Emetophobia - gonna get flamed...

Sorry maybe I missed it but why did your mum visit you with a sickness bug?

I don’t have that phobia but a friend of mine does. I see it seems to be very common and I have total sympathy for you - I have my own phobias.

Tbh phobia aside if your mum does have a sickness bug surely tomorrow first thing she should leave if someone is able to drive her home?

This is me, I can cope with myself being sick but go into total panic at the thought of anyone else. If I'm on public transport I'm on high alert all the time, checking if anyone looks like they might be sick! The more situations that people are/or I've heard of people being sick, then that's another situation I worry about.

I think it's the worst phobia...you can avoid spiders, snakes, heights, enclosed spaces to a degree but not vomit, unless you avoid people/transport/children/hospitals/doctors life in general .

You poor thing. You can access help. My colleague's son sought help and, while not altogether over it, is now much more able to cope.

Ive had this crippling phobia since i was about 7, well that’s when my parents noticed something was up with my reaction to things, I avoided school trips, travel, parties it absolutely dominates my life at times and I feel the walls are closing in on me. I’ve tried hypnosis and cbt. I, like you also feel both terrified and guilty at the same time if it’s a loved one, it really is a phobia I wouldn’t wish on anyone and you are doing better than I would be. I would also be weeing in the garden. Hang in there and this forum is a great support for sufferers as there are many of us in this rubbish club.

There used to be an online site about it ( Emetophobia) about 12 yrs ago.

The site seems to have gone now, but what was interesting she showed “ photos “ of vomit or soup , and asked us to look and tell which was which.
I felt panicky looking at the images, through my fingers- then nauseated.

Then it said ALL the images were soup!!
This made me realise how much the mind has a powerful effect on behaviour.

The images were pixels on a screen- harmless soup.
I could look without fear, then.

I hate it too!
I drove my husband nuts when we were lookin to buy our current house. I wouldn't consider any house with fewer than 3 bathrooms 🤣

😂 Same!
My Whippet was a very “sicky” puppy- in fact she yokked and did a teaspoon full of sick when I went to meet her at 7 weeks old ( she didn’t come home til 9 weeks old, but goodness me, she was very prone to vomiting in those early weeks. ( Delicate tummy) Vet said she’d outgrow it , and she did.

I’d see her start to yok and would put a magazine ( antiques trade gazettes) under her chin.

She once threw up sardines in a car on a hot day and I could manage fine-even with fishy whiff.

It’s humans that make me 😱 panic! A rough ferry crossing would be hellish.😂

Would never phone you, sounds really stressful. Not your family’s fault but not your fault either. Sounds like you’re trying your best.

It's not a cure (even though it claims it is), but those suffering with this, have a look at the Thrive Programme. It's very good.
It's helped me more with my general mental health than emetophobia itself but it's really helped me understand how my mind actually works.
That and the Chimp Paradox. Phobias like this stem for unhelpful and catastrophic thinking patterns, nothing else.

Yet another emetophobe here. I’m exactly the same as you, OP. Can’t cope at all with others being sick, no issue when it’s me (in fact I would sacrifice myself to not have to see another person throw up). I can’t even watch someone being sick on TV, even if I know it’s not real. Just to add to the chorus of YANBU (for all the reasons mentioned by others), I want you to know that I’ve found seeing all these responses extremely validating. I don’t feel like anyone has ever really taken my phobia seriously even though it essentially prevented me from going out at night through uni and has also played a significant part in my decision not to have kids. I’ve just felt like a shithouse when my friends have got blind drunk and I’ve stayed away incase they threw up, or when I’ve refused to hold friends’ babies for fear they’d be sick on me. It’s such a relief to know that I’m not alone!

I'm not going to say that YANBU: by definition you're being unreasonable, because you're in the grip of an illness that makes you unreasonable.

That doesn't mean I'm not sympathetic.

Best wishes for a swift recovery for your lovely mother and an eventual recovery for you.

I don't have emetophobia and I wouldn't be happy about this OP. Especially with noro flying around. If she had been honest, she could have been made comfortable in another room and everything sanitised with bleach.

No flaming from me. I have this awful phobia too and it’s blighted my life since I was 11. It absolutely rules my entire life. I’ve tried everything possible to get rid of it but nothing has worked even a tiny bit. People seem to understand someone having a phobia of spiders or snakes, but not vomit. Which is ridiculous because if you’re scared of yourself and other people vomiting, it’s something you can never ever get away from. It’s like living in a house with a box full of spiders at all times. And the spiders are locked in the box but you know that they can be released at any time with no warning or very little warning. And even if you leave the house you have to take the box of spiders with you and it could open even when you’re out of the house. There is no escape. I understand. Under the circumstances you are doing brilliantly.

PS I would absolutely wee in a bucket rather than use the bathroom after someone had been sick in there. I know that’s mad but it is what it is.

I’ve got ocd and did exposure and response prevention therapy for phobias. I do understand it.
If someones reaction to a trigger is very extreme, involves shouting, upsetting others, frightening them etc then they need to figure out some way to manage it better. That’s why I’m asking what the actual reaction is.

Another emetophobe here. You are doing amazingly well. Like you say you know it’s irrational but you really can’t help your reaction. I have actually fainted from panic when someone was sick near me and never had children. My partner was vomiting yesterday from a bug I presume. I was sat in a room furthest away with earplugs in and have bleached the place within an inch of its life. Could just about stick my head around the door to make sure he was ok at intervals. He is better today and I’m waiting with bated breath to see if I come down with it next so have hardly eaten for two days .. it’s ridiculous I know. Hopefully your mum will be better tomorrow and you will all escape it .

@Hertzdonut
I don't think you have any understanding of what a phobia is. You can't just say "it isn't acceptable" to someone who has no control of their fear or how they react to it.