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emetophobia is ruining my life

User Profile: emilyjacky
emilyjacky July 28th, 2020

when i was in school i was at a somewhat healthy weight, thought i still avoided eating there. now that we've been in quarantine and i've not been outside in months, my mind is not being distracted. i sleep at 7am, wake up at 4pm, and then panic the rest of the day. i cannot eat without becoming nauseous and then fearing that i'll v*. i've been dealing with food related anxiety for years but now it's become too much. i (17f) am 94lbs and 5'4". each day i am losing more and more weight and it's terrifying. i've asked my mom if i could go to a therapist multiple times now but she won't take me.

not to self diagnose or anything, but i have reason to believe i have/had ocd. for around 7 years i had a "ritual" when eating that would change every few months. first it was just not being able to swallow my food until i ran my fingers through my hair. then, it evolved into me not being able to swallow until i pulled my bangs as hard as i could. later, it evolved into me not being able to swallow food unless i swished my food from my left cheek to my right cheek 3 times. if it didn't feel "right" when i did it 3 times, i'd do it 3 more times, then 3 more again, then another 3 until i felt it was safe to swallow. i think it was a mixture of being afraid to choke and having emetophobia.

thankfully though, without the help of therapy i was able to overcome those rituals this year. this makes me think that maybe i can get through this without therapy, seeing as i cant go

2
User Profile: SnailPurple
SnailPurple July 29th, 2020

Hello @emilyjacky

It sounds like you have been dealing with this for a while now. I'm sorry you haven't been able to get help <3 It isn't fair that you can't get the help you deserve. I'm proud of you for trying to work through this on your own :) If you ever want to chat with a listener about this, then please don't hesitate to reach out <3 7 Cups also has some self-help guides on anxiety and OCD. Would you like me to give you the links to them?

User Profile: reliableField3480
reliableField3480 January 27th, 2021

I am also dealing with emetophobia since childhood