Pysically sick in a social environment?

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Dingo7
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19 Oct 2011, 5:44 am

For as long as i can remember sometimes i will be in a social environment and ill start feeling pysically sick... like nausiating its weird... even if its only with my friends... if were at the pub or out for dinner i sometimes start feeling sick in the stomach... it gets worse the more poeple around around especially if i dont know them... and as soon as i take myself out of the environment im fine... like back to normal... feeling fine...

My parents always used to say just get over it... or you will get over it... but nope i still get it just as much as i used to...

Does anyone else get this at all?


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PTSmorrow
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19 Oct 2011, 6:02 am

All my life, especially in enclosed spaces, up to panic attacks. That's one of the reasons i avoid it.



oddness
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19 Oct 2011, 8:42 am

I have started feeling sick and shaky in new situations more recently than I used to but maybe thats because Im doing more adventurous things so can get more worked up. Situations currently include going on holiday with family or friends (I usually end up being sick the first night) going on day trips to cities or events (I dont feel myself and would rather be in my bedroom because too much is going on and I dont know what to do) and even going out to a bar with friends makes me nervous and eating becomes difficult because I feel like my stomach is doing somersaults.
After the event I feel bad because I should have had fun but I just wanted to leave and now that Ive left I think how I could have handled it better .

I asked my doctor why I do this and she said its probably Anxiety which can make you sick, dizzy and lots of other things. She gave me a leaflet with tips which incuded practicing steady breathing techniques or relaxation things such as yoga or writing down what your scared of so that you can read it and realise you are being irrational worrying about it.

The leaflet didnt relate much to my situations it was more about feeling sick at job interviews or when dealing with debts but the feelings I was getting fitted the description so I think anxiety is the correct diagnosis. I realise that my anxiety is caused by my autism which makes everything/everyone seem unpredictable and stressful, so I am thankful its not a trivial cause.

The advice on the leaflet was not written for my situations since I cant take up a yoga position in a crowded bar and in my case its not worrying about things that wont happen that causes me to feel bad so I cant really conclude that Im worrying about nothing, my awkwardness and the confusion I feel is real so I have a reason to be concerned. Its just the level of worry/concern that I need to reduce.

I felt lots better knowing that alot of NTs and AS people suffer from anxiety in different situations and that it is my mind doing it to me. Since I spoke to the doctor in some situations I have been able to reduce the sickness feeling to more of a uncomfortable heart beating fast shakey kind of feeling (ie I'm not actually sick anymore). I keep telling myself there is no medical reason why I should feel sick so if I ignore the feeling and concentrate on the feelings of enjoyment or fun that are to be had in the situation (after all that is why I went to the bar), then there is a good chance that the feelings of sickness will reduce and then I wont worry about feeling sick and can enjoy myself even more (am still working on this theory, but Im convinced that positive thinking is the way forward).



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19 Oct 2011, 9:56 am

For so long I just thought it was "nerves" or "low self image" or PTSD, or ................

All depending on which "expert" I was dealing with at the time. They are all fools. some people are just this way.

I currently am required to meet with a "counselor", one on one, to meet voc rehab requirements, and it's taken me months to realize I just don't like the woman. Just thought it was me and my "discomfort" and the things she says.

For me the discomfort can mask other things going on, like the not liking someone, but have found that over time, if there are no issues (people not trustworthy etc) I can relax more. Now if I could only stop jabbering when I am that nervous, but it's one of my defenses, especially around people I really don't like, it's like I put up a wall of noise so I won't have to hear them say something mean, stupid, horrifying. Oh well!



Ria1989
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19 Oct 2011, 11:05 am

I have a really hard time relaxing in a new situation. I'll be asked to go to a wedding, funeral service or church service, and i will completely refuse to go. My stomach makes noises due to the fight or flight system being activated (sympathetic nervous system goes crazy on me). I try to avoid sitting close to people, but even then it happens.


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Ichinin
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19 Oct 2011, 11:10 am

Dingo7 wrote:
Does anyone else get this at all?



All the time in a large group of people, if everyone starts talking at a loud volume, i have to excuse myself and leave. I also get stressed alot by people when walking around and avoid people like the plague. I plan my shopping trips regardingly.


