Stories of how we got Emetophobia

[olschesky]

wow.....you have been through alot.....i ended up in the hospital when i refused to go back to school after a kid v on me......they ran lots of tests that i hated.....i never missed a day of school after that.....fear of the tests i suppose.

[diddle]

Aw you poor thing! I've never been v*d on, that must've been awful... I probably would've refused to go back, too. And some tests can be very uncomfortable and/or scary, even if you aren't an emet. Being one just makes it even harder!

[kimmiekoko]

I've had this severe fear ever since I can remember. I've heard that fears/phobias can be triggered by some kind of traumatic experience. My mom told me that when I was just 6 mos. old that I couldn't keep anything down and threw up so much that I went into a coma. I am guessing that this is where this problem stems with me. I've been told that with phobia's or fears that you can overcome it with CBT, going back to the time when it happened and facing it. I've tried that but its impossible for me to go back to that time and bring back what I may have been feeling as a baby.

Anyway, I guess I never knew why I felt so scared about it but I had a very difficult time going to school and being around other kids because of this fear. I remember always complaining about having a stomache all the time. I now look back and realize that I was a kid with very high anxiety which was more than likely the cause of the consistent stomachache complaints.

Whenever I would get sick I remember my dad coming in there and talking me through it saying I would be okay. I look back at that and think thats kind of weird I guess. He would do that every time I was sick for some reason which probably was only making my problem that much worse by reinforcing that there is a need to be frightened by it.

Once while riding the bus home one day a girl got sick at the front of the bus and so the driver stopped the bus and had us all exit but we all had to climb over it because it was in the middle of the aisle. I panicked so badly over that and took me quite some time to settle down after that. Another time that really sticks out in my mind was the time when my 2 nieces (I was 9 yr. old at the time and they were around 3 yrs. old) got into my sister's medication and chewed a bunch of them up and were rushed to the hospital. I was riding in the back seat on the way back home with one of my niece's sitting next to me. They had given them both trash bags in case they got sick on the way home. My mom was driving on a curvy road. My sister asked my niece "are you about to get sick" and when she said that I started screaming and was just about jumping out of the window of the car, my mom was trying to get me to sit down. I really was nearly out of the window, I just knew that I had to get out of there before something happened. We got back to the house and I took out of that car sprinting down the drive and screaming. I'll never forget that, it was horrifying to me at that time.

To this day, and I am middle aged now, I still have this problem with great intensity. It wreaks havoc on me both mentally and physically. This time of year (feb-mar) is the worst. In my mind thats when I hear about all the sickness going around and I begin to panic. I hate night time because I fear that my husband will catch a virus and wake up in the middle of the night to get sick. I think maybe its the sound thats the worst for me. The other parts are bad too but I fear the sound. When we go to the movies I'm always on edge because any kind of coughing or crinkling of paper triggers my panic, afraid someone near me will get sick.

I also have extreme motion sickness problem so its hard for me to travel. The last time I flew there was terrible turbulence and it took me about a week to recooperate. I also always fear hearing someone get sick on the plane which I have experienced once before when flying back when I didn't have the motion sickness problem as bad.

If there was one wish I was granted in life it would be to be rid of this debilitating problem that stops me from enjoying life.

[LilySleeper]

No one has ever been s* on me, thank everything that is good! The thing that triggered my phobia first seems so trivial that people laugh at me when I tell them. When I was 14 I saw The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood and there is a scene where her children are all s* and I have the image of this little kid v*ing and it's just stuck with me and the panic associated with people being s* near me or on TV or movies has just grown everyday. I also remember the first time I panicked because someone near me v*d. I was stuck in the back of the car with a younger cousin at Christmas and she ate a huge bag of candy and got s* and afterword I was so mad at her for making herself s* I wouldn't talk to anyone or go near her. This post was all a lot more coherent and thought out but thinking about it and reading other peoples stories about being v*d on has me a little freaked out right now and I'm trying to just get it out fast.

