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Awful evening :(


15 years ago 0 2101 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Hiya Faith,
 
I just wanted to say that I think little setbacks are normal. I think all healing is up and down. Healing is not a linear thing! So just keep at it! Oh and monty python, wow, brave lady, that one is gross!
15 years ago 0 778 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
No problem Faith . But what i will say about pregnancy sickness is its over and done with . No hanging about once you have you feel great and can eat straight away  . Never ceased to amase me .
 
 
15 years ago 0 43 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Hi cornish-dee, thank you so much! You guys are all so supportive. Yes, the Monty Python one is a pretty bad scene, and eventually I want to be able to watch it, not just look at a still photo from it.
 
I often wonder about pregnancy, because my husband and I really want to have kids and I want to start trying next year if my phobia is under control. Part of me thinks that it might help, especially if I get bad pregnancy sickness like you did - talk about in vivo exposure therapy! I would just have to get used to it and learn how to deal with it. But part of me worries and thinks, "I'm not ready for that possibility!"
 
Thanks again for the response, it means a lot to me :)

15 years ago 0 778 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Hello Faith , i think you are doing mavellous i really do . Its quite a hard phobia to overcome at the best of times let alone with anxiety .
 
Many moons ago i used to freak about vomiting , my cure ws pregnany . I have had five kids and was sick from beginning to end of all my pregnancies every single day , how unlucky was that ??? But i now have no problem with it , well unless its not long after eating .
 
Yes it does also feel like the panic lasts for more than an hour , i could never understand that bit thought they didnt know what they are talking about and obvisiouly never had one themselves !!! Lol used to get quite angry about it when i was in full swing saying 5mins yeah right !
 
The Monty Python seen is a bad 'un , my hubby is a majour fan so i know it quite well . You are quite brave looking at that one you know well done . Rooting for you Faith .
15 years ago 0 43 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Thanks so much everyone! It feels good to hear from people who may understand
 
jhori, thanks for reminding me! That's the book of Job. All his children died, his property was taken away, he got sick, all his friends thought he was crazy, etc., and he wound up sitting on the ground all alone scratching at his sores with broken shards of pottery - and yet he never cursed God or doubted His goodness! He did ask, "What the heck are you doing?" but God's answer was "Who are you to ask Me that?" and then He gives a whole bunch of reasons and reminders about why He's so much smarter than us! (The basic answer is "You don't need to know why - just trust!") I think I will read Job again...
 
Thanks Breanne and April for the reassurance :) And April - I know it's gross! Sometimes I think it would be easier to do exposure therapy if my phobia was of something less inherently unpleasant, like, say ketchup or frogs or cotton balls or something! But there's no use thinking about that I guess!
 
 

15 years ago 0 466 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Sounds to me like you're still doing great, Faith!  The fact that you could look at it on Monday, and feel hardly anything, shows that you CAN do it!  Your reaction Wednesday, shows that your human, and that the anxiety has that human trait of feeling like a setback.  God made us imperfect on purpose: without the battle, whats the purpose of goals?
 
The panic attack for an hour is something that used to happen to me on a regular basis.  I always felt the attack lasted much longer then they suggested.  Came to find out, the panic attack itself really was as long as they say, though the anxiety of putting so much focus on what happened made me freak out over, and over, aaaand over again.
 
Keep believing God put this in front of you for a reason.  He never does such a thing unless he knows we can take it, right?  I wish I was more up on my scripture, I remember an old story of the devil "testing" God by making one of His believers lose everything in his life he held dear...but the man kept his faith, through all the toil...and all that he held dear came back, in a different form.  Let go of the need to overcome it, and let God work through you, Faith.  God only tests those He believes in.
15 years ago 0 1693 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Faith,
 
You are doing great! Try not to think of your experience as a set back, but instead as one of the steps along the way. You felt ok about the images on Monday...just think of how far you have come! Focus on your successes, and you will get through this. Keep up a positive attitude, and keep looking at the photos everyday, and you'll get there.
We're always here for you
 
Breanne, Bilingual Health Educator
15 years ago 0 34 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Hi there Faith, First of all that scene you are talking about it really disgusting I know I would feel awful looking at it.  I do not get panicked looking at vomit but I find I have to turn away when people vomit on tv or if I see something like that Monty Python scene.  Don't be so hard on yourself, vomit in general is disgusting for most people, in your mind you have just taken it that one step further by attaching panic to it.  You should be proud of yourself for attempting the exposure therapy in this circumstance and I think that you have done really well.  You will have setbacks but use them to give you the strength to try it again!  And really don't see it as a set back see it as part of the process.  When I haven't panicked in a while and then I do, I get frustrated thinking I have started all over again but have to remind myself of the days without panic that are a success!
 
Keep it up, you are doing great!
15 years ago 0 43 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Hi everyone,
 
I'm sorry to come on here and whine :( But I got pretty desperate last night. I've been doing 20 minutes a day of looking at pictures of vomit/people vomiting for exposure therapy for my vomiting phobia since the beginning of August. The picture I'm looking at these days is super gross (it's from that restaurant scene in Monty Python's The Meaning of Life). By Monday it was hardly scary at all, and I had such a busy day Tuesday that I missed doing it. When I came back to it on Wednesday, it seemed soooo scary I could hardly look at it. I managed with my husband's encouragement.
 
Then last night I sat down to do it and pretty much started freaking out after about 3 minutes. I actually felt like I was panicking for an hour, which they say isn't possible or something, but I'm not so sure! It did come in waves though - I was in a total mess for a few minutes, then resting for a few, then it would come back...
 
I can't believe it was so easy on Monday - it was just how I hoped it would eventually be, just gross, like most people would think, and not panic-inducing. I could not get the image or the idea out of my mind last night while I was panicking, no matter what I did.
 
Feels like such a setback. :(
 
Thanks for reading!

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