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  1. #1

    Default What caused YOU to have emetophobia (don't answer if uncomfortable)?

    I was just curious what caused you to have emetophobia. I'm curious because my understanding of what causes it in others besides myself is still somewhat fuzzy. This way I can get an idea on what the common causes of it are in other people. Don't answer this question if it causes you to panic.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: What caused YOU to have emetophobia (don't answer if uncomfortable)?

    I really wish I knew what caused mine. My first experience I can remember was in the second grade, so I've had it for a while. My father has it mildly, and I wonder if it was just genetic? I know it wasn't learned because my dad wasn't even in my life until after it developed, and I didn't realize he had it until I was older. I read that you can inherit phobias, so.. that's my best guess, unless I'm just repressing some horrible v* related memory

  3. #3
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    Default Re: What caused YOU to have emetophobia (don't answer if uncomfortable)?

    I've had emet since the time I puked in my sleep when I was 8. I've only puked once since, about two years later.
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  4. #4

    Default Re: What caused YOU to have emetophobia (don't answer if uncomfortable)?

    I became emetophobic after I started having panic attacks. I never had a traumatic vomiting experience that I can think of. I started to be afraid of vomiting when I started having panic attacks because the attacks make me feel nauseous, so add nausea to the other horrible feelings of a panic attack where you feel like you are literally dying or at the very least you're having a medical emergency, and BOOM! Emetophobia is born. I somehow linked the terrifying feelings of a panic attack to vomiting.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: What caused YOU to have emetophobia (don't answer if uncomfortable)?

    i feel literally the exact same way!

  6. #6
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    Default Re: What caused YOU to have emetophobia (don't answer if uncomfortable)?

    The first time I consciously remember being emet was in 2nd grade. My older sister apparently v* on the bus, and had to come home from school early. I remember my dad telling me to keep my distance from her and I think that is part of what triggered it. I went to school that day, and a few hours in called home to have my dad pick me up because of the anxiety I experienced.

    My mom also told me when I was younger I had a TON of SV. I don't remember many of them, the last time I v* (other than a few times from alcohol) was from FP in 2005.

    My dad and brother are both germaphobic, but not emetophobic or to the extent that I am. So I do wonder sometimes if that has something to do with it.

  7. #7
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    Default Re: What caused YOU to have emetophobia (don't answer if uncomfortable)?

    Quote Originally Posted by soulnurturer View Post
    I became emetophobic after I started having panic attacks. I never had a traumatic vomiting experience that I can think of. I started to be afraid of vomiting when I started having panic attacks because the attacks make me feel nauseous, so add nausea to the other horrible feelings of a panic attack where you feel like you are literally dying or at the very least you're having a medical emergency, and BOOM! Emetophobia is born. I somehow linked the terrifying feelings of a panic attack to vomiting.
    I'm exactly the same. I thought that I was the only one who has developed this phobia for this reason opposed to having had a previously traumatic v@g experience.

  8. #8

    Default Re: What caused YOU to have emetophobia (don't answer if uncomfortable)?

    Quote Originally Posted by julybabe View Post
    I'm exactly the same. I thought that I was the only one who has developed this phobia for this reason opposed to having had a previously traumatic v@g experience.
    Yeah, our traumatic experience was the panic attack. I didn't know what a panic attack was, or that I was having one, so I assumed I was feeling so deathly ill because I was sick with a stomach virus which I thought would go away in 24 hrs. When it didn't, I thought okay it's a 48 hr bug. When it still didn't go away I thought, well, alright, I'll be fine in a week. And so on. But I never got better. The "stomach virus" never went away because that's not what it was, I had developed panic disorder which is what I was subsequently diagnosed with. Maybe during those few weeks before finding out I was having panic attacks, maybe I talked myself into thinking that was what a stomach virus felt like and scared myself... and developed a vomit phobia. I wonder had I known I was having a panic attack right from day 1, if I would have become emetophobic. I'll never know.

    I hope that makes sense lol. I was rambling there thinking back.

  9. #9
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    Default Re: What caused YOU to have emetophobia (don't answer if uncomfortable)?