[Miss Authoress]

Hello all, I'm new to this site but certainly not new to emetophobia. I've had it since I was a little girl.

When I was little, I was a healthy girl. I rarely became ill with any sort of illness. However, for as far back as I can remember, I would always get a sv* during the winter. It was like clockwork, every winter, usually on or around New Year's Eve. Every single year until I was around nine years old. One would think that I would get accustomed to the deed, but I never did. With each time I v*d, I became more and more afraid. I would cry, beg the little angels that I believed in to not let me throw, hyperventilate anything to help me stop. I could not understand why I would v* so much during the winter, every winter. It was awful and I still shake just thinking about it.

I was an only child for the first five years of my life. Then, my mother became pregnant and I heard her throw up. In a corner I sat, my dolls on the floor and my ears covered. Finally, that was over with and my little sister was born. A year later, my other sister was born. I was repulsed by their baby spittle, but not afraid of it. Then they got old and a strong sv* that even killed some children that year paid my family a visit. I was sick and my sisters were sick. This added to the fear more and more. The littlest one, who was barely one at the time became dehydrated and my mother had to take her to the emergency room. Of course I was afraid, my sister did nothing but v* and I remember my mother talking about those kids that died. I was already afraid, but this just added more and more to the fear.

In fourth grade, we learned about food poisoning and that was the first time I was exposed to the idea. I became paranoid and told my parents about it. I kept patrol in the kitchen and made sure everything was alright. I made sure that everything was cooked properly and refrigerated. I still do and my parents find this habit of mine annoying.

Now, at age sixteen, my emetophobia is really bad. I joined this website at this time because an sv* is affecting my sisters. Two years ago, the same thing happened and they both got sick. I wanted to avoid it and I went on a hand washing spree. I washed and washed. Every chance I got, I washed my hands. I am a regular hand washer, I am concerned about my hygiene, but during this time period...it was almost excessive. I now know why emetophobia is sometimes confused with OCD. I hid it from my parents, my friends, everyone.

Today, another sv* is affecting the family and I am trapped in my room. My compulsive handwashing has once again started and with a vengeance. I'm not leaving my room, I haven't hugged my sisters...I stay away from everyone. I want to leave my house. We are due for a snowstorm and I hope it doesn't happen because I can't stay trapped in this house...I feel like I'm a prisoner.

If I had one wish, it would be to get rid of this horrible phobia. That or get rid of the act of v*ing all together. I know v*ing is normal, but I can't accept it. Everyone in my family seems to accept it, except me. I have no one to talk to or to understand me. That is why I joined this site. I want help and I want closure. I want to feel normal...right now, I'm about to cry simply because my sister is v*ing. I hope that I can get help here, this phobia is ruining my life.

[Peter]

Beautiful story - thanks. I hated the NYC subways and platforms for all the same reasons.

[TMYERS]

I know when mine started and I know the reason...

