People who call themselves emetaphobes - are they for real?

[haychee]

I hadnt even heard of this until a thread i started which mentioned the word puke produced an effect on some that they coudnt even come on to mn until that thread had died. They couldnt even bare to read a word?!

Another thread running now, is talking about how some are affected by this phobia. Some of them i can see it is a real big problem and for them i do have sympathy. But some, who like me, do not like to see others being sick but are classing themselves as emetaphobic - this im finding difficult to comprehend. I dont like it at all - i avoid being too close to someone (eg kissing dh or dc if they have been ill in the last few days) for fear of exposing myself to a possible bug. But im not emetaphobic - please tell me im not.

No, haychee, it wouldn't bother me if someone who was less phobic than me described themselves as 'emetophobic'. Why should it? It's not a competition! If the idea of someone being sick bothers the other person enough for them to feel that the word is appropriate, then I would only feel sympathy for them. I said before that I am less badly affected than some other people on here, but when I have been worried about this they have shown me nothing but kindness and support.

I have to go to bed now too. Just back from holiday and dd2 thinks it's an hour later than it really is, and keeps waking up an hour earlier than I want her to. Aaargh!

Thankyou ellbell.

I am honestly keen to understand more but dont want to make you suffer in the process of trying to explain it. I do have a clearer picture of it now, but i do still feel that some people use labes such as these inappropriately, you most definitely do not. Yours is a true hieghtened response and i am proud of you for trying to overcome it. I wish you all the luck with it and well done for getting as far as you have.

Glad we've got that sorted out, then. If you want to call yourself phobic, you just have to present yourself to haychee, give a full report of your problem and she will decide whether or not you are genuinely phobic, or just making it up because you don't like clearing up when people have been ill. Because she knows all about it, despite never having heard of it before now.

So childish.
I was honest, i learnt more about it but am no expert. I have trouble respecting and or trusting others judgements on this. Im not saying that anyone has been making anything up, but possibly some adopt a title when they are not suffering to a degree i would class as an extreme phobia. Im not necessarily referring to anyone in particular, just a broadspectrum view of how times have changed, how nowadays people are far more easily slotted into categories that wouldnt of been some years ago.
I avoid any situations that involve sickness but i wouldnt call myself ematophobic, where perhaps another would. I hate spiders, really freak me out, but again i wouldnt call myself arachnaphobic but possibly another would.

I dont have any authority to decide for someone else, but its just an opinion - am i not entitled to have an opinion?

Those long green things from the marrow family that starts with C.....g.....e make my stomach heave over. Not just the sight of them, but the very word.

I was violently sick the first time I had them, I am well aware that it could have been something else but the connection is now firmly embedded in my mind.

My stomach is heaving over just typing this.

Can Haychee please come back and rate me on a scale of 1-10 please.

Opinions are always welcome on MN. (God knows we are an opinionated lot) However a bit of sensitivity in the title and less sweeping statements would have gone a long way to avoiding this. IMO

Haychee - have you ever stopped to think why your posts provoke this kind of reply?

You think you're being reasonable but actually you are rude and patronising to other people. As you say yourself:

"I have trouble respecting and or trusting others judgements"

I truly, truly hope I am never nursed by you because no doubt you wouldn't believe that I was ill unless it manifested itself in a way that you and only you would believe.

Why do you have trouble respecting other people's judgement on it? What difference does it make to you who calls themselves what w/r to their fears?

I think its becomming apparent that im not a particularly sensitive person. Im quite hard, harsh, or tough. Probobly to do with the upbringing i have had personally.

I drank pernod as a teenager (aniseed spirit), i was violently ill with it and have an association with that and sickness, so will not touch it or even want to smell it. But does that make me ematophobic? I too would not be at all impressed if dh kissed me on the lips after a bout of sickness - does that make me ematophobic? I will not put myself and worry for my dc if they have been, exposed to sickness - but does that make me an ematophobe?

You will never be nursed by me - i am no longer practising.

We had an occassional needle phobic come through our wards, some suffered hugely, some just could not watch being injected etc. Well, i do not like to watch myself being injected, i too turn away, but i don not class myself as needle phobic. Those whose lives are dominated on a daily basis by phobias imo are genuine phobics.

Haychee...

A genuine question for you.

Have you actually read anything anyone has posted on this thread? Anything at all?

flamebatfink

It makes no difference to me at all - who classes themselves as what. Im merely stating an opinion that these titles are used far more frequently/easily than they would of been some years ago.

Well, glad we got to the bottom of that.

NEXT!!!

Have read it all weinstein

I think all on here who have classed themselves as ematophobic are truly suffering and have used the title correctly.

Im just trying to determine where the line is between a fear (like mine) and true phobia. I think it seems to be when a persons life is dominated by the phobia.

I dont mean to upset anyone - i just wanted clearer clarification.

isn't it emEtic not ematic?

Gosh, Haychee, you can just count yourself jolly lucky not to have had to know about it! It's horrible. There have been countless threads I have had to avoid- including the emetophobe one itself!

For me, it's not sick, it's poo.

Sometimes I have to go and vomit before changing a nappy.

I used to have a strong stomach, but since being horribly vomitous during both my pregnancies, my gag reflex is STRONG and my stomach turns pretty easily. I can look at an open toilet and make myself sick enough on some thought or another to puke.

Once I've retched, however, I can take on just about anything.

It sounds awful. I am lucky.

You're very lucky.

I was very ill during both my pregnancies and now the slightest thing will honestly make me vomit.

Certain smells or sights.

4 years on I still can't eat certain foods.

In addition my hands have never been the same (I got severe oedema and carpal tunnel in them) and I've lost two molars - hence, I'm going to be seeing the GP about a referral to be sterilised as soon as we get settled after our move.

my BF is like that expat- she retches at toilets and certain smells.

are you on the move? where to? staying scotland though?

I wasn't like that at all until after I had the girls, though, sadly. So I can understand.

Some public loos I've had to walk back out of with water standing in my eyes and vomit in my throat.

Dogs. I never liked their smell before, now their poo and its smell makes me violently sick.

It's weird. Before this happened, I may have been a bit at ematophobes. Now, I can relate.

Still staying in Scotland, yep.

For now!

pregnancy and parenting certainly isnt what we all expected eh?
I never bloomed - was nauseous for 9months, and have been struggling with the day to day grind ever since my 2 arrived. I wouldnt be without them though. I love them to bits, but find it hard to like them alot of the time. Dh wishes we hadnt had any, but loves them all the same.

Luckily, i dont have any other lasting effects from my pregnancies other than a weak back and am unable to tolerate weak tea. 4yrs is a long time to be still suffering like that, poor you!

Thankyou expat

thats it exactly - i have no experience with emetophobia and am therefore a little

I'd gladly keep being an ematophobe if I could get the strength back in my right thumb and not have lost those two teeth.

But hey, that's having kids for you.

Pregnancy doesn't agree with me, hence, stopping at two!