Fear of Throwing Up. Am I Alone??

Hi D.- Totally know what you are going through. Have had that fear for years. My son is at the age now where if he gets sick to his stomache it's not baby spit up anymore and I have a huge problem with being the one to "clean up". If I feel sick to my stomache or have the urge to be sick I break out into a cold sweat and get very nervous. Looks like you got a lot of advice on here but just wanted to let you know that you are not alone and good luck!

-K.

Wow! I thought I was the only one who felt this way. Obviously I realize that people do not like to vomit per se, but I didn't realize that others actually feared it. I will purposely not drink alcohol in excess, take long car rides that result in motion sickness, etc. because I do not want to make myself sick. Thank you for sharing your story. I plan to take a look at the website posted in the first response.

HI there - I'm a licensed (in California) psychotherapist and Highly suggest seeing someone who works with EMDR. It is immensely helpful with irrational fears/ thoughts along with many other situations. You can read more of it on emdr.com and find a clinician through that website as well. And it often is Not a long process at all!
B.
PS - am just now reading the other posts here and want to speak to them as well if they're still listening. What emdr can do for all of you is really phenomenal. Do check it out at the website and know that you don't have to suffer like that if you're willing to try out some EMDR therapy. There are more "researched" studies with it with PTSD (trauma), but therapists are using it with a multitude of issues and very successfully. Also emdria.org has a lot more additional info and can help you to find some clinicians around the country.

Hi,

I came across your question today by chance. Your fear is called emetophobia, it is very common and it is treatable. I am a fully recovered emetophobic and the only clinical counselor in the world who specializes in emetophobia. I live in Canada (not Beverly Hills - lol - that was the only zip code I knew) however I treat people via Skype (Skype is a free video+audio calling service) anywhere in the world and I have a very high success rate.

You can read my story, my weekly blog, and find out more about me at http://www.emetophobiahelp.org

D.,

I feel for you. I too am so scared of vomiting and the stomach virus. It's called "emetephobia" (or emetaphobia). My daughter is 4.5 and the first 2 years of her life she got a stomach virus every 6 mos. DH & I got it each time - and only the last time she got it (last May) did I not get it b/c she was able to throw up in a bucket instead of everywhere. I was so scared to get it (dh was out of town so it was just me) so I would wash my hands in bleach and then stuck my hands in almost scalding water. My nuckles were bleeding and cracked - BUT I DIDN'T GET IT! I was so thankful. I go into panic mode anytime the virus is "going around". I don't know what to tell you - other than I just pray constantly and then tell myself there is nothing I can do about it and just try to move on. This made me second guess having any more kids (having to start over with the virus thing again) - but now I'm pg with B/B/B triplets!!! So of course, I"m terrified of the day that they all get it.......but I'm trying not to obsess.

I've thought about getting therapy for it, but havent. Maybe you can. Its a real fear.

Hang in there.
T.

Hey there! I think we all have some crazy fear in us. Try NLP - which stands for Neuro Linguistic Programming. It sounds kinda bizzare, but basically it tries to pinpoint where this fear initiated. With the way the brain works, once it knows why it can fix it. I have a similar fear of vomit - I found out that that my fear of it wasn't because of the actual vomit - it was because I spent a ton of time sick as a kid all by myself. So my fear of vomit was due to an incredible sense of lonliness at a very early age. It was just because the age was so early that I ended up assiciating the vomit with being sick with being all alone and helpless or unprotected. Hope that helps some! Take care!

My mother always said she was so glad when I (the baby) got big enough to clean up after myself when I was sick! You're not alone! I HATE throwing up, and like you can remember the like 3 times I've thrown up since being a kid. I was so scared about that while I was pregnant, luckily I was not ever sick, so that was good. With my son, I am more able to deal with it, just because it's happened so rarely that it really freaks him out, so I have to be calm for him. Also, the few times he's been that sick, he has just wanted to be left alone, so no extra hugs there! Hang in there and just know that you are not alone and they will grow up!

Hi D.,

I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone. I get very anxious about vomitting as well, especially when my kids are sick. My 7yr daughter also suffered from the anxiety of vomitting. She used to wash her hands 10- 15 times a day until they were cracked and bleeding.
Your fear is real and I believe you need to treat it or pay close attention to it around your kids. My daughter most likely got her fears from my behaviors.
I fought for years to encourage her and let her know that everyone does it at some point and that she will be okay. Nothing worked. We also tried play therapy with her as well.
Anxiety that disrupts your day to day events needs to be treated. If you find yourself worrying all day, then my advice would be to seek help from your primary care.
I really hope things work out.

C. Davis

I certainly don't think your weird or a bad mother. I wish I had some helpful advise to give but the only thing I can think of is to research phobias.
I did learn in my psychology class that you can develop a phobia. It does not have to stem from your childhood or haunting past like a lot of people think.
Not being funny, only honest.... I have a phobia of bugs...not the usual scared of bugs phobia, but the sweat, scream, run and make a fool out of myself phobia. I am not concerned, just embarassed sometimes. Sometimes just knowing that I am not weird helps.