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Emetophobia (phobia of throwing up)

Just wondering if anyone else here has emetophobia. I have suffered severly with it for 6 years. I have tried many medications and therepies. Anyone else experiancing this? Any recomended meds or therepies?
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Avatar universal
I'm currently amidst an anxiety attack for a different reason, so I thought I'd add my story about my emetophobia.

I've always had anxiety.  I'm now 26 years old and have only vomited (that I can remember), 4 times, and three of those episodes were in the past year!  I think the spruce of the fear was my friend throwing up on me in 1st Grade... Like full on, across the table from me all over my face.  In elementary school I refused to wear grey sweatpants on Wednesday because a boy once got sick in front of the class when I was wearing those on a Wednesday.  If a family member contracted a stomach bug, I would stay at another friend's house for days.  I would refuse to have play dates with certain kids because they had the tendency to vomit.

The fear got less severe as I got older.  I only recall having a stomach virus once in 3rd Grade, and I was up all night before I finally gave in and threw up (in the toilet!).  After that, I'd had bouts of food poisoning and stomach viruses and I just willed myself not to vomit!  I once didn't eat for a week after my entire extended family contracted the Norovirus two Christmases ago and one-by-one started leaving; dropping like flies.  

I'm not so freaked about those who vomit when drunk, because I know it's not a virus I can catch.  I've held my friends hair back, watched my friend vomit into a paper cup at a bar, and even was vomited on while caring for a drunk friend.  It was disgusting, but it did not give me the panic I get when I hear someone is sick with a stomach virus.  

Cut to: this year.  Before this year, Id always been able to hold my liquor really well... Never got sick.  I was out at a bar with my roommate and hadn't eaten, got too drunk too fast and felt a feeling I hadn't felt in forever.  It's a feeling that you just KNOW, regardless of how long it's been.  I've sat on the floor of a bathroom with stomach upset countless times in tears because I never remembered what that felt like.  I hauled *** to the bathroom and just vomited.  Not a lot, but enough that it was time to go.  I had another instance happen on a date in which I was at a guy's house dry heaving all night, and then finally called a cab home from a club because I had "the feeling," only to immediately vomit in my bushes once I got home. I thought I had conquered it until two months ago when I had horrible indigestion.  I was up all night, even drove down to 7/11 for ginger ale and Gatorade.  I was convinced I would throw up.  Heart beatinf, dry mouth, feeling of soon.  I never did.  