I was around 10 years old. 5th grade. My mom worked nights. I started having a stomach ache around 830 one evening. I just wanted to lie down but when i did...I remember being really uncomfortable. I tossed and turned in bed...I kept going downstairs...before my mom left for work....telling her my stomach hurt. She kinda blew it off (she now feels really bad about all this)...she left for work and I finally fell asleep in an awkward position...the only comfortable one I could find. I woke up about 15 minutes after I fell asleep lifted my head off the pillow and got sick....I couldn't stop it, I had no control and was so groggy that I didn't really know what was happening...I tried to go to the top of the stairs and call my dad but I couldn't call him because I got sick again.... I got sick all the way down the stairs and then at the bottom of the stairs...still trying to call my dad...my dad...not hearing me....I finally got into his room...but couldn't get the whole thing out before I got sick again. My dad didn't get out of bed...he just yelled at me to go to the bathroom...I went...nothing happened. I told him...I was sick ...he said...just get in bed with me and go to sleep.....I tried to get into bed with him....but got sick again and had to run to the bathroom....finally my dad got out of bed....when he saw the mess i had made....he began screaming at me and saying what is wrong with you....etc...etc....he put me on the couch with a bucket and told me angrily to get to the bathroom if I was getting sick again.....no comfort...no consoling....only bad emotional abuse (very typical of my father)....
The next time anybody in my family got sick was 2 years later.... I was in 7th grade and riding in the back of the car with my brother....he v* and my mom was in the front...she yelled at me (just panic) to hold a bag for him to v* in.... I couldn't do it.....I got home and totally freaked out.....I couldn't eat....I slept on the pull out couch bed with my brother ....I went to the toilet several times thinking I was getting sick....and from that point on....spent the majority of that year and most of my 8th grade year in the sick room at school...petrified of getting sick.....I am now 31 years old...have not v* and have lived my life as an emet since then....so sad.... I told my mom about all this the other day...she felt so bad about the whole thing...she told me she never knew how much dad degrated us as kids....she cried as she told me that the next time I got sick...she just wanted to come over to my house and hold me.....just like I was that little 5th grade girl again...comforting me like a child needs.....we cried togethor...I only wish she would have been there...then maybe I wouldn't be the way I am.

[Peter]

In one way or another I can identify with all your embarrassments and fears because I had the same experiences at one time or another- and perhaps a few more.

One that just dawned on me was at whatever age it was when I first was sent to the Brooklyn Eye and Ear Hospital to have my tonsils out. Same thing again a year or so later for my adenoids but on both occasions it was the aftermath of having had ether that I have vivid memories of v*. later I was given a Mello-Roll ice cream cone which made it all feel better and go away. In later years newer methods of anesthesia came to be, but I always ask the doctors what reactions can be expected.

I'm a P/T ballroom dance teacher and take flamenco, and because of a hammer-toe had it amputated a year ago. Operation was aa success and glad I did it- escept! I was given the pain pill oxycodone and after 22 years without one v* episode, soon thereafter became violently ill. As the pain was manageable, I bit the bullet and stopped the pills immediately.

What amazes me as a drug counselor is I have people who took such opioid based meds like M&Ms with no v* reactions due to having built a high tolerance. Thank you but I'll take the pain over anything that will react as those pills did. I then became so mad at myself that since my last drink 22 years ago I haven't been ill in that manner and never want to be again.

And, during my alcoholic years I can identify as having been a controlling father so I easily understand your experience. Just see how much baggage we still carry from our youth; and by way of these websites, will share this shame and hopefully they'll go away. Emet too- I pray.

[km2277]

All of our stories are pretty similar. It happens so unexpectedly.

***MAY BE GRAPHIC***

I remember one night I was sitting at the coffee table, on the floor having a glass of milk. I didn't know then that milk was bothersome on my stomach. Needless to say, it came back up about an half an hour later. But it didn't seem to bother me.

I was in 4th grade and we were doing math. I remember it so clearly. We would have to go up and write our names on the board to go to the bathroom. this kid, Mike, when up to the board and wrote his name. I then heard the sound of something hitting the floor in a rush. I looked up to see him vomiting right in the doorway! I remember there being lots of it...And it smelled of sour milk. I hopped right up out of my seat, ran to the back of the class and hid in one of the cupboards. Yes, we had little cupboards in the back of the classroom with little paint kits and stuff, and I went right in and shut the door. The teacher came back to see if I was ok. This was the early 90's, so this type of fear wasn't quite recognized yet. She told me she would come back and tell me when it was all cleaned up. I remember her saying to the class "It's ok, everyone, these type of things happen" It was somewhat re-assuring.

That's just one of the things that triggered it I think. I used to feel sick all the time too, just like most of you, and it was due to the anxiety of the fear of being sick. But one night, I felt especially worse, and somehow, my parents knew I was sick for real this time. I was terrified, saying "please don't let it happen, please" to my parents. I remember them both getting up, taking my legs, and my arms and forcing me to the bathroom. I grabbed the ledge of the bathroom door and held on tight screaming "NOOOO", until they put me down on the bathroom floor and I got sick in the toilet...Then 5 more times that night.

