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Emetophobia - Support Thread

82 replies

VickyandAlistair · 20/02/2012 18:09

I am one of the many people out there who suffers an irrational fear of vomit/vomiting. Its called Emetophobia and it can make being a mummy VERY difficult! Right now, my son is out of sorts, nothing I can put my finger on, but me being me has convinced myself that he will be sick. Emetophobia isnt where you 'just dont like' sick (who LIKES sick?!) its where the very thought of being sick/someone else being sick can send you into a panic attack. I'm interested to see how many other mums suffer this fear, and what they do to overcome it :)

OP posts:
Original poster
VickyandAlistair · 21/02/2012 09:18

bump? I know theres others out there!

OP posts:
MrsMuddyPuddles · 21/02/2012 15:17

A friend of mine has/had this. She underwent hypnotherapy and it worked wonders (from being too "scared" of it to have a child despite wanting one, to being able to cope with it, IYSWIM)

Good luck!

BeckyBendyLegs · 21/02/2012 16:07

I have it, to some degree, I haven't really been sick for 22 years but that is probably through sheer determination rather than luck. I hate it. It actually got a bit better when I had children (it was really bad when I was a child). My fear is not sick itself but about catching a bug and catching it and being sick as I hate the thought of being sick. If they are sick through over eating for example, fine, no problem! I cope really well. Or if I've had the bug first, I can cope. But if they get a bug that's going round, then it's horrible.

Taysh1109 · 29/02/2012 22:08

Yep. You've described me to a tee!!

I've suffered with emetophobia all my life, and the older I get, the worse it gets. It makes being a mummy VERY difficult, you're not wrong there! After having it for 20-odd years, I have developed quite severe OCD as a result. It has taken over my life!

I am so glad I'm not alone though, I have never met anyone with this fear before, but coming on here has made me realise that it is a lot more common than I thought. Did you know it is the 6th or 7th most common phobia there is?!

As for over-coming it... I haven't. I'm trying... still! I am currently having CBT to treat my OCD so I'm hoping that it will help. I may just try hypnotherapy too! I'd try anything to change this stupid phobia. I hate it, and I hate the person it makes me.

fuzzpig · 29/02/2012 22:23

Hello!

I am emetophobic although not extremely so.

Couple of weeks ago I went over to the supermarket to get lunch. Turned round to see one of the usual checkout ladies being sick :( :( :( thankfully I was at a different till, if I'd been at her till I think I would've left.

Since then I've been back in the store once, but actually went to a longer queue because I couldn't possibly go to the same lady (who I usually see every week). Just couldn't make myself even though I knew it was ridiculous. And it's not like I can forget which lady it was. But the thought of her handling my (packaged!) food was horrifying. :(

oaks56 · 01/03/2012 08:11

I have only had this phobia for 5 or 6 years but at times it really controls my day to day life. We have just all had the dreaded bug in our house and I am still in major panic mode. No one knows I have this phobia which makes it worse somehow. I do have a gp appointment tomorrow and I am hoping for some help. As it's ruining my life.

BeckyBendyLegs · 02/03/2012 09:19

Trying not to panic. DS2's best friend was sick in school on Tuesday. DS2 just before school told me his tummy feels funny. DH is away until tomorrow, and again next week. I am trying really hard not to panic. Just waiting for the phone call from school :(

fuzzpig · 02/03/2012 09:36

Oh no :( hopefully it's nothing.

I got really panicky in December, we were picking up DD after one of the nativity shows. One of the girls in her class was sick and I instantly started panicking about norovirus, even though I knew it was probably just the girl getting too hot and bothered/tired/overexcited. All was fine thankfully but DH was uncharacteristically unsympathetic telling me not to be ridiculous.