    My emet started when I was 8 years old and my mother had fp. I heard everything. I heard the sound of the v going into the toilet. I heard her crying to my dad that she needed to go to the hospital because she felt like she was dying. She bawled and acted so miserable. She made him carry her to the car. She sounded so helpless. I was scared and shaking in my bed after hearing that.

    I remember always being afraid of myself v after that, then it turned to being afraid of any v from anyone.

    I am unable to v in a toilet due to the horrific sounds I heard. I will never do it. I haven't v'd in about 12 years, thank God.

  10. #10
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    Default Re: What caused YOU to have emetophobia (don't answer if uncomfortable)?

    The majority of the time, emetophobia is a manifestation of a fear of being out of control. At some point during your childhood you may have felt very out of control with the events around you (whether you had a parent that made you feel this way, or some other reason), and it came out in you as emetophobia. It can be related to a v* incident, but not always.

    I had a narcissistic, emotionally abusive dad, an anxious mother, and was abused by a family friend, so I attribute it to that, hahaha! But I don't think it can be genetic. You aren't born with thinking patterns. Maybe you're born with susceptibility to certain thinking patterns, but you're not born with them. And that's essentially what a phobia is!

  11. #11
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    Default Re: What caused YOU to have emetophobia (don't answer if uncomfortable)?

    I had pancreatitis when I was 16 and was hospitalized for two weeks. This was characterized by severe pain, n* and v*. Then at 19, I was hospitalized again for 3 weeks with severe n* and d* (up to 20x per day). I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis. Now I am on immunosuppressant medication (lowers the immune system/makes you less able to fight infection) so I am deathly afraid of sv* in particular because it could trigger my colitis and land me in the hospital for weeks, if not months. 😞

  12. #12
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    Default Re: What caused YOU to have emetophobia (don't answer if uncomfortable)?

    I think it was two things:

    1) My father had a hangover from a concert. He drove me to school on the last day of first grade, and had to pull over to v*. My mother always joked that "when your father gets sick, the whole house practically shakes!" It is NOT quiet when he does that, so it scared the heck out of me (still would at 27 years old).

    2) Swallowing liquid flouride at a dentist appointment (also age 6) and getting sick in the bathroom sink while panicking to my mother. I remember repeating, "please don't let this happen."

    I have had emetophobia since then, but I didn't know there was a name for it. When I discovered this site, I almost cried from happiness that there were others like me.

  13. #13
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    Default Re: What caused YOU to have emetophobia (don't answer if uncomfortable)?

    I always had stomach aches as a child, and a lot of the time my mom would let me stay home. One particular day, she decided that I would be fine and sent me to school. I was in kindergarten at the time and had felt n* all day. Eventually I wound up v* on the floor in front of the class, and I remember that everyone laughed at me. 5 year old me was very impressionable. For a very long time after that, I wouldn't leave the house without a bag to v* in if I had to, to avoid embarrassment again. Since then, my phobia has been pretty strong even though I'm not worried about people laughing at me anymore.

  14. #14
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    Default Re: What caused YOU to have emetophobia (don't answer if uncomfortable)?

    Wow, very interesting posts. Mine started at age 10 when I had some type of flu that I remember was taking out so many kids in my class. My doc ended up giving me cough medicine with codeine in it. I was sooo sick from that...it did feel uncontrollable. I'm convinced that is what triggered it. Then I was afraid to go to school or be away from home and mom and dad. Had "butterflies" nauseous feeling all the time, which caused me to not eat...lost a lot of weight and was hospitalized twice (at 10 and again at 16) for malnutrition. It's crazy to think that one experience can change your life soooo much. Sighhhh....
    "In nothing be anxious....." Phil. 4:6

  15. #15
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    Default Re: What caused YOU to have emetophobia (don't answer if uncomfortable)?

    Oddly enough, my first memories of showing any signs emetophobia was when I was around 8ish.
    It was a MR Bean movie, he was on a plane, blowing up bags, and popping them, once scene, a child is sick in a paper bag, MR Bean takes the bag, inflates it, and goes to pop it.

