Fear of vomiting

[Eveline]

I have, and have always had, a terrible fear of vomiting. I don't 'do' sick.
I get panicky even thinking about being sick, I'd rather swallow it all back down than to be sick.

I can't watch people being sick, not even on tv. I turn the sound off or put my fingers in my ears, and close my eyes, hoping it will be over when I open them again.

It makes watching Little Britain near to impossible, not to mention shows like Jackass.....

[belle]

Hi..
I have had this since i was 4 (i'm now 31).
Thank goodness i am (or i hope) i'm not as bad as i use to be.
However, if anyone in my family is sick OR anyone from my childs school is sick i do get the panicky feelings and will not go near them for a week (at least). Earlier this year my son was very ill and threw up for 5 days - and it was me the one left to clean up and there was A LOT to clean up. I think it helped having my bottle of antibacterial spray that i just sprayed everywhere!!!!
I've had a couple of moments myself where i have been on the verge of being ill and to be honest, i would have rather something have happened than feel THAT horrible.
I can't watch Jackass, but Little Britain is silly...lol

I don't go out if i feel even slightly sick, that is how my agoraphobia started - but that is another story!

I can relate to you 100%

Sarah x

[nomorepanic]

Try these posts...

Emetophobia
EXPOSURE THERAPY... (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2712)
To Emetophobia sufferers (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2253)
1st day CBT exposure for emetaphobia = scary (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4930)
A visit to the Doctors (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5503)
CBT for emetophobia my experiences... (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5998)
Emetaphobia 101 (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7053)


People will forget what you said
People will forget what you did
But people will never forget how you made them feel

Nicola

[peabodyfreak]

Hi there Eveline,

I too suffer from Emetaphobia (the scientifica name of the fear of vomitting), and have done since time began (or so it feels). I'm 29 years old and last year suffered a ful nervous breakdown because of it, although I have come out the other end of that and am much better now.

During that time I had hypnotherapy and counselling, neither of which got rid of the fear but both helped me to learn new techniques for dealing with the panic attacks when they come.

One of them you can try is to sit in a darkened room in a comfortable position (this is not something to do DURING a panic attack but at any time) and get yourself relaxed (deep breathing, maybe soft music in the background etc) and think of an object that means something to you, that gives you good memories and feelings. Try to evoke those feelings you had when you last saw the object/thought of it.

Now, the trick to it is this: When you find yourself going into a panic attack, try to visualise that object you chose during your above relaxation session. Picture it in your mind and remember those good feelings. Maybe buy a small teddy bear and let that be your panic toy (I have a small pink pig). Whenever I panic, I hold the bear, squeeze the life out of it while trying to keep my breeathing steady and deep. I sit down and concentrate on the pig. Tell it a story ( i know it sounds stupid!), do anything that takes your mind of the one thing that is making you panic.

Other techniques are the tapping technique, which I got from watching a Paul McKenna show. It's about tapping your forehead, cheek, wrist, ribs, collarbone etc in succession to release a certain chemical in your system that helps you calm down.

Tap each point for around 30 seconds then move on to next:

Point 1: above right eye
Point 2: left cheekbone
Point 3: either collarbone
Point 4: left ribcage (anywhere, but not too hard)
Point 5: left wrist

Keep doing it for a little while and that might help

*hugs*

[HarajukuTori]

[center][sub]I'm 18 now.

I first remember the panic hitting me when I was about 5. My dad was ill one christmas. I was in my room screaming and crying uncontrolably telling him to shut up and stop it. Mum didn't know what was wrong with me, and neither did I.

About 2 years later I saw a man in the street being sick (obviously he'd had too much to drink). I spent the rest of the day with a twisting feeling in my stomach and a tight feeling in my chest.

Through to the age of about 11 in primary school, if the mention of anyone feeling sick was in my earshot, I'd tell them to get out of the classroom. If they didn't leave I'd simply walk out. This got me into a lot of trouble, but nobody ever sat down with me to talk.

