Hey guys! I'm new here. Just a few questions that I've never understood about my phobia.


1) I understand 'man-made' phobias, such as clowns or fireworks. But I've never understood how it is scientifically possible for my human brain to develop emetophobia and have the fight or flight response for something that is a natural human bodily function? Am I right in thinking that V* is a survival thing from evolution? How is it possible that a human can have a phobia of a natural bodily function? Does anybody get what I mean? I just don't get why I have a phobia of something that my body has evolved for survival!


2) Why are emetophobes almost always female? Does this mean that emetophobia is caused by female hormones? Why is emetophobia treated with anti-depressants then? Shouldn't we be treated with something to normalise our hormones?


3) Why did I not become cured of my emetophobia last time I V*? I faced my fear so why is my emetophobia just as bad as before? Why do people always say that if you face your fear you will stop being scared? I've seen on this forum that some emetohobes V* regularly, so why are they not cured? Why does facing your fear not work for emetophobia?


4) When I've looked online, it always says that emetophobia is one of the most common phobias. Are these statistics based upon actual severe sufferers who require psychiatric care and genuinely have actual emetophobia? Or are the statistics based on the number of people who say they hate it and scared of it - but its not an actual phobia? Is emetophobia supposedly common because most people claim to be scared of it? Or is there genuinely a large amount of genuine severe emetophobes?


5) Why is emetophobia seen as ridiculous whereas phobias of heights/spiders is taken seriously? I've had the sh*t ripped out of me for being emetophobic, I've been tormented and bullied and people seem to think it's hilarious that I'm emetophobic. Yet as soon as theres a spider in the room everybody takes it seriously and all of a sudden it's not a joke at all and it's cruel to torment somebody with arachnaphobia. I understand how phobias such as balloons/clowns may not be taken seriously since they are both supposed to be the OPPOSITE of scary, but I just don't understand why nobody takes the mick out of people for being scared of heights or spiders. But because I'm emetophobic, suddenly it's hilarious to torment me and entertain it.


6) Is Emetophobia part of the OCD family? Or does it come under the 'phobias' category of anxiety rather than OCD?



7) Why does emetophobia mostly become an issue in adolescence? For me, looking back it was always there, but when I was 13 a boy in my class V* and something just snapped in my head and from that moment on I've been riddled and controlled by emetohobia. For me it was bubbling under the surface during my childhood then it just exploded that day in school. Why? Why was I not full on emetophobic from day 1? Why did it only become a problem at 13? Is it because of hormones? Is it related to puberty?