Could this do any good?

[JeremyEllison]

Just wondering if this would do any good in theory...


An emetophobic, through means or use of emetic drugs/self-gagging, induces vomiting once or twice a day in order to relieve the fear of it.

[jennnh]

That wouldn't happen as a true emetophobe, we just wouldn't be able to do that

[JeremyEllison]

That wouldn't happen as a true emetophobe, we just wouldn't be able to do that

Don't be so quick to generalize, you may not be able to do that, but by no means can you speak for everyone else and define what is and what is not a "true emetophobic" person.

[CMM811]

Hell no would I do it!

[DeadxxInside92]

I would never do that. Personally, I think it would be counterproductive and may be a gateway for other problems to manifest. Inducing vomiting really is not good for one's health. The acid will erode away the enamel of the teeth, and do damage to the esophagus as well. The best way to beat this phobia is to treat the anxiety which causes the phobia. Therapy, SSRI's, meditation, etc. Everyone is different and favors different coping methods. Again, this is just my opinion, but to each his own.

[gumdropper1]

Jeremy, some emets have been cured by inducing themselves to vomit exactly once. You can read their stories on my web site. (See the link in my signature.) But beware, other emets have induced themselves to vomit and were not cured.

Doug

[olschesky]

not doing it ......

[KaydeeJayde]

It might do good, but it might not either. Try it at your own risk. If you feel like it can help, then go for it. If not, then steer clear, it can make it worse if you don't know how to calm yourself down and handle it the right way.

[katherines6]

it might make the fear even worse!

[jbsmom]

Wow, I am not sure about others but in my desperation as an Emet, I have never thought to cure myself this way. Yes many people have said you should face your fears. In my case, somehow I think that Ving actually caused my fear. I am not sure that It would make me feel any better. It might make my fear worse. Good luck if you try this experiment. Let us know how it works out for ya!

[jbsmom]

@ Gumdropper1, I have seen the ticker thing at the bottom of your posts and I am wondering how in the world you have made it 35 yrs without Ving. Is there a secret I am not privy to? Throw me a bone!

[JustHannah]

I couldn't do this ever. I do think it could help some people though but for others it might not. It depends on your tolerance of v* in my opinion. I don't suggest this for anyone.

[JeremyEllison]

I don't know, I've just seriously been considering it... I've had two very vivid and detailed dreams where I (for some reason) v*d and woke up the next morning feeling almost disappointed it hadn't been real. I've considered the prospect of trying to make myself do it every morning and over a period of time get used to it. I think a major part of the fear is, for me, the inherent lack of control associated with it - but I have a lack of control over sneezing, too, however find the whole experience of sneezing rather mundane (although, there is a fear of it - sternutaphobia). I think if I could somehow make the act a normal, routine bodily function the lack of control wouldn't matter so much to me.

Like this guy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJR0vCetx1U

^^ NOT SAFE for weak stomachs...

[Jdpillow]

It might work for some people but I personally could never get enough guts to even try it. It also wouldn't be good for your physical health, as it is stated by others above. I think that more traditional methods would be more effective.

[ashley11]

I could never do it, the thought of even trying scares me, but if you can do it I envy you! I wish I could do that. Because of a bad gallbladder I v*d two times and it was the first time in 15 years and the first day I thought that wasn't so bad maybe I can get over it, but as time went on the fear just came back. I would be afraid that would happen too!

[KTB]

I don't think you'd need to do it that frequently. If you were going to go down this path, I think it's probably more a case of just once or twice (in total) so you can prove to yourself that it's not that bad. I think the health risks of making yourself sick every day are probably worse than dealing with the phobia. I think (based on no evidence or research at all!) that if you did it once or twice and then wrote detailed notes about it (or videoed it) so that you could refer to to remind yourself that it was not so bad, that would be better.

I've looked into this too, because I really think that vomiting in practice is nowhere near as bad as I think, and I think that if I proved that to myself, I might get a bit better. I've tried to make myself vomit once when I had a really upset stomach, but I just gagged, nothing else, so that was no good.

I've read about that other option of inducing vomiting by drinking that stuff they give to people who have ingested poison, for instance, and have heard that that is much worse than normal vomiting. It is apparently much more sudden and forceful, and you don't feel better after, which you apparently do after 'normal' vomiting. So I think people who go down this path are sometimes more scared afterwards than people who were just sick naturally because that's actually worse than it would be otherwise.

I personally think it's probably better if it can just happen naturally, so I think it's probably better to just try and live a normal life (i.e. stop avoiding things, doing obsessive prevention behaviours) and it'll happen one day, and when that one day comes, you can try and benefit as much as possible from that.

[XDragonflyX]

I don't know if it would work for you. When I was younger (in my early teens) I thought that if I just threw up, I would be magically cured, I would realize that there's nothing to be afraid of, and that everything would be okay. Not what happened.

I was sick in the summer of 2010 for the first time in over eight years. It did nothing to cure my emet, and even (possibly) made it worse.

So in conclusion, no, I would not recommend inducing vomiting, but in the end, it's totally up to you. Just sharing my thoughts.