Former Severe Emetophobe - Now Psychologist - Happy to Chat and help however I can

[psychologist/i hear you]

Hey folks,

I wish that when I was suffering deeply from emetophobia so many years ago that I had found this forum.

I was diagnosed with panic disorder at age 10, and suffered from my phobia severely until age 15..had a resurgence at age 24 or so for a couple of years during the stress of my undergrad education, and have since been much better. I'm 32 now.

It was a long, hard process for me to find my recovery, but I have used my own suffering as a motivation to help others. I am now a registered psychologist, specializing in counseling psychology... I have a full-time practice, but would love to offer my support to others on these message boards whenever I'm able to. I remember the desperation I felt at times, not being understood, people thinking 'how can you be SO afraid of THAT?!' Like I said, I might not always be able to check in on these boards daily, but I will try to do so as often as I can for the next while and would be happy to support those of you who are currently struggling with this phobia!!

Take care out there!

[IR23]

Hey folks,

I wish that when I was suffering deeply from emetophobia so many years ago that I had found this forum.

I was diagnosed with panic disorder at age 10, and suffered from my phobia severely until age 15..had a resurgence at age 24 or so for a couple of years during the stress of my undergrad education, and have since been much better. I'm 32 now.

It was a long, hard process for me to find my recovery, but I have used my own suffering as a motivation to help others. I am now a registered psychologist, specializing in counseling psychology... I have a full-time practice, but would love to offer my support to others on these message boards whenever I'm able to. I remember the desperation I felt at times, not being understood, people thinking 'how can you be SO afraid of THAT?!' Like I said, I might not always be able to check in on these boards daily, but I will try to do so as often as I can for the next while and would be happy to support those of you who are currently struggling with this phobia!!

Take care out there!

Wow, thats amazing! Its so nice to hear someone who finally overcame this debilitating phobia. I majored in psychology and minored in biology, but still cannot shake away the emetophobia. Perhaps I worsened it by looking at bacteria through microscopes lol. Please tell us how you overcame this fear. I thank you for your input and help!

[gumdropper1]

Welcome, Psychologist! I have to ask, did vomiting play any role in your recovery? Do you ever vomit now, and how do you deal with it? Doug

[yourjedi]

I second Doug's question! Really nice to have you here, a presence like yours will be much appreciated.

[NicManri]

May I ask where your from?

[mhartse]

sweet! hello!

[Goingmonkeys]

Very kind of you, thank you for reaching out.

[surfer777]

I haven't been on here in a while, I was doing really well for almost a year but have recently relapsed a bit...certainly a choice time for me to check the boards again and see this post!

I can't help but relate to the original post...I've been emetophobic since I was in elementary school...high school wasn't so much a problem, but my undergrad studies have been awful in regards to emetophobia. I finish up in 5 weeks and I'm hoping that once I graduate, much like the original post, things will get better.

I'm also curious to hear how you overcame this horrific phobia...I've had quite a bit of counseling the past couple of years and exposure therapy was certainly the most stressed method amongst the therapists. I found rational emotive therapy (supposed to be some form of exposure?) to be fairly effective.

Anyways, very nice of you to offer your services...I may take you up on your offer!

[Mamafear]

You're an emet angel! I admire your strength and generosity as this phobia is so ugly and if I ever am free of it I don't think anything in the world could convince me to come anywhere near it again! Thank you for being so selfless and offering your experience.