Emetophobia - is there somewhere here for support?

[User1110]

I am struggling with this right now and wondered if there’s anywhere on MN to chat for emetophobes that I have missed?

Or if we can start a thread?

I joined a Facebook emetephobia group but found it too triggering seeing the posts all the time. Was making me worse .
Have you had any support or therapy?

I'm here! I haven't seen anywhere in particular on MN though but plenty of posters mention they suffer.

Hi both

I do agree that some groups can be triggering. I think it would be nice to just have somewhere to chat if people need to.

I’ve had CBT twice and it hasn’t worked for me unfortunately. I have recently reached out to a therapist in London who specialises in vomit phobia. At this point, I’m willing to throw whatever money needed to get rid of this (or at the very least make it more manageable!).

I hope you are both ok and coping x

Try emetaction.org/ - quite a new site I think but lots of information/ links to papers. Also has Professor David Veale as a trustee; he seems to be only psychiatrist in UK who treats this.

Hi, long term sufferer here. I was going to start my own thread then found this.

I can't live like this any more :-( I've suffered since childhood, I am now 49 and if anything it's getting worse.

When I was a child, I was completely unaware of sickness bugs. I don't know if that's because they were less prevalent then or if I was just blissfully unaware.

Now there is so much talk of bugs, noro etc.

I used to go months without thinking about it much. Now it seems every day I have worrying thoughts about me or one of my dc getting a bug.

Last night we were at a neighbours for dinner. They mentioned in passing that there have been a lot of noro cases round here, my neighbours grandchildren had had it, she had had it, someone else dd's is a nurse and she'd heard of lots of cases. And some of these people they were talking about had it bad (one man had to be admitted to hospital). I immediately became very anxious and didn't sleep well last night.

@User1110 are you talking about David Samson by any chance?

I have also heard good things about the Thrive programme (Rob Kelly).

David Veale was the therapist I have reached out to! He works very close to my office for the NHS so hoping I can get in that way, or else I will see how much he is privately @Brideshead64. He’s probably totally inundated so not sure I will get anywhere but hoping there might be a waiting list or something!

That site is great and I’m also going to donate regularly - I think it would be amazing if there was more research into this phobia as I’m coming across more and more people that have it.

@bendmeoverbackwards I am so sorry that you experienced that - it really is the worst thing you can hear isn’t it? Just keep remembering that as emets we are so much less likely to pick up bugs etc because we are aware of them - I only use sanitizer that is effective against noro, for example. It must be hard with your DC though, how old are they?

I have been drinking a little kefir daily at the moment to get my stomach immunity up. I have no idea if it would help but it makes me feel better!

Thank you @User1110 my dc are older - 20, 18 and 14. Thankfully they've had very few bugs over the years, the last one was 2 years ago when dd3 was 12. She managed it all in the toilet each time (threw up 6 times over the day!) which really helped. And luckily the rest of us didn't get it.

I'm hoping that as they're not little any more, they are less likely to pick up bugs.

@bendmeoverbackwards I would say definitely less likely to pick up bugs now, and also if they did I’m sure they are old enough to look after themselves pretty much!

Have you managed to get some rest today and eat something?

I have been worried about the general increase of ‘bugs’ now we are all mixing a bit more. I’m trying to not look at noro stats but it’s in the back of my mind constantly. Today I challenged myself and went out for breakfast - I had avo on sourdough with some tomatoes. I kept repeating in my head ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’ (I know it’s cheesy but it helps) and managed to eat the entire meal without panicking

@User1110 I’ve seen David Veale privately; happy to let you know about costs etc if you’d like me to message you.

@Brideshead64 oh wow yes please! Any details would be great. Did seeing him work for you?

@Brideshead64 would you mind messaging me too please?

@User1110 @bendmeoverbackwards Yes - no problem; happy to share my experience. Won’t be immediately though as off out with the kids now!

@Brideshead64 please would you message me too? It's a phobia I have had my entire life. It sits on my shoulder and overshadows everything I do. Sometimes it's worse and sometimes it's better but it is always there

@Nodney Will do; probably be tomorrow now👍

Thank you @Brideshead64 - will be great to hear from you

Prof Veale is also my psychiatrist and he is brilliant, honestly. I've just got home from a 9 month hospital stay (emet/OCD made me suicidal) and he really 'got' me and knows his stuff. There's nobody quite like him.

I have insurance though so don't know how much he costs. But if you cn afford it, definitely go and see him. The waiting lists for an NHS place are 18 months plus.

Thank you, good to hear good things about Prof Veale.

I'm feeling very low today. Talk of this 'very bad' stomach bug going round is freaking me out. The anxiety is all consuming. I've been googling how to avoid these bugs, people talk about things like grape or cranberry juice, apple cider vinegar and taking activated charcoal tablets.

Just seen David Veale's website, he has a book coming out in September.

Sometimes I think I don't want to rid myself of the phobia because then I would have to deal with being sick. I just don't want to be sick ever.

I've read the book! It's good. Useful for friends and family to read too.

@bendmeoverbackwards I can't bear it when people talk about bugs either, it sends my panic through the roof. All you can do in reality is keep your hands washed, that's it.

Thank you @MeredithMae would you say you are ‘over’ the phobia or is it just more manageable now?

It's more manageable now. I still have my moments. Prof Veale says don't look for a cure, look to take it from a 'debilitating phobia to a manageable fear'. I've had 4 years solid of therapy/exposure work/3 lengthy hospital stays to get to this point though.

That's amazing @MeredithMae

On the face of it, I do seem in some ways not as bad as others. I eat in restaurants (carefully of course) and have 3 children (I know some emets avoid pregnancy). But I have suffered so much panic and anxiety and didn't realise as a child I had this phobia. I suffered alone. If I felt sick I would panic and try to distract myself by reading. I even prayed that I wouldn't be sick and I'm not even religious. I would shake with fear and didn't feel I could tell my mum in case she offered to get me a bowl. The nausea would eventually pass.

As an adult I've had some scary times in the bathroom feeling sick and actually wishing I was dead I have never told anyone this before.

I’ve had a few days off MN - apologies that I’ve gone quiet!

@bendmeoverbackwards you poor thing. I feel like our form of the phobia is quite similar. I would also pray as a child that I wouldn’t be sick. I would also avoid telling my mum as if she tried to get me a bowl or rush me to the bathroom, it would make me panic more.

And yes I also ‘manage’ the phobia - I haven’t had any children (maybe one day!) but I do eat in restaurants (I go through patches where it’s easier to do so than others), go on holiday, I drink wine, although I never get drunk.

But the phobia is always there - it makes all the above difficult. I have to carry my anti sickness and ginger sweets everywhere. And my hand sanitizer against noro too. I think about every single thing that passes through my lips - whether it will make me ill. The reason I turned veggie was so I didn’t have to eat chicken ever again! I have so many little rituals that completely take over my life and me being able to enjoy it properly. I think I come across to people as up tight! Always a low level hum of anxiety - which flares up occasionally (like over the last few weeks).

Those scary roles in the bathroom are awful. I have had some, especially over the last few years. It’s a horrible feeling, you’re not alone x