That made my emet much worse. And it probably causes a lot of the problems I have today.

[psalm139]

wow guys some of you have been horriable things!!! and you are ALL so young!! I feel like the old lady here!! I am 34 mother of three. I can't remember how mine started. I have always not liked "v" but never had a fear of it. I wasn't sick alot when I was a child. i did get Mono when I was 13 and I remember being so sick..don't remember if I "ved" or not I just know I was in and out of it. I do rememeber around 2006 i had my first panic attack after my kids got sick. I didn't know what it was at first. I never struggled with fear or anxiety EVER in my life up to that point. I thought that I was going to die at the point it was so bad my whole body was numb and tingling and my chest hurt so bad...I finally went into the ER and they hooked me up to all these stuff running test after test. That is when panic attack came up. I never knew that is what it was

From than on I became so afraid of it. I have GERD gastrisits hetial hernia and all kinds of problems. I have been on and off meds for years. I end up having them so bad I go into seizers from the lack of Oxgyen. I end up in the ER every year! Last year i was so bad that I all wannted to do was escape so I tried to end my own life. The constant pain of my stomach issues and this fear grips me to bad. I can't stop thinking about it..Sometimes I feel like giving up. I don't want to my kids see me this way. I feel like I will never be cured. That I will live with this forever..fear of scaring my children. My youngest son has Autism and my daugher has ADHD with sensory intergration disorder. So I am constanly overhelmed daily. I go to conseoling but I am afraid to tell him that I wanna die. I am afraid that they will commit me again.

I always feel like I am going crazy or that perhaps I am crazy. My family and husband don't understand it. I hide it from my friends. The ones that I do have..since I don't like to go to "playdates" or play places because I fear "sv".


I hope someday I can cope better. I do see little victories. I have a faith in Jesus Christ and I know it helps me alot. This fear is ravishing my body. If I keep this up the next step for me is stomach cancer. So please ladies get it under control while you are still young..I am 34 now so I can;t bounce back anymore from what this has done to me.. Get on all the meds you can and get counseloing and don't be afraid of telling others so they can help you.....

Oh i was diagnosed with Emet in 2007. So I am a late bloomer here.....I am praying for ALL of you

[kimmiekoko]

psalm139, I have been dealing with gastritis for several years now also and am now weaning myself off prilosec because it started causing me to gain weight and bloat very painfully along with extreme water retention. I think our physical problems are really connected with our emotions and mindset. If we convince our subconscious minds to believe that we will get some kind of disease or will never heal then it takes that as a command. We focus too much on what it is that we don't want or don't like instead of what we do want and do like.
I practice doing this regularly for my issues and I catch myself constantly focusing in on the negatives instead of what it is that I would like to happen. It's hard to do, definitely doesn't come easy because we've always been so use to having the opposite mindset, it's familiar and change feels difficult and foreign.
Also, now I feel ancient because I am 45 and I'm still struggling with the emetephobia thing.

[x...RaChE...x]

I know exxactly how mine began... My sister was violently carsick, my gran who lived quite far away had lung cancer, we had to go see her every weekend so that meant 1 hr in the car trapped with a girl who was violently throwing up all over the back seat.... (shudder) so anyway I was screaming, my dad was fustrated and my sister was v*. As much as I screamed for my dad to stop the car, he wouldn't... bear in mind I was five.... my gran then died, but then her husband got senile dementia so we had to go see him reguarly... more car journeys.... after about a year he died so we didn't have to go on long car journeys much more but that few terrifing years the one thing that scares me the most is being around all that sick, I also mainly get my emetophobia when I am feeling claustrophobic or out of control.... stemmed from the dreaded car journeys???

