Have you ever cried?

[gumdropper1]

Have you ever cried when you read that someone in another country that you've never met threw up?

[Razzle]

Can't say that I have. Although a bad noro bug hit a college 1.5 hrs from my home and I was both disgusted and mad that college kids were so unsanitary that 200 of them caught it and could potentially spread it.

I'm more likely to get angry at first, because infected people in public put everyone else at risk, as do careless people. And then I get incredibly anxious thinking I'll be next.

[La Reine Soleil]

one of my best friends lives in england, and i live in the states. she had told me she had v* in class because she suddenly felt unwell, and it made me really upset. i know there's no way for me to catch it, what with being a whole ocean away from her, but nonetheless, the idea of it happening really scared me. i got a bit misty eyed. it unnerved me, to be honest. i don't know if it was the aspect that she got ill during a lecture, that she had caught it from someone without knowing it, or that it... just happened. it almost ruined my day. of course i felt bad for her.

to be fair to her, though, she knows i'm an emet, and said that she had been taken ill in class, nothing more (she wanted to let me know that she was under the weather, but didn't want to trigger me). but i put two and two together, and that equals panic. oh well. it's a bit silly to get so unnerved and upset over something that happened over a whole ocean, but phobias aren't really very rational, are they?

[Jess44246]

I don't really feel sympathy when somebody far away is v. They aren't emetophobic, so it's actually not that big of a deal for them. They'll get better then they will be fine as if it never happened. I have prayed (which I do rarely) and have gotten moistened eyes (no drops, but upset) while reading about what other emetophobics are going through o here, though. It effects us emets so much while others don't give a second thought. I do feel upset for other emets when they are having a bad time, but only really towards fellow emets.

[paulinek]

No. I'd feel really sorry for the person who was ill, but I know I can't catch it from them so from a personal emet perspective I couldn't care less if the sick person lives in a different country.