I had always heard people say "Well no one LIKES to throw up!"  Not truly understanding a phobia I've had on which I've purposefully removed myself from situations in which I think there's even the slightest possibility I might contract a stomach bug.  So it's so nice to hear all of these stories I relate to!
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Avatar universal
I started to have this fear about a year ago. A week before I get my period I get nausea and I'm afraid of going anywhere because im afraid of throwing up. I am a 34 year old woman with three children and I feel like this is starting to take over me. I don't want it to!!!
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Avatar universal
So I just got done reading all of these, and I feel so bad that people besides myself deal with this! It is the most awful thing in the world to me. It effects my life more and more everyday, and I am trying so hard to get a handle on things.I am 21 yrs old and since I can remember this phobia has plagued my life. I haven't even thrown up since i was 11 and at sixth grade camp (which was so awful because of the phobia).
It's not just panicking about myself throwing up (which turns into a full blown panic attack) but it's about people around me too. If they even gag I get nauseous and sweaty. I play sports with my college, and I dreaded hell week, not because of the hell it puts you through, but because someone might throw up. It's a team sport, you normally don't actually see someone throw up, but it was the possibility that it could happen. Even a couple years ago when my sister was throwing up I abandoned her in the bathroom and peaced out to my grandparents house because I was so freaked out. It's gotten to the point where i don't want to go spend the night with her in her apartment because she threw up in it in October. I also work with athletes everyday, and I chose a great sport for my phobia, not. I work with wrestlers everyday and the team i work with is great because there are not that many who throw up but they have their days, and I just panic all the time. Every time I am in that wrestling. It is starting to effect my job. Everyone around me just tells me to get over it because its irrational, and I have tried so hard! Heck I chose a sport that deals with throw up more than most sports, and I cannot shake this.
When it comes to myself throwing up it is even worse. I saw someone on here saying the plead with God every day, well that is exactly what I do. When I feel super sick, I close my eyes, pray to God, and have a full blown panic attack trying not to throw up.
The stomach bug is going around right now too so I wash my hands like crazy, and I try to avoid every person who has had it because I don't want it. I even convinced myself that I had it because I gave myself so much anxiety. One of the guys on the team got it, and I kept a safe distance from him for a while because I was so determined to not get it. When I first started college I and as learning about the human body for my major, I learned that the Vagus nerve is the gag reflex nerve and honestly my first thought was how can I get that cut? how do I stop this horrible phobia? turns out you can't. Jokes on me because that nerve innervates your heart, therefore if you cut it, your heart stops beating. Instadeath.
Thankfully, being 21 it hasn't effected my alcohol consumption because i do know my limits. my only worry is that someone around me at the bar will throw up, and that I could not handle.
Because I have this I would not wish this upon anything, but it is nice to hear that I am not crazy and that I am not alone in this. I hope to someday figure out a treatment for this because no one should have to live in fear of this.
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Avatar universal
So I just got done reading all of these, and I feel so bad that people besides myself deal with this! It is the most awful thing in the world to me. It effects my life more and more everyday, and I am trying so hard to get a handle on things.I am 21 yrs old and since I can remember this phobia has plagued my life. I haven't even thrown up since i was 11 and at sixth grade camp (which was so awful because of the phobia).
It's not just panicking about myself throwing up (which turns into a full blown panic attack) but it's about people around me too. If they even gag I get nauseous and sweaty. I play sports with my college, and I dreaded hell week, not because of the hell it puts you through, but because someone might throw up. It's a team sport, you normally don't actually see someone throw up, but it was the possibility that it could happen. Even a couple years ago when my sister was throwing up I abandoned her in the bathroom and peaced out to my grandparents house because I was so freaked out. It's gotten to the point where i don't want to go spend the night with her in her apartment because she threw up in it in October. I also work with athletes everyday, and I chose a great sport for my phobia, not. I work with wrestlers everyday and the team i work with is great because there are not that many who throw up but they have their days, and I just panic all the time. Every time I am in that wrestling. It is starting to effect my job. Everyone around me just tells me to get over it because its irrational, and I have tried so hard! Heck I chose a sport that deals with throw up more than most sports, and I cannot shake this.
When it comes to myself throwing up it is even worse. I saw someone on here saying the plead with God every day, well that is exactly what I do. When I feel super sick, I close my eyes, pray to God, and have a full blown panic attack trying not to throw up.
The stomach bug is going around right now too so I wash my hands like crazy, and I try to avoid every person who has had it because I don't want it. I even convinced myself that I had it because I gave myself so much anxiety. One of the guys on the team got it, and I kept a safe distance from him for a while because I was so determined to not get it. When I first started college I and as learning about the human body for my major, I learned that the Vagus nerve is the gag reflex nerve and honestly my first thought was how can I get that cut? how do I stop this horrible phobia? turns out you can't. Jokes on me because that nerve innervates your heart, therefore if you cut it, your heart stops beating. Instadeath.
Thankfully, being 21 it hasn't effected my alcohol consumption because i do know my limits. my only worry is that someone around me at the bar will throw up, and that I could not handle.
Because I have this I would not wish this upon anything, but it is nice to hear that I am not crazy and that I am not alone in this. I hope to someday figure out a treatment for this because no one should have to live in fear of this.
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Avatar universal
I'm 14, and the last time I threw up was 6 years ago. I was in 3rd grade and I went to the nurse in school and she gave me crackers and then I threw up in the toilet. But she said I threw up because of my cough and sent me back to class. Then it was snack time and I ate a couple of chips and I knew I was going to throw up but I didn't want to get out of my seat because I thought that I'd get in trouble, so I tried to call the teacher but she didn't hear, and I threw up all over the floor. It was the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to me. And last week my sister (I share a room with her) ran into the bathroom at 5 am to throw up. So I moved all my clothes that I'd need and moved into the basement. Then two days later my mom got sick. Then two days later my dad got sick. Now it's three days since my dad was throwing up, and I'm still sleeping in the basement, because I am so scared that I'm going to get sick and throw up in school. And now I'm in Highschool and so the nurse is far from my classes. I've been washing my hands so much that I they hurt and I have rashes on them. I don't know what else to say, I'm just hate the sound of people throwing up, I hate throwing up, I hate what throw up looks and smells like, and I really really do NOT want to throw up in school.
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Avatar universal
sertilne is what I take works good I had it for 6 years too and I am 11
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Avatar universal
