am certain that movies are out on DVD so fast now, for people like us who fear the worst of those around us. I wonder if we had a convention on EMETS, would we all be okay around one another? I have never actually physically met anyone else who has this intense fear that we all face daily.


Back to whether you belong, yes, you will love being able to freely discuss your weird and wacky thoughts and yuck feelings here and we all understand.

[valleymist]

gubba took the words right out of my mouth. I've never met anyone who has
this phobia either, infact it was only recently I figured out how common it
was.. and yes, I learned of the name from Dr. Phil, I was scanning the
channels when I saw it.

I can hardly stand being around people especially when flu season comes
around, I am constantly paranoid of them getting sick and/or giving it to
me.

[eekelsey]

Do you all think that significant parts of your personality are indirectly
supported by this phobia (that is to say, staying inside, avoiding other
people, general wariness around sick-looking people) are more a result of
this phobia terrorizing your life, or perhaps it might be a rationalization
for taking those behaviors anyway?

I think it makes perfect sense to want to quarantine myself from illness in
general. It makes evolutionary sense.As human beings, why would
we not take precautions against disease?V* is such a violent, relatively
common indication of illness.Of course I don't want that.But is it
just a convenient reminder of how susceptible our bodies are to disease
in general?

[gubba]

I can't exactly be that technical as to why I am this way. I do know that I run if anyone feels feverish, yucky, fluish or otherwise. yes, I think that we all try to avoid illness and I am a handwasher to the max, but I think that V*ing is so gross and painful and you can't control it once it begins and you never know when it will end. A snotty nose will dry up and leave you feeling gross, but you can function....not so with V*. I don't want to be where I can't take care of myself or need someone to help me. I do feel dreadfully ill when I hear about someone who has V*ed and if I hear that someone has the flu, I immediatley ask if it was stomach related. I'm a gluten for punishment, but that way I can avoid anyone who has even been around that person. It is the strangest phobia and to describe it to anyone is almost as strange. I am overly thankful for finding others who know what it is like to have this fear that we live with 24/7. It can be very uncomfortable to even consider doing things in large public places, but I do. I do not however go to large stadiums for concerts and ballgames. That is off limits to me totally and it drives my husband nuts. I don't even like him going for fear he will come home with something, but I have trained him in the handwashing thing and he is very considerate of my fear and anxiety.

[neauveau]

"...I can't help HATING anyone who IS s* in public.Like, thank you for your casual disregard for self-control, you have ruined my entire week (at least) and given me fuel to my nightmares for the rest of my life.... I hope that doesn't make anyone MORE anxious about possibly being s* in public, or if everyone else hates people when they do that too and that's why they are scared of becoming that hated person..."


I feel this exact same way. Once my freak-out is over, I know I over-reacted. I know I "shouldn't" judge people based on their digestion issues. But in the moment it's like this overwhelmingfeeling of loathing of their personal weakness. I can't go to parties where people drink because of ONE time when someone got s*. I can't go to fairs because of ONE time when someone got s*. Last time I went on an airplane, someone got s* and now I am driving across the country to re-locate from Rhode Island to Oregon because I don't want to fly. I have to look away from people pulled over on the side of the road because I'm afraid they are s*.


In the moment I feel like: people keep on ruining perfectly fun experiences for me because of their own weakness. Now I have fears and nightmares because they couldn't find a private place to take care of business.

[gubba]

I think we all feel this same way and a non-EMET doesn't even notice someone getting s*. I can go places and when I even see a spot on the ground that doesn't look like oil, I instantly think someone was s*. My husband can all but step in it until I grab him. I can't even consider fairs etc. fun places, so I don't feel like i am missing anything. The smell at fairs even if it isn't v* makes me think of it.


Good luck with your drive across the country. I would tell everyone that I love to be in the car and I want to see the whole country