- Date posted
- 4y
- Date posted
- 4y
I know of someone who had emetophobia when I was a patient at OCDi Jr. Here were some of their exposures: - eating then running around - looking at pictures of throw-up and writing stories about it - watching videos of people doing eating challenges and throwing up I know this person made so much progress doing these exposures!!! Though I know that different exposures work better for different people and that some people’s OCD responds better to treatment than others. I hope that maybe these are some ideas that might work for you!
- Date posted
- 4y
Thank you so much! I have taken these down and may implement myself
- Date posted
- 4y
I had it when I was younger.
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- 4y
How did you get over it?
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- 4y
@Anonymous I honestly don't know. Time and medication. Know as I'm older it is other things...but getting sick is like nothing now. I think being drunk and having to get sick one time was a way of getting over it. It just doesn't matter anymore.
- Date posted
- 4y
@waynoworlater I've had the opposite experience. This started for me in elementary school. The older I got the worse it got. I'm 45 and its still really severe. I've also had OCD since I 8. Didnt know or realize it until last month.
- Date posted
- 4y
@Lms526 Often times we only realize we had ocd looking back bc it’s under-diagnosed but I understand @waynoworlater with their experience being really therapeutic and if I had thrown up from drinking, maybe I would have been done with this but I had somewhat avoidant behaviors. I did throw up once last year but it didn’t seem to stop me from fearing it happening again. Hoping to get to the root of this.
- Date posted
- 4y
Me! I have have it for many years. I am focusing on my harm suicide OCD right now. But that one is next on my hit list.
- Date posted
- 4y
I also have that! It's those 2 are my biggest obstacles but right now emetophobia has taken over for various reasons!
- Date posted
- 4y
To be clear, I got over the being sick obsession, but recently had a reoccurrence of OCD behavior and lead into harm ocd and suicidal ocd thoughts. I think just stress and anxiety obviously triggered it again. I almost wish I had the being sick obsession back, but the symptoms were just as similar. The avoidance, etc. I'm just an adult now and have to keep a job and that makes it way harder than just missing school like when I was a kid.
- Date posted
- 4y
I totally understand. I also have the suicidal ocd and for whatever reason, that one is not bothering me right now but when it is, I of course wish it was the sick obsession instead and vice versa. I also have had to take some time off work to maintain my health and I was nervous about it but glad that I did it. Being that I work from home has helped some with the anxiety and not being in public but I also think part of not having to be in public is why I’m getting anxious more bc it’s less exposure.
- Date posted
- 4y
Yes. Being isolated definitely doesn't help me. I just have to find a balance.
- Date posted
- 4y
Yeah I don’t love it either, I’m a social person which is why when I fear getting sick it really turns things around bc I get scared of it happening in a social setting and will want to avoid or leave the situation. I just have a bit of safety being at home that I likely won’t get sick in public at work. I hope you can feel better soon. Suicidal OCD is rough and I’m here to talk about it if you want!
Related posts
- Date posted
- 23w
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)?
- Date posted
- 10w
hi im a fifteen year old girl with really bad ocd and emetaphobia nobody knows my fear except for my best friend and my sister. its so hard to even say the word or even type the word so i just say “sick” even typing this out makes my heart race and my hands sweaty. ive been really struggling with ocd for almost a year its gotten worst about every month. its always on my mind. i have a therapist but i cant even tell them about my anxiety and thoughts that go on in my head. my whole family is watching me fall deeper and deeper into this dark whole that i dont know how to get out of. its feels awful to see everyone around you watch you fail over and over again. please forgive me if this was graphic thank you
- Date posted
- 10w
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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