[annette]

I know how every one on this page feels. I was always a bit scared of V**ing , because as achild, I used to V** once atear or s, for no reason. It never seemed natural or mormal to me, but I didn`t get really scared until a bad hangover expirience in January 1997, when I V**ted what looked like blood. Since then I have been very careful with alcohol, and have not V**ed since.

[Tersh]

Well, I'll type my story, and warn that it may be graphic.

I was a sick child. Always vomiting, and never really bothered by it. What DID bother me was that my mom would pretty much abandon me when it happened. She was an extreme emetophobe, which started as a child for her. Her entire family got food poisoning on a night that the power went out and they were all getting sick all over each other in the dark. Awful, so ican't blame her. But, as long as I can remember, when I got sick, I was left to deal with it alone, or if my grandma was around, she would help me. I remember every single time I vomited except one. And I think this was the one that started the fear (coupled, of course, with my mom's fear. As a child, if your mom thinks something is so bad she can't deal with it, you learn it must be pretty bad and learn to fear it too).

When I was 5, I drank a bunch of cough syrup and had to go to the hospital and drink charcoal. I was sick about 13 times, according to my mom. I remember none of this. After that, I would pray like this "please don't let me get sick times 1000000000, please let me not get sick, please times 10000000" on and on until I fell asleep. This continued until high school and after a bad sv, I was pretty good with the fear. But, my sister threw up in the car and my mom couldn't handle it. She insisted I go stay in a hotel with her and let me dad deal with my sister. Well, that bred another emetophobe in my sister, who learned that when she is sick, the people she needs abandoned her. She wouldn't eat, carried a pot around with her all the time and said she was going to throw up. I still feel awful for doing some of the things I did to hear. I remember her crying, saying she was going to throw up and me holding my hands out and screaming at her "thorw up in my hands then. Get it over with!" She went on to develop full blown OCD for 4 years, effectively ruining her childhood.

I was pretty good with emet until my mom committed suicide in 2000. Then, it came back with avengeance and I ended up in therapy for generalized anxiety disorder. I stayed on anti-depressants for a while and eventually got better. My own person fear of vomiting is gone, but it remains very strong for my children. I can't stand being alone with my kids in case on of them throws up And everytime my daughter has, I've given her to her dad to handle, which is what I don't want to do. I don't want to breed anotehr emtophobe. But, the thought of her unexpectedly throwing up is so awful, I can't stand it. I'm in a really bad place right now and I'm not sure what to do.

[AngelxDeidrael]

Just as a warning, I will be using the full words instead of v*. Some of these are graphic.

This started in my 10th grade health class. We were watching a movie on bulimia and I remember feeling really dizzy after watching a scene with a girl throwing up in a stall. We also watched "Super Size Me" in the same class and that particular scene caught me by surprise. Seeing other people throw up never bothered me until that point.

I vividly remember incidents of kids vomiting in my kindergarten class. My best friend threw up next to me at our table. It was really weird because I looked at her before she did and she didn't look sick. I turned away for a few seconds and there was vomit everywhere when I turned back. I was a little shocked, but it didn't rattle me too much.

The teacher was rearranging our seats and placed me across the room. A few minutes before she did, a girl who sat at my table told me that she wasn't feeling good that morning but she drank some cherry flavored medicine and she felt better. She still wanted to go to school because it was her birthday. Moments after I moved my seat, the girl started coughing loudly and the teacher said something along the lines of, "Oh no, don't throw up on your birthday!" and she vomited and it slid across the table.

In 3rd grade a kid threw up near to me because he ate his lunch too quickly. In 8th grade, the same kid ended up having diarrhea all over himself during a 3-hour exam. The room smelled TERRIBLE and everyone started feeling really sick from it. The principle sent out a letter saying that he had stink bombs that looked like pills (I've never heard of that before!) and they exploded in his pocket when he sat down. However, I don't think that was true...