BeckyBendyLegs · 02/03/2012 09:55

It's a horrible feeling. I'm on high alert with my phone right next to me. I know it is silly to worry so much as it 'might' be nothing. He might be excited about the fact he is The Cat in the Hat today (World Book Day dressing up). But my hands are clamy, I've been to the loo twice, I feel sick with nerves! I wouldn't be so scared if DH wasn't away next week. I'm completely petrified of getting it and having to cope by myself with three children. It terrifies me :(

dtsmum · 02/03/2012 14:25

I am emetophobic too Sad

I had CBT last year and thought I was getting better but, all the talk on fb (etc) of people being ill is making my anxiety levels rise again! It did help enormously with my OCD, I don't wash my hands as much as I used to and will touch things outside without using my sleeve to cover my hand now, but that fear is still there.
I have a teenage DS who is absolutely fantastic at reassuring me he is fine Blush but DH wants a baby and I can't bring myself to agree Sad It's so horrible!

BeckyBendyLegs · 02/03/2012 17:59

DS2 has come home from school in fine spirits, and he won first prize for his outfit, in his class. I feel much less worried now, and silly too.

submarine · 02/03/2012 20:01

another one here too.

It for me developed into OCD and at one point agrophobia.

I have had it for 7 years since my daughter got a lot of sick bugs within a short time.

It rules my life, Ive had CBT which has helped me accept it more and it doesnt ruin my life.

even letting my kids go to a park is nightmarish.

I use an antiviral hand gel a lot!!

Its sad so may have this, but comfroting at the same time

dtsmum · 02/03/2012 21:34

becky glad DS is ok! I freak at the slightest thing too! My DS was very flushed last night....a typical sign he is not feeling great. After an hour of me asking if he's ok, I got 'Mum, I'm fine, I promise I'm just tired' Blush Poor boy!
submarine me too with the hand gel! Has anyone got the hand gel 'mentholatum responsebeta'? Its from Boots and supposedly protects against noro AND lasts for two hours after putting it on! There is a link for it somewhere but I found it just by googling x

Taysh1109 · 04/03/2012 23:24

Submarine - I will be getting some of that! Probably a number of bottles!

My 3rd friend in a week has come down with d&v now. I'm climbing the walls. DD has to go to nursery tomorrow and I really don't want her to - there's too much of it about!!

zonedout · 05/03/2012 22:25

May I join? I am an emetophobe and have been since I was a very young child. Been on many an emet thread on mn over the years.

Been on high alert since September now that I have a ds at school and another at pre school so feel like things are now totally out of my control. However things are at an all new level of fear for me. Went to my dniece's birthday party yesterday to find my sis-in-law slumped in a chair having been up all night the previous night with awful v. She was still feeling sick and had a fever at the party, poor thing. My 2 ds's rolled around for most of the party with my dnephew, sat with him for the party tea etc. an hour after the party finished he came down very suddenly with it and proceeded to be ill every 15 mins throughout the night. my dbrother also came down with it last night after the party too.

So I am feeling absolutely terrified about what feels completely inevitable over the next few days Sad

Taysh1109 · 05/03/2012 23:17

Oh no Zoned!!! I feel your pain! There is nothing worse and the anticipation is definitely the worst bit!! Good luck xxx hope you've all managed to escape it!

Let's makes this thread a bit more positive, all we're doing at the moment is telling horror stories... Myself included of course, when it comes to vomit horror stories I'm a pro!!
What about coping strategies?? Anyone got any to share?? My current one to ease the PHYSICAL symptoms of anxiety is diaphragmatic breathing. Has anyone found any effective ways of dealing with the mental/emotional side of it?

Marne · 06/03/2012 13:06

Hi , i have suffered sinse a child, it severly effects me every day, after trying CBT, hypnotherapy and mindfullness i gave in and am now on medication (anti depressants and anti-sickness medication), the fear is still there but i have some control. I am panicking today as parents were talking in the playground this morning about a tummy bug doing the rounds, my dd's usually get it once a year and have gone a year without having it so i know it must be our time soon, i have been on edge all winter waiting for it to strike, its the not knowing when that really gets to me, in a way i wish it would hurry up and strike so i can relax for the rest of the year knowing we have had it and its out of the way but then the other part of me is terified of the thought of me catching it and being ill.

