To Young For This Phobia

[imroo2]

Hi Everyone,


I'm so glad i finally looked into this. Lately I've been really stressing about this phobia that i have. I never knew other people had this problem too. I'm twenty years old and have been suffering since middle school age. It first started after i got sick, ever since then I have phases. For the last two years I have able to control it but lately its been getting a lot worse. I worry a lot about v*ing. I continously try to think positive but lately it hasn't been working. I am very thin and I worry that I might get thinner because my nerves stop me from eating at times. I LOVE FOOD, but this phobia has controlled my eating habits. I hope to travel in a few months but worry that this phobia will stop me from having fun (especially since im young and I should be having fun). I soon will be turning twenty one but i refuse to drink because of the fear of throwing up or hangover. Any suggestions I'm too young for this to control my life. I worry about the future to much because of this stupid phobia, please help.


Thank You


Imroo2

[medstudent]

Hey, I just wanted to say that I know just how you feel. I am 20 too and Ive felt like this since I was 16. Im so sorry that you feel this way too and i hope that things get better for you. I am thinking of you.
It sucks doesnt it, but there is hope for all of us. Im at medical school now and ive travelled to japan and europe over the past few years. I thought that i would never be able to do these things but ive actually found that they help! Having something to focus on and to put all your heart into can take away some of the worry.
I worry so much about food too, and i love food! What i have found really good is learning loads of recipes and making my own food. That way i know that i have washed my hands and used fresh ingredients; i make sure everything is clean that i use and then i make something really tasty and good. If you could do this it might make you feel more in control; its just a suggestion anway!
Keep being positive if you can; people on here are so friendly and supportive and it will help you im sure to share your feelings.
And with the drinking thing, if you want to drink, just be really sensible. You could drink a beer or something, and then have a glass of water, and then another beer. If you are sensible, drink slowly, and stop if your body starts to feel a bit different than normal, then you should be fine!
All the things that i have mentioned are things that help me but they might not help you and they are just ways of coping really. You have made a really positive step posting here and im sure that in time if you get the right help and support, you will feel better. PM me any time if you want! xxxx

[blondie90]

hey medstudent,


quick question...has it been hard for you to work in the medical field with such a phobia? i'm a nursing major and as much as i'd like to pursue this career, i worry that my fear may hold me back[img]smileys/smilies_09.gif[/img]. let me know how things are going for you!


and imroo2, i know exactly how you feel. i'm only 18 and i've had this phobia since i was little. i went away to school for a semester and transferred home to a local school because i developed such a fear of eating dining hall food and because i could never enjoy myself at bars or parties. i was constantly scared that i'd v* or someone else around me would. all i can say is, do whatever you can to get your mind off of it. and also, realize that it's not very common for a person to get a sv very often. i know people who haven't v*'d in 50 years! right now, both of my parents have a sv and i can't even tell you what i'm going through. i've disinfected my entire house atleast three times, and i'm afriad to be in the same room with them. it's really hard and i'm so afraid of getting sick. i've just been keeping busy all day long and i think it's relieved some of my stress a bit. i hope everything works out for you. it's nice to know theres more people out there who suffer like i do![img]smileys/smilies_12.gif[/img]

[spilled_milk]

Welcome! I'm sorry that this phobia has controlled your life like that. i know how you feel, I'm fifteen and i've had the phobia since i was little (maybe 3?)


Anyways, you've found a good community here, everyone is so willing to help out.


<3 Anya--

[lizzo]

I'm 16! I've had this fear for as long as I can remember.

[chicajojobe]

Yeah hate to break it to you but if you made it to middle school before
you had this phobia you're more of a late bloomer. I'm 19 and have had
it for as long as I can remember.



I know exactly what you mean about it holding keeping you from having
fun. I never really go to parties partially because I'm not really the
kegger type, and partially because I don't want to see v*ing. I do
drink though so I can tell you that it is possible to drink without
having a hangover and it's certainly possible to without v*ing.



My advice for how to drink without feeling it the next day would be
just have one drink your first time and make your first drink be, not
at a party, but at a meal. Maybe go out to dinner at a nice restaurant
with some close friends or family and have your first drink there. That
way you'll have some food in your stomach which will keep the alcohol
from absorbing too fast. Also if you're at a party or a bar you'll be
in an environment where you might feel compelled to keep drinking until
you have too much, but at a nice place you'll have no trouble just
having one drink. Also read up on what's in various drinks because some
mixed drinks can have multiple shots of alcohol so one drink is
actually more like 3 in terms of the amount of booze you're getting. If
you have really never even tasted alcohol before then you may want to
start off with some milder things like wine, beer or champagne. That
way you'll know exactly what you're getting.

[wing]

Hello. =] Welcome. I'm 16 and I've had this for as long as I can rememberlike many people(Despite I always say 4 because I can't remember below 4 ^^). I know it can be degrading, and I hope you do get over it. =] Yes, a lot of us areyoung, but I guess wecan't help it. I dont have any advice about the drinking thing though. I already know even 5 years later at 21, I dont want to drink ehehe..

[samara's on tv]

I have had this phobia ever since I can remember too. I turned 21 this past September and I DID drink. I wasn't going to let my emet stop that. I had enough drinks to feel buzzed and then I stopped. I went out with a friend, who at the time I thought I trusted, but he took me home and did bad things to me. Don't let that scare you though, I have a lousy judgement when it comes to friends. Anyway I had a little headache the next morning but I didn't V*.


