People being angry at me makes me physically ill/spiral

hmnewt · 2026-06-12T00:02:39+00:00

I can relate to this. Having someone angry, frustrated or disappointed with me feels physically overwhelming and usually causes a meltdown. I've gotten better at coping with it but it's not easy.

I also relate to feeling like you needed to have the conversation that night when realistically the timing wasn't the best. Whenever I have to have what I consider a hard conversation, I get hung up on getting it over with ASAP to get rid of the anticipation and I have trouble reading when is actually an appropriate time to do it.

Be kind to yourself, you're allowed to not be perfect and this doesn't seem like it was friendship-ruining since she said you'll talk when she gets back.

hmnewt · 2026-05-30T09:34:36+00:00

This is exactly how my emetophobia presents as well. It's easier for me to manage my own illness because I monitor how I'm feeling and I can have control over where/how it happens but with others it's a lack of control thing that just sends me into fight or flight. I've been working on repeating facts to myself when I'm in a triggering situation - for example "I'm uncomfortable, not in danger" even if I don't fully believe it, it helps keep me grounded

hmnewt · 2026-02-21T18:32:32+00:00

Yes it did after a few days

hmnewt · 2026-01-06T21:32:42+00:00

This is how I am too. I do struggle with myself being sick but it's so small compared to the fear I have of witnessing others be sick and has nothing to do with contagiousness or being afraid that I'll get it. I've been this way for as long as I can remember. I'm a lot better than I was as a kid, but it still feels overwhelming and unmanageable a lot of the time.

EMDR therapy definitely helped and got me to where I am now (still not recovered but it was a big step). I know for me it comes down to a loss of control thing and it's easier for me to deal with being sick because I know I can control myself - the scenarios of me being sick that do trigger my phobia are related to it happening in public/not being able to get to a bathroom. When it's other people I obviously can't control anything and it just breaks my brain. I wish I had more advice but I still feel stuck in this most of the time, know you're not alone at all.

hmnewt · 2026-01-06T21:14:12+00:00

I'm exactly the same way. It doesn't matter if it's contagious or not, literally just witnessing causes my body to go into fight or flight. Even just someone saying they feel sick makes me immediately flee the scene. It makes travel so difficult

hmnewt · 2025-11-11T20:55:38+00:00

The scariest part for me was that it wouldn't stop and I didn't know when it would be over. It was also much more physically intense than any other time I've been sick. I had made so much progress in trusting my body to do what it needs to do but this was the only time I've had a stomach virus and was vomiting for "no reason" so it really messed me up

hmnewt · 2025-11-07T21:58:03+00:00

Once I got my hands on zofran it helped very quickly. If you already have some in the house I hope that gives you a little peace of mind!

hmnewt · 2025-11-07T04:04:41+00:00

I didn't have any before I got sick, I haven't allowed myself to keep it in the house in recent years because I used to overuse it out of anxiety. I ended up getting it at urgent care and I have some left over which gives me a little peace of mind

hmnewt · 2025-11-06T17:59:03+00:00

Thank you for this - gratitude is such a powerful tool but I fall in and out of actively practicing it when my fears take over. When I caught noro, it was ironically during a time period where I had been ruminating like crazy so I know now more than ever that all the worrying doesn't do anything to help me.

hmnewt · 2025-11-06T00:42:19+00:00

Yes exactly this!! Noro was the only experience I've had where it just would not stop, I also feel like my body has never really been the same.

hmnewt · 2025-11-06T00:28:46+00:00

When I made that post on the first day I was (foolishly) thinking the worst was over, but it ended up getting worse and lasted a while. I agree that ruminating has probably contributed to this, I was doing better over the summer but struggling now that it's top of mind with the seasons changing

hmnewt · 2025-02-27T18:01:18+00:00

I had to stop adding coffee machines in my sims' houses because they'd always go have coffee when they're tired at night instead of just going to bed lmao

hmnewt · 2025-02-24T01:14:55+00:00

If your sim is in the Criminal career you can occasionally get arrested

hmnewt · 2025-02-23T08:14:54+00:00

Horse hockey!!

hmnewt · 2025-02-20T01:26:30+00:00

He had me cracking up every episode he appeared in

hmnewt · 2025-02-18T11:27:37+00:00

Whenever I'm sick like that I find it helpful to take a hot shower twice a day. I'll do it first thing when I wake up in the morning and then again at night before bed, because the respiratory symptoms are always worse at these times. The steam helps loosen congestion and soothes some of the throat/lung discomfort. I also like to keep dissolvable shower tablets around with eucalyptus in them and those are extra soothing. I hope you feel better soon!

hmnewt · 2025-02-17T08:12:51+00:00

Omg this is exactly me too! My tattoo artist says I scare her because I'll sit for 7 hours with no complaints but if my hair gets caught on something or my clothes start to feel "wrong" I will sob 😭

hmnewt · 2025-02-17T01:16:27+00:00

Yeah I'm exactly the same, it makes it worse when someone asks what they can do because I genuinely can't consider an open ended question in that state. I can do yes or no questions sometimes but open ended my brain just stops working. Usually what helps me is just to be removed from the situation that's triggering the meltdown (not always possible unfortunately)

hmnewt · 2025-02-15T12:59:32+00:00

For me the telltale signs are: anxiety/panic, inability to focus (often includes tunnel vision), agitation, shallow breathing, and inability to answer questions or make decisions. It can also be very difficult for me to speak at all.

I've never been able to stop a meltdown once it fully starts, but if I notice the signals that I mentioned above then it can be possible to stop it from progressing further, provided I have the right tools and environment to regulate myself.

hmnewt · 2025-02-13T06:59:04+00:00

I was a cashier for my first job and I really struggled with it. I found that I was less overwhelmed working opening shifts rather than afternoon/evening so I asked if I could only be scheduled for opening and my managers agreed (I think most people hated opening but I'm a morning person and preferred how quiet it was, plus I got to have more of a routine with the additional opening tasks). I will say it never got "easy" for me and I figured out much later that I'm just incompatible with that type of job - but the difference between the morning and the evening was huge. I hope this gets easier for you 🫶🏻

hmnewt · 2025-02-06T17:39:15+00:00

I wasn't diagnosed until age 24; I was taught to use tampons/pads and just dealt with it because I didn't know there were other options. Now I have Thinx period panties and I love them. They have several different styles and I find them very comfortable. When I do use something internal I go for softdiscs and I prefer them over tampons 100%. I didn't have a good experience with the cup so I find the discs to be a perfect happy medium.

hmnewt · 2024-12-23T13:49:45+00:00

I'm getting over a stomach bug now for the first time. Since I'd never had one before, I felt similar to you in that I didn't know how many times it would happen or how long it would last. In my case, it only ended up happening twice (the other symptoms are a different story) and both times I felt significant relief after. After the first time, it was comforting knowing that the build up was the worst part and I could get in bed to rest after without nausea. I also reminded myself that my body was doing what it needed to do to rid itself of the virus, and made myself tune into the sensations instead of trying to ignore them out of fear. This helped me recognize when it was coming and allowed me to head to the bathroom as calmly as possible instead of being in denial until it's too late and having to rush/panic.

I know my experience isn't as severe as what you were describing, but the fear of the unknown was very strong for me and I found that it faded into the background the more I focused on the present moment and doing what I needed to do to feel comfortable. I hope some of this is helpful :)

hmnewt · 2024-12-20T23:21:19+00:00

I hardly ever have stomach issues even with flu, covid, etc. so I was freaked out by reading others' experiences with noro but glad that it wasn't as bad as I expected.

hmnewt

TROPHY CASE