Emetophobic and don't know what to do!

[littlegem4lifex]

I've suffered with emetophobia from when i was a small child i don't remember exactly how it started but i remember one time when i was about 5 or 6 when my sister was sick in the living room an my mum wouldn't let me out of the living room because at the time she thought i was attention seeking because of my sister being ill. When i did get out i was like a caged animal in my room i wouldn't come out even for my dinner. an if my sister who was ill came upstairs i'd go down an vice versa if she was downstairs. My panic attacks start up with the shivers an then i can't breathe its like my throat tightens up. Then i start crying. When my mum an dad realised it was a phobia an i decided i wanted to be a nursery nurse i decided to go for therapy. I went through listening to it to watching videos an i was doing fine. But then i never finished my treatment because my therapist never got bk in touch an so in time my phobia has got as bad as it used to be i try to calm myself down but it takes a while. I don't know what to do i've suffered for so long its hard.
please help if you can an tell me i'm not alone with this i'll take any advice to try an calm my panic attacks down xxx :weep:

[lucy030188]

completely understand where your coming from hun...
ive only had emetophobia for a few months really....my nan had a stroke and it prompted me to feel sick with worry all the time! then after i stopped worrying about my nan, i started worrying about being sick or worrying about feeling sick! now basically this is my life everyday! i get up each morning feeling sick....and going out makes it 20 million times worse!
I hate speaking to people out because it makes me feel more sick and I hate going to my saturday job at boots because i feel like im gonna be sick infront of everyone there!
Do you still go out?....I try to, but obviously it makes it harder!

Hope this reassures u that u are not alone
message me if u want
Lucy x

[littlegem4lifex]

Thanks Lucy for your reply. Yeah i still go out still go to work an stuff but if i know someone at work has a cough or feels sick i'm extra nervous and i keep my eye on them. i hate feeling like it but it just controls me sometimes an i've had it for years its horrible.

[belle]

Hi. I've had this since i was 4 or 5 years old, i am now 33. It dominated my life for many years (making me housebound for 2 years) and still does to a degree. I HATE this time of the year because i can almost lay money that i will get somekind of stomach bug brought home by my son. Thing is, i keep away from anyone who gets sick/feels sick, but when its your own child, you have to take care of them. Its then a very scary 12 - 72 hours.

x

[littlegem4lifex]

Thats why i'm afraid of having children because when they get ill i wouldn't be able to look after them. What good is a mum who can't look after their own child who is ill. I want children but at the moment thats part of my life that will probably never happen.

[exhaustion]

Well, emetophobia is really hard to deal with. I should know, I deal with it too. But I remember a lot of things my late Grandma used to tell me...

Instead of having a panic attack:

Go through a mental checklist in your head, that'll help you keep yourself healthier and keep panic attacks at bay.

Did you get a flushot this year?
Do you eat healthy?
Did you take your vitamins today?
Do you avoid illness? (Also, if you're a nurse: Plus! Even if you get sick, you eventually build up a pretty good resistance to nearly everything. :) )

And then, when you can answer those with a truthful yes: ASSUME YOU'RE FINE. It's hard, but eventually you'll find yourself coping, AND you'll be healthier. :)

[pinkpiglet]

My cousin has this but she won't admit it (not allowed to mention the V or S word). When we were little, if i was ever sick she use to get really upset and say 'i'm getting you done!' this always made me laugh. She used to get hysterical and and hyperventilate at the sound or site of vomit and none of us understood her. We used to take the mickey and wind her up about it but as she got older it became apparant that this was a huge issue for her. She went on to have a little girl (she is a fantastic mother) and luckily Olivia was never i sickly baby. My cousin never minded a bit of baby sick but on one occassion when Olivia was ill and vomited my cousin became hysterical & she had to phone her bloke to get him to come home.
Last year when i was shopping in Next, my son Ethan began to projectile vomit, it was everywhere. Who should just walk into the store but my cousin. She ran back out of the shop and i followed her. She was trying her best to be helpful but was stood about forty foot away from us, she was drip white and looked as if she would pass out. She phoned my OH who was in another shop to come and help us and once he arrived she rushed off to her car and went home. She didnt come to our house for days afterwards. There are so many scenarios i could tell you about, she is really bad. I feel so sorry for her though, and guilty that i wound her up as a kid.

[mumof4]

i have the same know how u feel i have had it since i was 11 it has controlled most of my life i watch what i eat and i dont go near anyone who has been sick,

the worst thing is i have 3 kids and when there ill i dont cuddle them i put them to bed and i panic that ill catch it ill wash my hands consitint, when my kids are ill i want to run away as far is possiable and the funny thing is im not a sickly person u would think that would stop the panic but no,

i have tried concelling didnt work had a cpn didnt work dont think ill ever get better.

[orangeblossom]

Hi, you are not the only one - as you can see by all the replies above and the ones you would find if you did a search for emetaphobia on this site. It is a horrid phobia to have and I think we all completely hate having it.
But, you will go through better times - for a lot of us it comes and goes as the stress in our lives goes up and down. I know that when I get more stressed, I worry about it a lot more than I do when I am actually quite relaxed...

Have you tried CBT? It is something I'm getting at the moment and it really helps me.

Stay strong. You will get through this and learn how to manage it. :-)

{{{{HUGS}}}}

[its all good]

Your certainly not alone with this one. I have had this phobia since i was about 3 myself and i know how u feel. When i read posts about emetophobia and the daft things we do it makes me smile [ weird i know] but its nice to know i am not alone when it comes to the lengths i will go to avoid being around any1 bein sick. I have given up on trying to get rid of this phobia. I have resigned myself to the fact thats its part of me and its just summat that i am gunna have to live with. I hate not bein able to live life to the full, bein on high alert for any1 who looks ill and mite be sick, gettin a taxi to go and kip on a mates couch at 3 in the morn cause my mum is sick, keeping my eyes closed when i am travelling, my heart skippin a beat everytime i hear that summat that sounds similar to sum1 bein sick or not goin on nites out with mates cause they mite be sick cause they r drunk, i could go on forever! I hate the crying wreck i become when some1 is sick, the panic scares me more then the person bein sick sumtimes i think. I wish there was sumthing i could do to make how i feel go away because i know people must think i am strange but i feel i have no choice but to accept that this phobia is part of me, and i just gotta get on with it otherwise i will be watchin my life fly by. Please know that u r not alone though and there r plenty of emet sufferers out there. If u do find sumthing that works or a miracle cure then do let me know wont u:) , best wishes luv kayliegh xx

[littlegem4lifex]

Thank you for all your help and advice. It's a comfort to know that i am not a freak an that i'm not alone.

[dawn rose]

i didnt realise other people had this too, i feel so daft that i have this phobia for me its with me or mmy children being sick. it only started in march when my eldest was ill and i panicked as trying to juggle 2 kids under age of three, i managed but i panicked and my daughter panics. i spend my days wondering if there going to be ill. i cant live my life like this anymore. i got to point im scared to be alone with my own kids and its pure rediuculous but i cant help it. i get frustrated with myself. im in counselloing and cbt.

[belle]

I am CONSUMED by this hell.
Every waking moment worrying whether my son will get sick tonight and then will i catch it....which is usually, yes :(