Please help advice wanted am I alone ?

[smiley2118]

Hi just wanna see if I am alone because at the moment I feel it I feel like I'm a freak I have had severe anxiety since I was 13 but lately it is the worse it ever has been I feel sick constantly and I have a phobia of vomiting which don't help I'm awake most nights lately till 3 / 4 o'clock when I finally do fall asleep I get palpitations I'm on pregnablin and have just come off diazipam please has some one got some advice ?? I'm currently waiting for cbt for a second time

[Hidden]

Hi smiley

Welcome

You are not a freak my love , you are suffering with anxiety

Anxiety can make you feel sick & with anxiety comes phobias , yours fear of been sick , so I imagine these thoughts are chasing around in your head

I no when you have a fear its very real , try asking yourself , have I been sick yet , if I was , what would be the worst thing that would happen ?

The more we fear something , the more we feed that fear , when we start to say "come on then do your worse " it starts to take away that control the fear has over us (if you can follow what I am saying )

Don't get me wrong its not easy & takes some practise but it can help the more you do it

I hope your cbt comes soon , meanwhile this site is a great place to talk to others that are suffering or have finally overcome anxiety , which I hope you find a big help

Keep talking , no one will judge on here as thsy no how this feels

Love

whywhy

xxx

[smiley2118]

Thank you for your reply I understand what your saying it is just so hard tho tonight I'm having another terrible night I did fall asleep but got woken up feeling like I was gonna be sick and my heart was racing it seems to be every night lately.

I appreciate the reply I have just found this site thru google hoping in times like this I can have a read and assure myself I'm not alone which is nice because just feel so alone especially on the nights when every one is asleep and I'm up till early hours thank you why why x

[Hidden in reply to smiley2118]

Well you now no you are not alone , hope that helps in a small way

Nobody knows how this feels unless you suffer , but we do on here & take comfort in knowing it does improve , can take time but it does get better

Hope you get a peace full night soon

Love

whywhy

xxx

[smiley2118]

Thank you x

[Hidden]

Hi smiley,

You are not alone, I have trouble getting to and staying asleep. My anxiety strikes a lot at night when it seems the rest of the world is asleep and it's quiet. Then the brain says here you go, I'll keep you occupied, here's something to worry about lol.

My partner and my daughter panic when being sick and it is awful for them, they shake and cry. I tell them to try and breathe, relax but it's hard I know.

I too hope you have a peaceful night soon. Keep chatting on here, we are all here for each other xxxxcookiexxx

[smiley2118 in reply to Hidden]

Thank cookie appreciate the reply it does seem the strongest at night think in the day I'm too busy to concentrate on it which is a good thing

[jadey67]

Hi Smiley2118,

I have never joined a forum/community type thing before, but I saw your question and wanted to see if I could try and help you feel better or at least reassured.

I started with anxiety at around the age of 15, and it got progressively worse from there. My anxieties all stem from one thing: a fear of being sick.

I dont exactly know why this fear started to affect my life so badly, I had been sick before without much worry, but there was one time I was sick on an aeroplane and the air hostess' acted like nobody had ever been air sick before and made a huge fuss! That does stick in my head so I wonder if that has subconciously contributed to the way I feel. Anyway, when I say I have a fear of being sick, I mean I am well and truly petrified. I have sat awake for hours at night (the same as you) as Im too scared that I am going to be ill, or I worry I will fall asleep then wake up again feeling 10x worse because its the middle of the night - everything in my mind seems worse at night time (strange I know). I will sit having panic attacks in bed because I feel like im about to be sick, I would literally do anything to stop if from happening. Me and my partner live together and I have to go into the spare room when it comes on because I feel like I need to be alone to deal with it better - I cant have any fuss. A few things that I try (which might help you) are putting the TV on quietly so there is some background noise/light that is distracting, take an anti-sickness tablet with a few sips of water, try nibbling a ginger biscuit, use acupressure bands on my wrists (can get them from ebay or health stores etc), read a magazine/book, prop my pillows up and just sit up for a while with the bedside lamp on, do some deep breathing - breathe in for 5 seconds, hold for 5 seconds, breathe out for 5 seconds and continue until you feel more relaxed, open a window and let some fresh air in - even stand by the window for a little bit to try and calm down. Obviously I dont do all these things at once, but if you try any of them it might help you - I know the night feels like it is going to last forever when you wake up panicking. I also have a bottle of Rescue Remedy with me that you can spray onto your tongue - sometimes this works for me, sometimes it doesnt. I also find that actually putting a little paper bin or plastic bag close by the bed makes me feel better incase I actually was sick and I couldnt get out of the room quick enough or something like that! (My mind has a strange way of thinking)

I know how bad you feel, you are definately not alone in feeling how you do. Since my anxiety started I have been on Propanolol (didnt work), Citalopram (helped me for around 2 years, when I then started to feel negative and that 'they werent working anymore', and then I was tried on Fluxotene. I lasted all of 10 days on Fluxotene before I was rushed to the doctors as I have never felt so physically and mentally ill in my whole life. They made me feel 100x worse and I will never touch Prozac again. But again that is just how they affected me. Everything works differently for each person. I am currently on no medication but find it helpful/reassuring to carry some anti sickness tablets with me when im out as it makes me feel better knowing I have something with me incase I start panicking and feeling sick.

