I'm 27 years old right now, and I just started graduate school. I've been scared to death of throwing up for as long as I can remember and I feel like it's only getting worse. The first thing I think of every morning when I wake up is whether or not I feel sick, and if I do (which is often) I won't eat for hours and hours. And then, when I do eat, I immediately start worrying again about whether I'll be sick. Every time I panic about it, I feel exhausted afterwards.

I've heard that this is a very common phobia, but I've never met anyone who really has it, and most people don't understand it. All of my friends and family say that "Oh, I dislike that too," but it really is controlling my life at a time when I need to be concentrating on other things. And being away from my family and friends doesn't help because when I'm freaking out about being sick there's no one I can really talk to, and then I just feel alone and depressed. Does anyone else feel this way? I'm really starting to get desperate. Please let me know if others feel this way too!