Hi I'm new here but definitely not new to Emetophobia. Thought I'd share my story and what's in the process of working for me. It started when I was maybe 10 years old- I am now a 33-yr-old mom of 2 boys ages 4 and 1. - I was afraid of being in a space with lots of people because I was afraid someone would v* either near me or on me. It continued through my high school years but then sort of went away when I was in college. Wish I knew how! It came back when I had children, and came back so intensely it affected me every single day and night. I was so terrified of them getting sick, and of course they'd need their mother and how was I going to comfort them when in full panic mode? But of course it did happen (twice so far) and even though I was shaking inside I was able to provide comfort and love when they needed it. It wasn't enough to get me over this fear though, and I began trying to control their environment by excessive hand washing, Lysol, and never letting them touch ANYTHING in public. I also changed careers so I could be home with them instead of sending them to daycare. I couldn't sleep at night because I was constantly listening to any signs they might be sick. If they coughed I'd jump out of bed and check to make sure they weren't going to v*. It is absolutely crippling. Well I had a checkup at my Dr and told her about this phobia I'm experiencing. She immediately got me in touch with one of her nurses who had the exact same fear and got over it through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) at The Anxiety Treatment Center in CT. I made an appointment right away and have had three sessions so far. It has been the hardest thing I have ever done, but I know it is working because as we speak my husband has a sv and I am not panicking. I feel worried, and probably more worried than most, but I'm ok. CBT doesn't care why you have the phobia or how it started, they are interested in decreasing the unhealthy way you currently deal with your phobia. They do this through exposure, to habituate you to the exact thing you are afraid of. (In my case forcing me to watch YouTube videos of people v* over and over again until I could watch it without any emotional attachment other than disgust). This is a work in progress but I highly recommend looking into this therapy if other therapies haven't worked for you like they didn't for me. Fingers crossed I hope to update you completely free of this someday...