How does anyone deal with there etmephobia? Fear of vomiting. I’ve been nauseous for a month and haven’t gotten sick once but every time I think I will and embarrass myself. I’m in college and keep avoiding events and parties because of this fear. I want to get hypnotized to get over it. Does anyone have any tips?
I have a fear of vomiting too. I haven't vomited since well over a decade so I'm scared to vomit now. There are no fears worse than others since the reaction to the fear is the part that's serious. I think exposure therapy with a therapist is the way to go, I did some myself for arachnophobia since it was so bad and I can tolerate spiders now
So exposure did help you? I’ve been thinking about hypnosis to help
@Anonymous With arachnophobia yeah, I just would start with looking at pictures, then videos, then watching them outside from a distance and getting closer and closer. I don't know how that would work with the fear of vomiting but I'm sure a specialised therapist would know. I never tried hypnosis so I've no advice on it but I have heard good things about it a few years ago but I'm not sure what they got it for or anything because I can't remember exactly
You have to accept you might or might not throw up. Being terrified of *possibly* vomiting isn’t getting you anywhere. It’s affecting your life at this point and that needs to end. To me, vomiting isn’t even the worst thing in the world. There are others symptoms of sickness that are worse 🤷🏻♀️
Yeah but I have a fear of it. I don’t know how to rework the wiring of my brain. Anytime I’m nauseous my body is paralyzed with fear. I know I shouldn’t react like that but I don’t know how to change it
@Anonymous Fear isn’t always logical and this fear is now holding you back from a fun life. You’re being run by your fears of vomiting. Do you want that to continue? That is up to you. I suggest seeing a therapist about this.
@Nica Comparing fears is unhealthy and dangerous. You should never tell someone their fear is less than or worse than or better than. That comment is very dangerous and unhelpful. You cannot put a moral value on anyone's fears. Please do not judge his or her fear of vomiting that is very real for them. Hope this makes sense.
@Anonymous ERP can help. Your fear of vomiting is very real and valid. We all have different fears. Yours is not less than or worse than. Just is. Do not feel guilty or bad about yourself. OCD is a bully. You will need ERP therapy via NOCD. They are very helpful. Check them out.
@Natoosh I never said that, but thank you for trying to put words in my mouth. You have to detach from your fears and look at the situation with as much logic as you can, given the situation. If you can’t do that on your own, then a therapist is needed. Since it’s affecting this person’s life so heavily, they need to get professional help—like I suggested.
@Anonymous You got this. Don't be hard on yourself. Don't feel bad or guilty for having this fear of vomiting or any other fear. One step at a time is a victory. Give yourself compassion. You are brave. Brave is being able to still do something of value even with the anxiety or fear of vomiting.
@Nica Have you sought help with ERP? If you did then you would know ERP is illogical. There is no logic. ERP forces one to lean into the anxiety and still do the things they value. Please please learn more about ERP. OCD is a monster and logic does not work with OCD. Anyone reading this thread who is in ERP will understand. Good luck to you
Recently, I’ve been struggling a ton with what I eat/put into my body? I’m a first year college student with a few different health issues (including IBS), and lately it’s been hard for me to find food on campus that doesn’t upset my stomach. I also have pretty severe emetophobia, and feel extremely anxious when I feel sick. The ironic thing is that being anxious makes me feel even worse, so I end up sticking myself in an impossible loophole. My OCD has taken hold of these fears over the past few months, and it’s been such a struggle. Especially since people have been getting food poisoning from various dining halls on my campus lately. My OCD has gotten so bad that sometimes I’m too afraid to eat food other than what I buy myself. I feel so trapped. I don’t want my OCD to affect my physical health or prevent me from eating, bc I love eating!! It’s the fear of getting sick that’s the problem. And it’s even harder when everything is so unfamiliar. Just wondering if anyone could relate. Advice is appreciated!
This has recently developed into something much bigger than it originally was. When this past winter season started, i noticed more people were getting the stomach bug than usual. I was fine at first, until I was noticing almost one person in every class was saying they recently had it. I researched about it, and I found what I was looking for unfortunately. Norovirus cases were surging across the U.S because of a new strain of NoV that recently had been spreading. This immediately altered my way of thinking. Everywhere I went, I would be overly cautious of what’s around me and whose around me. The first obsessive compulsive problem I had was that I couldn’t eat at lunch anymore unless I washed my hands. One time, I didn’t have an option to wash my hands, so I didn’t eat lunch. That’s when I knew it was interfering with my daily life, and it was becoming a serious issue. There was another time where some guy threw up near me in the hallway trash can. My mind was spiraling. all. day. long. It felt like it was consuming me alive. Not a minute would go by where I wouldn’t think about it, and the high possibility of me catching this virus. There’s been so many other scenarios where I feel myself losing it. I’m not the best of explaining in detail how my mind feels when it spirals, but the best thing I could say is that I could feel myself slowly losing my mind. It takes over my life. I HAVE to act on my compulsive acts, if not, i’ll have these obsessive thoughts until it consumes me whole. I’ve had nervous breakdowns, panic attacks, anxiety attacks, insomnia, and it almost feels like it’s causing me to have an eating disorder. Most recently, I went to use the bathroom and saw what looked like puke on the toilet seat. I was already using it, so I just finished my buisness and rushed out there asap. I figured, if I fasted for two days, what’s there to puke if I do catch NoV? So, I did. I missed school because on the second day of fasting, I became very dehydrated. I was weak, and couldn’t move. I realized what this all rooted back to. That’s when I knew I needed help.
This is my first time posting - I have a fear of throw up and I’ve been told it is cause from my OCD (repetitive thoughts) which makes sense because if someone gets sick it replays over and over again and I can’t get it out of my head. It’s gotten a lot worse in the past maybe two years. I’m always on edge that someone is going to get sick around me. I’ve heard the “best or most common” way to help with this is exposure therapy and OBVIOUSLY I don’t want to do that. Anyone have any tips or anything for this (or maybe have done the exposure therapy)?
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