Only fearing contagious now....

[snowangel]

Hi there everyone,

Just wanted to let you all know that I have been avoiding this site for awhile as an expirement & things have actially been a bit better. I come here from time to time and read posts but it's mostly just to see how everyone is doing...
I think the more I push the phobia out of my mind, the more I condition myself to not think about it at all.
One thing I have noticed is I am able to pinpoint the phobia to "Contagious Emetaphobia" if that is such a thing. That is, If I am out on the town and someone V's due to drinking it affects me 4/10 whereas a person V from stomach flu affects me 10/10. So I am getting a bit more rational. Now I am trying to get over the fear of picking up the flu or getting food poisoned and I will be almost cured. I am so much better that I was last year...
Anyone have the same experiences?

[bexcelica]

that's great to hear. and i agree. i am the same way, fearing
contagious v*. i dont care if someone v* and i am sure it is not
contagious (not that i dont care about them feeling sick, i mean
anxiety wise) if someone is sick from food or drinks, i am okay with it
(not 100%) because i know i wont get it. so i think we are very similar
in that respect

[sillygirl]

I also am mostly just afraid of cantagious v*. I really just don't want to do it myself.


I have actually thought lately about trying to pull away from this site as well. There have been times when I have jsut been really busy and haven't been able to get on for several days at a time. During those times I seem to be better but I'm not sure if it's from being busy or not seeing the postings. But I really appreciate teh support here, and I like being able to help out everuyone else too.

[mommyof3]

Having kids pushed me to that point. I used to be afraid of any kind of v*, and now it's just the contagious. I mean, I still get the heebie-jeebies but I can stilsleep at night if I'm exposed to non-contagious. And the questionable (not sure what the kids have, saw something on the ground) affects me, but not as bad as if I know it's contagious.


Also, I am having the opposite experience about posting here. Maybe it's because I'm so far down this road of emet that coming here helps and helping other people helps me feel a little less discouraged. ButI think if I had come here (if there had been internet back in the dark ages lol) when I was a teenager, it may have made it worse.

[sage]

I'm of two minds on this one. Generally, I advise people not to come here once they have read the information, feel less alone and "freakish", and have printed off all the info on treating the phobia. Then I'd hope they get themselves into a good treatment program and go "uphill" from there. Continually coming here IS frightening to most phobics - even though it's almost an "addiction" to the reassurance or "knowledge" you get from it.


On the other hand, if not coming here means you just aren't thinking about it AND aren't getting it treated, then you're kidding yourself if you think you're better. You may be less anxious at this time in your life because of avoidance, but once you can't avoid anymore, your anxiety will go sky-high.AGAIN, if that happens, come to the internet for INFORMATION, and go off with it and get treatment. Come back when you have a specific question, that isn't a seeking-reassurance question.


I know there are many who will disagree with me, and will say that coming to this site often helps them a lot. My only "evidence" to the contrary is that, other than me, the people who come here all the time still have the phobia, whereas the people who are successfully treated and leading joyful, peaceful fear-free lives are nowhere to be found!


Ya, ya...I know there are some exceptions...


And I miss y'all when you disappear.


But really - I ask myself: if it were my CHILD or my CLIENT, I would not want them coming here more than once.

[scarletbea]

yes! That's been my experience! And I agree with mommyof3 (I am only
a mommy of 2). Having kids is a problem for emetophobes, but you can
get through it will minimal illness ( I have posted on this elsewhere). At
the very least, it helps a bit to desensitize you, as your love for the
children overcomes to some extent the fear.

I will never be totally comfortable around anyone who is vomiting for any
reason, but I no longer "fear" anything other than the contagious kind of
vomiting. In other words, I will avoid someone who drank too much and
is sick, but I don't stay awake all night worrying about it, like I used to.
However, if someone has what appears to be a stomach virus, that will
still bother me. But there are ways to avoid spreading the bug and avoid
cathcing it, and I have trained my family to do so. This has reduced my
anxiety level a great deal.

Fortunately, here in the USA, after all the problems in elderly homes and
hospitals, there is plenty of support for clean hands and the use of
alcohol gels (which have been shown to reduce the incidence of GI illness
by 60%). We recently visited my father-in-law, who was hospitalized for
surgery in Canada, and there was a table, prominently placed, with
alcohol sanitizers that all visitors were asked to use - before they visited
and when they were leaving - the facility. Easy and effective. Every home
and workplace should have them. Not only prevents GI illness, but also
cuts down on the transmission of colds and flu. Very sensible!