How did you become an emet?

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I have never found anyone that had this happen to them besides myself. I am very sure this is why I am so freaking terrified to throw up. I can actually remember most of the event. I was maybe 2 1/2 close to 3. They say the only thing people could possibly remember at that age would be something horribly traumatic. I don't suppose it would help when you are crying about having to throw up and your mom is standing over you yelling "just do it and get it over with". I was 5 then, thanks for sealing the deal mom!

[20megatonbomb]

i think what caused it for me was this time my grandma was sick when i was around 4. i've always been a huge mama's boy and so when my mom went on an overnight trip for work for the first time it was really scary for me, and my dad thought it might help if i stayed at my grandma's house since we were close. i was already distressed about my mom leaving and my grandma was sick that night. i don't remember ever being near someone v* before then so i had no idea what was going on. we weren't in the same room so all i knew was the sound, and god i remember it perfectly. this horrible hacking followed by a drawn-out watery 'plop' sound... i thought she was dying. when she came out of the bathroom apparently i was scared to go near her (i see her all the time now tho and i don't think she remembers this).

my dad took me home and i cried for a long time and we watched my favourite film to help me calm down. i guess he explained what happened to me and ever since i understood it i've been terrified of it. there were a couple incidents later that just further cemented my fear, and i've been debilitatingly emetophobic for around 14 years now. i'm working with my long-time therapist in hopes of beating this thing because my biggest dream is to work in medicine, and i'm in nursing school. i have 2-3 years before my clinicals and i'm terrified that i won't be able to take it.

[audree75]

I'm not sure when my fear started. I do know that I have felt alone because I feel like a weirdo for having this phobia. Fearing v only makes it stronger and it controls me. I want to free myself from the fear so I can enjoy life. Not constantly fearing getting sick.

[NaiveAndTrue]

I wasn't scared of it as a kid. Then at the end of 7th grade, when I was 12, I had my first panic attack at school. I would feel n*, and like I couldn't breathe. The first few times the not being able to breathe was the worst, but then I think my brain started to make a connection between n* and panic. Throughout 8th grade I was having attacks almost daily. I carried a small plastic bag around with me - it got so bad that the nurse said she needed "proof" if I v*ed before she would consider calling home. My aunt lived with us, and it was her job to see us off to school in the morning. I was terrified to leave the house, but she would just yell at me and call me a liar every day. Eventually I'd have them at night, too. She would kick me out of the bathroom at least 2-3 times a week. I didn't know what was wrong - I thought I was going crazy or dying. She was mean and my mom kind of lives in denial of anything negative (lol), so no one took me to a doctor or anything. I wouldn't ever spend the night out. I hated going to school. I hated going to sleep. I felt trapped in class, on the bus, anywhere without a bathroom. I skipped the senior ski trip because of it! It wasn't until 10th grade when a sub put on some stupid video about panic attacks that I matched up my symptoms and realized what was going on. I worked hard for years trying to work through them. Eventually I finally had another aunt recommend Tranxene to me, and I'm so grateful! Now it's waned back to me only being scared about myself getting sick.

[LexiLucille]

I became emetophobic after in the 8th grade I woke up suddenly one night. I wasn't nauseous or anything and I was laying, watching TV when all of a sudden I felt the need to v*** and so I got up and ran to my mom's room where I did it. I only did it once, but I remember getting very dehydrated as well and being scared to eat for a few days after that. I haven't v*** since that time, but I've lived in fear for 5 years now.

[mhartse]

reading these makes me so scared to have a child. what if I did something that gave my child a fear like this? I know how it effects them, i couldn't live with myself!

[mscb]

Since 2010; I was 33 and had Norovirus from contaminated food with high fever and well, you know the rest. I was in the hospital for 2 days. Since then, it's been a battle. I never had the fear before that and must of had a SV at least once a year growing up.

[curiousgyorg]

I got severe food poisoning from Red Lobster when I was 9. Ved all night without stopping. It was like every 5 minutes. Do NOT eat at Red Lobster lol. Anyway, I relive the pain and suffering of that one incident every time I am exposed to someone v*ing. I am now 25 and my emetophobia keeps me from watching movies I want to watch, going out where there could be drinking, it affects my work since I work in elementary schools where plenty of kids v*, and even holds me back from starting a family someday because of the extreme fear of morning sickness, not to mention my inability to care for my own child when they get sick. This phobia has been a life-crippling illness for me. Because I'm afraid of even seeing it on TV, even just trying to relax and watch some shows can cause me to be very anxious. This disease controls my life, not me.

[milliepage]

I have always been terrified of sick, I think it may stem from the fact that when I was a baby I projectile v* an awful lot, so I think it may have subconsciously stuck. I can't be around anyone who coughs, and it is because my sister was sick on me when she was in the middle of the back car seat, and I tried to jump out of a moving car.

I am terrified, can anyone help me?x

[Danniie_91]

I've always been scared of v* but it became worse when i had FP over 2 years ago, now I fear about it all the time especially when people always talk about v* going round, cause the more I get scared of it the more anxious, I become, sometimes I wish I could say , ah well if it happens it happens , but it seems to take over my life, I've recently started taking immune system tablets that I put in a glass of water every morning but I fear that this wont help either, I keep being told to stop worrying, but I know its not that easy, anyone else feel like this?

[Syrup]

reading these makes me so scared to have a child. what if I did something that gave my child a fear like this? I know how it effects them, i couldn't live with myself!

Michelle, you can't 'make' someone phobic. They either are or aren't. Beyond that, we all have anxiety problems. When you get to the root of the issue it's not actually about v* at all, it's about lack of control and our issues with anticipatory anxiety. LOTS of people have traumatic v* stories, in fact MOST people do, but most people aren't emetophobic either. The 'Thrive' method teaches that it has NOTHING to do with an 'event' and goes into great detail to get to the heart of how we see our life, you should check it out. I can tell you with 100% certainty that you shouldn't be fearful of having children for that reason. BOTH of my parents are phobic about things that I could care less about. My mom is terrified of flying. In fact, she wanted to protect me and INSISTED that I watch 'Alive' (seems SO silly now) the night before I flew to England years ago. Didn't cause even the slightest amount of anxiety in me, she on the other hand was CERTAIN my plane was going down! All of that to say, the idea that you can inflict a phobia on someone is bogus. If they are wired to have anxiety you can't prevent or cause that. BUT, you can assist them to get help should an anxiety issue arise. Remember though that MOST of the people on this board's children thankfully don't have anxiety issues at all, so the chances that your child will are pretty slim. xoxo