What do i do about a vomiting phobia?

Question

heyy. im 14 and have been uncomfortable with sickness from about 2 years old because of a horrible experience. i have since had 2 other bad experiences with sickness. but in december i began having panic attacks about being sick. every day i think about it ALL the time, and constantly feel ill. i have severe panic attacks and anxiety. i always feel sick but get really scared and i cant deal with the thought of ever being sick - i mentally cant cope with it. i am currently seeing a pyciatrist but i havent had any improvement yet :( i was wondering if anyone else felt like this? it would be great to talk to someone who understands. and if anyone knows how else i can stop feeling like this it would really help. thank you :)

Answer 1

You are just afraid of vomiting? is that what it is?

Think to yourself.. whats the worst that will happen if i vomit? That is just that.. you will vomit. Try and simplify it.

Answer 2

The fear of vomiting is Emetophobia.  I am also like you.

I use to wake up in the middle of the night with anxiety and think I was going to get sick.  I settled myself down by taking slow deep breaths. I relaxed my body enough so that I could go back to sleep. The next day I felt OK.  Try to manage the anxiety you are having the moment it starts.  Try not to let it build up.  I am still frightened of vomiting.  I am careful to make sure the food I eat is fresh and safe.  When I go to a restaurant I order something I know is safe to eat in that particular restaurant.  I also don't like the sound of someone else getting sick.

I do understand how you feel.  Maybe some anxiety medication could help you.  Maybe you could just take it when you think you need to.

Good Luck and stay well.

Answer 3

I completely understand how it feels as I have suffered from emetophobia (the fear of vomiting) since I was about 12 years old due to very bad food poisoning. While the fear sounds stupid and weird to most, what they don't understand is that it's a real fear, that causes very real side effects and very real panic/anxiety attacks it's a horrible feeling. I had a friend make fun of me and told me he was going to puke all over the floor because he thought it would be funny to see how I reacted. It may or may not help you but what I did was I went to see a therapist and after he left this area I went through a program that my Mom uses that deals with panic, anxiety, and fears. That also helped me. Then a few years back I started taking Paxil CR and it has helped me a lot. The fear is still in me and I'm sure it always will be but I don't obsess on it like I used to. Another thing is check out this website. www.emetophobia.org. They have a forum where you can talk to people and swap stories with people who have the same fear. It has helped me a lot. And if you ever want to talk, e-mail me. Good luck to you!

Answer 4

First, are you on medications?  If you are talk to your psychiatrist about changing the medication or going to an incresed dosage.

If you need to talk or want to talk, please e-mail me as I suffer from anxiety and panic attacks as well.

Answer 5

I used to have a vomiting phobia, I would get nauseous for no reason and even dry heave.  When I got like that I would chew some ginger gum (it's for preventing nausea from motion sickness, you can get it by the Dramamine at CVS pharmacy or whatever you local pharmacy store is, like rite-aid maybe.) and some strong mint gum at the same time.  Sip on some ice water after the gum flavor starts to wear away.