I responded to a board by junglemonkey a few weeks ago about emetophobia (fear of vominting) and anxiety, and since then i have been thinking about it more and more. Is there anyone who has been able to get over this phobia to get rid of the anxiety? If so, how?
i went to a psychologist who tried to teach me relaxation techniques but that didn't get to the heart of the problem. If i could somehow train my brain to see puking (especialy in public or around other people) as not the most horrible thing in the world, my anxiety would be cut in half if not disappear!
Just the thoughts of "what if i have to throw up here and now, where will i go, will I make it to a bathroom, what will I tell people, etc" makes me full on panic and literally paralyzes me for a moment until the nausea passes. Which by the way causes more anxiety because I am paralyzed and can't get away if I really do need to puke!! AHH! so stupid, phobias are SO STUPID!
I responded to a board by junglemonkey a few weeks ago about emetophobia (fear of vominting) and anxiety, and since then i have been thinking about it more and more. Is there anyone who has been able to get over this phobia to get rid of the anxiety? If so, how?
i went to a psychologist who tried to teach me relaxation techniques but that didn't get to the heart of the problem. If i could somehow train my brain to see puking (especialy in public or around other people) as not the most horrible thing in the world, my anxiety would be cut in half if not disappear!
Just the thoughts of "what if i have to throw up here and now, where will i go, will I make it to a bathroom, what will I tell people, etc" makes me full on panic and literally paralyzes me for a moment until the nausea passes. Which by the way causes more anxiety because I am paralyzed and can't get away if I really do need to puke!! AHH! so stupid, phobias are SO STUPID!
Not SO stupid, I mean, throwing up is gross and also embarrassing! I discovered a throw up "cure" and preventative and haven't thrown up in years...it's coca cola. Once when my kids used to get the flu alot, a doctor told me to go to a pharmacy and buy coca-cola syrup. Man, does it work for sick stomach!
So I figure drinking a coke a day is preventative maybe? Hey, if I get food poisoning and need to throw up, no big deal because that's the body's way of ridding us of toxic substances we ingest......but no use in getting sick over nothing. Plus I love coca cola, it's a good excuse.
I've never had phobia of vomiting but always found it disgusting....guess I'm a prissy one I suppose...
Coke huh? Interesting, I'll have to try it. Just regular Coke, once can a day? Yeah, I agree, barfing is most unpleasant, fortunately for most people it is just gross and doesn't cause them panic like me!
Also thanks for the advice about the syrup and kids. I want to have kids soon but am terrified of all their little stomach bugs they seem to get Don't want to pawn all that off on my hubby cause I can't handle it.
to mjewell
it can help to carry an airline airsick bag with you whenever out
a course of an antidepressant med may well help, these meds often reduce anxiety, fears and phobias, also you dont need to be depressed for them to work
lots of info re emetophobia on the net, look it up
A thread with my name in it, how exciting :P but I have just sought treatment for this horrible phobia or whatever and I'm waiting on a referral. The doctor said it would take ages.
I would imagine training your brain that vomiting isn't really horrible would be exposure therapy?? Where you'll start with something that makes you slightly anxious and work up a fear hierarchy until you're not very anxious anymore. Maybe you should see about that??
I don't drink coke under normal circumstances. The caffeine gets to me. lol.
hry33, I hate airline sickness bags, they just gross me out even to look at or touch knowing what goes in there. I used to run to the bathroom when I felt panicky or sick, but now I have a complete aversion to being near a toilet when I feel sick, my logic being that if I am near the toilet I WILL be sick. Weird.
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I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell.
I just thought I would put in my response to this, I have been terrified of getting sick in public or private or whatever. Just the thought of throwing up would make me cry for a long time. I used to get picked on about it for years when I was younger too. Which made it all worse. I still freak out if I start feeling sick but I didnt do too bad the last time I threw up which happened to be in public on the street. (how embarrassing) I don't know if I had gotten the flu or if I was hungover. I don't think I was hungover though because it didnt feel like I was. Anyways, now I am pregnant and feeling more anxious than I ever did before about throwing up because it is so common with pregnancy. I havent yet but just thinking about it still gets to me but I think it just takes time like everyone has said. I hope you can get help and that things get better for you soon.
I guess my biggest fear is throwing up around other people. Usually if I start feeling anxious, if I can just get away and be alone I am ok. Well, i don't know, I too start crying whenever I think I am really going to throw up. Sometimes I think the anticipation is the worst part of it. The thought of airsick bags make me sick too I never look in the seat pocket of airplanes because I don't want to see one and get reminded of why they are there. I think throwing up on an airplane might be the very very worst possible thing, therefore i HATE flying!
Natasha, I have 3 friends who have had babies in the last year or so and none of them threw up once. They got nauseous or yucky feeling every now and then but never once threw up. That is encouraging!
You guys that have emetophobia and anxiety, did it start for any particular reason, like after a traumatic event? That's what I can't figure out, is where the heck mine came from. I remember it started in 5th grade, all the sudden one day I was terrified of riding the bus, then i couldn't go anywhere without water (Like Junglemonkey), then I missed a ton of school, and so on and so forth until now (I'm 26). But nothing happened in particular that I can think of to cause it. So weird.
Coke huh? Interesting, I'll have to try it. Just regular Coke, once can a day? Yeah, I agree, barfing is most unpleasant, fortunately for most people it is just gross and doesn't cause them panic like me!
Also thanks for the advice about the syrup and kids. I want to have kids soon but am terrified of all their little stomach bugs they seem to get Don't want to pawn all that off on my hubby cause I can't handle it.
