I'm 37 and I've had emetophobia for as long as i can remember going back to early childhood. But, mine seems to come and go in intensity. A couple of years ago, I rarely worried about it--I worked with kids, I rode public transit, I drank a little too much sometimes--I even skipped washing my hands before eating once in a while!
In my late teens, however, I was a basket case. I could barely eat, witnessing somebody being sick would send me into a total panic for hours. It was heinous.
In my early 20's it faded. I moved away from home, I made new friends, I relaxed and I stopped worrying so much. I even got over seeing other people get sick.
And lately, it's been really intense again. I started grad school last fall, I moved to a new city and for the past few months, it's been a lot of work for me to live normally. it's hard to eat, it's hard to differentiate between "butterflies" in my stomach and "real" nausea. I sit by the classroom door, I carry Pepto to class with me. I have a hard time going to sleep. There have been no clear triggers that I'm aware of, just a general increase in my fears.
Next week, I'm going away for spring break--flying all the way across the country, staying in an unfamiliar place and obsessing over what to eat, what to do if i get sick. Oh, and on top of that, I'm taking an antibiotic for a sinus infection and obsessing over how that may affect me. AND, there's a stomach virus going around my school--and I'm obsessing that I've been infected and won't know until I'm on the plane....
But I'm going anyway. That's the good news--it might be a lot of work to live normally, but I'm making it happen. There's nothing going on right now that I haven't done before--without being sick.
So, I guess I'm writing this to reassure myself that things are going to be fine, but also to let others know that living a normal life is possible. (If anybody wants an emetophobe's travel tips, let me know!).
Does anybody else notice their fears ebbing and flowing like mine? With not clear-cut triggers?