At what age did this phobia begin and

[ontariogirl]

I would like to know when this phobia started did your parents know? When did you share this phobia with your parents? How did they help you? I am just curious about this.

[kate1966]

Mine started around the age or 6 or 7.....i have never told my parents...biggest mistake ever...and they still don't know and I am soon to be 39 yrs old...in fact i have never told anyone in my life...except of course my friends on this site. Kate

[ontariogirl]

If you don't mind me asking Kate why didn't / haven't youtold your parents?

[kate1966]

I don't really know except that I have always gotten the feeling that my parents would think it was "silly"...if you know what I mean...don't get me wrong...they would probably understand now....and my parents are wonderful parents...very loving and caring.......but I just never felt like i could really tell them that...i guess i was embarassed or something.....Kat

[ladybug4789]

I've noticed that most people who aren't emetophobic (including many
therapists) dismiss it as silly...or just say "Well of course, who
likes to see someone v*?" and don't understand it.



As I posted on the LJ emetophobia community earlier, this is my first memory of being emetophobic:

<br style="font-style: italic;">

I think I first found out I was emetophobic in 8th grade (I'm entering
11th now) when we watched an Anne Frank biography video in class.
There's a scene where everyone in their train car starts v*ing, and I
started shaking uncontrollably and got very dizzy. My fingers are still
shaking a little as I type this and my heart is racing a little,
remembering that. I was shaky and weak-kneed for the rest of the day,
and when I discussed that with my friends they got confused as to why I
was so affected by it, they said they weren't affected at all besides
being a little grossed out.</span><br style="font-style: italic;">

[shereerenee]

My phobia started somewhere around fifth grade. To be honest, I didn't even know that my phobia was one that other people had as well until one night I decided to research it on the net. That's when I found this site. I was so excited to see that I wasn't alone and others were dealing with this just like I was. I told my mom about it shortly after I found it... and I even went as far as to ask her if she thought she had it as well because as long as I can remember, I never remembered my mom ever being sick... but I do know she hates seeing people v* like on t.v. or even in person. SO... I have concluded that I got this phobia from my mom. Thanks mom. Just kiddin!





Sheree

[wing]

I was 4 when I started being scared. It didnt get bad until I was 8 though. When I was four, I used to run when someone was sick but didnt ponder on it every minute. When I was eight then was when i started thinking of it every single minute of the day. Slowly got worse after that but no I didnt tell my parents. I told my mom last August but that was it. I'd complain sometimes of stomach aches and that I didnt feel well but that was all she knew. She took me to the doctors a few times and they didnt tell me anything useful other than I was fine. I didnt tell my parents because I was and still am a shy person. I am not comfortable telling people when i'm not well =) They just have to figure it out themselves.

[jennyleigh1975]

I think I was in fifth grade when my phobia started. I cant really pin-point any one thing that started it though. I dont think that I ever told my parents, they are both deceased now. My in-laws know, but of course, they dont understand. They try to be nice about it, but sometimes I get the feeling that they think it is silly.

[crystalmom]

I was 2 when this started for me. I DO know the reason I'm an emet...I was 2 years old, and decided that I wanted "candies" (Flintstone Vitamins). I climbed way up on top of the counter, got into the vitamins, and ate as many as I could. My mom soon discovered me, and phoned the hospital, then they told her to make me v* by sticking a spoon down my throat. She did, I bit her, and bent the spoon, meanwhile, my dad was gagging in the bathtub. I never did v*, but I have been pertrified ever since. Once, my mom got a sv, and she started to v*, I was about 4 or 5, and ran outside. It was -30*C, and snowing, I was in my pj's. I REFUSED to come near her. She threw a snowsuit at me, and called my grandparents, who came to get me. I always knew, and obviously so did my parents. I was so scared. If I ever did v*, I wouldn't wear the same pj's ever again, or sleep in the same sheets. This is still somewhat of a habit for me. I don't like to put my son in the same pj's after a bout with a sv. Does anyone else have this habit as well?


Crystal

[sillygirl]

I have the exact same pj and sheets habits! Even if my husband is sick with a certain set of sheets on the bed, I will never use them again!