    When I was watching that scene, I almost instinctively looked away, but the strange thing is, even though screen cut to black as the pop is heard, that night, my brain almost filled in the gaps, I basically had nightmares of sick flying towards the camera.
    Since then, I was terrified of seeing anyone being sick, even cartoons were enough to scare me.
    I swear I never had any issue with sick before then, but it only got worse, what really put me into the whole "emetophobia will rule your life" thing, was a stomach bug about 10 years ago, which was the first time I got sick in years, and it's only really gotten worse from their, I've only been sick twice since that bug a decade ago, so I reckon that's made it even more terrifying to me.

  16. #16
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    Default Re: What caused YOU to have emetophobia (don't answer if uncomfortable)?

    I don't know what caused mine as I was just too young. My father and grandfather were anxious people so I think there's genetics there (for anxiety, not specific phobias). I know that as a toddler I was not an anxious child, but around preschool age that changed. My father said I was watching an episode of Rugrats (dating myself here I know), and Angelica got sick and I ran from the room (I was maybe 4). I think I had it mild until age 6 when I had my first panic attack over someone getting ill at my dance recital, which was ruined for me after that. It really got bad at nearly 8 and stayed that way though until after I graduated high school. Since then it's been up and down. I definitely think I've had OCD issues since I was about 6 or 7. I've battled depression off and on since I was about 9 and more so after I hit 14. I continue to try to work through my fears, but it is not easy. Vomit is not my only phobia unfortunately. I do take meds and do various things to try and calm me down.
    "And though she be but little, she is fierce"~Helena, A Midsummer Night's Dream

  17. #17
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    Default Re: What caused YOU to have emetophobia (don't answer if uncomfortable)?

    Could you talk a little bit about the few times you were sick - would like to hear about alcohol and fp.

    Its been so long for me that i don't even know what to expect and i think thats part of the fear. though i rarely go a day without feeling n* because of anxiety. I need to deal with this head on because its interfering with my life so much right now.

    Thank you!!

  18. #18
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    Default Re: What caused YOU to have emetophobia (don't answer if uncomfortable)?

    I developed emetophobia around 8 years old after getting sick one morning. I remember being sick all morning and with diarrhea. Before that I was constantly being exposed to people being sick mostly at home and school. My emetophobia wasn't as bad as it is now. I was able to live normally until recently. I got sick while giving birth i guess it was from having an epidural i wasnt allowed to eat. I developed anxiety and have lost a lot of weight to the point of looking like a walking skeleton.

  19. #19
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    Default Re: What caused YOU to have emetophobia (don't answer if uncomfortable)?

