Emetophobia: The Fear of Vomiting

[anxiousamber]

I am extremely new to this forum and my main reason for getting involved now is because I want to be able to meet and speak with people who experience things I do every day. My name is Amber, I am 18, and I have been diagnosed with multiple mental disorders since May of 2015. I have so many tendencies that make me feel super alone and like no one is going through what I am going through. One of these "tendencies" is the fact that I have a crippling fear of throwing up. I don't like throwing up, I don't like being around someone who's throwing up, I don't like being around sick people or at places that have a lot of germs. It takes over my life a lot of the time. I don't like going places because what if I throw up there in front of people? What if someone at the same place as me throws up? What if I have to use a public restroom somewhere where people before me have thrown up? These are legit scenarios that haunt me every day. Especially working with children. I am a nanny this summer and I am ridiculously afraid that one day while I'm there one of the kids is gonna get sick, and then since I am there all the time I'll end up getting sick as well. That's just how my brain works in these types of situations. Please reach out to me if you can relate to any of this at all! It'd be nice to talk to people who can offer comments, opinions, experiences, advice, etc. x

[Nowuccas]

Hey anxiousamber,

A previous post follows:

EMETOPHOBIA: Fear of vomit(ing)/throwing up, is the 7th most common of the phobias.

It may be related to stress, panic, or anxiety, so view those topics at http://www.your-mental-health.weebly.com/1.html and pages m, h, and i. Check out: http://www.emetophobiarecovery.org/treatment/desensitization-and-exposure-treatment.html See www.emetophobia.org/ (message board for support) & http://www.emetonline.co.uk/ & http://www.gut-reaction.freeserve.com/ (self help support group) & http://emetophobia.bravepages.com (I have received positive feedback about this website)
Find a clinical psychologist who deals with phobia. Google: "clinical psychologists; (your location)" Closely examine the http://1-800-therapist.com/ & http://www.metanoia.org/choose/ websites.

Hypnotherapy, or NeuroLinguistic Programming may be effective. It is important, however, to address the cause of the problem, rather than just the symptom, or it may manifest again in a different form. Most people are suggestible, to some extent, so consider professional hypnotherapy, or http://www.hypnosisdownloads.com has Perfect Partners: Perfect Partners: Fear of Vomiting + Keep a Cool Head, or http://www.instant-hypnosis.com has Fear of Vomiting, or (free) at: www.freehypnosistreatment.com - anxiety (kindly make a suitable donation, if helped).

Recommended reading: Living with Emetophobia: Coping with Extreme Fear of Vomiting, by Nicolette Heaton-harris, & The Emetophobia Eraser Program, by Jillian Stevens, & Beyond Anxiety and Phobia: A Step-by-Step Guide, by Edmund J. Bourne, & Phobias And How To Overcome Them: Understanding And Beating Your Fears by Art Bell Ph.D., & Conquering Panic and Anxiety Disorders: Success Stories, Strategies, and Other Good News by Jenna Glatzer and Ph.D. Paul Foxman Ph.D., from your bookstore, or Amazon.com. SUPPORT GROUPS: www.emetophobia-clinic.com/ & www.angelfire.com/ & http://dailystrength.org/

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"I am ridiculously afraid that one day while I'm there one of the kids is gonna get sick, and then since I am there all the time I'll end up getting sick as well." - I suggest that you learn and employ the TECHNIQUE FOR REPROGRAMMING NEGATIVE THOUGHTS, at http://anxietyforum.net/forum/showthread.php?34059-At-a-loss!&p=224394#post224394

The following came from Yahoo!:

One: Take a sheet of paper and divide it into four columns. In the first column, write down all the negative, distressing or anxiety-provoking thoughts that are going through your head.
If you just know you feel bad and are not sure what you’re thinking, these questions may help:
What was going through my mind just before I started to feel this way?
What does this say about me? What does it say I can/can’t do?
What does this mean about me? My life? My future?
What am I afraid might happen? What is the worst thing that could happen if this is true?
What does this mean about what other people might think/feel about me?
What does this mean I should/shouldn’t do?
What images or memories do I have in this situation?

Read through your list of thoughts and circle the one you find most distressing. This is the thought you’re going to challenge. (You can always repeat the exercise for other thoughts later if you like.)

Two: In the second column, write down all the factual evidence that suggests your circled thought is true. Be as specific as possible, and only include facts, not opinions. For example, if your friend Sally said a particular dress made you look a little fat, don’t write, “I look fat” (this is just Sally’s opinion). Don’t write, “Sally says I look fat” (this is overgeneralising). Write something like, “Sally said I looked a little fat in the green dress.”

Three: In the third column, write down any factual evidence that suggests your circled thought is not 100% true. To do this, you can ask yourself the following questions:
Have I had any experiences that show that this thought is not completely true all the time?
If my best friend or someone I loved had this thought, what would I tell them?
If my best friend or someone who loves me knew I was thinking this thought, what would they say to me? What evidence would they point out to me that would suggest that my thoughts were not 100% true?
When I am not feeling this way, do I think about this type of situation any differently? How?
When I have felt this way in the past, what did I think about that helped me feel better?
Have I been in this type of situation before? What happened? Is there anything different between this situation and previous ones? What have I learned from prior experiences that could help me now?
Are there any small things that contradict my thoughts that I might be discounting as not important?
Five years from now, if I look back at this situation, will I look at it any differently? Will I focus on any different part of my experience?
Are there any strengths or positives in me or the situation that I am ignoring?
Am I jumping to any conclusions that are not completely justified by the evidence?
Am I blaming myself for something over which I do not have complete control?

Four: In the final column, try to come up with some “alternative” or “balanced” thoughts that are more factually accurate than those in the first column. These should take into account all the evidence you’ve just gathered. You can ask yourself the following questions:
Based on the evidence I have listed, is there an alternative way of thinking about or understanding the situation?
Write one sentence that summarizes all the evidence that supports my thought and all the evidence that does not support my thought.
Does combining the two summary statements with the word “and” create a balanced thought that takes into account all the information I have gathered?
If someone I cared about was in this situation, had these thoughts, and had this information available, what would be my advice to them? How would I suggest that they understand the situation?
If my thought is true, what is the worst outcome? If my thought is true, what is the best outcome? If my thought is true, what is the most realistic outcome?

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Anti-anxiety techniques:

Learn, become proficient in, and employ acupressure tapping / EFT, and progressive muscle relaxation, ( http://www.drcoxconsulting.com/managing-stress.html ) using whichever you find most effective.

Give the Meridian Tapping Technique / EFT a good tryout, to see if it helps you. It is free via mercola.com or www.tapping.com (13 free videos), or www.eftuniverse.com or www.emofree.com or one of the many YouTube videos. Google: "YouTube; EFT videos".
Professionally instructed is generally preferable (Google: therapists; EFT; [your location] or mercola.com has a locator). - There is a version for use in public places at http://eft.mercola.com (if you like, you can claim to have a headache, as you employ the acupressure massage / tapping on your temples, but you would then be restricted to subvocalising: saying it to yourself in your mind: "Even though I have emetophobia, I deeply and completely accept myself)."

[rhodeliais13]

Hi,
I am emet as well and this summer we had to go to visit relatives, and my cousin had had a BABY, and I was TERRIFIED to be in the same room with it. But it didn't ever throw up in my presence. Sometimes kids will surprise you. There's a youtuber named Henya Mania who made a video on emetophobia. Trigger Warning: she goes into pretty graphic detail. But it was really nice to watch that and find someone online with this who is happy and makes me less scared about my future dealing with this (I am 13).