Needing Support
Hi everyone. This is my first time posting here. I left the emet sub a while ago because I got tired of seeing the same reassurance-seeking questions in my feed over and over. I came here today because I’m struggling immensely and looking for advice from people who know what it’s like.
Basically, I’m 23, and on Wednesday I came down with a stomach virus and threw up for the first time since I was 11 years old. The first few days were hell for obvious reasons, but I’m finding the aftermath to be just as difficult, just in different ways.
Today I tried moving beyond crackers and toast into more “normal” food and had a bit of a setback where I very nearly threw up. I’m really struggling with anxiety over potentially re-triggering nausea and vomiting—I’m afraid of food, afraid of any potentially stress-inducing situations for fear it will set off my stomach. I’m afraid of every stomach sensation and catastrophizing every “off” feeling. But I think most of all, I’m afraid this will never end, that I’ll never feel normal again. I can understand rationally that that isn’t true, but that doesn’t do much to help with the feeling that my world is ending. My setback today has only fueled these fears, as I had been eating bland foods for two days and was finally starting to feel like I might be in the clear—finally starting to feel safe again, like I could let out the breath I’d been holding in since this started.
I’m really just looking for advice from anyone who’s survived stomach bugs with emetophobia. How do you handle the emotional aspect of it? The anxiety, the overthinking, the feelings of lack of control? Anything you can offer would be appreciated. I’m having a really awful time.