If you are worried, do what everyone said. Just have ONE DRINK, in a nice place not at a party. I drank at a strip club (Cause that's where I wanted to go for my birthday...hee hee) Anyway I had a Vodka and Cranberry juice and four shots of rum. I never thought I'd EVER be able to drink that much and not get sick but as it turns out I have a high tolerence to alcohol.


I'm rambling...I'll shut up now.


~Monica

[lilyann]

I'm 31 and I have been emet since age 5 I think. I just started seeking help, so since you are doing it so young, you may be able to recover at a younger age. Good luck!

[naturaldisaster]

Hey I’m 17, soon to be 18 and like most people here I've had this phobia for as long as I can remember. It used to hold me back a lot when I was little starving myself, not going to school, not going on trips but I don't let it control my life as much anymore... I’m just really anal about food and avoiding people with a sv! :P


I've never gotten sick from drinking myself and... well I've been pretty drunk on quite the occasion! I think emets may even have more of a tolerance because a lot of people I know who get sick drinking do it on purpose to feel better or sober up, just have weak stomachs or have drank enough to kill a bull. So just take it easy and you’ll be fine.


However, I have been around people getting sick from when I was drinking myself and the normal anxiety was not there because alcohol is a depressant. It’s like "hey look someone vomiting, I'm afraid of vomit, I’ll just leave until there done" not the normal heart racing gotta get far away fast, never come back" feeling. When I don’t have a few drinks in me I find it really difficult to stay at a party without being completely sketchy, often I just leave.


I’m not sure if I should bring this up on the forum or not but I will any ways (if anyone has an issue just let me know.) Marijuana can be really bad for sending you into anxiety attacks! I used to think it would be better because you inhale it so it wouldn’t go to your stomach and its a relaxant, however it can also make you extremely paranoid and I’ve actually imagined people getting sick at a party to the point were I had to lock myself in a room and go to bed when really no one was getting sick they were just burping because of drinking. Since then every time the panic is worse and worse and I’ve just had to stop. Anyone comments?

[Galadriel]

Drinking wise, I
pretty much only have one wine cooler here and there. That will NOT get
you drunk at all, you'd have to drink probably like 4.



Those taste good but won't do anything drunk wise if you have only one or two. I do not ever want to get drunk.

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[billyboy]

Yes, well, im 16 and ive had this since i can remember. I hate it when it controls your life, im really really underweight too. I always binge on food when im feeling relaxed, like on the weekends, but when school is on i go for days without eating.

i also stress out about going on trips. Thats one of the worst things i recon, it makes me feel so bad when my family wants to go away and im sick.

If you want some incentive, i think this phobia comes and goes in phases. It didnt affect me at all during a lot of primary school, i went about 5 years, and sort of just forgot about it. It was only when i v* that it came back

(just cant get a post right tonight)Edited by: billyboy

[helenhd]

hey i'm 17 and i've had this fear for a long time but i've only started having panic attacks in the last 3 years. last night i had my first panic attack in a while because i am coming off of my medication (although after last night i'm going to rethink that desicion) and I got really scared about my future. I'm going off to college next year and i am TERRIFIED. I'm so scared that my roomate is going to be either drunk all the time or worse have a poor immune system. Then I started thinking about after college and how badly I want to have kids. I really want to overcome this before I have children. but right now I'm mainly just focusing on getting through college.

[stephiewephie05]

i'm 19 &amp; have had this phobia since i was 8 &amp; i know what it's like being young &amp; feeling like it might be holding you back. i have made myself gone to restraunts in the past alot of my friends know not to go to one particular restraunt cuz it serves the food that i had last v*ed.

[naturaldisaster]

"I'm so scared that my roomate is going to be either drunk all the time or worse have a poor immune system. I'm so scared that my roomate is going to be either drunk all the time or worse have a poor immune system." - helenhd


Most universities/colleges will give you a single room if your willing to pay a little extra, apply early and have a good reason for it

[soluene]

I just wanted to say that most phobiasand anxiety disorders show up at early ages, so IMO, there isn't really such a thing as "too young for this phobia". It absolutely does suck that it shows up at the peak and youth of your lifetime, but that is typical for anxiety! My college years and early 20s were full of fear and anxiety, and my phobia started when I was about 5. I'm 30 now and am feeling much calmer, more confident, less anxious, and more in control.


In my personal situation, I believe I developed the phobia because I was raised in an overprotective environment, where my parents did everything for me. I never developed the confidence to do anything on my own, and was scared to death in high school, college, and post-college because I felt so "out there" and unprotected. In addition, my parents (and ex-husband) were very critical, and I suffered miserably trying to control everything I did so that 1) I would not be criticized, and 2) I would somehow make everyone around me happy and satisfied, no matter the cost to myself. It wasn't until I got divorced and into my late 20sthat I finally faced the world without anyone's guidance, control, or protection - and that was when my anxiety started to go away.


Natural Disaster--


I did a report on marijuana toxicology in grad school. It definitely can cause anxiety attacks, especially in people already prone to anxiety. People who react that way usually don't stick with it [img]smileys/smilies_02.gif[/img]