I read that statistically, people with this fear throw up far less than people with out it. I have a small fear of throwing up and it has gotten smaller and smaller as I've gotten older. I will be 30 in less than 2 months. Hope that helps.
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Avatar universal
If you have a severe fear of vomiting chances are you will never vomit.  Your body builds up some kind of defense mechanism to prevent you from vomiting even if you want to.  I have had a huge fear of it my whole life.  Ill put it this way.  Im 31 yrs old and have not thrown up since the 5th grade.  Ive had fo
od poisioning and stomach bugs through the years and still didnt vomit.  Probally not too healthy but better then the alternative in my eyes.
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Avatar universal
We can change! I have had a fear if throwing up ever since I can remember. Even though I've only thrown up a countable number of times that I remember, I've still been absolutely petrified. I have anxiety/panic disorder which only adds hell to my phobia of throwing up. I have tried and tried and tried to just say SCREW IT and just accept throw up. It's honestly not such a terrible thing when I think of it in my head. Ever since I remember I've been constantly nauseated, literally constantly. I don't render what it's like to feel normal. But I'm 19 now...... And pregnant!! One of my worst fears was the throwing up! I am nine weeks today an have been in the hospital once from hyperemesis gravidarum. A severe type of "morning sickness"! I haven't thrown up once this pregnancy except for this morning at 4 a.m. I woke up my husband and freaked out like usual an crowd and hyperventilated and just plain lost it. Then he and I went into the bathroom and after ten dry heaves in the pitch black bathroom, I threw up! My husband held my hand the whole time and after the four seconds of throwing up... I was ok. I realized its not that bad. It's just the feeling of nausea and about to throw up that causes my panic attack. And with my husband right by my side, I'll be prepared to throw up again tonight or tomorrow morning at 4 a.m. Because I WILL NOT LET THIS CONTROL ME ANYMORE! I understand these fears absolutely, we can overcome them!!!!!
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Avatar universal
I have this fear bad, and it's especially awful at night - in fact. the only reason i'm on this page is because I am currently having a minor freak out that I might vomit tonight. I need proper help, but have no one to get help from... please, any replies and suggestions would be amazing. It's simply wonderful to find out so many other people feel the same.
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Avatar universal
I have this fear bad, and it's especially awful at night - in fact. the only reason i'm on this page is because I am currently having a minor freak out that I might vomit tonight. I need proper help, but have no one to get help from... please, any replies and suggestions would be amazing. It's simply wonderful to find out so many other people feel the same.
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1305767 tn?1361192676
Yep I've had it, still kind of do. It was worse before because I had never thrown up. Then a few years ago I got to drinking really heavy and threw up three different times. Now I'd say I'm not terrified of it but the thought of it still gives me anxiety.
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Avatar universal
I self-diagnosed myself with emetophobia about a year ago.
I'm lucky enough to have never really thrown up so much in my life - the only time I ever remember was when I was 7, and caught a stomach bug that was sweeping through the school. I'm told I was a very strong-stomached baby and only ever threw up once or twice. I've always been a real healthy kid, rarely even getting a cold - when everyone around me (friends, family, classmates) get the cold/flu, I never get it. Ever.
But I've had this fear as long as I can remember. My mum is brilliant with throwing up, she just laughs it off and she's fine straight away. My dad gets really nervous and pacy, but not nearly as bad as me.
I know it's all in the mind, and that we really have no control over bodily-urges like that. If we're sick, we have to throw up. How else do we get better? But I still get really nervous, heart starts racing, hyperventilating, shaking like crazy, feel uneasy and faint, and I instinctively plug my ears and hold my breath.
My aunt and grandmother are staying over at my mum's house with me, and they were drinking a lot earlier. A few hours ago, my aunt threw up in the bath just a few feet away from my bedroom (luckily my door was closed, but I still heard it) and I was freaking out for a good hour. I needed the toilet (the phobia gives me an upset stomach) but I was too scared to leave my room in case there was sick on the floor or it smelled like it. My aunt is back in bed, and I'm calm again now, but I'm still uneasy about walking past the bathroom again.
What's worse is that it's MY bathroom. It sounds weird, I know, but I have my bathroom because my house has 3 and the one closest is just outside my room. So it's my bathroom, with a bath and a sink and cupboards and a shower and stuff. But now I'm scared I'll never feel comfortable in that room ever again! Ugh, it's so annoying!
Just a couple weeks ago, before P.E. at school, I drank too much water. I was never actually sick, but we were doing this agility-course thing and I felt so sick I couldn't move. I felt faint and clammy and nervous and stuff. But it wasn't as bad as it was when my aunt threw up. So I'm starting to think I'm more afraid of someone ELSE being sick, than I am of myself. :/ Crazy, right?
It's always at the back of my mind when I go out to eat somewhere, "what if this makes me ill?" or if I go to a friend's house "what if I catch a bug?". My friend threw up in class the other day, and I watched, but she made no noise and I never actually saw or smelt it because she gagged into a napkin and ran to the bathroom to flush it away. I was fine, no problems at all. No shaking, nothing. I just asked if she was okay and she said "yeah".
She's one of those people who have no problems with being sick. Go figure how she stays so calm.
I now associate throwing up with alcohol, mainly because all adults I've ever seen be sick were drunk or had been drinking wine. I have the intention of being a non-drinker when I'm an adult anyway, but this is just reinforcing it. I'm now worried that I'll get drunk when I'm in uni or whatever and throw up and never forgive myself for letting it get so far. I'd hate myself. :(
Anyways, on a finishing note, we're all in this together. It's mind over matter, literally. :) Keep your chin up!
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Avatar universal
I'm almost 16 and I have this. It started when I was 4 and threw up for the first time... It got so bad I would refuse to eat and lost a lot of weight. It came back in the 6th grade after I felt sick at a camp I went to (I didn't even throw up there) and I've been struggling with it since. I have to always have a grocery bag with me in my purse just in case, but I almost never throw up so it's completely irrational! It's really affecting my life as i've missed a lot of school, i just don't know how to conquer this phobia. Anyone have any tips?
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Avatar universal
I'm always scared of being sick. It takes over my every day life. I'm only 13! I alway get scared of it at school and I'm scared of being sick at school. I'm regularly get nausea and work myself up thinking I'm going to be sick. I don't want to take meds for it. I've been sick 3 times before in my life that I can remember but I hate it SO much. Its the most horrible thing in the world. Happy I'm not the only person who suffers from this :)
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Avatar universal
Thanks you so much for this comment... I actually helped me a ton!
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Avatar universal
Hi there, your post reads almost identical to my experience.  The night time is the worst for me and I even struggle to relax when I'm at my parent's for the night, or they stay with me - in case they get sick.  I'm in the UK and saw a psychiatrist yesterday who told me this phobia is one of the easier ones to sort out.  I also know that breathing properly - so deep, into your lower belly - really helps to alleviate panic attacks and tension and to reinstate a sense of calm and stillness.  

