I am 18 years old and a freshman in college. I can talk about vomit and hear stories about it all i want. I can even tolerate seeing puke as long as the person who puked is not near it..i prefer not to see it at all though. I have had two panic attacks in the past 6 months regarding vomit. One was while I was volunteering at a summer camp and there was a stomach virus going around. I had a panic attack because the girl whose bed was next to mine had it and I was afraid I would catch it. The second panic attack was while I was at school and my roommate came back drunk and I was terrified she was going to puke when I heard her cough but thankfully she never puked. I refuse to go out to parties because I am so afraid someone will puke from too much drinking...I also do not like to be around people who drink because I am afraid of that. It prevents me from meeting people and that bothers me. I also believe it is a control thing because I have no control over puking whether I am the one getting sick or it is someone around me. I like having control over situations. Also, if someone has the stomach flu and has puked in the toilet, I will not use that toilet for at least a week even if it was cleaned thoroughly. The noises of coughing, hiccuping, choking, gagging, or puke hitting a surface are the worst and cause my body to start to panic. I sometimes have to plug my ears or blast music to block it out. I wish I was not afraid of puke and that I just thought it was disgusting and nothing more but that is not the case! I have been struggling with this for as long as I can remember and I think it has only gotten worse since I have been away at school. It does not affecting my eating thankfully, at least at this point. When people find out I have a fear of puke a lot of people will say me too, i dont like it but they just do not understand that there is a difference between thinking its gross and having a panic attack and anxiety over it. I also tend to scan every place I go for people to be near trash cans or to say they have a stomach ache. If someone says they have a stomach ache or feel nauseous I begin to panic and think of what I will do if they start to feel worse. It is awful and I hate it and would definitely change it if I could but that is just the way I am. I just found this website today and am so glad there are many people out there to relate to..I have found stories like mine already!