Alone

[Jordi]

Personally Ive never met an Emet in real life but thats not uncommon. The real problem Im having is Im a 6"2' African, American 15 year old, and I love the sport football and go to conditioning all throughout the the summer, but theres always that one guys whos out of shape and didnt eat right in the morning and I cant stand it. Ive missed multiple practices because of it. I dont know what to do, I feel so weak and looked down upon every time we huddle to have a talk with coach and some guy v* and Im squirming through the group of people just to get away from it, trying to deal with all the awkward stares. Its like I love sports just as much as I fear v* and there conflicting. A lot of the people on these forums are girls that Im not able to completely relate to. Anyone have any advice?

[bebzorg]

thats tough. i dont know what to say to you, i mean i dont play sports, im 5"1' ,female , hispanic! it sucks that because of your role in society youre expected to be fearless. i would say do what you love, dont let your fear beat you. when someone gets sick maybe you can excuse yourself for a moment so that you can recollect yourself. and i find that being at least somewhat honest about your situation is helpful. i dont mean like telling your team you have a crippling phobia or anything, but maybe just say like : if its one thing in the world that grosses you the f* out is vomit. so please do it somewhere else. may i ask are you most afraid of other people doing it or yourself? like if its contagious or something like that?

[Jordi]

may i ask are you most afraid of other people doing it or yourself? like if its contagious or something like that?

Im scared of the sight and smell of it and Im also scared of the nausea that comes prior (havent v* in 7 years and developed emetophobia 5 years ago so cant remember what it feels like). Yesterday morning I felt sick and had a terrible panic attack and skipped practice again. Whenever someone v* at practice I dont really know what to do. Its sometimes nowhere near me but I still start shaking and panicing.

[jkl81]

Jordi,
I never played football, but I am male and played team sports when I was your age. I never played at a high level mostly because I wasn't that good and partly because I feared the conditioning from some of these coaches that expect you to run till you v* and so forth. That having been said, I played very hard and there were only two times over the many years that I played basketball and soccer that I got sick. My suspicion is that these illnesses came from my younger brother rather than the team. If this is important to you, try not to give up because of emetophobia, but I do get what you're saying and I can only imagine how tough these summer conditioning camps would have been for me. Keep your fear in check and stay safe out there.

[Taryynx]

Hiya, well no I'm not a guy but I am a 15 year old girl, so i deffinatly get how hard it is to tackle emet and get through school. I love sport but likewise ive had to consider changing what i do because of this damned fear. Take my advice please and know that i regret giving up the amount of sport i did, I know its not easy but just try to break through the panick and anxiety and dont let the phobia beat you, the feeling you'll get after i dunno wining a game or something will definatly compensaite the phobia and if you get through the stuff your scared of and go to training and stuff then you'll feel like youve beaten that bit of the phobia...? if that makes any sence what so ever... it probably dosnt sorry haha x and ive never met, or spoken to another teen emet before, so at least now i know im not the only one. Oh and btw do you mean america football or socor? is it socar? i dunno, sorry im british so i dont know which 'football'you mean

[cinque]

I'm so sorry you are feeling alone! I do think plenty of men have this phobia. It may be that men are less likely to talk about it, for whatever reason, and I think male emetophobes tend to be under-represented on forums such as this. But it doesn't mean they don't exist. Have you considered talking to a doctor or counsellor about it? xxx

[Jordi]

I'm so sorry you are feeling alone! I do think plenty of men have this phobia. It may be that men are less likely to talk about it, for whatever reason, and I think male emetophobes tend to be under-represented on forums such as this. But it doesn't mean they don't exist. Have you considered talking to a doctor or counsellor about it? xxx

I haven't talked to anyone about it yet, but my moms gotten enough hints over the years, dunno about my dad though. I'm considering tell my doctor about it, since she's a close family friend and hopefully she can offer some advice...

[hairyfairy]

I can`t understand why, if these guys are prone to vting in practice, can`t they take an anti-emetic before they go on the pitch?, I mean, don`t they find it embarassing vting in front of coach & their team mates & soiling the grass?

[Jordi]

I can`t understand why, if these guys are prone to vting in practice, can`t they take an anti-emetic before they go on the pitch?, I mean, don`t they find it embarassing vting in front of coach & their team mates & soiling the grass?

Thats basically emet thinking. I used to think that but then I realized thats an option only a emet would take. The lack of embarassment is caused from our coaches intent to work us till we v*. Coaches are basically proud if they v* its shows that they worked their ass off that day. I think Im trying twice as hard to work my ass off without v* and avoiding the people who do.

[sunnyskies]

I'm sorry.

I always stayed away from really physical sports for that reason. I regret it in a sense that I let the emet win, but I also am not sure how I could have handled it when people were sick. But even with that, I still wish I would have tried harder. So it's probably not great advice coming from me with my experience, but if you love playing it, really think about that and let your passion for it be a way you fight the emet. Like I can't control this, control other people, etc. but I won't let it stop me.

Even if it is uncomfortable at times, fighting it is most rewarding when it's all said and done. Even if you don't feel cured of it, you will know you can survive it and still go on doing something you want to do.

[CMM811]

I'm sorry you are going through this. I'm 29 now but going through school as a emet was hard. LOVED cheer leading made varsity my sophomore year but I let my anxiety take over. I quit the squad in fear of riding on the bus and someone getting sick, and or football players v*ing on the sidelines during a game. You seem like a strong and smart young man, keep pushing yourself and do what you love. Tell yourself you hate that they are getting sick but you can't catch it and you are working hard mentally and physically! Wishing you a great football season!