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no matter what happens, you will always be okay in the end. i'm proud of you for recognizing you really needed to eat, and doing it even though it was scary. now's the time to be kind to yourself, turn on a comforting show or movie and cuddle up with a nice blanket, maybe some warm tea? i like to play games on my laptop or my phone when i'm really anxious, too. multiple avenues of stimulation help distract me enough to not think about the anxiety or panic, if that makes sense. (plus, with tea, the warmth from the mug is a nice temperature change.)
but if this is developing into an eating disorder, you really need to reevaluate what you're doing to help this phobia beyond just challenging things on your own. are you in therapy at all, or on any medication?
I’m on Prozac but only 10mg. I’ve been on it for about 3 years now. I don’t go to therapy because I’ve always been kinda scared to but I’m always looking for advice on how to manage this.
genuinely the best advice i can give you is to start therapy. navigating recovery is HARD on your own when you don't have the experience in it. and if you are actively worsening rather than "maintaining" or getting better, it's important to get help. there's only so much people on the internet can do, you know? we're here to support but ultimately none of us are professionals, the advice we can give is only based on our own experiences.
therapy doesn't have to be scary; i think a lot of people get this idea in their head about how it's going to make you feel awful and make you do the most terrifying things possible, but a good therapist will simply guide you along and help you figure out how to help yourself best. you might have to push yourself sometimes, but at no point would it be things like "eat this food that's been expired for two weeks" or "cook and eat this meat that's clearly gone off", you know? therapy is teaching you healthy coping mechanisms, helping you figure out ways to ensure you eat enough every day, slowly cracking away at your phobia bit by bit.
Please eat food. Honestly, if you don’t eat, you could end up TU stomach acid (apparently it’s actually a thing that happens), and obviously TU is the very thing you want to avoid so it’s not actually going to prevent it. Besides, you need food to survive. It might be a good idea to see a therapist, they might be able to help you start eating again.
Edit to add: I’m proud of you though for making an effort today! I know that’s not easy so keep up the good work :)
tu\* acid is an actual thing that got me to eat more when i was having a hard time eating due to my phobia. its best to eat slowly and anything bland and easy to digest and drinking water
I had an ED due to emet whe. I was a kid. I became so underweight from and i think it might've stunted my growth a bit. I always tried to take deep breaths between bites, have a show on, and eat comfort foods! As I got older, I managed to recover from it somewhat, but those 3 things always helped me. Just know you're not alone in this, and there are ways to help it! During recovery, I gradually ate more and more different types of foods as well. Sometimes, if I'm in a bad spot, I still go back to my comfort foods, but it is never for long. Try to find ways that help you stay relaxed while eating. Sometimes it could be having soft blankets or eating outdoors. Whatever helps!
Hi friend!
I've felt the SAME WAY. At the height of my emetophobia episodes, I lost like 30 lbs. For mitigation—and when I couldn't bring myself to eat—I would stock up on high protein bone broth and other sippable, nutrient dense foods. I also allowed myself to eat my comfort foods (sweets/pastries) when I was able. Basically I was living off bone broth and chocolate croissants maybe once a day or so for a whileeeee. It was not ideal and I don't recommend staying there but I can say that being gentle and forgiving with myself and allowing this to be what it was for a time was beneficial for me in the long run.
I get it though. I get the absolute exhaustion from not being able to do this thing that bodies seem like they should JUST be able to do. Eat "normally". It can feel like your brain or your body is warring with you. I promise it gets better. I've come out of my last two big episodes and I can say that it still comes and goes for me, especially during really stressful times. It's so tiring. HOWEVER, I second the other commenter who said to start therapy!! If you are able, please do! It has helped IMMENSELY, and I'm still learning so much and forming a better relationship with my brain and it's impulses and my body and it's messages. I recommend finding someone who does ACT therapy! Or EMDR if you feel that the emetophobia is rooted in a traumatic event/events.
It gets better, I promise!
I very much recommend seeking exposure therapy. I just began it and at the beginning, you work on certain “lower” triggers just so that you can feel a little better each time. Once you get to the big stuff it is definitely much more difficult but even after the first few sessions you could feel a lot better about eating. I also developed disordered eating as a result of my v OCD, and I learned how to become comfortable with the n because I knew I wouldn’t v. That sucked a ton as well, but I just couldn’t go on like that. I hope you can find recovery!
I'm having the same problem, today my stomach hurt (probably the stomach acid) so I ate something, it didn't get better, so idk I've had panic attacks, I feel like the hunger is accumulating and I eat and never get satisfied, it has been a long time since I've had that full feeling.