Sorry i am not being very possitive but i have found it so hard to find ways to cope, out of all the things i have tried i have found 'mindlessness' has been the most helpful as it teaches ways to control the anxiety rather than cure it (for me i don't think there is a cure).

submarine · 06/03/2012 18:44

Hope everyone is doing ok,

how open with people are you about your phobia? and how have beople reacted when you tell them?

I know Ive lost "friends " to this, people who i havnt been honest with and who must have thought I was avoiding them when Ive been voiding vomit talk situations or "dangerous " situations. Im a shy person anyway and only a few people know about it.

Taysh1109 · 06/03/2012 20:42

I've found it helps me when I'm honest about it. All of my true friends and colleagues know, and while at first they laugh a bit and think I'm a bit quirky, they soon see that I'm not messing about and I'm being deadly serious! Most people I find that, despite being a bit confused about the whole thing, they're quite understanding.

I often find it helpful to talk about THEIR phobias too, to gently remind them that most people have phobias of some sort. E.g "you might be reduced to a quivering wreck if you see a big spider. How would you feel if I picked it up and put it in your hair?". That usually stops people fake wretching! - don't you hate it when people do that?!

MaryWiselyornotatall · 07/03/2012 04:53

May I sidle in? Just posted in Chat, as am awake in spare room, having abandoned our bedroom to avoid hearing DH with d&v in our en suite. Can still hear him from here, so in a proper panic. This is a bloody stupid phobia, and every time I think I have overcome it, back it comes with a vengeance. I can deal with other people who are ill, but panic at catching it myself - yet when I do, I seem to cope ok. The fear is worse than the reality, and my only comfort is knowing that some people do understand how I feel. Dh just thinks I am neurotic and obsessive. Perhaps he is right.

Marne · 07/03/2012 08:03

hope you managed to get some sleep. I have dd1 home from school today because she feels poorly. Like you i can cope with the kids being ill as long as i know its not something i can catch, if its a bug then i panick. I do hate seeing people be sick but its only because i instantly think of me being sick which i can not handle. Most of my family know about my phobia, i have deffently lost friends by not going drinking and refusing to share transport with people that have been drinking.

MaryWiselyornotatall · 07/03/2012 08:28

Thanks for the hug Marne. DH won't be allowed to give me one for some considerable time:(

He has been sick on the hour all night long, with accompanying squits - first time in almost 30 years he has been this bad. Mild dose at Christmas, so thought we had done our bit. Like you, I worry that I will catch it, and panic. I always then feel nauseous and awful, whether I get it or not - panic effect, I think.

Have no idea whether this is a bug or food poisoning, as we haven't been anywhere much for quite a few days. His diabetes also makes me worry more, as he can't just ride it out like most of us do, no matter how bad he feels. He still has to do tests and injections, and as we have not had to deal with this before, we might have to ring the nurses at the clinic for advice. Bugger!

Ah well, upward and onward. I shall spend most of today behind a bleach bottle, probably with a pack of Motilium in my free hand, just in case. Happy days!

Marne · 07/03/2012 10:04

Hope he's feeling better soon. If it was my dh i would make him stay in our bedroom (we don't have a spare room) until he was 48 hours clear and i would sleep on the sofa. Luckily i have anti-sickness meds which i give to dh too if he feels ill. I have a dodgy tummy at the moment but think its due to a mild chest infection (luckily i can cope with the other end).

MaryWiselyornotatall · 07/03/2012 10:26

Thanks Marne. Dh seems to be improving a bit, and has rung the nurses for advice, which they have given. They are also ringing back later to check if their advice has done the trick, so hooray for at least some of the NHS.

So far I am ok, but tummy is a little gripey, but that might just be panic and lack of sleep. If it gets worse, I might try the Motilium. Not sure if that is a good thing or not, but it is just a matter of coping for me, I am afraid.

Marne · 07/03/2012 10:49

I take Motilium a lot, it has made my life a lot more managable and i panick if i don't have any in the house, it worked for me last time dd2 had the d&v bug, i was still poorly but was not sick.