[ontariogirl]

crystal when you mentioned about running outside when your mom was sick, I was like that to, but not only when some one in the family was ill, when I didn't feel well myself. The phobia hit me so hard that I had to sleep somewhere cold, I promised not to run away if they set a cot up for me in the porch. I always felt better being in the cold that way no germs would get me. I remember constantly asking mother to touch my my forehead to see if I am warm. My mother told me that when I was around 4 or so that I took a whack of baby asprins youknow those orange ones that tasted good, ended up getting my stomach pumped at the hospital I don't remember that at all.

[kate1966]

One time my sis came in drunk...I think I was in High School at the time...and I heard her get sick and smelled it...so from that night on...i decided I wasn't going to sleep in my house anymore...we have a screened in porch...so i slept out there with my radio and slept on a lounge chair...everyone in my family thought i had lost my mind...but insisted on sleeping out there....it made me feel so much better to know that if anyone got sick again...i would not hear it or smell it or know about it.....so that is my strange story...but i slept out there for an entire summer. Kate

[shiva]

Mine started when I was about 9-10. I would say that is when it turned from giving me a little anxiety into a phobia. My parents sucked at handling the situation. Till this day I hate that they have never even tried to understand the s*** I go through. I am 27 now and still hate them for how they dealt with me and my phobia. I heard things like "Get over it, people get sick.. Get a grip.. Boy, I'd love to have your problems.. I have a baby now to take care of, I cannot be bothered by this crap.. Grow up.. " And now they say things like.. "I hope you don't make Jade (my daughter) crazy like you.. What kind of mother is afraid of her sick child.." Nice, huh? License to parent??? I think so..

[ontariogirl]

Oh my god shiva that is horrible!!! No wonder you have ill feelings towards your parents.

[matchstix]

My parents told me that my phobia started when I was four, I had a
VERY messy V* experience in kindergarden which I still graphically
remember. My dad said I was fine until then but since I have been
severly phobic.. so thats.. um.. nearly 21 years [img]smileys/smilies_06.gif[/img]

[ontariogirl]

Do you think we keep this phobia to ourselves is because out of embarrassment? That we will be judged and thought of as being nutty?

[kate1966]

That is exactly what I believe Ontario!!!!! I think you hit the nail on the head....sad but true...Kate

[samara's on tv]

I knew I've had this for a very long time I just didn't know what it was called until about a month ago. Two or Three nights ago at the dinner table I mentioned my phobia and my sister turns and looks at me and says "Is this a new thing?" and my mom laughed and said "Where were you through her childhood? Don't you remember that when you got sick she couldn't even be on the same FLOOR as you?" So obviously it's not a new thing with me but I have NO idea when it started. I think it might have started when I was in kindergarten and a kid got sick and he had to be taken away in an ambulance...I later found out that he had appendicitus but ever since then I've related V*ing to something very bad.


~Monica

[crystalmom]

One of my things too, is that I have to sleep on the couch. Even if I'm only anxious, I need to be on the couch with a movie going. Some movies that calm me are "Bug's Life" and "Harry Potter"....yup, I'm 28 years old....[img]smileys/smilies_05.gif[/img].


Shiva that is horrible the way your parents treated, and continue, to treat you. We are here for you, and none of us are crazy!!


Crystal

[shiva]

Wow! I have to sleep on the couch and watch t.v. when I am sick or anxious, too. Usually for me it's Nick at Night.


Thanks everyone for the support.


I think it's especially hard because unless someone else is like us, there are no words to explain the fear and the feelings that imprison our minds. It's easy to say "just get over it". Don't they think if it were that easy we would have done it by now?

