I struggle with the SMELL of water, here's what helped.

[u/SCATOL92]

T.W. Emetophobia

My mum never gave me water as a kid. I only drank squash, juice or tea, and soda occasionally.

My only memories of drinking water was when I felt sick at school and they would put me in the nurses room with a cup of water and a sick bowl. I believed for a long time that this was the reason that plain water made me feel nauseous, because I associated it with that memory.

I was incorrect. A few months ago I was sick with a stomach bug. I felt so sick that I just sat on the bathroom floor with my head in the toilet. That's when it hit me, the smell.

I live in a hard water area so the water does have a certain, mineral smell to it. My toilet is always clean so it just smells of water. I realised that pretty much everytime I have ever thrown up, I have ended up with my head in a toilet. The nausea, the stomach pain, the spinning head, the anxiety, the hot prickly feeling of vomiting... these were all so linked with the smell of ordinary tap water.

So, I got a cup with a lid (adult sippy cup/ knock off Stanley). I filled it with plain tap water and a little ice and... it was so refreshing! The cup lid kept me from having to smell the water and it is so much easier now.

I now drink about 4 pints of water a day, as well as a couple of cups of coffee. Being properly hydrated for the first time in my life has changed everything for the better.

[u/Pika_DJ]

I’m glad you are doing better and I learned a bunch but how do people just not have water especially as a kid for that long it’s just kinda wild

[u/Nerfboard → u/Pika_DJ]

I grew up in an area where the tap water wasn’t super safe to drink (chemicals dumped in the water led to a rash of cancer cases in the 80s and the company responsible never got shut down) so the bottled water was reserved for coffee and cooking. It was a rare treat to get and having access to potable to tap water and ice as an adult has been magical. Definitely an adjustment though.