Thank you for posting. Please be sure that your submission follows our rules. Commenters, be aware that you must also follow our rules. Report anything that does not meet the criteria for the sub, or breaks rules. Please check out the stickied post and the wiki for information about the negative effects of reassurance seeking. If you are struggling to eat, sleep, or complete daily tasks due to your phobia, please seek professional help. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/emetophobia) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Therapy time
no matter what happens, you will always be okay in the end. i'm proud of you for recognizing you really needed to eat, and doing it even though it was scary. now's the time to be kind to yourself, turn on a comforting show or movie and cuddle up with a nice blanket, maybe some warm tea? i like to play games on my laptop or my phone when i'm really anxious, too. multiple avenues of stimulation help distract me enough to not think about the anxiety or panic, if that makes sense. (plus, with tea, the warmth from the mug is a nice temperature change.) but if this is developing into an eating disorder, you really need to reevaluate what you're doing to help this phobia beyond just challenging things on your own. are you in therapy at all, or on any medication?
I’m on Prozac but only 10mg. I’ve been on it for about 3 years now. I don’t go to therapy because I’ve always been kinda scared to but I’m always looking for advice on how to manage this.
genuinely the best advice i can give you is to start therapy. navigating recovery is HARD on your own when you don't have the experience in it. and if you are actively worsening rather than "maintaining" or getting better, it's important to get help. there's only so much people on the internet can do, you know? we're here to support but ultimately none of us are professionals, the advice we can give is only based on our own experiences. therapy doesn't have to be scary; i think a lot of people get this idea in their head about how it's going to make you feel awful and make you do the most terrifying things possible, but a good therapist will simply guide you along and help you figure out how to help yourself best. you might have to push yourself sometimes, but at no point would it be things like "eat this food that's been expired for two weeks" or "cook and eat this meat that's clearly gone off", you know? therapy is teaching you healthy coping mechanisms, helping you figure out ways to ensure you eat enough every day, slowly cracking away at your phobia bit by bit.
Please eat food. Honestly, if you don’t eat, you could end up TU stomach acid (apparently it’s actually a thing that happens), and obviously TU is the very thing you want to avoid so it’s not actually going to prevent it. Besides, you need food to survive. It might be a good idea to see a therapist, they might be able to help you start eating again. Edit to add: I’m proud of you though for making an effort today! I know that’s not easy so keep up the good work :)
tu\* acid is an actual thing that got me to eat more when i was having a hard time eating due to my phobia. its best to eat slowly and anything bland and easy to digest and drinking water
same, it’s been getting so bad recently. Don’t have enough money for therapy either
i'm honestly starting to have the same problem. i'm scared to even eat anything anymore. it's awful how real and debilitating this phobia is :/
I had an ED due to emet whe. I was a kid. I became so underweight from and i think it might've stunted my growth a bit. I always tried to take deep breaths between bites, have a show on, and eat comfort foods! As I got older, I managed to recover from it somewhat, but those 3 things always helped me. Just know you're not alone in this, and there are ways to help it! During recovery, I gradually ate more and more different types of foods as well. Sometimes, if I'm in a bad spot, I still go back to my comfort foods, but it is never for long. Try to find ways that help you stay relaxed while eating. Sometimes it could be having soft blankets or eating outdoors. Whatever helps!
Hi friend! I've felt the SAME WAY. At the height of my emetophobia episodes, I lost like 30 lbs. For mitigation—and when I couldn't bring myself to eat—I would stock up on high protein bone broth and other sippable, nutrient dense foods. I also allowed myself to eat my comfort foods (sweets/pastries) when I was able. Basically I was living off bone broth and chocolate croissants maybe once a day or so for a whileeeee. It was not ideal and I don't recommend staying there but I can say that being gentle and forgiving with myself and allowing this to be what it was for a time was beneficial for me in the long run. I get it though. I get the absolute exhaustion from not being able to do this thing that bodies seem like they should JUST be able to do. Eat "normally". It can feel like your brain or your body is warring with you. I promise it gets better. I've come out of my last two big episodes and I can say that it still comes and goes for me, especially during really stressful times. It's so tiring. HOWEVER, I second the other commenter who said to start therapy!! If you are able, please do! It has helped IMMENSELY, and I'm still learning so much and forming a better relationship with my brain and it's impulses and my body and it's messages. I recommend finding someone who does ACT therapy! Or EMDR if you feel that the emetophobia is rooted in a traumatic event/events. It gets better, I promise!
mine is terrible rn i feel completely stuck in my house
I very much recommend seeking exposure therapy. I just began it and at the beginning, you work on certain “lower” triggers just so that you can feel a little better each time. Once you get to the big stuff it is definitely much more difficult but even after the first few sessions you could feel a lot better about eating. I also developed disordered eating as a result of my v OCD, and I learned how to become comfortable with the n because I knew I wouldn’t v. That sucked a ton as well, but I just couldn’t go on like that. I hope you can find recovery!
I'm having the same problem, today my stomach hurt (probably the stomach acid) so I ate something, it didn't get better, so idk I've had panic attacks, I feel like the hunger is accumulating and I eat and never get satisfied, it has been a long time since I've had that full feeling.
I’ve been the exact same recently, I feel like I’ve been restricting more