When my sister was in 5th grade, she ate a bunch of cheese doodles and drank two glasses of orange juice about an hour before going to bed. A few minutes before she went to bed, she curled up under the covers and told my grandmother that she was feeling really cold. My parents figured she was coming down with a fever, so we didn't think anything of it. Around 1 or 2 in the morning, I wake up to see her throwing up in between our beds. The room wasn't completely dark, since we had a night light, but I'm not sure how I managed to run out of there and tell my grandmother in the next room. My sister slept with my parents for the rest of the night while I remained my room, paranoid that I was going to get the stomach virus.

Last spring I visited my boyfriend's dorm and I ended up with the stomach virus when I got back home. I dealt with the diarrhea, but the dry heaving freaked me out... I slept in the bathroom the entire day because I didn't want to throw up in my bedroom or anywhere else in the house. By the way, I've never thrown up before, and if I did, I probably don't remember. *knocks on wood* I was sick for more than a week... that was a really horrible experience.

I'm lactose intolerant and I have other GI problems as well. Last summer my aunt bought a red velvet cake for my birthday and my mom made lasagna and stuffed shells. I figured I could deal with a little stomach pain since I was on vacation. All of the dairy didn't bother me that day, but when my boyfriend and I went out to Applebee's a few days later for our 2nd anniversary, I felt incredibly nauseous after dinner. I ran to the bathroom and I thought I was going to throw up. I sent him a text message, telling him to pay. I eventually left when I felt a little better, but then I felt like throwing up again once we go to the parking lot. He ran to CVS to get me some water, and on our way back to my house, he remembers that he totally forgot to pay for the water because he was so concerned about me! That made me feel a little better, I suppose. Hahah!

So... now I'm freaking out because I spent a few hours at my friend's house and her mom came down with the stomach virus last night. To be fair, she was upstairs the entire time and I purposely didn't use their bathroom or drank or ate anything while I was there. :/

[annette]

I have read several stories about how emetophobic people have V**ted despite fighting it, & it makes me think that our bodies do it deliberately, just to spite us. I wish yhat our bodies would be more considerate, & say , well, if tou hate it so much, then I won`t do it to you! I mean, it` not like this particular body function is needed, because rats can`t do it , & they cope pefecly well, despite all the rubbish that they eat.

[annette]

I have read several stories about how emetophobic people have V**ted despite fighting it, & it makes me think that our bodies do it deliberately, just to spite us. I wish yhat our bodies would be more considerate, & say , well, if tou hate it so much, then I won`t do it to you! I mean, it` not like this particular body function is needed, because rats can`t do it , & they cope pefecly well, despite all the rubbish that they eat.

[Peter]

Our bodies are telling us that it doesn't like us inhaling cigars, cigarettes, marijuana or crack/cocaine. That opioid products such as oxycodone or heroine are not agreeable. That it doesn't want us to drink alcohol or take in any substances that could harm or kill us. Same with certain foods or items like poisonous plants or petroleum products.

So while we hate having to purge these unwelcome substances, our body is really giving us a polite message that it doesn't want us ingesting this crap.

[annette]

Polite!!!! are you kidding me? I don`t think it`s a polite message at all! I think it`s just about the biggest insult that our bodies can give us!

[Peter]

Sorry for the understatement as by using the euphenism "polite" as I was trying to put a cutesy twist on what is a very disagreeable and disgusting happening.

But as with a car stalling or a computer crashing, v* can be a wakeup call that there is something drastically wrong with our system and a warning to see a doctor or get to the ER.

No, I never meant to make light of these terribly nasty episodes; however, they could be a sign of something far worse.

[AnimatedFreak101]

It all started in the summer of 2005. Basically, my little brother got sick one morning (we slept together on an air mattress :P). The next night, I got it, and I just started really freaking out for some reason. But yeah, that pretty much triggered it. :/ I've been doing fine, though. No longer taking any medication, but I've learned to control my anxiety better.

[mvanessa]

I am sure what exactly caused my phobia. But I never felt well as a child and was very anxious all the time..early signs of my now diagnoised anxiety disorders. And my younger brother was a VERY sick baby and young child. I think one time must have traumatized me. He woudl get violently sick often.

