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.

ThanKyou rather

Nothing! Just, I am in a heightened state of tension here (re my phobia) and it always makes me much more forgiving of other people (not that I am implying you need forgiveness). I guess I need people to be nice to me so I am nice to them - odd reaction.

Re nature/nurture: hmmm, it has to be nurture doesn't it? All phobias I mean.

Message withdrawn

I was just reading something (of course it must be true!) that stated that emetophobia was number 6.

1.Arachnophobia
2.Sociophobia
3.Aerophobia
4.Agoraphobia
5.Claustrophobia
6.Emetophobia
7.Acrophobia
8.Cancerphobia
9.Brontophobia
10.Necrophobia

I have read the odd thread on here about the phobia, and I can't say that I have thought there to be anything fake or created in what I have read.

My point was that it seems to be a rather big phobia. It is unseemly to me, to make fun of someones phobia, whatever it is, rational or not.

Phobia is one of those words that looks more and more wrong the more you look at it.

1.Arachnophobia - spiders
2.Sociophobia -
3.Aerophobia - Flying?
4.Agoraphobia - open spaces
5.Claustrophobia - confined spaces
6.Emetophobia - sick/vomit
7.Acrophobia -
8.Cancerphobia - Cancer?
9.Brontophobia - Bronte books?!
10.Necrophobia - Dying?

Anyone help me fill in the gaps?

Only number 6? [disappointed emoticon]

Just kidding.

bronte books?

LOL

that's thunder and lightning

Sociophobia is a phobia of social situations (often similar to emetophobia)

Acro is fear of heights and number 2 is fear of social situations.

to me a ematophobe is someone who would physically rect strongly if they are exposed to anything to do with puking....i.e. the word can trigger of them being sick themselfs, and they can't deal, obviously, wiht anyone who is sick, because they will basically just be sick themselfs.....now, I would think most people have problems dealing with sick, and most people will be still o.k. to deal with their own Kids when sick, if they have too...so, those people just have the normal adversion agaisnt the smell and look of sick, which is, come on, completely normal....but some people really do not have control over this...to me...even though I am a nurse, ever since my pg with my es, I have problems dealing with people being sick, due to an experience I had when being pg and feeling nauseaus anyway....this has never left me...but if my Kids are ill and I am the only one here, then I deal with it, i shut out my emotins and get on with it (using gloves handling anything, I find makes t easier)....
I really don't think one could ever dismiss phobias easily if they were effected because it's somethign those people just don't have any control over1

Shouldn't acrophobia be agrophobia which is a fear of heights? Just guessing there but I have never heard of acrophobia whereas agrophobia I have (or maybe I jsut misheard)

Phobias are irrational, which, I suppose makes them incredible....

Pardon me, I am wrong, it is acrophobia

My friend has a dear little boy who is afraid of buttons to the point where it makes him retch if he has to be near one.

I laughed when she told me but now I realise that was ignorant of me. I am so curious to know why this affects so many people.

Has anyone on MN any ideas?

I just can't think what is scary about a b*on. It must be awful to hate them as they are everywhere

I personally have collections of the things
I think they're beautiful.

Perhaps I'm the odd one!

May i please point out that, im not making fun of anyone.

You see this was my response, same as you laughed about the buttons, i was amazed and thought i was being tricked, surely no-one really reacts to a written word! But apparently they do.

Ignorant, i am. I apologise.

I am still amazed that there are so many sufferers here, when ive never come accross it in my life.

For as long as I can remember I have had this phobia. My childhood was ruined by it. If a child threw up in class, I'd spend the entire night awake and rigid with fear. It's only just September and already I am panicking about the 'winter' vomiting bug. I could go on

nature or nurture annoying devil?

Haychee, unfortunately there is a thing called context and I am afraid you have quoted me out of it. It wasn't a thread-encompassing statement, I was responding to a statement you made, and continued with the word "...but"

Haychee, we don't talk about it in RL. Believe you me, there are loads of us out there.

I rarely tell anyone in RL about my phobia because the attitude does tend to be a misunderstanding of what the phobia is really about and you get the response "well none of us like being sick" or "you just have to get used to it." However, I did mention it to one woman within the last year and lo and behold, she has the same phobia (though not in the same way as me so we still don't totally understand each other).

Would you be annoyed by someone who said they were emetophobic but described a milder fear (the same as the rest of the general population has)?

Weinestien

I have been quoted out of context left right and centre throughout this thread.

I have not made fun of anyone or directly told anyone they were just being weak, but it has been portrayed this way, as if this is what i had said. Not nice is it.

It depends how mild it was. I have already said I get annoyed when people say they have a phobia about something when it is plain to me that they just don't like something. There is a definable difference I feel. Someone with a phobia, as has been said before in this thread, is frightened by the thought of the thing they fear as much as they are by the thing itself. Emetophobia (I can only speak from experience) is as much about the actions and avoidance techniques people employ as it is about dealing with someone being sick. As long as someone was truly phobic and not just disgusted or adverse to something, it wouldn't bother me what their degree of phobia was. It is not a competitive thing!