Emetophobia - Fear of Being Sick

I have a very irrational fear of being sick and it is starting to take over my life if anyone around me is ill i will avoid them and my heart starts beating faster and feel like im about to pass out. I am 18 and a female, i cant remember exactly but i would say it start around the age of 10. As soon as anyone was ill in my house i would panic that i was going to catch the bug then i would psychological feel ill and make myself suffer thinking i was also infected. Then i decided to come up with a solution and i used to hear that 'eating too many sweets would make you sick' but not many 10 year olds would take this is mind however i used to limited the sugary intake off sweets this went on until i was roughly 14 and was that hard to cope with until one day one of my friends said she felt sick from eating too much for dinner, therefore i then got it in my head that ALL food makes you sick, so i went through stages of not eating a great deal and probably feeling sick after this. i decided to keep a written list off the food i was eating so at the end of the day i could decide whether it was suitable i used to hide these pieces of paper and dispose them the next day so no one knew my strange obsession over food.i started to wonder if i had an eating disorder however i DO NOT have a fear of becoming fat which is stereotypically the reason behind eating disorders. keeping a record of my food helped for a few months then i started to think my brain was lying to me and i was actually eating more than i thought. therefore from that age up until now i have had to stop whatever i am doing continuously through the day to 'think' of what i had done all day and when i had eaten down to the littlest detail of going to the toilet.in total i would spend around 2 hours a day in complete silence trying to pin point exactly what i had eaten, i would walk around the house and check all the cupboards to remind me off foods i have eaten. I have suffered from depression in the past and i think this fear of being sick is leading to OCD. Food plays a huge part in the control of avoiding being sick however tablets and medication come into it, i panick when i need to take tablets as i am scared incase i have overdosed without realising leading to me being sick, i wont eat in public places because i am unsure of how things are cooked and i wont eat meat incase it hasnt been cooked properly. i would taste milk a millions times until i was sure it wasnt off, i check dates on food all the time. also at the age of 18 surprisingly i do not drink alcohol. at all, i have never in my life been drunk just incase i am sick it is getting on top of me quite alot and i am at a dead end, sorry about the long post i just hope someone can guide me to what to do, thank you.

Hi Pandora111006

We just wanted to welcome you aboard to NMP. We hope you enjoy your stay here and get all the support and advice you need.

Please take some time to read the website articles on the left as well for loads of advice and tips.

Hi,
I have everything you have described! I do the same things as you - especially the no alcohol, I have never admitted to anyone why I don't drink because they will judge me. Do you have any other anxieties?

I'm 20 by the way and have been suffering since I can remember. I also pick up on thing like if someone says I got food poisoning once from a particular food i would never eat it again!

Glad to know i'm not alone :)

Hi,

I am exactly the same have suffered with emetophobia all my life i am 25yrs old. Over the years it has lead to major panic attacks and pretty much constant anxiety and with my anxiety i often feel nauseous so you can imagine what its like. I have had a course of CBT but felt it didnt help me much but am due to see my doctor next week to ask if i can try it again as i refuse to go on medication but trust me theres times when i wish there was a simple pill!!!!!!!!

After reading your post its reasurring im not the only one out there suffereing with this terrible fear.

I have it too! Started when I was really small - I remember my Mum smacking me when I was sick (I think she probably had/has it too). When my anxiety is heightened for any reason, my phobia is even worse, that makes me anxious, that makes my phobia worse etc........

I'm freaking at the moment as my son and grandson have had the dreaded tummy bug. They don't live in the same house as me but I don't want them to come in case they infect me.

I'm exactly the same as this I'm a 21 year old guy who doesn't drink because of the same reasons... I've bee through so many different types of therapy, I jus feel lie nothing can help me, I truly do sympathise to anyone with this awfull phobia, in a strange way it's comforting to know I'm not alone. But a magic wand to get rid of it would e better :p

Ty you may want to make your own thread about this, we have the introduction forum and we also have a whole Emetophobia section to the forum.

if you make your own thread then it will be more visible to others than just a post on an old thread.

Welcome to NMP by the way :D