Emetophobia

[Empired]

I wouldn't recommend buying a thermometer because to me that sounds like avoiding your fear instead of dealing with it if that makes sense. So you can check the temperature of your food and think "OK it's unlikely to make me ill" instead of allowing you to get to the point where you can think "maybe it'll make me feel a bit weird but it doesn't matter". If you think it would help then ignore me tho!

Like you said, ham would be a good place to start especially as it doesn't have to be cooked. If you still want it to be heated to decrease the risk of bacteria I guess you could pop the sandwich in the oven first and have a ham toastie (they're so delicious omg). If you want to try ham I recommend you avoid supermarkets at first if possible and find a butcher or farm shop to sell you some ham. If you have to shop in a supermarket, head over to the meat counter and always avoid buying that disgusting packet ham thats like 1000% water (exaggeration ok).
Duck in a stir fry might be quite good too but I think ham is your best bet xx

Sent from phone

[Zak]

Do you know which sort of red meat you can eat raw? I know steak can be eaten pretty much raw, but I don't want to come off vegetarianism with a full on steak, because that might shock my body a bit too much. Is there anything smaller that I can ease myself into maybe?

& also, I've never thought about it like that. I know I've been getting a lot weaker, and I know why, but I always assumed that as I wasn't being physically sick, my immune system would be okay. But obviously if I'm feeling sick often too, it's clearly not.

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The thing is.. I know it's all in my head and I know that I need to just deal with it.. it's just actually doing it that's the issue. I struggle to get to terms with 'I could get ill from this' thoughts that always run through my mind while eating something.
Every night, literally, I lie there thinking "Well I didn't try anything new today, but I promise I will tomorrow". Then never do & think the same again the following night.

That's not uncommon for mental illness. May be next time think of the odds of that actually happening if you eat it.. very very low I'm sure. You and I both know that the thoughts in your head are ludicrous but you have to push past that if you ever want to get better.

[Stephen]

this thread is making me hungry

[Phil]

I wouldn't recommend buying a thermometer because to me that sounds like avoiding your fear instead of dealing with it if that makes sense. So you can check the temperature of your food and think "OK it's unlikely to make me ill" instead of allowing you to get to the point where you can think "maybe it'll make me feel a bit weird but it doesn't matter". If you think it would help then ignore me tho!

Like you said, ham would be a good place to start especially as it doesn't have to be cooked. If you still want it to be heated to decrease the risk of bacteria I guess you could pop the sandwich in the oven first and have a ham toastie (they're so delicious omg). If you want to try ham I recommend you avoid supermarkets at first if possible and find a butcher or farm shop to sell you some ham. If you have to shop in a supermarket, head over to the meat counter and always avoid buying that disgusting packet ham thats like 1000% water (exaggeration ok).
Duck in a stir fry might be quite good too but I think ham is your best bet xx

Sent from phone

Depending on how bad the situation is I don't think a thermometer is a bad idea because then at least how knows and can get used cooking foods and knowing they will be safe to eat because he would know from doing it in the past and what it takes to get it to the appropriate core temp.

[Kyle]

Supplement meat with other proteins until you are comfortable cooking and eating it. Eggs and dairy are great, beans are amazing and a lot of veg is very nutritious too. Your options aren't limited to tofu, quorn and nuts - experiment with flavours until you find something suitable for you. As for meat itself, pre-cooked food is probably your best bet, can't really go wrong. Using an app like myfitnesspal will help you to keep track not only of your calories but your nutritional intake and help you create a balanced diet over time.

[James]

I wouldn't recommend buying a thermometer because to me that sounds like avoiding your fear instead of dealing with it if that makes sense. So you can check the temperature of your food and think "OK it's unlikely to make me ill" instead of allowing you to get to the point where you can think "maybe it'll make me feel a bit weird but it doesn't matter". If you think it would help then ignore me tho!

Like you said, ham would be a good place to start especially as it doesn't have to be cooked. If you still want it to be heated to decrease the risk of bacteria I guess you could pop the sandwich in the oven first and have a ham toastie (they're so delicious omg). If you want to try ham I recommend you avoid supermarkets at first if possible and find a butcher or farm shop to sell you some ham. If you have to shop in a supermarket, head over to the meat counter and always avoid buying that disgusting packet ham thats like 1000% water (exaggeration ok).
Duck in a stir fry might be quite good too but I think ham is your best bet xx

Sent from phone

I think I'll be getting a thermometer until I get used to cooking, like Phil said. Once I have done it a few times, I'll be fairly confident that I know it's cooked enough & I'll eventually stop using it.

