All it took was anotomy class! Who knew?!

[KimberlyP]

I remember a couple of weeks ago I came on here and I was looking for encouragment. I came across a girl's post and it angered me more than I could even explain. In her post she was saying, and I'm so sorry if the girl who wrote that post is reading this, I feel ZERO anger towards you now =), that if someone is afraid to go to work to just go and be the best employee and if you're afraid to hold your child while they are sick to just do it. It angered me because, at the time, I thougth she sounded like the rest of society telling us that V* really isn't that big of a deal and we're just being babies and there is some sort of off switch. I wrote her a looooong message that I never did send because I knew I would regret it later. OH MY GOSH, I am so glad I didn't because partly due to her post I feel more empowered. Although I don't believe at all in and "off" switch to this phobia, I do believe it is possible to grab the fear by the horns so to speak. I'm going to school and getting a degree in science which includes taking a class in anatomy. Now that i understand the body more and I understand that it is soooo normal to V, however uncomfortable and scary it is at the time, the body is designed in a way that it is normal to V.

With that knowledge of the body and seeing the cartoon pictures of the organs and the stomach, it just helped me understand the, almost, mystery of V. I'm not saying this is everyone's "cure" but when I was drowning in my fear I wanted ANY TYPE of suggestion to help me conquer this fear, or at alease live a fairly normal life, so here is my suggestion to someone else. I am still 100% afraid to V, I know the day I finally do I will be freaking out, but I don't dwell on it like I used to and I sleep at nights. My hands are no longer cracking and bleeding from constant hand washing and I am now eating food that isn't over cooked. I don't stay up all night knocking on things and scratching myself. I feel like I can breathe again. I also focused on what my "triggers" are and I have eliminated them from my life. My 24th birthday is next week and my husband and I will be going out to eat for it. Something I haven't done in over a year.

I knew that I would never "get over" my phobia, but I wanted to only be afriad when need be. I didn't want to think about it everyday all day. V is scary for almost everyone emetophobe or not, it's extremely uncomfortable and pretty freakin gross. I finally got to this stage. Think of it like this, pretend I'm terrified of dogs instead of V. I wanted to only be afraid when a "dog" was right there, because there is no way to change that really, instead of dwelling on when I would eventaully run into a "dog" again. As well as constantly thinking there was a "dog" nearby when there wasn't (I hope everyone is picking up on my example lol) I am now at the point, using the same dog example, that I am still terrified of "dogs" but they don't haunt my every waking moment.

I really hope this is of some encouragment to people and I suggest looking at the science behind V, It doesn't hurt to try. =)

God Bless!

[gumdropper1]

Good job, Kimberly. If you want to learn more about the science of vomiting, read my Vomiting FAQ: http://emetophobia.byethost15.com/vomiting.html

Doug

[DeadxxInside92]

I love learning all about the digestive system! I actually have considered becoming a gastroenterologist because I love it so much lolll but yeah, learning the science behind it definitely helps one to understand why and how it happens.

[KimberlyP]

Doug- Weird!!! I actually found your website googling the science behind it. Your website is one of the things that helped me understand. We were going over the abdomen, while I was still scared out of my mind of V. As we got farther into it and it turned from fear to curiosity I googled it and I found your FAQ page. It is put together so well with a lot of information. If anybody is looking to find the science behind v to try to face their fear I HIGHLY suggest using Doug's FAQ page to begin. There isn't any offensive pictures that may cause a trigger. It's very useful.

Dead- I agree, I can see how a fear can turn into a facination. I feel the same way. We just moved on from the abdomenal area and I learned so much about it, It makes me feel better about all of the fuctions, including V. I just hope that one day V is something so normal to me and my heart doesn't race when someone tells me they feel ill. At least I don't go compeletly insane like I used to hahah!

[DeadxxInside92]

Well good for you! Keep it up!

[Erica1649]

Hi Kimberly. Glad you feel this way. I wish you the best I'd luck! I agree medical is a fascinating thing. I know however i couldn't mentally ever be a nurse because of my intense fear of other people vomiting and the looks etc of it. That and for the fact that I get attached to people.

Good luck again and I will be sure to find some research.

