If you are unfamiliar with emetophobia, read my previous blog at http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/writersblock
I love shopping. It's one of my favorite stress relieving activities that I can think of - until I get the bills. But even a normal shopping spree can turn havoc for me.
This afternoon while browsing through the "30% off" rack at the clothing store Mandee, I overheard one sales girl tell another about her "puking" problem she had last night. She proudly described the whole experience which included how many dry heaves took place prior to IT happening. It didn't stop there. She went on to list the menu of goodies that came up. I couldn't endure hearing this for long and quickly put the sale items back on the rack and sprinted out of there.
If you're a non-emetophobe reading this blog, you're probably thinking that "sure this is an unpleasant subject but why freak out about it."
I'll give you my explanation. So here it goes....
A stomach virus is the most terrifying ailment that could plague me. Not only are they very contagious, but when you get one, vomiting and the experience that leads up to the vomiting is not just a one time event. They last for hours or days.
The salesgirl might have had too much to drink or just ate contaminated food but when I hear someone is sick all night and they don't offer an alternative explanation, my irrational mind assumes it's a stomach virus. That's not all! My irrational mind than goes on to believe that if she had a stomach virus, then there is a "bug" going around. As ridiculous as this sounds, it's true.
The scene at Mandee's spoiled my appetite for the day and made me obsessive about hand washing. My Labor Day barbecue dinner consisted of a half eaten grilled portobello mushroom (I'm vegetarian), a few gnaws from corn on the cob, and a small bowl of watermelon chunks. It was difficult eating that small dinner without fearing that I would get sick.
Wow, I'm not sure how relevant that was to Progressive stuff - but you have a really entertaining writing style.