Is Emetophobia just a fear of losing control?

[asqueenqs]

The scariest part of V* to me is thst I have absolutely no control over what my body is doing during the process. I'm also scared of flying, because I'm a helpless passenger(not in control-also ties in with v*), and lately I've had a fear of having a seizure or losing my mind, which are both totally irrelevant. I know they will never happen, but it's the loss of control that I'm afraid of.

[nendre]

it's completely the same with me, both emet and flying. my emet started because you can't control v*, and if it hapens when there are other people around, i will appear weak, which is total nonsese, but i just couldn't help it. nice to know i'm not the only one who has this fear because of wanting total control

[Elski]

Loss of control and emet do seem to go hand in hand. I'm taking part in a study into emetophobia at the moment and a big part of it is looking into the loss of control element. When the results of the study are out, I'll post them up here....

[progeriac]

I think for a lot of people it is. Maybe not for all emets, but for me it certainly is. It's weird but if I was told that someone would give me like, 100 dollars, to make myself throw up right now, I might do it. Because I can control that. But the thought of waking up in the middle of the night and getting sick is horrifying. I think it really is about a lack of control because I'm afraid of a lot of other things that involve a loss of control, like fainting. Ugh. But maybe that's also because some people faint and then throw up. Heh, well, whatever.

[PinkP]

For me its a combination of loosing control, but also that others may see me and think I`m disgusting.

[bixzy]

I don't think for me it's about losing control. Because the times I have v*, it was very little and only one time. Even when I was younger, so to me that means I have very much control over my body even when I'm at that state.

I don't really know why I'm so afraid of v* actually. I know that I hate being n*, it scares me. I hate that feeling you get before you v* and the dry heaves more then the actual v* its self.

[ejb199]

ive always had this theory yes. i often used to worry about passing out in the car while driving and losing control, causing a crash etc. what has helped me with emet is telling myself im ALWAYS in control. even if im on a plane and im sick. im still in control. i.e i can leave my seat, go to the loo etc etc etc

[JaneGoodallFan]

ive always had this theory yes. i often used to worry about passing out in the car while driving and losing control, causing a crash etc. what has helped me with emet is telling myself im ALWAYS in control. even if im on a plane and im sick. im still in control. i.e i can leave my seat, go to the loo etc etc etc

but how? sometimes you cant stop...like its not 1 time...you cant stop it..so hows it control?

[kaiilyn_23]

I think for me that's it, partially. I always have a fear of losing control of things. I mean not like, "I have to have things this way," more so of... "What if I go on this roller coaster, it loses control and crashes?" I'm SO freaked about those things. And things like alcohol and drugs (would never do drugs anyway,) like what they'll do to your mind. I'm so freaked about all that sort of stuff, before emet even started, so it makes sense. I also hate the vomit itself; like not the act, but seeing it... it scares me, lol. But also losing control and not being able to control myself.

[IceMaiden]

My fear is focussed on feeling ill, I don't care about control, or even if I'm ill in public, I hate feeling ill so much, I just want to relief from the feeling, worse thing in the world.

[Mumof2]

Control is definitely a keyword here. I have a CBT book and it explains that we don't actually have any control as to whether we are sick or not. So if it's going to happen it will and no rituals we do will stop it. I know that if I eat safe foods I'll think that I now won be sick because I've not had anything bad but that's not true. You have to accept the fact that you can avoid sickness so you might aswell not avoid eating the foods you like etc. It's quite a good lesson to learn that sickness is out of your hands

[haylz113]

I don't care about losing control. I have the same loss of control sometimes when I have an upset stomach and I have to d*. I can't really control sneezing either. Same with having to pee. You can't hold it in forever. All stuff that you can't control. Am I scared of any of those things? Nope. So I don't see how my being scared of v* is being scared of losing control. My fear is more about seeing or hearing others v*.... nothing to do with self control. I hate it because it is a ridiculous fear. Why should I care if other people are being sick? It doesn't affect me. Especially people who v* because they are drunk, which are the main ones I am afraid of. I never go out because of it. *sigh*

[Rose22]

My emet is totally tied to a loss of control, I've even had some real OCD issues in the past. But I also just fear it in general. I'm afraid of doing it in front of people or in an unfamiliar place but don't know why because I don't embarrass easily?

[Paisley]

Definitely a loss of control, fear of the unknown, and being embarrassed, but for me emetophobia is also something that gives me a legitimate reason for getting out of doing things I'm not comfortable with or don't want to do.