Is your emetophobia like mine?

[prettyinpink]

My emetophobia:

Doesn't make me extremely germaphobic. This might be because my mom has always kept our home very, very clean...

For some reason I'm not afraid of 'catching' anything from people...I haven't had a virus since I was very young. Whenever my family gets sick, it's usually a cold or something. I don't have a fear of spreading germs.

I am not afraid to go out to eat...I have never had any bad experiences in restaurants. Sometimes, when entering a public bathroom, I will wonder if someone inside is sick, so I enter with caution.

I avoid house parties like the plague. If I'm at a nightclub, I avoid the bathroom (drunk people get sick in there).

I avoid certain types of movies. When seeing a movie that I suspect COULD have a "v* scene", I ask people about it ahead of time. If they say that there is a v* scene, I have to know exactly when to expect it. If someone v* unexpectedly in a movie, it SCARES me. It doesn't gross me out, it scares me.

I always worry about going on airplanes or buses. I tend to keep my headphones in the whole time. If there is a person around me who is sick, I tend to monitor them the whole time, making sure I will be able to tell at what moment they may be sick.

I can't STAND the sound. The sound scares me. When people make a sudden movement when they are about to be sick, it scares me. My heart rate speeds up very fast, I cover my ears, and I make a break for it.

According to my mom, the first time she remembers me freaking out was when I was in a long car ride with her, my grandmother, and my younger sister...I was 5, she was 3. We had just stopped to eat at Burger King. Once we were back in the car, she announced that she had to ''t.u."...Then, she v* all over the place, there was no way out for me, I was just stuck there, and it just kept coming out! It was a very traumatizing experience.
I guess ever since then, I have just flipped out about it.

My reaction is to RUN away from it. Even if a cat has a hairball, I freak out.

[JustLacey]

I lol'd about the hairball bit, I freak out about that too! My cousin and me (you can read it in other places, she's very s.v prone) v* all over in the back of the car, right next to me. That sort of gave my emet a little nudge. And then it ALL started.....Uuuuurgh. I hate emet xxxxxx

[Rebecca85]

Yep, that pretty much sums me up. I am not scared of v'ing myself (I get anxious when I know it's coming but it's not a full blown phobia). However, I find it very difficult to be in situations where v is likely (anywhere with alcohol, travelling, fairground rides, bathrooms etc). I will be constantly checking for signs of v or unwell people. I also jump and my heart beats really fast if someone coughs, if my boyfriend gets up in the night, or if I see v on TV. Even if someone spills a drink! I think for me, the sound is the worst part. And when it happens suddenly. But I have been doing a lot better lately!

[griffdiz]

This is how I am too. I also never used to be a germaphobe until I recently caught a sv and so did my husband so now I am super paranoid about being clean and not spreading things to people.

[NatalyKay]

I'm almost the exact same way; I'm not a germaphobe and I can easily go out with no problem, I always study the people around me who might be sick, and I can't stand the sound. It makes ME feel sick, and I start to feel sorry for the person who IS sick.

However, my phobia really started when I was 10, after having e coli bacterial poisoning from my school's meat. Before, I never cared about myself v*ting. I used to make myself v* when I was choking, just so I could stop choking (probably not a good idea but I was a kid, what did I know?)

[turbokinetic]

My emetophobia only was concerned with ME getting sick. That gave me fear and terrible anxiety. This is the part I have overcome and that no longer rules my life.

I still get a butterflies feeling and my heart speeds up when someone talks about getting sick. Words like "puke" "barf" and even "ipecac" and such will cause butterflies.

But that is not fear, just a curiousity! Next feeling is empathy and want to comfort and help the person to feel better.

That's me!

David

[prettyinpink]

It's interesting to see how many people have similar fears.

@david- i too am afraid of throwing up. on the few occasions where i felt like it was going to happen, i had to take deep breaths until i was fine.

[turbokinetic]

It's interesting to see how many people have similar fears.

@david- i too am afraid of throwing up. on the few occasions where i felt like it was going to happen, i had to take deep breaths until i was fine.

I've been lucky. I've only got nauseous and puked 3 times ever in my life. The last time was 20 years ago. None of the 3 times was ever food, it was just watery stuff.

Getting over this would have been harder on me if I had a barf-prone constitution!

Sincerely,
David

[chloerose]

My emetophobia is more about me getting sick rather than anyone else. Though, if I am around someone who says they feel sick, I do start feeling panicky and look for escape routes to get away from them. I am calmer when I know that it is something I can't catch although I am not super germaphobic.

Mine started from when I was 2 or 3 and was very sick after eating too much corn smothered in butter (still don't go near corn to this day). This would have been fine but my dad left not long after this and the last memory I have is this particularly nasty one. This made me think that the reason he left was because of me getting sick. I know it's ridiculous but children tend to blame themselves for things like this as they don't understand things fully. My mother has not been much help either as every time I was sick, she would get angry with me. My emetophobia didn't start until I was 13 though. Growing up, I was fine. But then my dad came back and it happened to coincide with getting Glandular Fever (and stomach ulcers from the meds). All of a sudden I was afraid to go to school in case I got sick and would misinterpret silly things like hunger as nausea. Over the years it has come and go. I would have months of feeling fine and going to pubs and movies with no problems and then something would happen and I'd be back in the same place, freaking out about this completely irrational fear. Currently it is at its worst. I am too scared to leave the house, even going to the corner dairy is a struggle. I am constantly on the look out for exits in case I need to leave suddenly. It's horrible and is really starting to get me down.

[bluebirdee15]

Mine is KIND OF like Chloerose's.
My Emetephobia:
If someone around me isn't feeling well I will try my hardest to avoid them. I'm more scared about ME getting scared than anyone else. It used to be the other way around, and I was more scared of someone around me getting sick, but not anymore. Now its both. I CAN eat in resturaunts...I hate going into public toilets at theme parks, incase someone feels sick from a ride...I CAN go to movie cinemas...etc. Just like Chloerose, SOMETIMES my mother gets frustrated when i freak out. When at school I almost always wash my hands before i eat. I'm a little afraid of germs but not too over the top. Sometimes I look at my life and tell myself not to worry about getting sick because it doesnt happen often. Recently i have tried eating really healthy, as it would make the chances of getting sick go down a little bit. Well thats me ... Oh and I get all superstitious about it. I never do the same things as I did when I got sick... and just silly superstitions. I also get really shaky, and sweaty, and my heart races when i am at the scene of someone or me V*ing. Yep...Thats all me.

[hairyfairy]

I`m just the same, if anyone even hints that they might get sick, or says that they feel ill in any way, I get very anxious indeed, & if anyone does V in front of me, I get palpitations & just want to run away. In fact, I remember doing just that when I was 8, & a boy at school Vted near me. I remember the teacher shouting at me & telling me not to be silly.