Yeah, although sometimes I have two. Like I said, an excuse because I really like Coke! I know it has too much sugar and calories. I try to stick to one because of that. I'm not sure, I haven't tried to buy the syrup in years I wonder if they still sell it at the pharmacy; my kids did outgrow the almost constant stomach bugs.
When i was younger someone threw up on my since then i get petrified if anyone says they feel sick, are sick near me or i feel sick. i have had thos for years it has been alot better since i went out one night and was very very drunk i ot carried away and nded up throwing up, and it wasnt as bad as i had built up to admittedly i hate throwing up but i seem to be better the more i acually throw up maybe the exposure thing is right!!!
I used to have that fear. I say 'used' to because when I fight vomiting, I feel a million times worse and it ALWAYS goes away after I vomit. (the stomach pains, nasuea, dizziness ect)
You guys that have emetophobia and anxiety, did it start for any particular reason, like after a traumatic event? That's what I can't figure out, is where the heck mine came from. I remember it started in 5th grade, all the sudden one day I was terrified of riding the bus, then i couldn't go anywhere without water (Like Junglemonkey), then I missed a ton of school, and so on and so forth until now (I'm 26). But nothing happened in particular that I can think of to cause it. So weird.
I really don't know. I think there could have been a lot of factors for me.
-When I was young I used to interpret panic attacks as "feeling sick".
-When I was younger I gave one of my friends a sweet and she threw up in front of me and, needless to say, I left her and ran into the house terrified.
-I used to get a school bus and one day this kid threw up all over the bus, it was gross, I can still remember it
But I think the main one....
-When I was 11, I threw up in front of my WHOLE school class into a bin. I remember it so vividly. I remember how I started feeling off and asked the teacher if I could go to the bathroom because I was feeling ill (draws parallels with what happens nowadays to be honest!) and I remember standing at the door completely terrified thinking if I was going to throw up and if I would make it to the bathroom. I ended up throwing up in the bin. There was no reason why I threw up that day, and I wonder if just maybe it had something to do with anxiety (I was suffering with it at the time anyway)
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I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell.
Natasha, I have 3 friends who have had babies in the last year or so and none of them threw up once. They got nauseous or yucky feeling every now and then but never once threw up. That is encouraging!
Just wanted to say thanks for the encouragement It makes me feel better that I have a chance of not actually getting horribly sick lol. If I do though I will have to try thinking of it as my body getting rid of "toxins" as my mom stated. I hope everyone is doing well
Mish-el, i do too. I totally panic if I am too far away from an exit or a bathroom!
Junglemonkey, i would say throwing up in front of your class is pretty traumatic! Just curious...are you an only child? Sometimes I wonder if that has anyhting to do with my fears, because I wasn't exposed to it as a normal part of childhood with siblings getting sick and stuff.
Nah I've got two siblings who are much older, so I guess in a way I am an only child *rolls eyes* lol. I can't actually remember any specific instances of them being sick, only me really. Apart from what I've already said, I can remember instances where vomiting has been extremely painful and embarassing, so I guess they have something to do with it too.
You're so right about the wanting to get out. I remember when I had my first panic attack in school I had no idea what had caused it but.... It was just after lunch, and I remember thinking where's the bin? (haha) And when I got out that class, I ran straight for the toilets. No surprises there? My wonderful therapist at the time had allsorts of wonderful, creative theories about me worrying about going out for dinner that night and feuds with my brothers fiance (which I was clearly thinking about in period 5 maths on a Thursday afternoon!). In retrospect, I was just bloody afraid of throwing up cause I had stomach pains!
I can't explain how good it is to finally be able to talk about this fear so if I ramble on stop me!! Everyone either thinks it's really weird or makes fun of it - i.e. makes "noises" etc.
How do your friends and family react to this? I have one friend who gets on my nerves about it. She knows I'm about to go for treatment yet persists in going on about being sick and making me very uncomfortable in ways I won't describe for your benefit. My mum didn't take it well when I 'fessed up - "are you going to the nutty doctor?"
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I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell.
LOL - "nutty dr?" Are you English? You guys say the funniest things. I had the same experience with the one psychologist I went to who drained me of $1,000 bucks and was no help at all. He kept telling me when I am in a panic/nausea inducing situation that I should just take frequent breaks to go outside (not a bad idea actually), distract myself by twiddling my thumbs and to breathe deeply. Gee thanks, I wish i could make $100 an hour for telling someone that junk
I am way too embarrassed to tell my friends and family that my panic and anxiety is actually caused from a puke phobia. I told my husband, but he pretty much interpreted it as just that i think puking is gross and don't like it. Sigh. You just can't explain it to people who haven't been through it, its difficult to understand. Plus, he thinks it feels good to "get it all out" when you feel icky and can't understand why I don't feel the same way. ugh. However, I have talked to a lot of people that have anxiety and panic about other stuff, like having a diarrhea attack away from home, or even "losing control" in general, so I guess if you could explain it that way to people, that makes them understand it better. The trick is somehow working that into a conversation to find out if they have any fears like that
The thing is, any phobia is going to sound strange to people who don't have it, so the key really is to find out what other people are deathly afraid of and say that is what throwing up is like for me!! I always say - imagine your worst fear - for most people it is being trapped in an elevator, drowning, etc. And I say ok, that is how I feel about throwing up, its just another phobia! I think most people would have a panic attack at minimum if they were drowning, or had a spider crawling up their arm or some such stuff.
One of the things that struck me about your post was that you said you had to have water with you everywhere you went. I used to think i was the weirdest person ever for doing that, and so did my fam, my teachers - they would actualy yell at me and tell me I could not bring water everywhere i went. I laughed and laughed when you said you had to do the same - makes me feel so good to know no matter what weird thing I am going through, there's got to be one other person in the world exactly the same!