[matchstix]

Wierd thing is - I really don't keep my phobia to myself, its usually
one of the first things i tell people about myself just in case anything i
can't deal with crops up and i flip out, at least they've been given a
prior explanation!! No one has ever treated me badbly because of it,
all my friends tried really hard whilst we were growing up to get me
out the room if it was happening to someone or leave early with me,
i guess ive been lucky... my dad is a bit scared of it too so hes
always been really understanding.. Though straying off the subjuct
for one second, the only time he has been sick since i was
born(25yrs ago) i just happened to be sitting next to him!! what are
the chances??!!!!!! [img]smileys/smilies_10.gif[/img]

[ontariogirl]

I kept quiet until I found out that I have a phobia, than I became angry that some nit-wits at the local mental health told me that I am afraid to gag and puke is because I was molested when I was younger and I am suppressing it (not true). That ticked me off. So now I am very vocal about it and that makes me feel better within myself

[ontariogirl]

This is wierd I was talking to my friend and she was telling me about her friend who has a daughter who is 10, who is petrified of vomiting, freaks out when some one in the house is sick, refuses to go to school she is afraid of being sick or seeing some one else being sick, who is constantly asking her mother if she is warm!! She asked me if it is ok to tell this person about me and I said go for it so I will be waiting for her phone call. My heart goes out to this kid.

[crystalmom]

That little girl sounds just like me when I was a kid. Heck, I still do that...."Mom, do I look sick? Mom, do I feel warm to you?" It just stays with you. I feel bad for this little girl, b/c noone will really understand (aside from another emet) what it is really like. Most people just say, "Yeah, so? I don't like to v* either." It is so much more than that. So much deeper.


I hope that this family does contact you, b/c just knowing there are others like you, others who relate to how you are feeling, other who can truely empathize with you, can truely make a world of difference.


Let us know, if you are able. Let this little girl know we are here, and we are thinking of her!


Crystal

[runninchick762]

heyyy...this is my very first post in here. It's currently 2:08 in the morning and i have been having just a terrible weekend with my anxiety. I am only 16 years old and have had a huge fear of v* since as long as i can remember. I think that when i was in preschool a boy in my class got sick and it terrified me. Ever since then, i have not been able to stand being around it. Not until tonight did i know the name of this fear, emetophobia, and i never knew so many other people suffered from it. This has always been a huge burden to me, and i remember being afraid to ride the bus (and still am) to school or on feild trips because people in my class had gotten sick on there.I still remember my mom taking me out to the bus and me bawling because i was afraid to ride. To this day, i always have to sit up in the front so i am closest to the exit, god forbid something happen. My friends have been good about it for the most part, always hiding puke from me if it happens or taking me out of the classroom, although some of them played a prank last year and paid a kid in our class to eat too much at Olive Garden on a feildtrip then make himself throw up on the bus. He did it and i spent an hour on the bus with my feet on the seat, bawling, eyes shut, nose plugged, music on, and window down for fresh air. It was the absolute worst nightmare of my life, and when it was done i made them open up the emergency exit so i could get off. This fear is also making me want to not have kids, for fear of morning sickness, but after reading thr forum on that tonight, i realize that having kids is so worth it, and anyways, that is awhile off for me. As a result of my emet, ive suffered extreme panic disorder whenever i feel sick at all. I get all shaky and dont want to breathe too much cuz it makes my stomach feel gross like i may throw up, then i get dizzy and feel entirely helpless..it is absolutely impossible to discribe unless you've experienced it. Unike most people, i don't have a fear of being around a lot of people, and now i have gotten over my stage fear and love acting in drama productions or singing on stage. I do, however, sometimes experience claustrophobia which leads to panic attacks in crowds.


Honestly, I feel like i would rather get shot 10 times and die than ever throw up, i haven't v* since i was in 4th grade, and pray to God that i never again do. When i was younger i wanted it to be my goal to create a pill so i could never throw up and it would be assured. Anyone know of anything like this...that would be great-ha!


Anyway, it's getting quite late but i figured i would give a breif thing about me for everyone on here, and i'm so glad to finally find a place where people understand how i feel! I know that no one likes to puke, see puke, or smell puke...but an emet's fear goes far worse than that.


p.s. these are some weird things about me...curious if anyone else share's these habits...