Supplement meat with other proteins until you are comfortable cooking and eating it. Eggs and dairy are great, beans are amazing and a lot of veg is very nutritious too. Your options aren't limited to tofu, quorn and nuts - experiment with flavours until you find something suitable for you. As for meat itself, pre-cooked food is probably your best bet, can't really go wrong. Using an app like myfitnesspal will help you to keep track not only of your calories but your nutritional intake and help you create a balanced diet over time.

Absolutely hate Tofu and I'm allergic to nuts, so I am quite limited in that respect. But as you say, with precooked meals, not much can go wrong really, so they'll probably be the first meals I introduce myself to, maybe. Not too sure because they can also be quite unhealthy for you. but either way, thanks for the advice

[buttons]

sigh i wrote something big then it messed up.

ok, firstly i have had this and i'm not 100% over it but it doesn't affect my life on a daily basis anymore. secondly, i don't recommend trying to control it by trying to control HOW you eat and WHAT you eat. yes, it is important to cook food as risk free as possible but that isn't the problem. you can get ill at any moment in time, as can anyone else. the biggest thing for me was the anxiety about POSSIBLE situations. "if i eat this i might get ill", "if i don't sit near the toilets at a restaurant i won't make it to the toilet if i get ill", just absolutely ridiculous situations which may happen once in my lifetime. and the worrying causes you to be ill. for some reason, i'd worry so much about getting ill that i'd be awake 3am to 6am feeling ill. i tricked my body into it...

so my point is you somehow have to stop thinking "what if___" or "this is going to happen" sort of thing. yes, take care of what you're eating and how you prepare it but don't put too much thought into it. i do recommend going through with it and eating the meat and realizing it isn't going to make you ill like you think it is but if you're not in the right frame of mind, youre going to be anxious and just put it off as well.

i don't know how i got over it. i wouldn't say i am but the biggest thing for me is that i don't get those "what if ___" situations anymore. i don't think if i don't do this, or if i eat this, i'm going to get ill or someone else is etc.... i do still get shaky and uncomfortable when i am ill or someone else is but it doesn't affect my life as much as it used to. it's a really common phobia though so i'm sure you'll find loads of tips online. i kinda just stopped caring about it after being around illness so much (babies and drunks) that i realized it wasn't that big of a deal and it'll be over with soon.

i guess at the end of it i've realized that being ill isn't that big of a deal. that's it. it's over and done with. but i do know how you feel. mine started cause i got sick in front of my whole class on a trip and they kept going on about it as though it's a bad thing?! now i'm just... whatever, get over it.

[_HeyyItsHannah_]

Well. As I am a vegetarian myself, I can inform you, just don't START eating meat. If it has been that long since you have eaten meat or animal products, you have probably lost your meat enzyme which means you probably won't be able to digest it. Which would be a mess for you since you are afraid of sickness and illness. I get so sick if I have something crossed with meat. I'd just advise you to go to a doctor to help. It might be hard to get meat back into your diet alone.

You are probably feeling weaker because of no protein in your body obv.

You don't want to mess with this stuff. Keep it as slow of a process you can. You might get sick in the first few stages to be completely honest with you.

[Empired]

To the message above can I just say I was a vegan for a few years, then downgraded to vegetarian, then became a full meat eater and was absolutely fine. You just have to take baby sets each time. Sure, if you're gonna start with a massive steak followed by a roast lunch then you're probably going to have a problem but if you start with a small ham sandwich or like a cocktail sausage you're fine.

[_HeyyItsHannah_]

To the message above can I just say I was a vegan for a few years, then downgraded to vegetarian, then became a full meat eater and was absolutely fine. You just have to take baby sets each time. Sure, if you're gonna start with a massive steak followed by a roast lunch then you're probably going to have a problem but if you start with a small ham sandwich or like a cocktail sausage you're fine.

And how did you do that lol. Weren't you sick so much? I can't have anything crossed with a meat. If someone touches my fork or something with meat, I immediately have to get rid of that fork and get a new one because I get sick. I could never imagine actually eating meat after being a vege.