[Help Me Please]

I was six years old and it was my brother's 10th birthday party. He invited his friends over. One of his friends brought golden oreos. They're like regular oreos but they're not chocolate.
I ate a bunch of them and started hanging out with my brother and his friends. They yelled at me to leave. I started feeling sick and I went to my mom. She thought I was sick just because they yelled at me. She let me lie down on her couch and she put a trash can near me.
I was watching TV when all of a sudden, I said, "Mom, now I feel REALLY sick," so she ran over to me and held the trash can up to my face...I v*ed a few times and I spent the rest of the day sick.
I just figured out that is the experience that scarred me.

BTW. I wasn't worried or scared at all when it happened, neither was I this January when I got Noro. However, in just a few months, I started freaking out about it again...AAAH

[ejb199]

i actually havent read any of these stories because i just dont see it beneficial in my recovery to read about everyone elses horrid vomit experiences.

i personally have no idea where my emet has come from. no really awful experience. perhaps an over anxious family, dramatising and making too big a deal out of vomiting when and if it did occur. over time that has been reinforced more and more with my avoidance of situations.

[hopefulmonster]

I was already an emet when this happened but when I was about 11 years old I was sat on the floor watching tv and my little brother stood over me and actually v*d all over my head, no joke! Naturally that didn't help my phobia one bit! No idea what really started my phobia. I read that most emets do not v* and so it never becomes 'normal' to them. That holds truth for me I suppose, though I would have thought with my little brother if I could have gotten used to it I would have!

[belle08]

The weird thing is, I can't remember ever not being emetophobic. It all started when my parents took me and my brother to a pub for dinner when I was 5 and my brother had too much coke and in the car...
I was absolutely hysterical and my parents shouted at me because they were obviously trying to sort my brother out. My counsellor later said their reaction and not calming me was probably the trigger, but since then i've had a fear of myself and other people being ill, and before this website and stuff, i've never known anybody else to have it, and it really annoys me when people say they're scared of being ill when they just don't like it, if only they knew!
Anyway, sorry for going on!

[x...RaChE...x]

I think alot of triggers are v*ing in the car, mine was and my godmothers emet began with someone p*ing in the car. Maybe it is because of the confined space and also your not in control of the car... just a theory

[alxndriamrqtt1]

I don't know where it started in my life. I know I've been terrified of V* for as long as I can remember. I would always turn around and close my ears and eyes any time someone would be sick at school or at home. But, when I was 13 I had an incident that changed who I was.

Graphic**

I remember going out to eat at a German place on Father's day. The whole day my back had hurt, but I had felt fine otherwise. My little brother decided to stay home but I went with my parents because I felt bad that it was Father's day and no one wanted to go! We got to the place and I ate a German salad and a hot chocolate. I started feeling really tired and weird but it wasn't really something I had never felt before. I ust rested my head on my hand because I was getting dizzy. All the sudden I burped a little and then V* all over the place! All over myself and my mom. I wasn't scared or anything, I actually felt better afterwards. My mom took me home and I took a shower and was fine. every since then, I've feared the same thing will happen again. It was out of nowhere which is what scares me. How am I supposed to know if it's just going happen?? I was fine after that for about 2 years. When I turned 16 though, the memory resurfaced. And now at 19, I can't stop thinking the "what if?" Now I'm really scared to go out to eat and I haven't touched German food since. I also hates Father's day.

