Emetophobia?

[DustinS85]

Anyone else suffer from the fear of vomiting? Well; I do. I woke up today nauseated and it’s got me anxious bad. If you have it; do you have ways to make it better? Do you have any tips? How do you handle it?

[Funkyfaerie]

Hi Dustin585,

I take anti sickness pills, sometimes, but don't want to rely on them.

It's absolutely horrible and ruins your life I know.

I am waiting for some CBT, as I have been told it works well for emetiphobia. Watch this space!

[Cruncher]

I do not have this illness. But I highly suggest therapy. I have health anxiety in general and am considering therapy. Though with vomiting, there is some comfort in knowing that it is totally normal to vomit, and that maybe you can start alleviating your fear by carrying around a thick, sturdy plastic bag (so that if there was an accident you would not be left with nothing). It is easy to carry around in your pocket, and might help you feel better about going around in public knowing that you have backup readily available. It is a potential step in the right direction. I wish you the best, because I totally understand the fear of having health stuff go wrong.

[DustinS85 in reply to Cruncher]

I also have OCD (hypochondria type).

[Cruncher in reply to DustinS85]

Then we totally get each other with that type of anxiety! Yeah I have OCD and lately it has been manifesting as health anxiety

[DustinS85 in reply to Cruncher]

Ive had that since 2006ish. I always seem to worry most about circulatory issues (stroke, aneurysm, etc). This doesn't mean I don't worry about other things like MS and stuff like that, because I worry about that stuff and cancer and what not....but circulatory is my biggest worry for some reason. I know that this started around my dad's heart issues, and that is obviously circulatory system.

[Cruncher in reply to DustinS85]

That makes a lot of sense. I have had brain tumor fears especially because I have been in a neurology class this semester lol. But I have had fears of circulatory stuff too, my family has had health issues as well

[DustinS85 in reply to Cruncher]

Yeah Health OCD is an issue of bad rationale. I have had roughly 18 (+/- 2) CT Scans on head and abdomen over the years and I am only 32. So I probably greatly increased my odds of cancer over my fears.

[Cruncher in reply to DustinS85]

That is quite a lot scans... wait CT scans increase the risk of cancer?

[DustinS85 in reply to Cruncher]

It has radiation. So...yes it can. XRays, CT Scans, etc use radiation. CT Scans and some intestinal series xrays use the most radiation from what professionals say. Generally having one here and there isn't an issue, but having many can up your odds.

[DustinS85 in reply to Cruncher]

xrayrisk.com/calculator/cal...

[DustinS85 in reply to Cruncher]

:::Exam Dose (mSv):::

Dental x-rays (0.01 mSv)

Airline Flight (0.02 mSv)

Mammogram (0.4 mSv)

Chest x-ray (0.10 mSv)

Natural Background (3.1 mSv / year)

Average US Exposure (6.2 mSv / year)

Chest CT (7.0 mSv)

Abdominal CT (8.0 mSv)

[hairyfairy in reply to Cruncher]

I wouldn`t have thought that it was normal to vomit because it means something is wrong. It`s not something that people in good health do unless theyr`e drunk.

[Grumpycat12]

I used to have it but it’s much better now. My biggest issue was that I’d get nauseous when I’m nervous which lead to gagging and puking. Not fun. After a while though you realize that it’s not so bad, I guess you could call it exposure therapy, but I’m no longer afraid of it like I used to be. It’s just a bit annoying and inconvenient. Pretty hilarious around friends though =p

“Dude are you Ok?”

“Yeah dude, wait... brrrrree!”

I know how hard it is but try to think of it lightly. Many things can be a lot worse.

[Mena2603]

I have this I know your pain it really sucks. What I do is I drink a lot of water sounds silly but it helps me. It calms my stomach and I think dehydration is probably why I get nauseous in the first place. Good luck I hope this will help you out. 💕

[RubixCube93]

I had exposure therapy for emetophobia and couldn't recommend it enough, I was so bad I couldn't even watch it on TV and started getting bad when people just coughed near me, now I can look after a sick person which is an improvement I never thought I'd see. When it comes to it happening to yourself I find it more tricky because I get nauseous from anxiety so it's a cycle like someone above mentioned. I definitely recommend cbt therapy for the long term but I try and manage day to day by distracting myself as much as possible, not eating big meals, avoiding being completely empty, keeping cool and sipping water or nibbling on bland, dry foods like plain crisps and taking deep breaths when I'm really nauseous. It's easy to say it's normal and nothing to worry about, but I know it can be hard to believe - keep trying though because it does get better.

[kevoreally]

youtu.be/GdNDvM2J8p0(Not working as expected?)

Thought of you when this video was in my recommended randomly on yourube lol