anxietyandstress

Well, Christmas is almost here, so it’s about time that my emetophobia kicked into high gear. Emetophobia is a fear of vomiting. After four years of therapy, I’m much better than I once was, but I’m not completely cured. I can guarantee you that I will go into utter hysterics if I’m going to vomit, but I can look at pictures of vomit and say the word vomit with no problem at all. The sad thing is that a few years ago, just seeing the word vomit would send me into a panic attack. I am having a lot of the good old “What if I vomit?” thoughts lately, and it’s related to the holiday season and all the fun viruses flying around. 

I saw a blog this morning that has to do with emetophobia, and a couple sentences summed up my holiday season perfectly in regards to emetophobia. Quoted directly from Writersblock: “Being in large crowded malls where any number of people could be carrying and passing this germ leads to more anxiety. And it never fails to pass that halfway through that Christmas dinner, a relative in close proximity reveals this is the first meal they’ve been able to eat since the norovirus attacked them the previous few days.

HoHoHo”

This is how things always work for me, so the post made me giggle. I was sitting next to one of the State’s Attorneys the other day, and whilst breathing right in my face, tells me that her daughter vomited 5 times at day care yesterday. My emetophobic radar immediately picked up.

But I’m still using ACT therapy to deal with the negative thoughts, although my anxiety tends to peak around this time. I wish I was able to get completely over this phobia, like some people I know have. But things are a lot better than they used to be, and I’m thankful for that.

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