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View Poll Results: Do you have a parent/carer with emetophobia

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  • yes

    3 13.04%
  • no

    20 86.96%
Results 1 to 13 of 13
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    50

    Default Will my children be emetophobic?

    I'm now starting to worry that my children will pick up on my reactions and develop emetophobia. How many of you have emet parents/carers?

  2. #2

    Default Re: Will my children be emetophobic?

    With emetophobics, I think most of our reactions occur in our heads....when we're nervous about vomiting, don't our minds race? Or our hearts begin to pound? We shake and tremble? Not all of these reactions are easily picked up by those around us....haha I would know, I've suffered from extreme anxiety attacks in a room full of people and no one even noticed.

    Children will probably understand if someone doesn't like to be around a vomiting person, or if someone openly avoids a situation that may cause them to vomit....remember that kids don't like vomiting any more than we do! They find it "yucky" and would rather avoid a vomiting person, too....so even if you were to exhibit these emet behaviors in front of them, I don't think they'd automatically be destined to develop this phobia, too. They'll probably just think, "Well, mom/dad is squeamish and hates puke!" That's easy enough for them to admit without attributing vomiting or vomit with something traumatic like we do.

    I mean, my mom has been terrified of roaches all her life, and she would freak out/panic in front of us (my sister and me) whenever a large one crawled across the floor....but, even though my sister and I both hate roaches, we don't have a full-out phobia of them like my mom does. I can understand why some phobias can be picked up through learned-behavior or a condition stimulus, but that may not always happen with every family or with every phobia. =)

    Luckily, no one else in my family is emetophobic....they all have stomachs of steel, and my mom especially is not squeamish....except with roaches.
    Panic at the thought of doing something is a challenge to do it.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    1,051

    Default Re: Will my children be emetophobic?

    My mom and siblings are all emet to varying extents, IMO. I know my sister is afraid of other people v*, and is a teacher, and sends kids out of the room if they say they are feeling sick, but says she deliberately tries to act calm about it so kids don't use it as an excuse to get out of class knowing she's hypersensitive about it.

    I'm hoping therapy can at least help me not pass this along to kids. :\ It's bad enough I suffer, I don't want to hurt my future children as well.
    "I'm not supposed to be like this, but it's okay" -- The Wrong Child, R.E.M.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Posts
    4,577

    Default Re: Will my children be emetophobic?

    Some kids of emetophobes become emetophobic; others don't. I have three grown kids and they can all throw up no problem! But some of my clients become devastated when they see that their kids are afraid of vomiting too. I guess it depends on other factors.
    For more info about emetophobia and treatment:

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    DISCLAIMER ~ Any advice I give on this forum is well-intentioned and given as to a peer or friend or for educational purposes. It does not in any way constitute psychotherapeutic or medical advice. Please discuss anything you may learn from my posts with your doctor and psychotherapist prior to making any decisions or changes or taking any actions.



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  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Colorado, USA
    Posts
    50

    Default Re: Will my children be emetophobic?

    Well, It's supposed to be genetic, but I have a lot of relatives and not one of them has emet of an anxiety disorder like me. You should probably be careful around kids though, If they see that you are scared then they might get scared too. Sometimes I'm afraid I'm rubbing off on my kid sister. I think though, if we try our best to keep level headed when around kids, they should be fine.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    77

    Default Re: Will my children be emetophobic?

    I have no idea why I'm the only one in my family who is an emet. I come from a family that would sooner laugh about it or not react at all. My mom would always be there with the person to hold the bucket for them, or my brother would sit there in the same room and keep eating if someone was sick. My cousins, aunts, uncles... as far as I know, all completely normal. They all wonder why I cover my eyes during vomit scenes in movies and why I run away if someone is going to be sick. I think I got it because I still got a negative reaction that I interpreted as severe disapproval and disappointment, if not disgust. Whenever I would get sick as a child, sometimes the adults around me would get really mad as if it was something that I could control. It made me depressed and anxious all the time until eventually I developed emet.
    destroy what destroys you

  7. #7

    Default Re: Will my children be emetophobic?

    My mum, and her mum were both emet too, but my sister is not at all. I don't think it's 'genetic' but I think the reaction that parents have when it's happening (e.g. calm and normal versus psycho emet panic!) REALLY affects kids in terms of whether they see being sick as ok or terrifying. I'm going to try SO hard to stay calm and rational with my kids to try and break the chain, because life must be so much easier without this!

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Posts
    2,851

    Default Re: Will my children be emetophobic?

    I think since emet stems from so many different causes and sources we can't truly say. I am trying to avoid showing any fear near my little ones (even though I used to dress like a surgeon to clean my daughter's messes). But my parents and my brothers and sisters never had emetophobia and I somehow did. I think it was rooted after all five of my siblings and I got food poisoning when I was like 3. My daddy was out of the house and my momma spent two days taking care of us all and it was non stop vomit/diarrhea for 48 and I shared a bedroom with two of them aha. Is it any wonder I have always feared others more than myself? The best thing to do with your own children as a deterrent is just try to be calm and keep them comfy so they keep the mentality that it is normal. If you panic chances are they might panic easier too; but it's not indicative of them getting emet.
    Life is so worth living.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    1,921

    Default Re: Will my children be emetophobic?

    My own mother is emet but only I followed in her footsteps and am emet too. My older sister is 'normal' and I made a point of never showing my daughter how much it bothered me when she was little and she doesnt suffer with it. I think Im like this cos I remember my mother freaking out whenever me or my sis got sick as kids, not that she did it on purpose she just couldnt deal with it and would get my dad to look after that part of illness though she was always there afterwards to cuddle us.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Washington, USA
    Posts
    76

    Default Re: Will my children be emetophobic?

    I pretty sure I'm the only one with emet, but I do know that anxiety is rampant through both sides of my family... I have 8 half-brothers/sisters and each of us have a different form of anxiety along with our parents.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Posts
    6

    Default Re: Will my children be emetophobic?

    My four children are fine with v......ing. However two of my granddaughters, both in the same family, seem to be developing emetophobia. I have always been very careful not to display my fear of v.......ing in front of any of my family, so this seems to have just sprung up with these 2 girls. Their third sister is fine and thinks they're funny when they get hysterical and carry on if she's sick.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    south of england
    Posts
    6

    Default Re: Will my children be emetophobic?

    my parents weren't emet and never understood my phobia. there have been loads of times where i wish they would though. hopefully when i have children, i won't pass it on to them. i'd feel like a horrible mum.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Alabama, US
    Posts
    132

    Default Re: Will my children be emetophobic?

    Neither of my parents are emet either. They definitely don't understand where I come from when I say I am scared or can't do it.

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