emetophobic

[thoughts and actions]

hi guys

ive been a member of this site a few montsh and generally post around anxiety/panic attacks but the more threads ive read about emetophic the more i can relate to it.

I have a fear of being sick, people being sick and needing to go to the toilet in public (not for a number 1 and i dont mean actually going in public mean public loos lol) dont know if the last one is a system of it but wanted to post it n e way (taken a lot of courage for me to write it on here hehe)

If someone is near me and they say "i feel sick" my heart starts racing really fast and i start picturing them being sick or me being sick but its like an exorcist thing where it goes everywhere I also have a fear that i will be sick like anywhere and i wont no or feel it (coz i feel sick all the time) i will just be sitting then going bluuuugh, lol i carry 2 plastic bags with me whereever i go- i remember being in asda one day and this girl said she felt sick and i walked away n then i saw her in another aisle and i purposely walked away coz i again was having these images.

I think this means i am emetphobic- i just wanna no- how the hell do u get rid of it- i never have actually been sick and yes i should be saying well its never happened so wju should it but no i say "well this one time will be the time it happens" it does effect my everyday life and i feel a relief typing all this and getting it out on here- i dont think i have ever faced this- i work in a large call centre and when i smell sick from the toilets i take panic attacks- i constantly think i am going get sick and then that automatically makes me feel nauseous- is there anything anyone takes to get rid of the feeling?

thanks guys (and sorry for the long thread)

[lucy030188]

i agree....sounds like emetophobia to me!

i am similiar...and havent long developed it after a traumatic event in our family!

dont think theres a "quick fix" of getting rid of it, but theres a few types of therapy that have been reccommended for these types of things!....CBT...hypnotherapy and exposure therapy!...I am on the waiting list for cbt at the moment, and i might falk out for hypnotherapy in the meantime!

How long have u been like this?

lucy x

[thoughts and actions]

hey

am not sure- ive always been quite funny about sick but since jan this year when the panic etc started i think its been worse.

Like i obsess about catching bugs and viruses and will avoid eating out etc incase some1 is sick- i no it sounds so silly but i just cant stop n i get really angry and annoyed when ppl come to work with bugs - like how selfish can u be hehe

Exposure therapy? is that like when u would watch ppl being sick- that makes me feel sick at the thought lol and why would u wanna watch ppl whom u no r going to be sick- surely exposure therapy should be unknown- heres an idea- walking through the streets of glasgow (where i live) at 4am in the morning- now u would see people being sick there hahaa - i remembered searching on you tube one noight to watch videos to try and overcome my fear but it made me worse (some ppl actually find vomiting funny??)

I am currently going through CBT had therapy earlier this year but am doing worksheets through a fab book at moment so i am finding it easier with that- like i dont auto look for toilets when i go out n e more. Im going to start testing my thoughts on being sick though through these worksheets

Thanks for ure reply so quickly.

[belle]

I have it for 28 years. It effected me so much i was housebound for 2 years. Wouldn't let people in my house, i wouldn't let my son out (he was very small then i was scared in case he'd get sick!).

I wish i knew how to get rid of it. My sisters little girl was sick on Friday, i don't plan to go near them for at least a week!

[littlegem4lifex]

i went through Exposure therapy, but never got to the end of it. i had to listen to people being ill, an i had to watch a video over an over again, with me its the noise people make and the smell. the reason i never finished my therapy was because my therapist never got bk in touch with me. so as the months have gone by my phobias just gone bk to the way it was.