Alex

[ajatwister]

Hello!! I am a sufferer of the worst phobia out there, Emetophobia. It all started about 6 years ago when I was in elementary school. It was 3rd grade. I remember getting off school for Christmas break that year for two weeks, and trust me I was so excited to get off school. Well the two weeks came and went and next thing I knew i was going to bed and heading back to school the next day. I became extremely nervous, mainly about v***ting at school. I had panic attacks left and right, and I did not know what to do. Well im one of the people where the nerves go straight to my stomach, so i began to v***t. I told my parents that i felt "sick" and they said I could stay home the next day. Well this lasted all week and I didn't go to school that whole week. Every night I would get a panic attack and v***t. So eventually I told my parents what was going on, and they thought it was a giant hoax to get off school, which is wasn't. So i had to go to school that following week. I couldn't ride to bus, so my dad was kind enough to drop me off at school. I remember having a panic attack on the way to school but tried to let it not effect my stomach. I made it to school, went to my classroom and freaked out!! I had to go the nurse and i rember her saying "you're not sick you need to go back to class". Well i didn't. I went to my teacher that i had the year before, and wouldn't leave her all day. This went on for days to the point where i thought my life was coming to an end. I stopped eating and lost 12 pounds, and thats when my parents knew something was wrong. After two months (longest ever) my fear begun to subside, and it seemed to fizzle away, so all seemed well and i started eating again. Up until last year. Well I was a freshman in high school and the year was coming to an end. This one day shook my life once again. That day I remember feeling sick to my stomach and it really never bothered me if i did v***t in class. So i just ignored it and moved on. I got on the bus and all of a sudden out of the middle of nowhere I get this panic attack!! there must be 50 people around me and im in the middle of the seat... which makes it worse. The bus driver is mean one, and will not stop for anything. Then i start to gag and i try to plan an escape route, which there isnt one. so that wave finally stoped but i am still very panicky. The bus ride is usually 50 minutes to my house (including stops) and because the bus driver wouldnt let anyome off unless its there stop i had to sit there with the thought of v***ting in my mind for that long. What seems like 3 years later i get to the front of the bus by my stop and threw up everywhere!! everyone was screaming and saying eww... and the bus driver just looked at me and gave me a paper towel and said "clean it up". Yeah it was pretty bad. and of course embarrassing. So the rest of that year i begged to get a ride from my mom to and from school. Every night i would freak out thinking that she may not be able to pick me up. and what happens if i get sick during my exam? (they dont let you out during exams) So once again I stopped eating. This lasted another 4 weeks... and i never got sick nor did i have to ride the bus. I have a car and my license now which is the biggest relief ever! I also am eating again... however every once in a while a get a mild case of the fear, but i know its probably hibernating and might strike again the the near future...

[superjosh]

This is probably the first time I've sat down and recounted my entire story. So here we go...

My first experience with v* was when I was three and was having a very bad fever. I clearly remember having to v* three different times during that period of time. I remember v'ing about six times in my life, all the times occurring before I turned six years old.

I suppose the first time I ever seemed genuinely scared was in kindergarten. Now, at this moment, I'd like to point out that I've been completely indifferent to v*. Before that day, I did not react when a kid v* on my hand or on my shirt. But that day, I pressed myself against the classroom wall as far away from it as I could, and I obviously must have been quite dramatic because my teacher asked me if I was okay myself.

From there onwards, my memories get a little fuzzier. I remember this one time where a kid about three people in front of me v'ed while my class was lining up for something in second grade, and I along with about six other kids were moved to the back of the line, and I was first to the back... about a minute before the others arrived. I remember being stuffed into the back seat of a car next to my seven-year-old cousin who was breathing into a plastic bag, previously having complained that he was feeling sick (I also had the embarrassing honors of singing a High School Musical song to get him to sing along and get v* off his mind, and thankfully, it worked) and being completely freaked out about it. I had my face pressed against the window and I was sweating despite the air-conditioning. I remember a time where my mother and I were at my aunt's house when she decides to v* in the toilet. I instantly went into the other bathroom and locked it, claiming I was "doing my business" for the next 20 minutes until I left the house without saying goodbye to my aunt or anything. I remember having extremely shaky hands and feet, just last year, after witnessing someone v* on the floor in front of me and being first up the stairs into the classroom.

So yeah, for me, it's kinda unclear where I separate the point of where I did not have emetophobia and where I did, but I'm absolutely sure that I still have it today.