Hi there! I'm new and so very happy to know I'm not the only one out there. I've been this way (to varying degrees) for over 20 years now, and I feel like emetophobia is again running my life. I've been a flight attendant for around 3 years, and have been "ok" for most of it, but recently I'm worse than ever. There have been several horrific v*ing experiences with passengers lately (I won't go into the nasty details!) and find that I cannot handle it anymore. I worry ALL the time before, during and after each flight and find myself in a sweaty, shaky panic on my days off even thinking about going flying again. If someone does v*, I get shaky and feel sick and there's no where to run. If they need help, I cannot do it--I'll avoid them for the rest of the flight. Plus, it's a smaller jet and I'm the ONLY flight attendant onboard--guess who has to deal with any v*??? I think it's time to quit, but I really do love the job. I'm also a single mother to an amazing 9 year old boy, and I feel I'm the worst mom ever. I've actually run away from him when he's had a sv-- I've never felt worse in my life. My mother is wonderful and helps me out, but I still worry constantly that he's going to be sick. I cannot take him to movies or amusements parks or anything like that, so he ends up paying for my phobia. I truly hate myself for that.
Thanks so much for listening to me--it's an amazing feeling to know that people feel just like me.