Can you be more specific about how the fear of panic-related vomiting needs addressing specifically? I’ve been doing exposure therapy for 15 years with minimal improvement. (I’m not sure if you discuss this in the ep but with my ADHD I can’t focus on podcasts so mostly want to know if you have a transcript!)
A traumatic bout of food poisoning hit me one night when I was 11 years old. That was the trigger that started my panic attacks. I was already dealing with GAD, but this was intensely worse.
My Dad thought he was helping by saying I got sick because I wore socks to bed. I stopped wearing socks to bed for over 20 years. I couldn’t eat or even sit in restaurants during my teen years. I had to ask all my teachers to let me please sit near the door during class. Most refused.
Now, this is why I panic on highways and bridges. It doesn’t feel like there’s a safe exit in those places, and the fear of embarrassing myself my throwing up in public just adds to the misery.
I’m always working on this. I’ve thrown up 4 times since that night, and afterwards, I always think about how it just wasn’t THAT bad.
I’m going to speak to my therapist about more specific work on this phobia, because basic exposure therapy hasn’t been working as well as it used to. I’m in my 40s and getting very tired of fighting with my amygdala all the dang time.
Hi Drew I love your work. Could you do an email oh fear of needing the toilet? I, like many sufferers, get urgent diahorrea when in a high state of anxiety. This then leads to fear of going to new places as you're not sure if there's a toilet. Or places where there is no toilet in sight. Please give some guidance. I know no symptom is special and I totally get that but this is a particular fear of people with sensitive stomachs I suppose. The urgency to go to the toilet is so real (not imagined). I've heard it's so you can lose weight so you can run faster from the danger 🤣 x
Same here, and the article linked had me almost exactly. I have food allergies that cause me to get sick, that is what triggered the anxiety about it, so it's a very real possibility.
Can you be more specific about how the fear of panic-related vomiting needs addressing specifically? I’ve been doing exposure therapy for 15 years with minimal improvement. (I’m not sure if you discuss this in the ep but with my ADHD I can’t focus on podcasts so mostly want to know if you have a transcript!)
A traumatic bout of food poisoning hit me one night when I was 11 years old. That was the trigger that started my panic attacks. I was already dealing with GAD, but this was intensely worse.
My Dad thought he was helping by saying I got sick because I wore socks to bed. I stopped wearing socks to bed for over 20 years. I couldn’t eat or even sit in restaurants during my teen years. I had to ask all my teachers to let me please sit near the door during class. Most refused.
Now, this is why I panic on highways and bridges. It doesn’t feel like there’s a safe exit in those places, and the fear of embarrassing myself my throwing up in public just adds to the misery.
I’m always working on this. I’ve thrown up 4 times since that night, and afterwards, I always think about how it just wasn’t THAT bad.
I’m going to speak to my therapist about more specific work on this phobia, because basic exposure therapy hasn’t been working as well as it used to. I’m in my 40s and getting very tired of fighting with my amygdala all the dang time.
I used to carry plastic bags on me in case I threw up. Still like to carry one now
Hi Drew I love your work. Could you do an email oh fear of needing the toilet? I, like many sufferers, get urgent diahorrea when in a high state of anxiety. This then leads to fear of going to new places as you're not sure if there's a toilet. Or places where there is no toilet in sight. Please give some guidance. I know no symptom is special and I totally get that but this is a particular fear of people with sensitive stomachs I suppose. The urgency to go to the toilet is so real (not imagined). I've heard it's so you can lose weight so you can run faster from the danger 🤣 x
Same here, and the article linked had me almost exactly. I have food allergies that cause me to get sick, that is what triggered the anxiety about it, so it's a very real possibility.