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Original poster

to wonder why 'emetophobes' are everywhere on MN

180 replies

OuchLegoHurts · 20/07/2018 20:39

Why does every second person on Mumsnet seem to declare themselves an emetophobe? Does anyone actually enjoy vomiting? I would have thought that everyone hates getting sick, but to label oneself emetophobic is overly dramatic in most cases?

OP posts:
Lauren83 · 20/07/2018 22:00

Did you just come here to bitch about your patients AND people with phobias?

Blushah · 20/07/2018 22:01

Can I ask all the confessed emetophobes here- are you only phobic to vomit? As in, are you only emetophobes?

A genuine question! It has been my experience that emetophobia comes in clusters with other phobias- is this the case?

Interested to know.

Jeippinghmip · 20/07/2018 22:02

I've had a Nissens Fundoplication. I physically can't be sick but this doesn't stop me from dry heaving, which is hideous.

TigerDroveAgain · 20/07/2018 22:03

Not RTFT but life in general is full of fusspots. Nobody likes vomit.

Vickyyyy · 20/07/2018 22:04

I have no other phobias.

Blushah · 20/07/2018 22:05

Lauren You'd be amazed how many 'panic attack/claustrophobes' - I can persuade through a45 minute MRI scan. For which they are grateful! As am I, because they get their diagnosis.

Just saying.

I am very good at what I do. Please do not assume that I do not do my best for such patients, I am the soul of understanding, but I reserve my right to state that so much of this is 'modern'. Patients, 25 years ago, 'got on with it' far more than today's.

I am not 'bitching', I am observing.

madamginger · 20/07/2018 22:10

I have emetaphobia, the idea of vomit makes me sweat and shake.
I had HG in all 3 of my pregnancies and it nearly killed me. I would curl up in a ball and cry because I was vomiting, I nearly had a termination of my last pregnancy because of it.
I also get travel sick and I never travel unless I am driving because I don’t get sick then. I had to get a taxi last week and I ended up getting out an walking because I was feeling nauseous and I was only in the car 5 minutes.
I’m not normally an anxious person but I cannot be around anyone who is sick or nauseous. I wash my hands till they bleed, I can’t use public toilets in case anyone is in there vomiting or has been in there and the toilets haven’t been cleaned properly.
DH has to deal with the dc if they are sick and I hide away till it’s over

PrincePhilipIsNotDeadYet · 20/07/2018 22:11

No. I have no other phobias. Thank god. Honestly, emetophobia nearly got me fired from jobs for non-attendance, affected my relationships, made me anorexic... it was awful. If I had another phobia on top of that one, I don’t think my brain could’ve coped with the stress.

LighthouseSouth · 20/07/2018 22:12

OP I'm emetophobic

but I'm far more likely to say on an anonymous forum than at work or something. My close friends and family know because they have to. But it's in the top 5 phobias or something I think?

I do remember someone at work observing that I scrub up like a surgeon a few times a day. I didn't say anything. But ...ew, Tubes, offices..and for the sake of any phobes on here I will not go near what my last experience of noro was like. Actually I think it's a pretty rational fear!!!

PrincePhilipIsNotDeadYet · 20/07/2018 22:13
  • Patients, 25 years ago, 'got on with it' far more than today's.

I am not 'bitching', I am observing*

Because it’s getting easier to talk about mental health issues. 30 years ago I imagine people still had the same phobias, they just hid them and coped using a combination of avoidance tactics and fronting out sheer terror.

Lovemusic33 · 20/07/2018 22:15

I don’t see lots of people saying they are emetophobes.

Everyone dislikes being sick but for my it takes over my life (not as bad now as it used to be), I can’t travel on public transport, I can’t drink alcohol, I freak out if a friend or family member has a bug, I have been known to keep my kids at home when there’s a bug doing the rounds. If someone throws up I shake with fear and my body empties from the other end (sorry if tmi). I don’t just dislike sick, I’m petrified of it.

MsFrizzle · 20/07/2018 22:15

If you don't have emetophobia you have no idea what it's like to be viscerally TERRIFIED of vomiting. I once threatened to commit suicide rather than vomit (which I came close to doing) because I was so frightened of it.

It's not just 'not liking being sick'. STFU with that.

dingdongadingding · 20/07/2018 22:17

@blushah

I went to the midwife when pregnant with DS2 and she laughed that I was generally just quite easy going. I don’t mean that to sound boastful but I’m lucky that I do just get on with it

The midwife tended to agree with you that many women that she sees are fraught with anxieties and phobias moreso now than ever. She was late fifties/early 60s so had plenty of experience!

user1471458690 · 20/07/2018 22:20

No, I have no other phobias. Blushah, I am finding your posts offensive. Emetophobia has had such a negative effect on my life. I do "get on with it" as much as I can, but the panic at times is very real and difficult to cope with. You don't know what your talking about I'm afraid.

MadMags · 20/07/2018 22:20

It's like everyone diagnosing themselves with social anxiety on here. It's only true if a doctor diagnoses you.

LighthouseSouth · 20/07/2018 22:22

look away emetophobes who may be unable to discuss phobia

pp says "If someone throws up I shake with fear and my body empties from the other end (sorry if tmi). I don’t just dislike sick, I’m petrified of it."

to some extent, this. There was an incident on my train several years back. I obviously got off the train as soon as it stopped. But then I went to sit down, my legs buckled and I really thought I was going shit myself!! But then I conveniently fainted instead and came to with a bunch of strangers peering at me and the staff wanted to call an ambulance!! Of course I couldn't tell them I was reacting to what happened on the train so I muttered something about low blood pressure and said I'd get DP to collect me.

hence my point - how many people will tell you about this phobia in real life? People would think it was batshit. If more people are talking about it, that's good.

oh another look away moment - after we saw Trainspotting 2, we heard some poor girl have this conversation with her mate

Girl 1 - so what did you think?