[gumdropper1]

Kim and others, if you really want to see how vomiting happens, take a look at this radiograph (x-ray) of a dog vomiting. You see the matter move backward from the intestine into the stomach (retrograde giant contraction), and you see the pyloric sphincter close, the matter get shifted to the upper part of the stomach, and then you see it flow out after a series of retches. It is a truly fascinating video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6y5SykbqJE

Things that helped me reduce my anxiety were seeing vomit up close and seeing people vomit. When I first started college, I was freaked out by the amount of puking going on in the dorms on the weekend. Then I saw some of it up close and realized it was just beer. I saw some people puking from a distance and it made me less worried about it. Something that proved I had come a long way was watching a girl vomit up close. She was severely drunk, and I was looking after her, and she suddenly announced she was going to throw up. I resisted the urge to leave in a panic and instead stayed with her. I kind of laugh when I think how I leaned against the wall 3 feet behind her because I wasn't sure if the vomit would spray. I felt quite strong being able to be in a closed room with someone puking. Of course, I knew she wasn't contagious.

Doug

[DeadxxInside92]

That video truly is fascinating. Thanks for posting! My problem with others vomiting is the horrendous sounds of retching/gagging. If people vomited without audible sounds then I think I would be much better off in terms of my phobia.

[Erica1649]

That video truly is fascinating. Thanks for posting! My problem with others vomiting is the horrendous sounds of retching/gagging. If people vomited without audible sounds then I think I would be much better off in terms of my phobia.

I think you are absolutely right...

[KaydeeJayde]

That video truly is fascinating. Thanks for posting! My problem with others vomiting is the horrendous sounds of retching/gagging. If people vomited without audible sounds then I think I would be much better off in terms of my phobia.

Me too! If people were silent about it like most babies are, I'd be fine. I can deal with baby vomit with no problems at all.

To the OP, I'm so glad you've found something to make it a little better for you! That's awesome

[DeadxxInside92]

haha yeah! I get what you mean Erin. My niece is several months old and I was at my sister's house for Easter this past Sunday and she vomited on my mom while we were eating lolll. I didn't even hear it so I didn't care and it just looked like formula so it wasn't that bad.

[afraid213]

I remember watching that radiograph of a dog a few years ago and it scaredvthe living sh*t out of me!! I didn't know that v*came all the way from the intestines..I thought once my stomach emptied, I couldn't v* and that's how id get by a few years ago. Watching that video triggered my phobia SOOOOO bad...and I don't remember seeing a *graphic* warning... ugh!! I HATE THAT VIDEO! But now that I know what it is,I don't plan on watching it again...
I can watch v* scences in movies..I just have to mute it.. the things that bother me most abbout v* is how wide peoples mouths open and the noises...I just hate the look of the stuff coming out and the person having no control over their mouths..it just looks awful to me :\

[hairyfairy]

It strikes me as strange that people are always saying that they will v one day, it`s by no means inevitable, or normal, because it means a, poisoning, or b, illness, & neither are normal in my view.

[DeadxxInside92]

It's a normal bodily response to GI discomfort. It's not uncommon and a lot of people treat it as a trivial action. If you vom because of norovirus, it's not a serious illness, but if you vomit from an underlying issue such as peptic ulcers or cholecystitis then yes, I could see your point.

[turbokinetic]

Hi, I can really relate to this. When I learned more about anatomy and life sciences in general, it lessened the "unknown" and randomness I had associated with vomiting. I must say it is not 'normal' to vomit. This is because it is not 'normal' to have an irritant inside you. Vomiting is an 'expected' response to an abnormal condition in the body.

But anyway, knowlege is power! I'm pleased that learning more about your anatomy helped you. It did me too!

Sincerely,
David

[jbsmom]

I have had anatomy classes and it still does not help my fear. Did i miss something? If i did then please tell me what it was cause i want so badly to be over this!

[KaydeeJayde]

Different things work for different people. Anatomy maybe just isn't the thing for you.

[out_of_order]

I agree with KaydeeJayde. No one thing works for everyone. But, because things DO work beautifully for some people, never give up tyring if you truly want to overcome emetophobia. Keep searching, keep trying different things until you find what works for you. Sometimes something like an anatomy class (who woulda thunk it?) is all it takes! That's why nobody should ever give up hope.

[transcend6887]

That's really interesting information. I am taking an anatomy class next semester and I was thinking hmmm maybe if I will feel more comfortable with my body when I learn about it. I am very glad this helped you. Maybe it will also give me some peace of mind I wish you the best of luck in releasing this completely from your life.