A little about me.

Hi all. I only joined yesterday. I’ve just written my bio, if anybody is interested. It would be great to find others who can relate. X

[Hidden]

Hi there Hidden , I have just joined this part of Health Unlocked today and would be interested in reading your bio. I haven't written a bio but in brief I suffer with Emetophobia and have done for a number of years and it's go a lot worse recently so much so I have been feeling down. The doctor has put me on Amitriptyline which I've only been on for just under 3 weeks so they aren't really doing anything at the moment.

I purchased a book on the Thrive Programme as the reviews were really good and you can view the videos of those cured online. I can see that this programme works but I really need to have an expert working through this with me as I have tried to follow it on my own (I completed the book and started to go back through it again as this is what you are meant to do) and did the exercises but I find it difficult without the support of someone. The link is below:

thriveprogramme.org/

I now have an appointment with a Therapist (not one from the Programme) on 6 April in a clinic near where I live. The appointment is for CBT.

As you can see, my anxiety is the fear of being sick. I also fear my husband catching it and if he says he doesn't feel well and his tummy is playing up the sickness bug is the first thing I think about.

Looking forward to reading your biography.

[Jeff1943 in reply to Hidden]

Crazyfitness, you have a fear of being sick but how many times have you actually been sick? A dozen times? 5? Or never? I bet it's nearer the latter.

Your anxiety isn't actually making you sick in public, it's making you fear the possibility of being sick. The thing that is maintaining your anxiety is that fear which produces hormones that keep your nerves over sensitive.

If you could lose the fear it would give your nerves a rest and allow it to recover and you would no longer experience emetophobia. Easily said, of course, but with practice accepting the symptom for the time being can help to reduce responding to the flash of first fear with second fear.

Your amytriptyline should kick in soon and it is a very effective and safe med that's been around since the 1960s. It was overtaken by Prozac and other more modern anti-anxiety meds but has now come back into popularity because of it's lack of side effects (except dry mouth which improves with time). It has also been found effective in combating nerve pain in quite small doses.

[Hidden in reply to Jeff1943]

Hi Jeff, I really appreciate your reply and have to say that the first tummy bug I ever had was when I was 18 and that was in 1977; I think back then children were stronger as they didn't live in centrally heated houses, played outside and didn't have electronic toys i.e. tablets. I have had 2 bouts of food poisoning and the second one of those bouts I wasn't sick or had diarrhoea (I took travel sick tablets for nausea when I had that bout), The first time I had food poisoning I was sick. I had a tummy bug in December 2016 and those are the only times I have actually been sick. A long explanation I know but it shows that I totally agree with what you have said in your first paragraph.

It's my mind that is controlling this phobia which is what I have been trying to overcome by following the Thrive Programme.

Your third paragraph is very interesting and I will take heed of that i.e. practice accepting the symptom.

I will certainly keep up with the Amitriptyline as I've no doubt it will kick in soon. I am also looking forward to seeing a therapist for CBT.

Once again, I appreciate your response.

[Jeff1943]

LostSheep, feelings of anxiety are the result of our nervous system becoming over sensitive due to too much stress in our lives. Once established it tends to become self-perpetuating because the anxiety causes fear and the fear hormone is what keeps our nerves so sensitive. So unless we do something to break the vicious circle our nerves can continue in this state for years.

Medications are very good at giving us a break from anxiety and if the feeling becomes overwhelming it is only right to take advantage of them. But they can't cure you, only you can do that by framing your mind to feel less fear, to stop adding second fear to first fear, and the only way I know of doing that is by acceptance.

Fighting your anxiety is no good, it just generates more stress when your nerves need less. So instead if responding to your anxiety with fear and fighting simply accept it for the time being. Surrender to it completely, let it crash against you like a wave against a rock and let it run past you, let it come again and again, simply stay calm and accept it every time. Anxiety is not life-threatening, it can't physically disable you or send you mad. O.K., it's not a nice feeling but you know it's a toothless tiger.

So when anxiety strikes just let every muscle in your head and body go limp and accept it for the moment with the minimum of fear. And by accepting you stop generating all those fear and stress hormones that have kept your nervous system over sensitised for years. This allows your netves to recover and when they do you will recover your quiet mind. It takes time and practice but in the end you will recover and if you don't it isn't the end yet.

Your deoression is probably secondary depression which is to say you are depressed about having anxiety but when the anxiety is resolved so too will be the the depression.

So remember: there are three impirtant things to remember if you wish to recover from anxiety and these are Accept, Accept and Accept.

[Hidden]

Hi ladyliming. I’ve had various therapies, including two courses of CBT. One individual and the other group based. Neither of which I found particularly helpful. Thanks for your recommendation of Claire Weekes. I’ll definitely check her out.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Hi Hidden , I see you are replying to someone's response on here but cannot see what she has written, are you able to share what the person has said about Claire Weekes?

Thank you

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Hi Hidden , don't worry about my reply now as I had a couple of notifications in my inbox from ladyliming and can see who Claire Weekes was so I am now looking at the website. For some reason ladyliming seems to have disappeared from this forum.

[Jeff1943]

Sorry if I'm telling everybody what they already know but the Acceptance method for recovering from anxiety disorder was first set out 50 yesrs ago by Australian doctor and therapist Claire Weekes in her first book called 'Self help for your nerves' in the UK and 'Hope and help for your nerves' in the U.S. both available from Amazon. Many of the current self help books acknowledge their inspiration comes from the Acceptance method.

If you look at the combined reader reviews on both Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com you will see there are nearly a thousand reviews and 90% found her book either very good or excellent.

Everybody is looking for instant fixes where anxiety is concerned and often people read the book, practice acceptance for a couple of hours and then wonder why it's not working. As BeeVee pointedvout recently if we injure a bone or muscle it takes time for the body to repair itself so why expect the nervous system to take any less time to repair itself.