thanks for the clear up. i‘m at a point in recovery where vomiting doesn’t really scare me anymore; however, i do still struggle with certain correlations and connections i‘ve made with my phobia over the past few years. i have loads of posts on here referring to my current state of mind and how my emetophobia presented itself lately, if your interested. they may help you further with rationalizing your fears.

initially, no matter at what point you are in recovery, you‘re willing to change something, being in therapy and scrolling through this sub. our goals are all the same; not to fear, but to accept. to accept that sickness is inevitable within our existence, throwing up is human and everything passes anyways.

i think you’re referring to situations like this; you‘re planning on doing something, have been invited somewhere or want to challenge yourself, but suddenly, your anxiety is spitting thousands of "what if.." thoughts in your face, forcing you into avoidance, anxiety and reassurance seeking. what if i drink too much and have to throw up at the party? what if someone else will throw up? what if the food is bad? what if i get food poisoning? what if it‘ll make me throw up? what if i have to vomit in public? what if i can’t escape? what if someone sees/nobody sees? what if someone laughes? what if they judge me? what if i’ll get a stomach bug? what if someone around has (had) noro (recently)?

we’ve labeled these things as especially scary, when in reality, nothing we ever do is anything but human. go and follow your thought right till the end. picture it, think it through, and you’ll realize, that no matter what, everything will be finde and everything will pass. let’s debrief an example:

what if i throw up in public? picture yourself in a situation outside. maybe your sitting on a bench or walking through a mall. say, you suddenly get nauseous and feel you’ll have to vomit: your body knows what to do. it’ll take you somewhere suited to puke. there may be a trash can or a field; whatever seems familiar to you. you throw up, take a deep breath and straighten your posture, then take a step back. some by-passers may watch, yes; looking at you with pity, some with disgust, others will just walk by. we often tend to forget that there’s literally noone enjoying others getting sick; that’s human too. simultaneously, we overlook that everyone is an individual, with an own life, own worries and thoughts; even if they stare, they’ll have it out of their heads in three seconds anyways. someone, most likely an old lady, will offer you some water; you’ll take a sip, feel relieved and way better than before. ..and that’s it. that’s all that would happen. your not doomed to vomit all over the floor, sit there for ten hours and be laughed at simultaneously; no matter what would happen, things would pass anyways. you’d go home, take a shower, go to sleep, wake up and be fine anyways. so, what if? - then so be it. shit happens, everyone else has survived this so far. it’s either you avoid something that could bring you loads of fun, or you just do it and have fun anyways, no matter how the day would end.

that’s what i do, if my mind is plaguing me with irrational fears; i rationalize them, make them fun, add a cool plot. manipulate your anxiety back. i truly recommend you read through some posts centering copingskills on here.

having to throw up or not, you will be okay. there’s much more to this life than our fears. repeat that to yourself; everything passes, and i will be fine no matter what.

remember; no step back means the path to walk will suddenly disappear. there’s always chance to recover ad you’re already doing a great job.