Emetophobia/ Fear of being sick

Hi

I found this forum that looks very good for sufferers of emetophobia. You may get better support from a group dedicated to this phobia than on NMP so please do check it out:

http://www.emetophobia.org/forum.php

Thanks nic for this. As someone who suffers from emetophobia I have looked at this site in the past but refuse to go on it now as it contains too much information about avoidance techniques and methods to stop yourself being sick.
Although this might sound like a good things for those of us who fear being sick, it actually made my fear worse as I starting doing avoidance techniques that I had never thought of before that I had learnt from that site.
I would therefore say to fellow emetophobia suffers to be very cautious about using that forum.

I also use that forum as well. I must warn that some posts/threads on there can be really anxiety triggering though. So I've had to take some breaks from there often.

Ok thanks for the feedback - are there any others then?

I don't think there is to be honest. That site is definitely great for people with emetophobia and it has very supportive and kind members just like this forum but I'd say the only fault with that site is the amount of panic posts. :)

I agree with Rls 1994- I don't think there will be a forum better for emetophobia but there are a huge amount of posts from people on there panicking there are going to be sick and then a lot of the replies are suggestions ways to prevent yourself from being sick which only encourages the phobia and makes it worse. The site is great to go on to get information and to see that you are not alone but you just need to be careful about how much you use it.
At suggested above it can also trigger anxiety because it is making you think about being sick every time you read a post, I also had the problem them I got obsessed with checking if people were sick after saying they felt ill-again this is not good behaviour and so I stopped going on the site. I personally think it is better to use this site!

I am just aware that we have a lot of emetophobics on here but nothing productive is really said to help so I was looking for a site that could better help them but I appreciate your comments about the other site.

That's a very thoughtful suggestion Nicola. I appreciate your input. From what the others say, this site sounds a bit full on. Even on this nmp site I'm careful about what I read & I try to post in a way that won't be graphic as I know myself there's even words I don't like to read. It's been very helpful to me chatting about the phobia, not least because I don't feel alone about the issue

I think anyone with a phobia needs to decide whether to live with it or whether to try and confront it & seek a cure.

It's up to all of us emetophobes to help each other look towards easing our worries. I did put a thread on Xmas eve as I felt badly triggered but it was a very pressurised situation i found myself in & i felt quite trapped into doing something i didnt want to. imeven apologised at the time as i wasnt sure if my post went a bit far but i was relieved to get it off my chest so to speak.

all other posts I've added have been towards encouraging calm & making suggestions that might help others towards lessening their fear.

I have noticed that often people are going round in circles & it is natural to have ups & downs. I'm just the same I suppose but I did use CBT to help improve my situation. In the end we all need to take responsibility for ourselves & I'm still hopeful of helping others to find ways of stopping this fear from dominating their lives.

Hi Tessar-I just thought I should say that my post was in no way criticising what people post about emetophobia on this forum so don't feel bad about anything you may have written. If you are struggling then of course you should post, I think you will get a far more beneficial response on this forum than on an emetophobia forum as people here will offer more practical advice and state facts rather than saying things which can encourage you to avoid sickness.
It is a notoriously hard phobia to tackle but it has helped me by seeing the advice people give on this forum about other phobias as it is all down to the same thing-facing your fears instead of avoiding them.
Good luck with your recovery x

Kells81; its fine kells you havent said anything untoward. i do try to be mindful of saying thigns that might not sit well with people but i guess its finding the balance. your words are veryhelpful. i'm glad people here have steered me away from that other forum as it sounds way to graphic. sometimes i just think to myself "why cant i just get over it". doh! i know it isnt that simple. thanks K for your thoughts & coming back to me!

I have used other sites but I find this one the best as the other members here are very encouraging and have helped me. I have a direct link to NMP on my phone so I have it at hand to read over when I start to panic. This is also something that has helped me a lot in the light of the season that we are in. It is on the emetophobia help (emetophobiahelp.org) website which has a norovirus facts page. This is a CBT self help website so the resources section for some may be a bit traumatic (myself included). i wanted to post the link but i dont have enough posts yet to do it. Hope this finds you all well.

I have been working hard on getting over my emetophobia. I'm going to post some steps I've taken, but be warned that they may be a little graphic for those that are fairly sensitive. If you are concerned, don't read too much!
1. Talk about it a lot. I used to not even be able to say words like "vomit", "throw up", "retch" etc. Now I openly tell people I'm afraid of throwing up and I can use those words. It's also nice to be able to explain to my friends that I am leaving a bar because the guy in the corner looks too nauseous for my comfort, etc. I find that they are fairly understanding.
2. Watch cartoons with it in it and not worry. For some reason, animated puking is less scary than real puking. I've gotten to the point that I can watch puke scenes in cartoons without panicking. It's uncomfortable, but I can do it most of the time.
3. Once you're comfortable with cartoon puke, slowly introduce yourself to photos and videos of it. That's the step I'm at, and it's hard.
4. Watch someone do it? I'm not sure what the next step will be.

Also, when I feel very nauseous I take a xanax, and then tell myself "it's okay if you throw up. You will feel much better if you do. It doesn't last very long, you can survive a few seconds of agony. And it won't be that bad!". I've made it through a couple of very nauseous episodes without having a full-blown panic attack. I was anxious but wasn't having a panic attack. I still didn't throw up, but at least I was relatively calm about it. progress!

Give yourself time, but work on it. Don't concentrate on ways to STOP yourself from throwing up, concentrate on ways to convince yourself that it will be okay. And I think therapy is probably a good option for a lot of people! It's been helping me a lot.

I hope this helps someone. It's a hard journey and it's not fun, but it'll be nice to finally conquer this thing!

betsylu, it was hard readng your post but i did it. i agree totall with the steps you've taken. watching someone? well you could but perhaps you dont need to go that far. but you have done brilliantly. i admire your resolve!

Justinianian what a ridiculous post to put on this thread . Not helpful to anybody at all. And as a bulimia sufferer in the past downright stupid

I absolutely agree, avoidance techniques don't help recovery x