The Christmas Cope: Surviving Christmas

It's supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year.

Yet with bugs rife and anxiety levels high, the added pressures an Emetophobe must experience at Christmas can make the Holidays anything but the season to be jolly.

Driving Home for Christmas?

For example, this Christmas Eve you may have to endure a car, train or dare I say plane journey to see relatives and friends.

The debilitating fear that you or someone travelling with you will get sick would have no doubt made the weeks leading up to the journey, and the day itself, a misery!

There are three things I now have to think about before setting off on a long journey, tips that I only recently discovered help.

Whilst they won't automatically make travelling a joy and rid all anxiety, they may help you cope with what will soon feel like torture:

1. Prepare! Do you take travel sickness pills before travelling just so you have peace of mind you can't get sick? Brilliant! Make sure you have enough and take some before you leave for your journey (and maybe for the kids too?). Have you packed water in your bag to take the tablets with? Whatever you have to do to ensure your anxiety level is reduced (which includes ensuring travelling kids have things to do rather than moan), you have to do now! Try and enter that car, train or plane feeling completely relaxed - and having prepared for your journey in advance can help that happen!
2. Distraction! So you've set off on your journey and have another few palpitation inducing hours until you reach your destination. Make sure you have your Distractions! The things you can use to make the journey more comfortable and take your mind off the real problem here: panic and anxiety, not real nausea and illness. Listen to your iPod or the radio. Talk to someone, anyone about anything! If you're in a car or train take in the scenery. If you're on a plane read something. Even watch the TV if you can. You'll need these Distractions, particularly the iPod, if someone else gets ill!
3. Tolerate! Travelling as an Emetophobe is never easy. Dealing and coping with the anxiety can be near impossible. Just remember that the likelihood of you getting travel sick is very low and then deal with your anxiety in the way only you know best! When I'm travelling and things get bad I like to hold my breath for five seconds. That's just long enough for me to snap out of the panic and realise I actually feel absolutely fine. You will be fine!

The Gathering

When I meet up with family and friends at Christmas - more so because of the time of year - I'm always overly attentive about their health to see who I should 'Avoid'.

Who is looking pale? Who is complaining of nausea, feeling under the weather or sick? Do I overhear someone say they were sick? What are they talking about? Do they have kids who have been ill recently? Have they been in contact with someone who has a bug?

What's even worse is when you don't hear any of those conversations - who do you chose to purposely avoid now? Most people cruelly venture outside whilst ill with a bug.

If you find yourself in these situations just see how it goes; if you're become uncomfortable speaking with someone or think or know they may have come into contact with a bug, remember that as long as they don't throw up near you and you're careful to keep a note of what you touch, eat and drink, you're not going to fall ill too!

Finally, Food.

If we're scared of being sick we won't want to eat much on the Day, I know in myself I only eat 'Safe Foods' from my plate - foods such as vegetables and stuffing that are less likely than potentially uncooked meats to make me sick.

Yet we're faced with the situation of having to eat our biggest meal of the year in front of other people, fast eaters who will ask why we're still eating the same potato five minutes after we've started and why we've not touched our meat dishes.

If we're not hungry enough to finish the meal and can't face dessert we naturally ask ourselves why. 'Am I getting sick?' 'Do I have a bug?' That always sends my anxiety levels sky high but you just have to remember it's all anxiety, not real sickness.

You'll be faced with an even worse anxiety if you're at the type of gathering tomorrow or Boxing Day where family and friends are preparing food in advance to bring and contribute to the big meal, like me you'd naturally be darting through a few questions that not knowing the answers to would fill you with terror?

1. Did the cook was their hands?
2. Did they wash their hand and then unknowingly touch a dirty surface?
3. What are the ingredients and where are they from? A supermarket of a street stall?
4. How was the dish stored before and after preparation?
5. Is it meat and if so has it been cooked properly?

I guess what I'm trying to get at is that you should never feel bad about saying "no thank you" if you don't feel comfortable eating a dish because of your fears regarding the above pointers.

There is nothing worse than trying to stuff that last bit of questionable mashed potato down anxiety-clogged esophagus, something I've done on many of occasion to not look rude and feel embarrassed.

We really have to look out for ourselves!

Yet we all know of those situations where you feel obliged to try a dish for the sake of the cook - but even then just try a small portion and enjoy the food for what it is!

Take care this Christmas and remember you are not suffering alone.

If you have an Emetophobia Blog please feel free to post the link in a comment!