EMETOPHOBIA TW: I have emetophobia (fear of vomiting) as one of my main OCD themes, and I have a family history of IBS and various digestive issues, which I have as well. Feeling nauseous or having stomachaches is a major trigger for me. But when I get anxious, I feel stomach pain, or nausea. I also often have the physical symptoms of anxiety before I notice mental anxiety- like I will start having stomachaches, clammy hands, faster breathing, etc. and then understand my OCD has been triggered. The IBS and acid reflux mean I have stomachaches and nausea pretty randomly though. So I can never tell if I’m having stomachaches and nausea I because my OCD is triggered, or if my OCD is triggered because of the stomachache and nausea. The treatment for the two is different (I take hydroxizine for OCD/panic attacks and antacids and other drugs for the stomach problems) so the real problem is that if I can’t tell the cause, I don’t know which remedy I need. I just needed to get this off my chest, sorry it’s so long!

elizabeth246

Date posted: 5y

Wow this post could’ve been written by me, exactly the same experiences/diagnoses (IBS and reflux). So yeah you’re not alone!

Sage53

Date posted: 5y

I know exactly what you mean. I’ve had a stomach disorder for 7 months now and my stomach would often become inflamed causing nausea and pain and stuff like that. I also have severe cocd and emetophobia so they kind of play off of each other. I would love to talk sometime. It’s nice knowing someone is going through the same thing as you.

elizabeth246

Date posted: 5y

What kind of compulsions/behaviours do you have with your OCD and emetophobia? Obviously you don’t have to talk about it if you’re not comfortable though ?

Sage53

Date posted: 5y

Hand washing. Sanitizing. I don’t eat food that I touch without freshly washed or sanitized hands. If I touch it or if someone else touches it, I won’t eat the part that they touch. Compulsive praying about not getting sick. I stopped eating cause everything I began to eat, I envisioned myself throwing up. I stopped eating meat because of food borne illness. It’s been rough

elizabeth246

Date posted: 5y

@Sage53 Poor you, that does sound rough

Delaney

Date posted: 5y

I often don’t eat or have trouble eating in public. I sleep with a plastic Tupperware container in my bed to be a “barf bucket” if needed. I spend a fair bit of time in the bathroom, and have slept on the bathroom floor on many occasions when I’m feeling anxious or naseous. I wash hands and use hand sanitizer religiously and wipe down surfaces with wet wipes. I struggle to eat meat, especially chicken, due to fear of food poisoning. At the moment, I don’t eat most meat at my college dining hall, and eat a lot of what I think of as “safe” foods- lots of simple carbs/grain products. I have a problem being around anyone who mentions feeling any sort of stomachache or nausea, and I will go out of my way to avoid a place where someone with stomach flu has been. If anyone has had stomach flu recently, I will keep my distance for quite a while after.

Sage53

Date posted: 5y

@Delaney Would you like to be friends? I feel like we’re twins??I relate to everything you just said

lazerhogan

Date posted: 5y

Wow I have emetophobia and this sounds just like me. It’s gotten to the point where I will only eat prepackaged foods out of fear that there are norovirus germs on food. I don’t even want to kiss my wife because I’m scared that she touched her mouth with her germy hands.

suzie90

Date posted: 13w

Health OCD/anxiety stomach cancer fears

Hi, I have been under extreme stress since about March this year, and from that started suffering from very bad health anxiety which has caused panic attacks etc. I’m in the middle of a spiral right now though because I am certain I have stomach cancer. I am 31 and female. Last week I had a very good few days anxiety wise and almost felt like myself. But on Sunday morning I woke up having to rush to the bathroom (TMI sorry) and felt very nauseous. I am emetophobic so this scared me too. Since then I have been having bad stomach cramps, had to rush to the toilet once a day, and some nausea. I have no appetite at all (last week I had a very good appetite but this week I am having to force myself to eat). I am thinking about my symptoms constantly which I think might be making them worse. I have had a bowel screening done which was clear so no blood, and a calprotectin which was very slightly raised at 53, but my GP said she wasn’t concerned about it but would refer me for further testing if I wanted. So I do have more tests booked but not for some months yet. I’m just really scared because of the stomach cramps, nausea, and having to rush to the bathroom once a day for five days now. I have also had bad acid reflux but that only tends to happen when I have taken propranolol. I also have IBS so maybe my anxiety has flared it up but I’m not convinced. I’m just so scared to the point I can’t leave the house and I have been lay in bed for five days thinking about my symptoms and that I could have stomach cancer. I have also been referred for CBT in the near future to help deal with this, but I’m scared that I’m brushing something off as anxiety and giving time for the illness to spread. I just feel constantly scared. I thought I’d had a breakthrough last week but this has just hit me like a tonne of bricks. Has anyone else dealt with anything like this? I just want to feel okay again I am freaking out so bad

avantika 🪻

Date posted: 13w

ocd & stomach issues

does anyone know if ocd and chronic stomach issues have a strong correlation? 😭 I havent been diagnosed with any stomach issues but I have also never checked. Plus ive had ocd and like persistent and painful stomach aches since i was like 5 and still do get them. I think i may have ibs.

suzie90

Date posted: 8w

Emetophobia

So I’m severely emetophobic but these past few weeks have gotten SO bad. I had a bad reaction to an SSRI that made me feel like I was gonna throwup, I stopped taking them over two weeks ago but ever since then the fear has got even worse. I haven’t left the house properly in weeks because I’ve convinced myself I’ll be sick. I feel nauseous even indoors a lot of the time (there are hours when I don’t, like for example this afternoon I was fine). But I challenged myself to go for a short walk this evening and omg it was so hard I really thought I might throwup. The thing is I KNOW it’s anxiety and not real nausea because it feels completely different to when I was actually nauseous from the medication. This feeling is more like a tight throat/sensation of a lump in my throat that makes me feel like I’m gonna gag. I also have RCPD (I can’t burp basically lol) so I just feel like I have trapped air in my throat that’s gonna make me puke. The phobia has gotten really really bad. I have started therapy recently but I’ve been scared of throwing up since I was a kid and I’m now 31 lol wtf. I remember last Christmas my mum said someone at her work had been sick and I was so scared my mum had caught it and would pass it on to me that I refused to leave my bedroom without wearing gloves and a mask and wiping everything with anti-germ wipes. But right now it’s so so bad because I have literally gotten to the point where I’ve convinced myself I feel nauseous pretty much 24/7 and I am taking anti-nausea meds almost every day. Has anyone else dealt with/has tips for this??? I’m literally desperate 😭

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