making yourself vomit to relieve anxiety/when really upset

ok,

i have this problem i suppose

whenever i get really worked up about something, really stressed, or am in a real emotional state i make myself vomit...

after i do it i usually feel much better, ..like its a sort of release or something

is that a form of self harm?
does anyone else do it? (those of you who know you dont have an eating disorder)
is it more common then i think?

its nothing AT ALL to do with eating disorders,(so please dont post saying ..'are you sure' etc etc) im have no problems with my weight, its just that when i get really stressed i have the sudden urge to 'get it out of my system'....someone tell me im not the only one..

Reply 1

alibertine

Yeh I went through that stage. Went to the Doc, she wasn't pleased. So I guess in a way it is a form of self-harm, but I had quite a severe history of self-harm. I think these issues have different severities in different contexts, but I do think you should pay a visit to your doctor. They may be able to prescribe some beta-blockers or anti-anxiety tablets to make you feel better :smile:

Reply 2

creat!ve

Well making yourself vomit deliberately is not a good thing. Yes you will eventually be thin if you keep it up but you will also have poor digestion (this may result in you having to eat pre-digested food for the rest of your life) and the stomach acid that is brought back up with the vomit will rot your teeth.That can harm the enamel on your teeth and mess up your stomach.
Acid burn on your gullet/mouth/nose , chance of acid/sick entering your lungs, choking on sick, burst blood vessels on your face with retching, acid gradually destroying your tooth enamel. And it doesn't sound nice,, If you are poorly and throwing up thats different but making yourself sick is not good.

Stop Practicing !t

Try a stress ball.

(only opinions remember! i'm not a qualified doctor or anything) hmm, eating disorders don't ALWAYS have to be about weight, although it could be a form of self harm because you will undoubtedly hurting yourself physically as well as emotionally. eating disorders/harming can be (and to me it totally sounds like it in your case) about control. when you feel totally out of control, like when you are stressed or overwhelmed by certain feelings, you take control and vomit-i think you get a sense of relief because this may be the only thing you feel you have control over at that moment in time. so like ocd, harming, and eating disorders it is reinforced by operant conditioning. that is that you feeling anxious and carry out an action (in this case vomiting) to remove you from that anxious/emotional/etc state and provides a sense of relief). because vomiting does this and therefore the vomiting is reinforced and you do it again when you are in the same negative state. one things EDs, harm and other disorders have in common is that they all have negative cycles-it might be useful to look at the cognitive behavioural model for this so you can see what else feeds into these negative cycles and begin to break them. it could be useful for you to find something else that you can have control of (NOT obsessively though) like exercise or anything that will make you focus. you are definately not alone and if you do not feel like you can do this alone then please see your gp as you deserve help and it WILL do long lasting damage-although i think just telling you what could happen will not be strong enough to stop you doing it. *mega positive vibes*. i hope you're doing ok. if you want to talk more feel free to message me/add me to msn, i may have some more links and stuff for you =)

love pc xXx