Another vomit phobia post. Help!?

[EmberR]

So fed up with this stupid debilitating phobia. Sickness bug going around my son’s class. His best friend was sick last night and off school today. My son has complained of a tummy ache and feeling sick. He’s just gone to sleep but I’m dreading him throwing up in the night.

I feel so embarrassed, pathetic, stupid, FED UP with this fear. I am just sitting here panicking I can’t relax at all. Mainly so selfishly in case I catch it as I am petrified.

Any advice or kind words x

Kind words here! I’m the same and totally feel your pain. The thought of it happening is always worse than the reality and you’re going to be ok whatever happens

I found the baby monitor useful to dig out when children feeling sick.
It gets better op. As they get older the puke less.

Sympathy here, my son’s gf has this and I’ve seen her shake with fear when she worries the mayo wasn’t fresh or the fish undercooked.
As pps have said, you’ll be fine whatever happens but that’s probably not helpful to repeat…

Thank you for your kind replies. It’s so appreciated people can sympathise. Trying just to take my mind off it and hope he’s ok

You’re not pathetic or stupid for feeling this way. I’m exactly the same so I can sympathise, and it’s reassuring to know I’m not alone! I believe the most contagious point is when the sick child is actually vomiting and up to 48 hours afterwards, so there is every chance your DC won’t catch it. Fingers crossed for you.

Oh Op I have this and it’s horrible but sometimes it helps to try and think through it. So my automatic is ‘omg if there’s sick it’ll be awful, I’ll panic, I won’t be able to cope, I’m a terrible mum, what if I’m sick, Omg I can’t be sick’ etc etc and so on.

sometimes it helps to think ‘right if they’re sick it’s horrible but it’s usually short lived and I WILL cope and if I’m sick then I’m sick and I’ll get over it and even if I do panic and am scared it won’t last forever.’

it kind of reminds me that actually it isn’t the end of the world even though it feels it.

You have my sympathy. Just prepare as best you can to make it easier to deal with and think in a week whatever happens you'll be past it. You can do this, the fear is so real but when it actually happens somehow we do deal just with it.

It is a horrible and debilitating phobia but it can be improved. What therapy options have you tried? I guess you must have tried some as caring for your child when in is a key part of being a parent and you will have wanted to get it sorted. What works for one may not work for another so do try a range of ideas.

Thank you for the great advice and kind words. It really is helping me.

I’ve tried CBT, hypnotherapy, EMDR and Thrive! That’s basically the lot! I mean sure it’s helped me rationalise the fear. But when I am faced with a real life situation of “mummy I have a tummy ache and feel sick” everything I have learnt goes out the window and I panic. I do my utmost to not let him feel I am any different. I have cuddled him all evening, put him to bed and said mummy’s here. He wouldn’t know (I hope) but inside I am just wobbling.

im lucky my husband is good and understands and will take care of him when he’s sick and I can’t physically cope. But it’s the worry and build up and just scanning for “signs” all the time. It’s exhausting.

honestly I am fed up, bored, angry I can’t just SHAKE this. I am a kind, smart, capable human in every other area. I cope admirably at life. This is just the one thing that I can’t shift.

sorry for the rant. I don’t tell people this in real life as it just feels so stupid

@thaegumathteth that is really great advice. I will definitely take that on. Thank you

Handhold. One of the reasons I don’t have children is this phobia. I am meant to be meeting a friend tomorrow who had a stomach bug this week and I’m thinking how to cancel. My anxiety can’t take it.

I've had this phobia for years. I'm much better than I used to be. I don't cope with uncertainty and not being in control. I've done the thrive programme so you're probably quite familiar with the locus of control idea. That was the biggest thing for me, and social anxiety.

I've tried to train my brain that however unpleasant it is, I can cope with it and get through it, and I can move on. If I threw up in public, it would be unpleasant, but it would soon be over and I'd move on.

It sort of helped over Christmas when I randomly came down with D and V Christmas day night and even though I was only sick once, the nausea was relentless and finally being sick was a relief. I was so calm throughout and I remember lying next to the toilet with my Bluetooth headband on listening to spa music, dozing on and off. Even though I felt so sick, I was quite relaxed. After I was sick, I instantly felt better and went to bed shortly after and slept the rest of the night, knowing the toilet was close by if I needed it.

It was almost like the exposure proved to me it wasn't as bad as I expected, and I could cope.

Thank you all. So kind to share your stories.

so I kept my son off school as he was up in the night saying he had a tummy ache. He hasn’t got a temperature, but hasn’t eaten much today and says he has a tummy ache. No diarrhoea or anything. I think he is run down and has a bug, but if it were to be a vomiting bug I would have thought it would have happened by now? Thoughts?

When I was a kid I could catch a bug that had had my sister up all night with sickness and just be nauseated and have mild diarrhoea. Bugs affect different people in different ways. I would keep him off till his stomach feels better. Make sure he's drinking.

Thank you. I agree and will do. Hope he feels better tomorrow