Not sure what to do

[Noobiphobic]

Hello, my name is Collin, and I'm 13 years old, 14 next month. I discovered I had emetophobia about 2 months ago when I caught the Norovirus, I've been sick multiple times when I was younger but before the Norovirus I had been fine with being sick. I remember one time when I had just been sick, the same night I tried eating pizza, you all know how that ended. But it was something about this recent illness that just broke me down, I haven't felt actually good since I got it, any time I feel a little bit queesy I just get completely freaked out that I'm going to v* for the rest of the day and a couple days after that. My family isn't too supportive either, my siblings think I'm just a hypochondriac, my mother thinks I just have Adjustment Disorder so she gets angry with me whenever I try to talk to her about it, and my father is to busy with work. I've been reading about how some of you have been living with emetophobia your entire lives, I don't know if I should get therapy before this becomes worse then what it is already or if I should just wait it out like my mother wants me to. I just don't know if I can handle living with this phobia.

[silent]

Hi Collin, I'm a teen too (16). That sucks that your family isn't too supportive of you. I would recommend getting therapy if it's bothering you. There's a possibility of them taking you more seriously if a therapist tells them the severity of your phobia. I don't understand why your mother would get upset at you even if you had Adjustment Disorder. Hoping for the best for you.

silent

[Noobiphobic]

Argh, whenever I try to talk about it they don't listen and just get pissed off at me, it's really frustrating how they don't understand how I feel.

[Lisa22]

silent's suggestion seems pretty good. If you see a therapist, he'll explain to your parents that emetophobia is a real disorder that can become debilitating. This doesn't mean that the therapy will work (it's hard for me to imagine how it can), but at least your family will start taking your condition more seriously and be more understanding, supportive, and accommodating.

I've been suffering from this phobia since I was 4, after a very severe food poisoning that put me in a hospital for two weeks. I'm 45 now, and I can tell you that this thing has always been with me, although the intensity varies greatly: when I'm confronted with situations that could expose me to vomit or information that reminds me of it, I get in a state of panic and feel almost sick; otherwise I'm relatively okay. We, emets, spend a lifetime on learning how to avoid the exposure and how to protect ourselves. For example, I know that I'm moderately prone to motion sickness, so I'd never go on a boat, a helicopter, a small airplane, a rollercoaster, or would never read in a car; I'd always take Gravol before going on a large plane. I'm extremely careful at what I eat -- food is divided into "safe" and "dangerous" categories in my mind (although anything can be dangerous with norovirus around). For example, I' wouldn't eat oysters, any type of undercooked meat, and tend to avoid seafood in general. So, you see, emetophobia puts great limitations on what you allow yourself to do. It even limits your career choices: I could never be a doctor, nurse, policeman, social or addictions worker, pilot, sailor, marine biologist, janitor, person who works in a clinic, hospital, school, hotel, or restaurant in any capacity, a person that has to deal with children, etc. It's also very hard to be a parent. Despite all the negative aspects of having emetophobia, there are some pros: we usually don't drink, smoke, do drugs, or become overweight, and we tend to keep ourselves and our environment extremely clean. For example, I'd only drink 1/4 glass of wine in social situations, and I avoid people who drink and places where they drink; I've never touched drugs or smoked for the fear of getting sick; I hate eating out and going to parties; my house is spotless.
The hardest thing to control, and what always puts me on edge, is information about norovirus outbreaks and people talking about how they were sick with "stomach flu". When I come in contact with someone who's been recently sick -- and by "recently" I mean within the last three weeks -- I stop eating altogether and for the next 72 hours only drink water and black tea. This way I'm trying to make sure that if I've contracted the virus, my stomach would be empty when I vomit, which will make it easier to endure, in my opinion. Now, this is very irrational, since based on my blood type, I'm probably immune to the most common type of norovirus (Norwalk virus). I try to learn everything I can about norovirus and how a person can protect himself, and I can't wait for the vaccine to become available (it should be on the market within 5 years).
Good luck to you, as this is a long and lonely journey.

[Endymion]

Do everything in your power to try and get it taken care of while you are still young. I have been living with emetophobia for most of my life and it can be crippling. You don't want to lose jobs or relationships over your phobia and the resulting anxiety and depression that it can spawn. The other suggestions here are good ones, try and get to a therapist. I'm 27 and haven't been to a therapist for my phobia but I am going to now. It might get better on it's own but is it worth taking a chance on that? I hope you can convince your mom about the severity of your phobia and get in front of someone who can help you.

Good luck!

[Noobiphobic]

Well, she is strongly against therapy and doesn't want me on any meds. She said if I do yoga every day for a month and don't see any improvement, she will get me help. So I'm starting today and going to hope for the best. Anyone know if yoga will actually help?

[KaydeeJayde]

It could do. Sometimes physical exercise can do wonders for anxiety. Are you an active person usually? Also, yoga is calming and the yoga breathing will be amazingly good for anxiety in general. It's a matter of what works for some might not work for others though. Worth a try though

[out_of_order]

Can you speak to a school counselor or a trusted teacher? Do you have a spiritual counselor you could talk to? What about a good friend or two? Some other family member like a grandparent, aunt or uncle? Sometimes support from someone you trust makes a world of difference, and especially if it's an adult, that person might be able to convince your mother that you need help.

[Noobiphobic]

I'm homeschooled so I don't get out much, and I doubt the few friends I have would understand. I only see my extended family maybe 2 or 3 times a year, and I'm not to close with them. And as I've said before, my mother doesn't really understand this isn't just a phase I need to get through, this is something I need to adjust my entire life for, even just thinking about it sucks, I'm not sure how I'm going to get her to understand that.