Dear daisy50
As the other champions have mentioned having a fear of
vomiting has been something that quite a few members have talked about here so
your son is not alone.
It is great to hear that you have a psychologist working
with him as this will help him to address these fears and importantly, learn
some other useful strategies that will help him to manage his anxiety over
time. It will also be helpful for you to talk with the psychologist about what
you can do to help; in particular, how should you talk with him about his
anxiety to help him to address it.
Anxiety is different for every child and in time you will
find things that you can say that help to calm your son, encourage him to try
to approach the problem a little differently and empower him as he learns how
to manage his anxiety.
Things like, ‘Tell me
what is going on’, can give your son a chance to talk openly about what is
happening and how he is feeling. Or you might ask him ‘how big is your worry and why?’
You might then show him how taking
a few deep breaths helps you to stay calm, and ask him what other things he has
learnt with his psychologist that he could try; it is about helping him to find
his way. Other useful comments might include, ‘What can I do to help?’, ‘Remember, this feeling will pass, it did
last time and it will again today, what can we do while we wait for it to pass’.
Of course you know your son best and you will
work out what works and what doesn’t, but this is something that you can do
together. If one approach does not help, try something else. And keep talking
to the psychologist about what you can do to support him. Perhaps also ask if
they have any suggestions of a good book or website that you could review to
get more information and ideas.
And importantly daisy50 in all this you need to ensure you
look after yourself. Being a mum is always a busy job but when you have extra
concerns or worries it can be a bit overwhelming at times. Ensure you have a
person who you can confide in and be supported by.
Please keep coming back here
so that we can support you too.
As you can see from our threads many people have overcome
anxiety – it is about having good support, finding strategies that work for
your son, setting small goals and encouraging him when he achieves them. It is
also important that he understands that although there will be challenges along
the way he has your support, love and care to help him through.