Girl 2 - I don't know - no one warned me about that scene so I didn't really register anything after that.

DP told me when I could look but I'd already got detailed instructions from a friend as well!

comeherepetal · 20/07/2018 22:23

I am. It terrifies me beyond belief. If I think there is a chance some one is ill (causing sickness) I start shaking and sweating.

I have panic attacks. I dread my step children staying incase they are sick and spend every other weekend a bag of nerves.

I wash my hands constantly. I over cook food, if someone mentions they have been sick recently I will just avoid them or get away from them.

I think about it constantly and always have anti sickness pills in my bag.

It is horrible and consuming. I have had hypnotherapy and it only helped a little.

It is a horrible phobia.

comeherepetal · 20/07/2018 22:24

Only my mum and partner know. I would be too embarrassed to tell anyone else.

sockunicorn · 20/07/2018 22:39

i also like being sick Blush. makes me feel better and all light and nice. (for the record im a healthy size 10 and have never had an eating disorder or issues with food)

Sallystyle · 20/07/2018 22:40

The thing with these kind of threads is that the people who genuinely have the phobia often get offended.

We all realise that there are people out there who have it and really struggle because of it. This thread isn't really aimed at you.

It is aimed at the people who have to label every dislike as a phobia. There is a lot of that about. The OP says it is over-dramatic in most cases. She isn't suggesting the phobia isn't real. I don't know what percentage of MN users who say they have it genuinely do, but it is very obvious that labelling every strong dislike as a phobia happens.

TheDishRanAwayWithTheSpoon · 20/07/2018 22:46

Blushah its funny you notice this because I am a HCP and I have never had someone tell me they have an allergy when they "don't like something", occasionally get an "I am allergic" when actually theyve had a non-allergic reaction e.g. made them sick. I don't notice any correlation between young girls and women and phobias. I tend to find women admit to phobias more than men but men are equally scared they just don't tell me. I am a dentist so as you can imagine I get lots of phobias, I can generally get people with phobias to be treated but that doesn't mean they don't have a phobia its just about recognising what their phobia actually is (often it is loss of control) and showing a lot of empathy, kindness and giving them plenty of time. I really how I have never had you as a HCP as I would prefer a bit more empathy from people I trust my health to.

I am emetephobic and honestly it ruined my teenage years. I didn't eat for weeks on end, I wouldnt go on planes or boats or buses, I wouldnt go to the cinema or concerts or sport events, clubs or parties. I can cope with trains as long as I sit by the toilet. If anyone coughs excessively I can have a panic attack. I can cope with being sick in the toilet but I can't cope with feeling sick or other people being sick. It completely controls me. I think about it all day everyday. I used to not sleep, bunk off school because I was so scared. I am better now and can do some of these things but generally when I do all I can think about it "what if I am sick "what if they are sick. Its different from just not liking sick because it is all consuming, it's overwhelming and hideous feeling of total fear. Like if someone is sick or feels sick or looks a bit pale or I smell something vaguely sicky I completely shut down. I think it's really annoying that people assume they know more about how I'm feeling than I actually do. I know the difference between being a bit scared of something and a phobia, I know how my body reacts and what I am thinking and actually no one else does.

The reason you see more is because these days people know about it more, they have always been there but now people can admit to them. That is all.

ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 20/07/2018 22:47

I read Blushah’s post as saying that people who are uncomfortable with situations are more likely to label it as a phobia rather that just gritting their teeth and getting on with it. People with genuine diagnosed phobias are a different case.

I am uncomfortable when I have an MRI scan and have to keep my eyes tightly shut or my heart rate shoots up. However, I am not claustrophobic. My dislike of being shoved in a narrow metal tube is rational and situation specific not a debilitating phobia. So I should just get on with it and not try to label my feelings as a phobia.

MsChandlerBong · 20/07/2018 22:49

Remember the spider thing years ago when if someone used the word spider they got flamed for it. You had to call them loofahs.

That was like 10 yrs ago.

And by God if you started a thread than mentioned spiders with out writhing (loofahs mentioned) in the title you were shouted at

TattiePants · 20/07/2018 22:51

I'm emetophobic and have no other phobias although I do have anxiety (diagnosed and medicated). Everyone on this thread who is emetophobic have said it's much more then a dislike of vomiting. It takes over your life, controls where you go, what you do and how you get there. In my case, it's less about me vomiting and more about being around others who are sick.

I was last on a boat 10 years ago and I got off when someone said they felt queasy and had a convoluted and expensive journey back via train, taxi and walking. It's 9 years since I was last on a plane. Most people worry about the plane crashing, I am terrified of being trapped next to a vomiting person. If someone near me is drunk, I panic and have to move away. In fact, I have barely drank alcohol in the last 12 years in case it makes me sick. DH hasn't been sick because of alcohol in 15+ years but I still can't sleep in the same room as him if he has drank alcohol because I panic.

So yes, definitely more than not enjoying being sick.

TheDishRanAwayWithTheSpoon · 20/07/2018 22:55

Chaz The thing is though is I can't just grit my teeth and get on with it. There's lots of things I can, I hate needles but I can have a blood test or an injection I just get panicky. I hate lifts and small spaces but I can get in a lift and I can have an MRI, again I just get a bit panicky. I really can't sit there and watch someone be sick, I just can't. Your acting like people with phobias are just being pathetic but they are not. I am actually really fucking good at sitting through a situation where I feel really uncomfortable because I feel really uncomfortable a lot of the time and I can't just not live my life anymore, but it's pretty exhausting.