*if i do feel sick, i will eat york peppermint patties and crackers to make myself feel better, and i cannot just lay in bed, i have to be up


*i will not go near a toilet...it's like i'm surrendering to the fact that i might puke, and that is certainly not what i want to do


*i can somewhat handle puke like at our festival we just had at school, some people rode rides then puked in front of me...and i did alright (err sort of) but then they puked somewhere else, and although they cleaned it, i refused to walk over that spot the entire weekend...i hate this though, its like a crazy disease that controls your life...help [img]smileys/smilies_12.gif[/img]

[princessmel]

I was nine and in the third grade when mine started. I started getting this gagging feeling all of the time. I hated it. I still get it, but just ignore it now b/c I know it's all in my head and anxiety related. I would miss a lot of school b/c of it. My mom would ask me what was wrong, and I told her. She knew right away that it was anxiety, but she didn't know that I was afraid of vomiting. I told her I think about a few years ago or so. It wasn't that long ago. When I was in 4th grade, I think that's when it was the worst. I went home a lot. My teacher tried talking to me, and I told her I was afraid of it, and how I was feeling all of the time, but she didn't get it. Oh Well. Things are better now, thank goodness.

[shiva]

Ontariogirl,


I cannot believe that you were misdiagnosed like that. What a bunch of crap! Glad you got things cleared up.

[eah105]

Wow, after reading all your posts, I just keep feeling better and better about this phobia - far from being cured, but less embarrassed, I guess. I don't have the fear of getting sick myself, although I rarely do. I think the last time I had the flu was in the 7th grade, and I'm 23 now. My entire fear rests with other people getting sick. And it keeps me from enjoying things I like to do sometimes. ILOVE roller coasters, but I won't ride the ones that I think other people might possibly get sick on near me. I pay very close attention to what other people standing in line talk about. If anyone mentions anything about, "well, I dunno if I can handle this one, but I'm gonna try it".....I'm out...gone....won't ride it. Ido the whole avoidance thing too, just like you, Kate.I live with my boyfriend in an apt right now, and he got sick outside the other day, but didn't tell me about it, hoping I wouldn't notice, since he knows how afraid of that I am. Isaw it and smelled it the next morning, and now I won't walk in the front yard. I made him cover it up, and I still avoid that spot. Maybe that's why I like the rain so much - it washes away all the bad things...

[hippychick]

Well I don't know when it started, I thought it was when I was 6 but my mum remembers me panicking when I was even younger than that. I have always had a thing about getting sick, I wouldn't eat in the school dinner hall when I was 6 lol So my Mum has always known about it. But she didn't know how much it affected me until one day I blurted it out and since then she has been fab. She is always 100% honest if she is going to get sick, she will stay away from me, clean the bathroom and never expects me to be there. Sometimes I feel bad, but getting sick to her is nothing so she doesn't mind. She will accomodate some of my behaviours (like me making my own food or carrying hand wash) but is the first to tell me when I am out of control.


I have one memory (kinda graphic) when I was lil (like 5) my mum was sick and i went into the bathroom and she asked me to rub her back, I turned and ran for my life LOL


I tell my friends right off that I don't cope when people get sick and not to do it around me and as a result they don't LOL I was out with a friend and this woman got sick which i saw but my friend didnt mention it in case i hadnt seen it, bless her.


I hid this for so long, now I tell anyone who will listen. I was called weird by a psychiatric nurse and a Dr and I couldn't take it. I was told I was depressed and anorexic and it Pissed me off because no one would listen to what was going on.


I don't always tell people how much it affects me, but I tell them it does, I always say it in a jokey way but at the same time they understand. Edited by: hippychick

[ontariogirl]

What really pisses me off (excuse the language) is that there are so many people out there who have this phobia andthey don't know that this is a phobia.This phobiausually starts when we are very young and no one has a clue what it is and by that I mean doctor's (shrinks). I know when this started for me it was 31 years ago and doctors didn't know squat with what was happening to me but now it is 2005, it's like wake up doctors!! I talked to the parent of the little girl and she was very thankful, she is taking her to the doctor and hopefully he can send her to a doctor who can help her with this. I know there is an anxiety clinic and the hospital for Sick Kids so my fingers are crossed that she will get the help that she needs.
There are some doctors who are out there who just love giving out medication but they don't get it, that is just putting a band-aid on the problem. I think the doctors out there should be better informed of this phobia, because as I see it there are going to be more and more people having this and whoknows one day this phobia will be number 1 on the list. Look at how many of us who didn't realize that we have a phobia?? I was teased and tormented so much by classmates in public school and that stays with you for a long time, it brings your self-esteem down, you feel that you are a freak, its not fair.