My life is completely taken over by vomiting phobia - particularly during the winter months when infectious tummy bugs appear much more prevalent.  I can't even be on social media sites at the moment as people seem to insist on updating their status to let the world know they're sick.  This all just makes the danger of getting a tummy bug seem so much closer to me and I freak out. I've also just had a plumber in the house who told me his kids have a bug and of course I had to check with him that they weren't being sick otherwise I'd have to get him out of the house in case he brought the bug into my home and put me at risk.  It's all so exhausting, having this occupy my thoughts as much as it does.  I'm 40 years old and was last sick aged 9 (with one exception about 5 years ago, which was v brief and down to over indulgence). I didn't freak out 5 years ago, in the way I do now.  I think that in part my heightened state of phobia is down to news about tummy bugs travelling so fast that it only serves to warp my perspective on the realities of the danger.  I wish everyone on this message board all the very best with conquering their phobia.  I am yet to feel 'cured' but I feel confident that I can learn to manage this and reclaim my life.  
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Avatar universal
I am 13 years old and I have this problem. Whenever someone even chokes, I can't eve eat for days. If someone says their stomach hurts, I start shaking and sweating and covering my ears it's terrible. I go to a breathing class to help me when I get anxiety. I have only remember twice I threw up in my entire life it was when I had a really bad case of pneumonia...if i eat too much in a restaurant then i run to the bathroom and just sit in there till we leave. it's so good to see that other people also have this problem(:
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Avatar universal
the have this drug for chemo paitents that when i was little i used to tae for this other drug and they do wonders no aweful side affects not illagle but it helped they also have over the counter ones that are less stronge but sometime just saying to yourself i took this im going to be okay helps but try to get over your fear too
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Avatar universal
i dont know why but im more afraid of throwing up during the night during the day im all good  but at night would rather die thn trow up even my parents think it is a stupid fear so i have kinda had to brsveit on my own it is the worst feeling in the world when u see other people go about there daily lives with such ease and you are there knowing that u may never be able to do the same thing without having a constant fear. and stand range enough as it is some people like me find things to get yourself through the fear and that is my parents even though they want me to throw up just so i can get over it but it is not that simple most people dont understand how bad a phobia can be and they take it for granted the way they can live there lives with such little fear. i am 14 and i watch the other kids as the do drugs get drunk and ruin their lives and i wish they could see how goo they got it for not having the same fears as me i would trade there lives in an instante no matter how bad they think the got it.
this is a real fear and all you people who have it no matter haw alone u feel ur not alone ok there are lost of people just like u so stay strong.
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Avatar universal
this is so empowering...I am 16 years old and have dealt with this phobia for what seems like my whole life. I feel like I am the only one in my friend group, family, and every other social circle in the world who endures this kind of pain.