    I think, for me, it was when I was a kid, and I went to stay with my aunt and uncle, who lived in a town about 2 hours outside of my city (by car.) They had three kids at the time, a girl my age, a boy a bit younger than me, and a baby boy who was maybe two. My brother and I both went to spend a week with them in the summer (usually we'd spend a week there, and then their kids would spend a week with us at our place). For some reason, my older brother didn't go that time. I can't remember why.
    Anyway, we all went to this church thing. I remember eating a little bite of a piece of chicken, but not eating it because it was too cold for my taste. I think, maybe, I already was mildly emetophobic even at that time, but I guess not pronounced.
    Anyway, that evening, I remember that my stomach hurt a little, and I was crying telling my aunt that I was afraid I was sick. She told me I had nothing to worry about, and everyone else seemed fine, so I calmed down. My cousin and I relaxed and went to bed in her bed, watching TV until we fell asleep.
    The next morning, she was gone out of the bed, and I didn't hear anybody in the other bedrooms. So, I got up and walked into the living room. Everyone was in there, and my Aunt and Uncle greeted me and asked me if I was alright. I said I was, and I sat on the couch to watch TV. Then, my cousin (girl), who was sitting on the floor started to v*. She got up and ran to the bathroom. It was horrific, to me, because I had been sleeping next to her. Her mom, my Aunt, went to help her. But then my Aunt got sick, too, and v* in the bathroom. My uncle told me to sit tight, and went to help them. My brother, then, came into the room. He looked at me and asked me where everyone was. I told him one of our cousins was sick. Then my younger boy cousin came in and his dad came into the living room and offered all of us kids something to eat (after all, if you have one sick kid, you can't very well starve the other four kids in your home.) I declined, still pretty shaken by my cousin being sick, and my brother was still pretty sleepy so he didn't get food, either. But my little cousin got some fruit from his dad and ate it. I think, at this point, the toddler was in the living room, too.
    Soon after my cousin ate his fruit, he got sick and v* suddenly on the carpet. I yelled for my Aunt, and she came running. She gasped and took her son to the bathroom, then came back to clean up. My uncle came and said their daughter was sick, again. And that he felt a little ill, too, and had d*. By this point, I'm panicking. I'd never been in the house when everyone was sick and v* before. Never. (And I have four siblings.)
    So, I got scared and ran to the play room and closed the door. To get to the play room, I had to run past the bathroom, and I heard my boy cousin V*. I was so scared I wanted to go home.
    Then, my aunt and uncle called my grandparents, who lived in the same town as them. My aunt and uncle both felt sick, and they had two sick kids, plus a (healthy) toddler and a niece and nephew to look after. So, my grandparents came, and my uncle coaxed me out of the playroom. I went back into the living room and ran to my grandmother, but then my girl cousin v* in the living room again. So, I ran, again, into her room, because it was far away from the living room and the bathrooms, and I wouldn't have to deal with any of that stuff. My grandfather started to clean up after the sick kids (he had been a military medic, and later worked in a hospital, so this was nothing for him.) My grandmother came in to comfort me, and started reassuring me, and telling me she understood why I was so scared and that I'd be alright. (My grandma is awesome. Still a very cool, sweet lady who you can go to for anything.) Then, my Aunt started to be sick, again, and my girl cousin, and I heard my Aunt yelling at my girl cousin to "get it in the tub." Which was horrible, for me. Still, neither me or my brother or the toddler were sick.
    After a while, I told my grandmother that I'd rather just go home. I knew that meant either someone would have to drive me two hours home, or my parents would have to be willing to drive up 2 hours and back 2 hours. But my grandma called my parents, and they agreed to come get me and my brother. My brother, nervous, was complaining of a stomach ache, and I was afraid that he'd start v* too, but he never did. My parents even got us McDonald's on the way home. We never ended up sick.

    I honestly think what happened was that they all ate the weird chicken at that church event. I ate a bite, and my stomach hurt that night. My brother didn't eat any, and I doubt the toddler ate any, because toddlers are notoriously picky eaters. Anyway, that whole ordeal was horrific, to me, and I don't think it ever left me.
    Also, my Aunt stayed sick longer than everyone else in the family... like, days longer. So she went to the doctor, and it turned out she was pregnant with their fourth child. Even though that event traumatized me, I always joke that he came in with a bang. And, it's fitting, because he's quite a little terror (well, he's about 14 now, I think...)

    I also think that maybe I'm a little afraid because I don't think I've ever had any sickness like that. When I was little, I got sick, but usually I only v* like once, one day, once or maybe twice a year, some years not at all. And usually, when I did get sick, it would be from what I think were migraines. (I don't get migraines as often, now, only usually around my period, and not as intense. So, IDK. I just remember getting headaches that were really bad and debilitating, and then sometimes I'd v*, and feel better. Not sure what that really was.) So, yeah, the concept of sv* and fp* are freaky and horrific, to me, because they weren't things I experienced in life.
    I don't think I've ever found v* pleasant, though. Unfortunately, most v* incidents that happened around me, or to me, I remember vividly. I'm not entirely sure WHY it bothers me as much as it does, because I don't think many people like v* but, like you all, I can't... function... and panic at even the notion that I might v* or someone might v* around me.

  20. #20

    Default Re: What caused YOU to have emetophobia (don't answer if uncomfortable)?

    My mum had a very delicate stomach when I was a child, and she used to v* a lot, and very loudly too. And then I’ll see her emerge from the bathroom looking white and seemingly near death. All those sounds and the way she’s look after each v* episode is etched In my mind till today and I think that’s what got me started...

 

 

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