Genetic / Inherited Emetophobia?

[Aspie Grrrl]

Forgive me if this has been discussed here before, but I can't find much about it online.

Emetophobia runs in my family. HARDCORE. Most people develop the fear after a bad experience in childhood/adolescence, but that's not the case for me. I was severely emetophobic as a toddler. No one in my household modeled the behavior to me, it was just always there. My mom claims that the first time she was sick in front of me is the first time I reacted, which was in 1985 (I was only 1 year old).

Here's a quick rundown of how it's affected various members of my family (all on the paternal side)--

Grandpa - Hasn't vomited "since 1973" (his words).

Dad - Has only vomited once in 30 years. Gets angry/uncomfortable when someone around him is sick. Claims to have been severely emetophobic as a child.

Aunt - Works as an EMT but will try to jump out of an ambulance if someone is sick. Rarely vomits herself and takes prescription Valium for the phobia.

Brother - Mildly emetophobic. Handles it better than me but the fear is still apparent.

Niece - I just learned that she shares this awful phobia via a facebook post by my sis. No idea how severe it is.


Can anyone relate to this strangeness? Any evolutionary/biological theories on what would cause it?

[dani8mc]

comes down to anxiety but werid everyones is emet. :S

[TryingToBeBrave]

My Dad, husband, and daughter are emet also.. Oddly enough, it was always well hidden, so I am not sure how eavh generation developed it. I was pretty severe in high school...not sure why, but having kids really helped me get better.

[Mecca]

I think you may be onto something here. I don't know of anyone else in my family who is except for my mom, but I didn't even know she had issues with it until my late teens. Whenever I was sick as a child she would be there cleaning it up, getting me water, turning on the sink to calm me down, bringing me crackers when I'm in bed and can't eat much. I couldn't have modeled after her behaviors because she didn't let on that it bothered her, but I agree that there may be a genetic component. And that's so weird how it runs in your family like that, really interesting.

[daffodil]

That's really interesting. I'm sorry that so many of your family suffer from this phobia, though. I know anxiety in general can run in families, but I had never heard of specific phobias being inherited.

[Rls1994]

My Dad has terrible anxiety and depression, something that I both have.. :/ No one else besides me has emet though.

[claire43]

Im pretty sure that its sometimes passed on in families because a young child picks up on the panic a parent or another adult exhibits during moments of severe nausea & v*. Personally I remember very well my own mother who is almost emet having a major melt down once when my older sister v*. I was only a toddler & Im convinced that seeing my mother - the person I believed was in total control lose it made me feel like v* must be a disgusting, frightening experience. My mother is so sorry that she may be responsible & doesnt even recall the incident. Saying that my older sister wasnt affected so maybe you have to have some kind of tendency to become phobic.

[Aspie Grrrl]

Thanks for the feedback! I remember reading that some specific phobias could be inherited, and that emet might have evolutionary benefits. Avoiding sick people could've saved lives, especially during times of plague or other contagious illness.

Epigenetics is an extremely interesting theory that might explain it as well. Basically, it can be summed up as inheriting the "pain of your ancestors". Bad things (malnutrition, childhood trauma, toxic exposures, etc) that happen in your ancestor's life can alter their DNA, allowing them to pass certain traits onto the next generation. Perhaps some of our ancestors died of diseases that involved vomiting?

While my dad is an emetophobe, he never showed it around me at all. I didn't even realize it until a couple of years ago. It was definitely not modeled to me. The tendency towards anxiety and sensory issues runs deep in my family though.