When will this get better? New here & need help.

[bella2107]

I am currently 22 & battling emetophobia eversince I was 6 years old. A girl next to me got sick & eversince then I've been terrified of nausea & getting sick. I swear I remember every single incident of others & myself after that day. I did go through a "party" stage during high school & wouldn't care much of V* when I was drunk until I got sick myself one night & relived my nightmare. Never drank again after that night. I've never been THIS bad that's why I decided to join forums where people might understand me.

I'm starting to get anxiety to go anywhere and everywhere including stores. I'm afraid I'm going to get nauseous & dizzy & have to rush back to the car or not make it anywhere in time. I built a phobia of airplanes because of extreme turbulance & fear of being sick while going to a different country. I'm always needing to pop antiemetics such as phenergan & I'm tired of feeling this way. I wake up feeling uneasy everyday & I start to fear that it will escalate throughout the day. Everything I feel such as stomach pain, nausea, headaches, slight dizziness, anything triggers my fear & anxiety. I easily get motion sickness & have vertigo as well. Even when I feel a slight change in my ears I start to freak out. I know my anxiety of feeling sick makes it all worse when I get motion sickness or dizzy. This all is worse when it's hot outside & I live in Las Vegas so it's hard. I notice I get sick faster & can't handle heat. I wear a "sea accupressure band" that everyone always questions me about. It's embarassing. I also cannot work as much anymore due to the stress I feel because of all this.


It's been my dream to become a physician assistant eversince high school. I'm currently doing my undergrad & I had to drop my science courses last semester because I was hospitalized for some kind of infection. After being hospitalized, my fear & anxiety in EVERYTHING elevated & my life feels like complete HELL. I never expected my life to turn into this & my family doesn't understand how debilitating this really is. "It's all in your head just get over it or why are you always sick?!" is all I hear. They think it's THAT simple. I really really wish it was as easy as waking up as a different person or turning off part of my brain.


I really want a career to help others & I really wanted to become a PA. I feel like I'm at a stand still & no one understands. I've been given Valium but it doesn't quite help much & makes me more dizzy which turns to nervousness instead of relaxation. At this point my future seems dim. How can I ever finish school if I feel like this & I'm also afraid of seeing others be sick, how can I ever have children, live a normal life, etc? For every "fun" event that comes up, even something as simple as a family dinner outting, turns into a week long anxiety fest of "what if I feel sick, I'll ruin everyone's day or everyone will see me like this" & complete anxiety when the day comes. I want to wake up one day & feel "normal" feel like "TODAY IS GOING TO BE A GREAT DAY!" I'm 22 for God's sake, I wish I can have fun like everyone else.


I'm desperate....Do any of you guys know what I'm going through and have any of you resorted to professional help? If so, was it successful? Have any of you been successful in completing medical school or any kind of medical career with this phobia? This is taking over my life!!!!!! >_< I really hope I get any replies whatsoever.

[chixy]

I can't remember the name of the user, but there is one user on here who is a nurse! Hopefully he/she will see this and can tell you about it
The thing is that emetophobia is kind of a hidden phobia despite it being the fifth most common phobia in the world. I don't know for sure but i guess things like snakes, spiders, narrow spaces and heights are the only ones more common. Therapists are used to people coming in there and saying they're afraid of heights but not so many are used to (or prepared for) treating an emetophobic. A lot of them know nothing about it. Some are willing to learn and help anyway (and can be to great help. The moderator Sage's story is a great example of that, if i remember correctly) and some are too locked in their prior knowledge that they refuse to learn anything new, and some THINK they know a lot about it and will try to treat you based on that. A good example of a therapist like that would be the one who has a first step in your exposure therapy to watch videos on youtube of people v*ing. That should be like step.. 10. Not 1 . T
he problem is that a lot of emets go to one therapist/psychologist/doctor, and they don't get the help they wanted, and they assume that they are stuck with the phobia for the rest of their life, there is no help etc which is not true! You just have to find somebody who will truly listen and understand, and help you based on that and nothing but that. A lot of emets have managed to overcome or at least drastically minimize their phobia to the point where they can live a normal life, and enjoy it. Seriously, go look for a psychologist and give it a shot! If you feel uncomfortable you can just stop going there or ask for another psychologist. It's not going to make anything worse
Oh and by the way, i can totally relate to you. I'm 19 and all my friends are out partying and having fun and i just can't do it because i'm too anxious and uncomfortable. I have such amazing friends and they always ask me to go out with them (which kind of sucks because i know that they know i really don't want to but they ask anyway because they want me to come and it sucks to turn them down!) and i have to turn them down every time because i don't want to ruin their night like asking them to go out with me so i can calm down and stuff like that.

[jmoore10]

Welcome to the site, Bella!
You will find there are many users here, myself included, who have gone through and are continuing to go through exactly what you are. There are a few members who are in the field of healthcare. One gal works in an assisted living facility taking care of Alzheimer's and dementia patients! Many of us are mothers and most have gone through our pregnancies/deliveries without any v whatsoever. Please don't think it's hopeless-it is definitely possible to continue to live your life and do the things you want, in spite of emet. It does require a sense of determination to muscle through themfear, but the way I see it, each challenge faced (as excruciating as it may be at the time) is always a victory. I hate flying, but I love the beach (I live in AZ, so no beaches here ) so I've had to learn to deal with flying. I still dread it. Sometimes I have panic attacks mid-air, sometimes I don't. In order to deal, created my own "flying survival guide" because my love for beach vacations is worth the discomfort and sometimes terror of actually getting there. It's just figuring out what's wroth fighting for personally-does that make sense?
Some folks have had good results with CBT therapy so that may be something to consider.

[bella2107]

Thank you so much for your replies. I am beginning to look up psychiatrists/psychologists to see because lately I've been getting worse. Tight chest & throat is a new symptom because of my anxiety. & Also having a hard time leaving my house. Hopefully I do find one that listens & understands & hopefully it doesn't take me to switch Drs a million times for a good one. @jmoore10, I try to imagine the good of places I go where I must fly on planes. On the way to the Philippines I tried to keep my grandmother & family in mind & that I won't be able to see them in a long time. It's tough & I despise flying, but you're right...focusing on something important or something you love helps. It's just getting to the airport & getting on the plane that freaks me out most. Once I'm on I'm usually okay but very aware of every single bump & turbulance. I'm kind jealous of the people who are just relaxed & even reading while the turbulance is reallly bad. I'm over here trying to breathe & holding on to dear life! (haha) @chixy We are so young to be feeling this way but I've had this phobia for as long as I can remember. Going out with friends is hard for me as well. I wasn't as bad before & I was able to enjoy my life. Now something as simple as going to a dinner gives me anxiety & my body almost forces me to stay home. It's debilitating. I hope I can learn how to cope with this soon. Good luck to you both!