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Thread: New member

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    1

    Exclamation New member

    Hello, my name is Becca and I am a new member to this website which I discovered a while ago researching "the fear of puking" but never really had the motive to join I guess. Well, now I do and I am in desperate need of help and just want to get to the meat and potatoes of this thing.
    So I am 17 years old and have suffered from many different phobias since I was 5 because I have GAD. Since I entered high school, a new paralyzing phobia I have that took another chunk of my life away is the phobia of puking. Now when I say that, I mean that I am afraid of having an anxiety attack and puking from it. And you that have GAD know how the thoughts race and so when I'm worrying about having an anxiety attack and puking, it's going to happen. Normally my phobias stem from what I like to refer to as mini post traumatic stress triggers and this whole puking thing started when I was 14, a freshman in high school. I was dating my first boyfriend and his parents took us out to eat and as I was eating I started to feel nauseous so I went to the bathroom and I puked. I felt somewhat better and just thought it was the food so I didn't eat anymore but also didn't want to be rude making my first impression on his parents so I got a box of the food to go. Right when we were walking out, I felt it come on again and had to go to the bathroom again and puke before we left. I was conviced it was the food. Then on the ride home, I felt it coming on again and I had to improvise so I ripped off the hood of my coat (it had buttons so you could) and bent forward and just puked all in my hood. The kicker? His parents didn't even notice so I had to cradle my hood until I got home and then cleaned myself up and they still didn't notice. From that day on, my new phobia progressed and I would puke at school almost 2 to 3 times a day between passing period because I would randomly get this urge to gag and didn't want to embarass myself in front of my boyfriend at the time so I would just go to the bathroom and on my worst days all I would puke up was bile because I didn't eat before or during school. I had to advise a safety plan and make sure I didn't have anything in my stomach to puke up around my boyfriend. 2 boyfriends later and I still have this problem but I have gotten a little bit better. I am now in relationship with the boy that made the other two look like lessons learned and we have been dating for 7 months. It was weird because when we actually started dating, I could eat around him and even go out to eat without him and not be anxious enough to puke. With that said, I never brought up my disorder to him. 3 months into our relationship, his parents took us out to dinner which wasn't the first time as they had before and I was totally fine. Well, we were riding home and I felt it come up and I puked in his parent's car and they definitely noticed and they were very understanding as I apologized and was mortified and told me everything was ok. They were convinced it was the food. Later that night I ended up telling my boyfriend and he told me it wasn't a problem but more of an understanding but I still am wound up about what happened and am having to limit what I do like I did in my previous relationship but not as severely. I still cannot and refuse to go out to eat with his parents by just telling him that I can't. His parents are still unaware. And anywhere we go I have to drive so I'm not anxious to puke in his car and driving takes my mind off of it. So I feel like I'm punishing him with my prohibitations but he denies it. I have been going to therapy and have been on meds since I was 13 but that was a different phobia then. I want to live a free life without all these limitations. Any feedback?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    5,096

    Default Re: New member

    Welcome, rblt. After reading your fairly long and detailed introductory message, I question whether you have emetophobia. If you read a little of our board, you will find that most of us are afraid of vomiting, not merely that an anxiety attack will cause vomiting. Many of us know that anxiety attacks won't cause vomiting but fear them anyway because they're part of what makes our phobia disabling.

    The thought of vomiting or being exposed to something that can cause vomiting will send most of us into a tizzy that will last for days. You seem to handle vomiting (or "puking," as you call it) quite well. Good for you! (I'm not putting you down for your word choice; rare among emets, it's my favorite word too.)

    I think you have something called social phobia. It's generally a fear of being judged by other people, a fear of entering into situations where you expect (or irrationally fear) that you'll be judged. Social phobics are afraid of puking in public but are not afraid of puking in private. Since you have no fear of vomiting privately but are obsessed with vomiting in public (and rightly so), you have social phobia and not emetophobia.

    So my thought is that we're not the best place for you to get help for what bothers you. I think you might be better off in a place that deals with GAD or social phobia.

    You might benefit from reading my Vomiting FAQ http://emetophobia.byethost15.com/vomiting.html to learn more about the mechanics of vomiting. Knowing the science behind how you puke can help you prevent it whether you're a social phobic who merely needs to get to a private place to puke or an emetophobe who would rather be nauseated for days than do the technicolor yawn.

    Doug
    To learn more about emetophobia, see
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  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    north carolina, usa
    Posts
    4,272

    Default Re: New member

    doesn't sound like emet to me either.........if i felt n in a rest and went in the bathroom and got sick that would have been the end of my night out.....i'm sure i'd have been a blubbering mess and have to leave immediately......
    how i feel about emet
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  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Posts
    4,577

    Default Re: New member

    Hi and welcome to the site. You'll find lots of info here in the Information and Research section. Check it out! I've moved your thread to the Help and Support section for two reeasons. First of all it tells a scary story so some ppl avoid H&S for that reason but secondly you may get more feedback in H&S cuz ppl go there to help others out. All the best!
    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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