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glider18
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19 Oct 2011, 12:47 pm

Dingo7 wrote:
For as long as i can remember sometimes i will be in a social environment and ill start feeling pysically sick... like nausiating its weird... even if its only with my friends... if were at the pub or out for dinner i sometimes start feeling sick in the stomach... it gets worse the more poeple around around especially if i dont know them... and as soon as i take myself out of the environment im fine... like back to normal... feeling fine...

My parents always used to say just get over it... or you will get over it... but nope i still get it just as much as i used to...

Does anyone else get this at all?


Yes, I can relate to this. Attending social things in the past have stressed me to the point that I get ill---usually with a headache, physical fatigue, and a completely spaced-out feel where it is literally difficult to focus visually on things because of all the sensory overload. On certain occasions like in busy shopping centers, I have had to find a quiet corner to get away because of the way I feel not only psychologically, but physically as a result of the sensory overload.

Though my parents never forced me into the social scene as a child, I found it terribly awkward to not do what they thought I wanted to do (like most children seem to like sports and parties). I dreaded those things because of the sensory overload and social awkwardness of not fitting-in. So when Little League baseball was offered, I signed up because my parents thought I wanted to play---and after beginning the league I was unable to tell them I didn't want to play anymore---so I played two more years :? . I can remember the feeling I used to get before a baseball game---I would get real tired and often fall asleep before a game. Then Mom or Dad would say, "Get up, time for baseball." UGHHH! But upon talking to my parents later in life, I learned that it wouldn't have bothered them at all if I had quit.

But yes, these types of social things act on me physically too. For me, I think it is the stress of the social awkwardness and the sensory overload.


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persian85033
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19 Oct 2011, 1:22 pm

That happens to me all the time.


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HalibutSandwich
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19 Oct 2011, 3:13 pm

One place I get physically sick is on public transport. Too crowded and too noisy with nowhere to hide. I avoid it so much that when I was living in a city I'd always walk into town instead of taking a bus even though I was sometimes living over 7km from the city center. But I'd get out a map and work out a route to my destination that I expected would have the least number of people along the way, even if it added a few km's to the walk.



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19 Oct 2011, 3:29 pm

It sounds like a bit of social anxiety...I got this a lot in earlier stages of my life, and, at times, even today.

What really helps is to pace yourself and know your limits of how much "social time" you can handle. Plan social events for half and hour, and hours, or as long as you can handle them. If you are feeling especially nauseous and overwhelmed, take a bathroom break to calm down from all the chaos.


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Given a “tentative” diagnosis as a child as I needed services at school for what was later correctly discovered to be a major anxiety disorder.

This misdiagnosis caused me significant stress, which lessened upon finding out the truth about myself from my current and past long-term therapists - that I am an anxious and highly sensitive person but do not have an autism spectrum disorder.

My diagnoses - social anxiety disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

I’m no longer involved with the ASD world.


Manguy89
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20 Oct 2011, 9:31 am

I use to puke everyday before school and occasionally at school because it was so agonizing. As an adult now I still get very sick and my stomach hurts pretty much all the time now.



AngelofDreams
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20 Oct 2011, 10:49 am

I do. Especially during speeches or singing for an audience. 8O

There was one time when I participated in the Lucia procession, and we would preform in front of a large audiance. Too large for my liking...
When we got close to the end, I felt myself trembling, stressed and nauseous, but I really tried to keep control of myself.
But as soon as we got to the changing room, I ran for the bathroom and threw up.

Not a very pleasant experience.



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20 Oct 2011, 11:24 am

Audiences can be interesting. I do this dulcimer ministry where I speak in addition to playing the Appalachian musical instruments. When I get booked for a concert I get excited and look forward to it, but when it comes time to do the concert, I often feel this wave of nervousness and/or anxiety come on and think to myself, "Do I want to be here?"

I can best describe the feeling of going before an audience as trying to penetrate through a glass wall (of awkwardness) in order to approach the audience. And then when I am speaking between songs I feel kind of like I am riding on a wave of blurry confusing light. My head can go tingly in thought, and I it feels strange.


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