'I feel sick' competitive drama idiots

[dramatix]

Can't bear it when posters say 'I feel sick/physically sick' whenever discussing something terrible.

Ditto when characters are sick when receiving bad news in tv dramas. Literally never happens in real life.

I'd have agreed with you until recently. I had a terribly shocking event (not violent, bloody or gory in any way) happen this year and I've often been feeling nauseated just by thinking about it. Genuinely queasy, having to breathe deeply until it passes kind of physical response to emotional stress.

I used to work as a press officer in the criminal justice system and I’ve seen trials paused because either a juror or a witness were overcome with nausea, so it absolutely does happen.

Nausea is a really common response to fear, stress or revulsion. That’s why a lot of people can’t face eating when they’re nervous or worried or grieving, or retch when they see something gross or violent. Being sick (or fainting) are not at all uncommon as immediate reactions to trauma or shock. My grandmother was sick when she was told that my grandfather had died.

You sound like you’ve led a very sheltered life. Consider yourself lucky and pipe down.

I'm so very sorry for you both

This is true. Soldiers would soil themselves before going into battle as the body emptied everything to prepare to fight.