As I hit my teens it became apparent that I had a problem, as it were, with people vomitting. It was only until my first year at A - level in the common room, where one of my friends mentioned Emetaphobia and how it affected her, that I realised its what I had. She described the exact same feelings, how the panic attacks affected her etc. It was pretty relieving as for several years I thought I was the only one who suffered.

I still can't deal, or begin to even think about dealing with people being sick.
Its not only people either. animals aswell. lol. I know this sounds pretty silly, but my cat puked yesterday all over our brand new sofa and all I did was panic and sit and watch in horror. haha

I'm pretty glad Ive found this site. Means I can talk to other people with ther same thing :)

The Ones You Hate Are The Ones Who Control You.

[squeaky clean]

hi
i am 18 years old and have only got about 14 days left until i have my little girl. you are probably wondering why i have bothered to say this when the topic is about having a fear of being 'sick.'

i have had a fear of it ever since i can remember and i have never fully understood why. i recently discovered (well probably about 2-3 years ago) that my mum is an emetaphobic and in some ways her reaction to me feeling sick has somehow been passed onto me. i am not entirely sure whether this is possible but i cannot think how else i have developed this phobia. i would say that i am a mild emetaphobic as i have heard/read that people have changed their whole lives and made it revolve around NOT having that feeling.

however i can say that maybe i have, in a way. i dont drink too much if i go out..i HATE to loose control of my body...i have 'panic attacks' when i am in nightclubs or around really drunk people just in case they are sick by me or even over me. i dont really like to be around younger kids at christmas time as they are more likely to eat too much and feel sick. (unfortunately i will have no choice after this year as i will have my own daughter!) i cannot watch or hear anyone being sick as it makes me believe that i feel sick too.

during the 8 and a half months that i have been pregnant i have become even worse than i was before. i have been made a subject to phases of not wanting to leave my house, even my room unless i had a bottle of water, a bucket and a towel. i had a few bad times while i was away from my haven (my house) and have had a panic attack everytime i leave the house...even now. it has been hard for me to express this to anyone as i have this fear that no one will believe me. i certainly cant talk to my mum about it because then she would panic which would set me off...if you know what i mean?
it has also been a struggle to not be compared to my sister and her probems (she gets very bad panic attacks) so for me it feels like i am a copy cat and i have only developed these things because they have. i try to talk to my sister as her panic attacks are triggered by something completely different and she thinks that i should go and see someone...on the other hand i have my mum telling me that she thinks they are useless (she was told that she was an attention seeker by at least 5 doctors when trying to describe her phobia...one doctor hadnt even heard of emetaphobia)

i dont know what to do.. i dont want to be accused of pretending but believe me these feelings are real. the only thing is that i cant even begin to desrcibe the feelings to my partner let alone a doctor.

but again for the last 4-5 months i have been taking anti-emetic tablets everyday. it helps me alot but if i dont take one i am in panic mode...i have to carry them around with me all the time otherwise i WILL NOT leave my house.

it has been nice to get this off my chest to people that are 'outsiders' in a way because as much as i adore my fiance he cannot even begin to imagine what it is like as he does not have the same phobia.

i would like it if someone could let me know that they have/had exactly the same problems please..because although i am surrounded by family members suffering the same thing i have no reassurance that i am not going crazy!!

thanks
x

[peabodyfreak]

Girl, crazy is one thing you are NOT *spinkles happy dust near Squeaky*

I too am Emetaphobic and have suffered through the same things. Here is my original intro post to tell you what I have been through. Newbie in the house! (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=14352). If you want to, print some of the emetaphobia stuff out and show it to your other half. it may bring about a deeper understanding for him of what you are going through and that you are not going insane. There are thousands of people out there suffering with this. It is so much more common than you would ever realise.

If you scroll a little further up in this thread you will see a post I made not long ago, describing some methods I have used to calm my panic attacks when they come. Try one of them next time you are panicing.

Also, nomorepanic has posted a list of links for you, showing you some of the main threads that have covered this topic in the past. You may also find them helpful. I know I did.

*hugs*

I know exactly how you feel hunny, you are not alone!