Emetophobia handhold

[whatchadoing3]

DS had a sickness bug yesterday and I had to collect him from school. He spent the whole day not being able to hold anything down but seems to be much better today other than not much appetite! Obviously I was giving lots of cuddles yesterday and carrying him etc (he's 4). Suddenly started to feel really nauseous tonight. Not massively unusual for me as I suffer with acid reflux but now I'm absolutely convinced I'm getting the bug. I have such a bad fear of sickness bugs I'm so anxious but know there is nothing I can do if it's coming! Not really sure of the point of this post other than wishing for a handhold

I also have emetophobia so know how anxious you must be at the moment

The only bit of my therapies that has helped me in regards to that panicky doom feeling at nausea / sickness is the mantra one therapist gave me that vomiting is a protection mechanism and that if I am sick it is my body keeping me safe.

It sounds like whatever it is will be quite swift when it comes, from how your DS has been. Try and remember that if you are sick it will only be for a couple of days at most, and you are strong enough and resilient enough to cope with anything for a couple of days.

That’s me trying to be logical - and my DH says often that he can’t logic me out of something I haven’t logic-Ed myself into, so now I will just offer you very unmumsnetty hugs and a handhold

Thank you @cherryassam that's a very lovely message! I will try and calm myself down about it and hope for the best

Get organised now to make it as easy as possible for you- hair bobble, fresh water, a cozy blanket, some favourite series to binge watch on an iPad/laptop or a podcast to listen to. I have a gym/yoga mat I can lie on in the bathroom or in the landing outside the loo to make sleeping in between bouts of sickness easier. A basin and bleach. And then if it happens it happens and the feeling once it is over is amazing as I feel like I have zero fear of a bug at that moment as it’s over and I’m immune for a while. Whereas every day the fear is lingering… some days worse than others. And you can and will cope.

I often feel the same way with the feeling of impending doom etc. I have to just tell myself there's literally no way I can control what happens so just to take each moment as it comes and don't think about what's going to happen or not happen. Sometimes we do catch it, sometimes we don't. We can't predict it so why worry as there's nothing you can do. Maybe you could try and find an affirmation to say in the moment when you feel anxious that grounds you in the present instead of worrying about what might or might not happen. I would always say to myself something along the lines of "I will not worry about something that has not happened yet and something I can't control". Or "this is out of my hands". When you're in it as well even if you do catch it it's very unpleasant but we get through it, the worrying can sometimes be worse than actually being in the middle of it. I hope you're little boy is on the mend and you manage to dodge it xx

The other thing that I have found has helped when feeling very panicky (and again I know that sometimes thinking just isn’t able to make a difference) is to remember that worrying about it won’t make it any more or less likely that you will have caught the bug.

PPs have got great practical suggestions. I find having a bowl or bucket nearby rather than sitting over the loo can make it less panic inducing for me, but it might be different for others.