Is gender a factor?

[vc32]

Hi all,


Well I've read this site for a while now but I finally decided to register. I've had what I would call fairly mild emetophobia for as long as I can remember, and I seem to be the latest in a chain of emetophobes in my family. My grandma first, then her two youngest daughters (but not their older brother or sister), then me (but not my younger brother). I am pretty sure I developed the phobia from an incident I don't remember, when I was 9 months old and apparently had a bad stomach flu that caused my mom a lot of anxiety, and the rest of my family (including my mom and grandma, two emetophobes) caught it as well. Obviously I don't remember that, but from as early as I CAN remember, I've been irrationally afraid of me OR other people doing it, and I go to lengths to avoid doing it, seeing anyone do it, or being around anything that might cause it to happen for me or anyone else. I can probably count the number of times I've done it on one hand, and when I do feel nauseous I'm pretty good at not doing it.


Anyway, so, hi! My question is, since I've been thinking about my family history, it seems that for us it's only the females who have this problem. Does anyone know if it's more common for one gender, or equally common for both?


Thanks!

[alwaysamber]

Welcome. To me it seems like it is more common in females although there are males with it also. The only thing I can figure as to why it seems more females is because males arent as open to share. Females are more open and we just go about things differently..

Amber

[Babydoll]

Amber is right.


Its all about how males and females have been socialized. males are (traditionally) brought up to hold things inside, whereas females have been brought up to be open about their feelings.


It has been shown in psychological research that females are more prone to anxiety disorders than men, but only in the sence that women are the ones who most often seek help/ therapy.