Fear of vomiting

[JKDcot]

Hi ladies

Stupid one and I’m embarrassed to admit but I have a major fear of vomiting. Getting through pregnancy was of course a massive challenge but I managed it.

Now I have a 10 week old and I am scared when he starts to pick up bugs I just won’t cope, if I feel like I am going to be sick I have major panic attacks. But of course I have to put my baby’s needs first

Tonight I feel really off, can’t tell if it’s cause of the heat or if I actually have a stomach bug. I am due to breast feed him but feel like I can’t as I am unwell so husband is going to give him a bottle.

Any other mums suffer with similar fear or have any advice how to cope?

Thank you in advance

My heart goes out to you. I used to have this fear (emetophobia i think its properly called) and it's really difficult. Would get stuck in cycles of worrying i may be sick, the adrenaline from worrying made me feel ill, which made me more afraid, so i felt more sick, on and on. Would sit trembling in fear what actually got me over it in the end was when I had such a bad panic attack that my body just threw up. And you know what? It really wasn't that bad! Never had a panic attack about it again after that and then the fear just fizzled out. Vomiting is horrible and nobody ever likes it but i promise you that if it actually happened, you would cope a lot better than you think! Have you considered seeing a professional who could maybe guide you through this fear?

I have this too OP and same with the panic attacks 😓 it's debilitating, I've been feeling nauseas for nearly a week now with this heat so don't worry too much if you have an upset stomach- it's probably that!

It's so bizarre as sometimes when I have bad panic attacks I end up vomiting and it immediately makes me feel better and stop panicking 😅

Thank you. I have just had some peppermint tea and doing some of the yoga stretches so feel a bit less nauseous.

It’s just the fear of vomiting is so extreme. If I have a tummy ache it’s all I can think about. I am sure if I actually did throw up it would be ok but I avoid it so much that I make myself sicker I think.

I have tried CBT but I didn’t find it helpful. Just feel really panicked about how to cope with a sick baby and be able to put their needs first

I'm due my first baby in 3 weeks and I have a fear of vomit.. but not my own, I have no issue with throwing up myself but terrified of other people vomiting near me. I'm mainly hoping that it being my own baby will mean that I can handle it somehow and that baby sick won't be as bad as other sick, and that by the time it starts to look like adult sick I'll be used to it?!? But I feel your pain!!

@moonriver32 congratulations! I’m so interested that you don’t mind vomiting yourself but worried about others?! I wish that were the case for me

@JKDcot Thank you! I know, it is really strange - I think it's because if it's me I have more control over it but if it's another person it's spontaneous and there's nothing I can do until it's too late by which point I'm having a full blown panic attack. Definitely stems from childhood when my sister used to get terribly car sick but not say anything until she inevitably vomited everywhere. It must be awful when the phobia extends to yourself too. My sympathies x

Hi OP. I totally relate to this.

Actually, having kids has cured me. I have two, 5 and 3 so have dealt with a lot of sick. My husband steps in with all sick clean up because it's just the one thing I really struggle with. But I've sat with them while they've vomited and rubbed their backs and held their hair and Honestly they are such absolute troopers about it that it became less of a big deal. I have also, I'm sorry to say, managed to catch several bugs off them particularly when my eldest started nursery and so it became a bit more commonplace and now I honestly don't worry about it, although it is obviously not pleasant.

Before I fell pregnant I think I usually went years and years without being sick, record was 8 years. So it became this huge thing in my mind.

Hugs to you!

My dh has this and he was ok with the dc actually. No one was more surprised than him! Tbh it tends to happen so quickly with young dc and they don’t really get pukey bugs until about 3 or 4 that you don’t have time to get in a pickle.

Same as the above poster. I had a crippling fear of it (had CBT but didn't help) but I'm not AS bothered now I have three kids. However, I do go out of my way to make sure they wash their hands frequently and I'm very neurotic about what they eat, we don't have meat much as I'm scared of poisoning them. I've got a long way to go but I can at least pretend that it's not a big deal if it does happen (which isn't a lot, to be fair). I'm terrified of everyone being brought down by a sick bug though.

He hasn’t caught bugs off them. Also babies are given a vaccine against rotavirus now which reduces the number of vomitings they do as well.

Sorry my dh hasn’t caught bugs off my dc-caNt speak for other people’s dh obviously!

My DD had a real problem with this. She did a course called Thrive. There are a range of them but one is specifically for emetophobia. She bought the book and then decided to see a Thrive therapist- it really really helped.
Disclaimer- I am not affiliated with Thrive!

Moonriver. I have been known to run out of a room when someone is sick! Vomit and spiders are my total phobias. I must say that my daughter was rarely sick as a babe which i was most pleased about. Since then, i have always been able to deal with her and said vomiting and mess without turning a hair. She is an adult now and, not long ago, was suddenly and violently ill in my bedroom. and i just sorted it. I think there is a bond between us that stops any revulsion and fear. Hope it is the same for you!

Thank you so much all for sharing.
I have lived with this fear for so long I just need to get over it. Will look into the thrive thing thank you

I assumed my son would bring bugs home from Nursery and I will need to learn to cope somehow. Just realised I might have caught the stomach bug off the rotavirus vaccination he had earlier this week? I washed my hands after nappies but still could be related

I have this and it is so bad. My husband has to constantly reassure me that I won't be sick when I feel unwell. I hate feeling sick or big sick. The anxiety of course makes it worse! At its worst I'd sit with the windows open in the middle of winter so my room would be freezing but it would somehow help until I fell asleep. Then I started to listen to the headspace app to try and calm down.

Morning sickness was really horrible..a mix of anxiety and fear dreading being sick.

I hate being around drunk people in case they are sick..and if any of my nieces and nephews are ill I try to avoid them or wash my hand and anti bac a million times...then of course worry about being sick myself..

I'm also concerned about how I'll cope with my own child being ill :(

I also rarely eat meat and am really picky about restaurants and what I'd eat there just in case..and worry about it afterward. I wish I could be carefree

I'm worried about giving birth as friends have said gas and air made them feel reallysick and out of it...so now I'm thinking I should avoid it

@moonriver32 I have this too! I really think it’s a control thing. I wouldn’t worry about the baby sick though because it’s honestly not like normal sick, it’s just milk (looks like milk, basically smells like milk, there’s no sound when they do it, it’s more like someone just spitting out a mouthful of milk). Alas one of my kids turns out to get really travel sick, long car journeys are terrible for all of us :(