Bellybuttons give me a panic attack!

This has been going on for years now and its really annoying and I dont even know WHY i'm afraid of them! Its just a bellybutton but the whole concept of them...ugh and not to mention the stupid umbilical cord thing it just makes me wanna cry even thinking about it! All through school I had to deal with my friends being 'cute' and poking me and im a little chubby so naturally my belly seemed like a fun place to poke but if they ever got even slightly NEAR my bellybutton, let alone actually touched it, I would fall to the floor in a panic attack and cry. Its really frustrating like I cant even look at pictures of people without their shirts on or with their stomach showing cuz I just see the bellybutton and feel like I'm gonna pass out. When I sleep with my boyfriend I have to hold my hand over my bellybutton cuz when he puts his arms around me it freaks me out to even feel his hand come near my bellybutton, even though I have told him a hundred times that I will literally cry if he ever touches it and he swears he wont and I know he wont but i feel like I have to cover it up just to feel safe. I cant wear bikinis during the summer cuz if its even just exposed i get this weird paranoid feeling that something crazy is just gonna like fly at me and stab me in the bellybutton like a bird will just stab me with its beak or someone throwing darts miles away will accidentally stab me or ill get shot in the belly button like i cant even sleep on my stomach without fearing someone is under my bed waiting to stab through the mattress right into my bellybutton. and i cant explain this to someone cuz all my friends or anyone says is just 'lol its just ur bellybutton' and im like yeah i know!!!i know its just my bellybutton!!!thats why this is so unbearably frustrating!!! i mean my other phobias are more difficult to deal with, i mean i dissociate whenever i open doors for fear that whats on the other side will not be how i remember it to be and whenever i walk up a stair case i always feel like someone is right behind me and following me up the stairs but this one...this stupid bellybutton phobia...its just so annoying!!!

Wow yes, that is really annoying! That's not even the word for it. Bellybuttons do have heaps of nerve endings. So are very sensitive parts of the body. And having people poke at it IS very stressful. It's not something to laugh off and ignore. It was bullying.

Have you read about fear ladders before? It just struck me that you're using the word "bellybutton" very bravely. Some people can't even type their phobia because it makes it too real. And that's like the first step on a very gentle, careful ladder.

http://youth.anxietybc.com/make-list walks you through the process. It's good to read it all through first before doing it. And there are some more examples here- https://www.anxiety.org/about-anxiety/e ... ar-ladders

The important thing, if you try this. Is to be really, really gentle with yourself. Just because it's annoying, doesn't make it imaginary, stupid or wrong. It's your phobia and it's strong. That's OK. You're protecting yourself from some terrible imaginings. Just because some of them aren't very likely. Doesn't mean that urge to protect is wrong. If you can work with it, to stretch just a little what you're comfortable with. Then over time you can hopefully get to a place where this isn't such a big deal for you. It may never go away completely. That's OK too. It's more about balancing up protecting yourself with freedom to do things you'd like to do, without stress.

HiddenHikari wrote:This has been going on for years now and its really annoying and I dont even know WHY i'm afraid of them! Its just a bellybutton but the whole concept of them...ugh and not to mention the stupid umbilical cord thing it just makes me wanna cry even thinking about it! All through school I had to deal with my friends being 'cute' and poking me and im a little chubby so naturally my belly seemed like a fun place to poke but if they ever got even slightly NEAR my bellybutton, let alone actually touched it, I would fall to the floor in a panic attack and cry. Its really frustrating like I cant even look at pictures of people without their shirts on or with their stomach showing cuz I just see the bellybutton and feel like I'm gonna pass out. When I sleep with my boyfriend I have to hold my hand over my bellybutton cuz when he puts his arms around me it freaks me out to even feel his hand come near my bellybutton, even though I have told him a hundred times that I will literally cry if he ever touches it and he swears he wont and I know he wont but i feel like I have to cover it up just to feel safe. I cant wear bikinis during the summer cuz if its even just exposed i get this weird paranoid feeling that something crazy is just gonna like fly at me and stab me in the bellybutton like a bird will just stab me with its beak or someone throwing darts miles away will accidentally stab me or ill get shot in the belly button like i cant even sleep on my stomach without fearing someone is under my bed waiting to stab through the mattress right into my bellybutton. and i cant explain this to someone cuz all my friends or anyone says is just 'lol its just ur bellybutton' and im like yeah i know!!!i know its just my bellybutton!!!thats why this is so unbearably frustrating!!! i mean my other phobias are more difficult to deal with, i mean i dissociate whenever i open doors for fear that whats on the other side will not be how i remember it to be and whenever i walk up a stair case i always feel like someone is right behind me and following me up the stairs but this one...this stupid bellybutton phobia...its just so annoying!!!

Hi Hidden Hikari,

Personal Messages are taking a long time to come through but thanks for replying to me on Monday. Can you please contact me **mod edit** so we can discuss what I messaged you about last week?

Thanks.


Mod removed identifying information -Riccola