#copingwithaphobia

 Heyo! I’m back with another tips list! This time it’s emetophobia--the fear of throwing up. This is something I’ve also struggled with my entire life, but haven’t really seen a lot of coping tips for. Luckily I’ve learned a lot of things as I’ve stumbled through life, so hopefully these help someone out! Remember to be really careful with diet/meds and do your research before trying anything. Again, I’m not a medical professional, these are just things that work for me.

~ Some of the tips for anxiety will also help with emetophobia, as they are both anxiety--particularly the distraction technique.

~ Make sure you eat when you’re stressed! Force yourself to, if you have to. I know it’s hard, hunger pangs stress you out more, and hunger makes you nauseous. But it’s only going to keep getting worse if you leave it, and hunger will make you stress more. Start small and easy, like a salad or a piece of fruit, and work your way up. Just make sure you eat SOMETHING, even if it’s small. Trust me, it’s hard, but it’ll help so much.

~ When you feel a little sick and start stressing about it, stop and take a moment to take some deep breaths. As you’re doing this, study your body and how you’re actually feeling. What sensations do you notice? A lot of the time it’s just fear and not actually an upset stomach. This is called grounding and I find it helps a lot.

~ This takes time and can be scary, but try to learn what your physical feelings mean. This will help you determine what is real and what’s anxiety, because the lines can blur and it can be hard to tell. You’ll find that most of the time it’s just stress, and the truth is so liberating. 

~ Often tummy troubles can be caused by stress or anxiety as well. Try to calm down before you self-medicate. Oftentimes I find that stuff really isn’t as bad as I think it is once I calm down.

~ As with anxiety (but even more so with this) don’t try to analyze every symptom or constantly ruminate on how you’re feeling. When I do this, most of the time I don’t actually get anywhere and it makes my stress worse.

~ STAY AWAY FROM THE INTERNET. Don’t do Google searches about your symptoms or how you’re feeling. Even if you don’t come across something disastrous, you can often get stuck in a wormhole of triggering things and again, it usually gets you nowhere. The internet does not know all. 

~ Learn what the safe temperatures for cooking food are and how long food actually lasts in the fridge/on the counter. This can help you not be so concerned about whether or not your food will give you food poisoning. 

~ On that topic, a lot of the time you will know FOR SURE when something is not ok to eat. It will look or smell distinctly bad. If you REALLY aren’t sure, ask someone knowledgeable or do a FoodSafe course.

~ On the off chance you do end up eating a bit of something bad, chances are it’s not going to make you sick. Your body is really good at dealing with that stuff, you’ll be fine.

When you do feel sick:

- Strong mints (like altoids) can help you feel less sick

- If you (like me) have an actual digestive disorder and food sensitivities, DGL (licorice tablets) can work miracles for heartburn/upset/stomach/food reactions. Plus they taste really good.

- If you need something a little stronger, liquid Diovol (in Canada you can get it at a drugstore) is pure magic. You can feel it starting to work right away, and it’s not a placebo effect!

- Use the distraction technique with reckless abandon. 

- Remember that 90% of the time you have an upset stomach, you aren’t gonna hurl. Like I said, your body is pretty good at dealing with stuff. And if you do, it lasts like a fraction of your life and then you feel better. (I’m honestly telling myself this as much as I’m telling y’all RIP)

- Also most of the time it’s not going to be food poisoning, the flu, or something else serious. Ya probably just ate something a little weird (or ate a little too much).

- It also won’t last forever. Most of the time my stomach issues are gone within a couple of hours. It’s not a big deal. Distract yourself until it’s gone.