I currently waiting for my 2nd lot of CBT also. My first therapist was a male and I felt like I couldnt speak freely to him for some reason, so now I have been referred to see a female therapist.

Also it may be worth you trying a few things to help you feel sleepier on an evening, warm bath, hot milky drink, maybe even a good long walk in the evening could help tire you out and *maybe* help you nod off once you get into bed instead of being sat awake worrying the night away. I am still suffering quite badly with my anxiety, but I hope even a small bit of this may have helped you, and I hope you feel better soon!

[smiley2118 in reply to jadey67]

Hi thank you so much for getting back to me it really does feel nice to know I'm not alone as selfish as that sounds think the thing with me is I have not been sick for about 2 years so keep thinking I'm due the dreaded stomach bug weird I know I too have anti sickness tabs which ease it a little but at night usually have to wait till I literally pass out / fall asleep been really bad lately as I stopped taking my pregnablin because I thought they were not helping but looking back now they must of because never been this bad so I'm back on them now.

gonna post on here when I feel bad next it's nice to speak to other people same as me it's like the docs or any one else don't understand how bad anxiety really is it really has affected my life I can't go in public places due to fear of being sick and embarrassing myself s I I try to avoid public places silly I know but hopefully one day I might sort myself out well fingers crossed

[Tillylily in reply to jadey67]

Thank you so much for your input on this I’ve tried everything natural to help my nausea with my anxiety and nothing has work, hypnotherapy, travel sickness tablets, meditation, exercise, breathing exercises but I had never heard of the acupressure bands before, I ordered a pair as soon as I read this and they finally help soothe it, I don’t have to wear them for long and I’m feeling well again, thank you thank you thank you!

[jadey67]

I dont know if this will make you feel better lol but I havent been sick now for around 5 years. I am too absolutely terrified of catching the stomach bug, I have panic attacks if I so much as hear someone has got one! I wash my hands like crazy too lol. I hardly ever go out into public places (especially at busy times) as Im so scared I will be sick. The way I described it to someone once was like this: If you have a fear of spiders, it wont (or shouldnt) affect you every second of the day or wherever you go as a spider isnt likely to jump out at you at every turn. But if you have a fear of being sick, it could strike at any time and could happen anywhere (even though it rarely does). It really does affect every part of my life and it is hard to explain to people. Hope you get some sleep soon!

[smiley2118]

Ah thanks 5 years lucky you hope I can make it there too lol I got 3 kids when they are sick my partner has to do it and then I keep think has she been close to me today and then I will be up all night worrying incase I get it lol strange how the mind works hey

[jadey67]

Yes it is very strange! I envy those who dont worry about these things!

[bonkerswoman]

These types of phobias are incredibly common. I know someone who works in a shop and a customer was sick on her counter. Now the customer can't come into the shop for fear of doing it again, so the shoplady takes her stuff out to her. Trauma does odd things! I can't bear coconut, not even the smell, because I threw up over a dinner lady at school when I was made to eat coconut pudding and she smacked me. I feel sick even at the thought of the orrible stuff and hate the smell of sun lotion which contains it. 57 years later I can laugh at it, but I still ask, everytime I buy a cake or order a curry, whether it has coconut in it. It gets me some weird looks! I bet all the people who don't worry about sick, worry about other things. All we do is blow it up to larger proportions. I'm sure that's what anxiety is - just an over concentration of normal fears. We are quite normal really, just over sensitive.x

[felinefosterer]

Hi all. It appears to me that you all have very stronge phobias about one thing or another. Ever thought of hypnosis? or desensitization therapy? We all know that it just isn't right to let one thing rule your life, common sense tells us this. I think its best explored with CBT. Whats the worst that can happen if someone is sick? What do you think will happen? If you think that the worlds going to end then you need to explore where you got that irrational thought from. This is LEARNED behaviour and it can be UNLEARNED. I have had schema therapy for 3 years and it helped a great deal.. It taught me about the negative patterns of behaviour I learned as a child and the fact that I brought them into adulthood with me. When I learned that I learned how to deal with them so that they don't affect me so much. Maybe as a child you had to look after a sick relative/mother/father and were made to feel it was your responsibility and that you were too young to cope. Later on in life, if anyone is sick, you get the same reaction you had as a little girl/boy i.e. its my responsibility but I can't cope. Do you see where it might come from? Hope this helps x

[claire_lg]

Hey I'm 27 yrs old and have had anxiety since I was 8yrs old. I also have a fear of vomiting and feel sick all day everyday. The Drs have all said its my panic attacks. I didn't believe them so they did tests and they came back okay. I've been taking an anti sickness travel tablet called Stugeron 15. I get it over the counter, I take it every night now which I wish I didn't. I'm so scared of being sick as I always faint and it comes out pf both ends so I end up in a mess. Last time I vomited was 2010 so keep thinking its gonna happen again soon especially now I work with children. Are you any better now?