Yesterday for the first time in years I felt as though i needed to throw up and I lost control of myself, it was terrifying. I was saying things like "I want to die" and "Kill me" to my poor mother, who was doing all she could to help me. I've been working with a therapist but, simply put, I am not cured.

I believe everyone on this forum is looking for a cure. I see so many comments saying "HELP ME!" and "WHAT CAN I DO TO MAKE THIS GO AWAY FAST!" but emetophobia isn't something that goes away overnight. It's a long struggle and it's scary and awful but what else can we do. We have each other to tell us we're not alone

best of luck to everyone on here.
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Avatar universal
Im 13, and i have a phobia of throwing up. I havent done it in a few years, but whenever my stomach hurts, i feel scared a lot inside. I thought i was the only one who was like this until i read these comments. Whenever someone else throws up, i become extremely scared and start having an anxiety attack. My friends try to help me through it, but they just dont understand. My one friend threw up at school and i couldnt be near her the rest of the day. Im glad to know that im not alone.
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Avatar universal
I'm sooooo glad I'm not alone. I figured I was just being silly. But I've thrown up 3 time in my life that I can remember. And I'm turning 15 soon. I was adopted so my guardian wasn't always as supportive about everything as she was with her own kids. Which I find understandable. And now I've read a lot about this and found that not having support from a parent can cause it. So if anyone finds a cure I would LOVE to know because I go through everyday thinking "am I going to throw up?", "should I eat this? If I throw this up will I hurt?" all these kind of things.
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Avatar universal
Hi, I'm 54 and have had this fear my whole life. How do you do it. I had an issue years ago and got a pill stuck in my windpipe so now I have a fear of swallowing pills.What meds can I keep with me that will stop a puking episode. My dad passed away of colon cancer a few years ago and my brother of prostate cancer. I need a colonoscopy but fear the prep. I have no life. I don't go out and I hate people coming over for fear they carry a stomach virus. What can I do? I need help?
Thank you, I know you wrote this years ago But I just saw it.
loretta
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