Emetophobia? ocd?

[CSmith]

Hi! I'm new here and never thought what i had was too much of a problem, until i described to someone what i do on a regular basis to ensure i don't get sick.
I'm not sure if i would class this as emetophobia but i haaaaaaaate hate hate hate vomiting, i cant be around t or hear it or anything. Its gotten really bad lately as it has been effecting the food i eat. i am always checking if something is off, ill cut right into meat and squash to ensure no blood comes out (not every piece but the thickest part), ill check colour, smell and use by date on meats and i'm constantly asking my partner if he thinks the food is ok. I always go though a check list in my mind if i feel nauseous about why i might be feeling that way (eg what have i eaten, did i catch something?) and reassuring myself that i'm fine or just hungry etc. I just started a new job and we stand on platforms that wobble and make me dizzy sometimes... it made me nervous that it would make me ill. I also will block my ears and close my eyes and get away from vomit, i don't like being around someone if i think they have a bug i can catch and i don't like using rest rooms on boats etc in case someone will be sick in the stall next to me etc...

No one else in my family has these problems and i'd feel silly to say i had a phobia and not have one.
Is it me or do i have ocd or emetophobia or something? what do you think?

[Vixxy]

It sounds like emetophobia. If you feel panic and try to avoid situations then you most likely have a phobia to whatever youre avoiding.
Not all phobias are on the same level. For instance my friend is scared of spiders. She will even scream if you show her a plastic spider. Im sure there are people out there with arachnophobia who can touch and look at a plastic spider.
Its all very individual.
I too think I suffer with emetophobia. I always thought I didnt because i was able to talk about vomit, and watch people being sick on the tv without getting anxious. However i was sent a print out by my therapist about emetophobia and i was amazed at how similar i was to the studies they had.
I actually found sticking a label onto it helped. I now have something to beat!

[CSmith]

Thanks, my partner doesn't believe i have this and thinks i'm over reacting. I have a 16 month old daughter and although ive handled her being sick before i knew it wasn't anything i could catch and shes still only small. I'm dreading her coming home when shes older with a bug. I may not have the most severe case but i have always thought that my reactions were a bit more over the top than the regular person and its more the little things i do to prevent food poisoning and contamination. I mean i can be sick once without going into hysteria, i hate it and dread it coming but its when i know that i have a bug and will throw up multiple times that scares me. Do you think its just a regular reaction? I don't know if what i have would be severe enough to be a phobia. But its so amazing to see other people with the same quirks as me :D

[Vixxy]

Id do some reading about it and see if you have any of the common thought processes.
This is from wikipedia
Dr. Lipsitz et al.’s findings also showed that those afflicted with emetophobia often have difficulties comfortably leading a normal life. [1] (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/#cite_note-sat-0) Many find that they have problems being alone with young children (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/wiki/Children), and they may also avoid social gatherings where alcohol (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/wiki/Alcohol) is present. [1] (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/#cite_note-sat-0) Retaining an occupation (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/wiki/Employment) becomes difficult for emetophobics. Professions (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/wiki/Professions) and personal goals (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/wiki/Goals) can be put on hold due to the high-anxiety associated with the phobia, [7] (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/#cite_note-bat-6) and travelling becomes almost impossible for some. [1] (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/#cite_note-sat-0)
In Lipsitz et al.’s survey, women afflicted with emetophobia said that they either delayed pregnancy (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/wiki/Pregnancy) or avoided pregnancy all together because of the morning sickness (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/wiki/Morning_sickness) associated with the first trimester, [1] (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/#cite_note-sat-0) [8] (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/#cite_note-7) and if they did become pregnant, it made pregnancy difficult. [1] (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/#cite_note-sat-0)
Other inhibitions on daily life can be seen in meal preparation. [1] (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/#cite_note-sat-0) Many emetophobic people also have specific “rituals” for the food (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/wiki/Food) they eat and how they prepare it. [1] (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/#cite_note-sat-0) They frequently check the freshness of the food along with washing it several times in order to prevent any potential sicknesses that they could contract from foods not handled properly. [1] (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/#cite_note-sat-0) Eating out is also avoided, if possible, and when asked Lipsitz et al.’s survey, many felt they were underweight because of the strict diets that they put upon themselves

[fairyclairy]

Hi CSmith,

You sound EXACTLY like me.... word to word! Checking dates on food, avoiding situations where someone could be sick, avoid people who are ill, check foods are cooked, worry about being sick, worry about someone being sick around me etc etc etc

It sounds to me like you have a phobia, emetophobia.
I have had this since i was 11 (22 now) I have seen CBT therapists to help, which may be something you could look in too??

It is not stupid, you shouldnt feel embarrased.. this is a really debilitating phobia.. because if you were afriad of flying, you just wouldnt get on a plane.. but we cant run away from our bodies and we cant control whether or not we're going to be sick... because if we're going to be sick, we will be!

I would recommend you reading into this - there is a really good book called 'living with emetophobia' which is amazing and helped me so much! Im unsure who the author is because iv leant it to a friend who suffers from it too, but i found it on Amazon.

If your partner is struggling to understand, why not show him this website.. there are alot of emetophobia posts on here. Or read up about it on emetophobia websites.

How were you during pregnancy with morning sickness?
I absolutly love children, worked with them since i was 17, but this is one aspect that scares me.... i cant wait to start a family, but im dreading my phobia standing in my way xx

[CSmith]

I thanks everyone for your helpful posts. I didn't have morning sickness so i was really lucky, although it really did worry me that i would. i got nausea sometimes but it wasn't that bad. I threw up once in my entire pregnancy... although that one time was pretty horrible.....
I just went outside and made myself really cold and then had a luke warm shower and my nausea went away. I quite often feel queasy though as my gastro system isnt what it should be... i'm just really good at telling myself that i wont be sick and im usually not. in fact that time when i was pregnant was the last time i have thrown up.. that was like 2 years ago.