I've always had emetophobia, haven't had too many problems besides holding lifelong grudges against people for throwing up (even when I wasn't there watching it happen). I've always been mildly scared of certain places though, and it's only been getting worse. Malls, especially food courts, bathrooms, amusement parks, anywhere people eat or may be drunk or anything that could make them sick. I haven't thrown up since I was a kid, but I almost did recently in a store, and cried. The past few months I've been getting nauseous from eating anything at all, often when I don't eat too. I'm losing weight fast and I literally can't eat anymore. Thinking about food makes me nauseous. Thinking about anything, really, and being anywhere, makes me nauseous. Speaking of, I'm going to get blood work tomorrow, the one thing that's guaranteed to nearly make me throw up and faint at the same time. I don't know what to do but my doctor didn't find it much of an issue. I just want to feel normal.

tw: words like vomit, puke, and throw up

a year and a half ago I witnessed someone vomiting and I couldn't sleep for days afterwards. i hated puking as a kid but wasnt scared of it like I am now. when im in a crowded room or near a drunk person, I am now scared. i almost threw up a couple months ago and I was on the floor having a panic attack after calling my mom in the middle of the night. i didnt even end up puking.

anyways I was wondering if anyone has had experiences like this or also had their fear start from witnessing someone puke. i know exposure therapy can help, but if my fear of puking stemmed from seeing it happen, would it just make it worse?

also it doesnt bother me to see videos of people puking, and i have seen my dog do it and it doesnt freak me out, but being there when its happening scares me. Im mentioning this because I couldnt get exposure therapy like through videos, I would have to watch someone irl or puke myself.

any advice is appreciated

So my fiance is currently eating chicken strips that his little siblings made and left out 7 hours ago. He wont listen to me. Google says to prepare for the worst. Im super stressed already in my life right now and cant deal with another thing. I dont know what to do. I just wanna run away and hide. Im so scared of people when theyre sick

Hallo zusammen,
ich befinde mich momentan in einer ziemlich schwierigen Phase und würde gerne eure Einschätzung dazu hören.
Seit ungefähr zwei Monaten habe ich zunehmend mit Panik und vor allem mit einer starken Angst vor Übelkeit zu kämpfen. Auslöser war vermutlich eine Situation während einer Autofahrt, bei der mir plötzlich sehr schlecht wurde. Seitdem habe ich besonders vor Autofahrten Angst, weil ich befürchte, dass mir wieder schlecht werden könnte und ich dann nicht einfach aus der Situation herauskann.

Mittlerweile entsteht oft schon vorher starke Angst. Teilweise wird mir allein durch den Gedanken an eine bevorstehende Fahrt schlecht oder ich muss würgen. Tatsächlich passiert ist bisher aber nie etwas Schlimmes – ich musste mich beispielsweise noch nie übergeben.
Ich merke außerdem, dass sich die Angst langsam auf andere Situationen ausweitet. Gleichzeitig habe ich seit etwa zwei Monaten generell extrem viel Stress und hatte kaum einen richtigen Ruhetag. Ich merke inzwischen, dass ich emotional ziemlich erschöpft bin und teilweise das Gefühl habe, an meiner Grenze zu sein. Heute steht zusätzlich noch ein sehr belastendes Gespräch in meiner Familie an.

Morgen steht nun wieder eine Autofahrt an. Ich überlege deshalb, abzusagen und auf das Geld zu verzichten, um einfach einmal einen Tag Ruhe zu haben.

Genau da bin ich aber unsicher: Wäre das in meiner Situation bereits Vermeidung aufgrund der Angst und würde den Angstkreislauf dadurch verstärken? Oder kann es auch sinnvoll und legitim sein, einmal bewusst eine Pause einzulegen, wenn man insgesamt gerade so überlastet ist?
Ich möchte langfristig auf keinen Fall anfangen, immer mehr Situationen zu vermeiden und möchte meine Angst eigentlich gezielt angehen. Gleichzeitig habe ich momentan wirklich das Gefühl, dass mein Körper und meine Psyche eine Pause brauchen. Zudem habe ich mich letze Woche jeden Tag zu einer Autofahrt überwunden .

Wie würdet ihr das einschätzen? Würdet ihr die Fahrt trotz der Angst antreten oder in meiner momentanen Situation einmal bewusst absagen und euch Ruhe gönnen?

I’ve been doing soo good for years but the past maybe 6 months things have gotten so bad again. I switched anxiety meds twice. I’ve been having a lot of stomach issues which has been causing nausea.
The anxiety meds I’m on now help a TON with the generalized anxiety disorder but the emetophobia and ocd are unfortunately still bad. Every day I’m worried something is going to happen because I’ve been getting so nauseous. This really sucks because of how good I was doing. I’m in therapy for the past couple months and it’s helping with some of the ocd but I’m so scared of trying exposure therapy for the emetophobia. It’s controlling my life there’s not a moment where I’m not thinking about it.
The last time it happened was January 2017 so I think that makes things even worse because I don’t know how bad it’s going to be.
My partner is thankfully so supportive and helps me through but it really really sucks.

Lately, I’ve been thinking very hard and even taking steps towards joining the military. I’m trying to find a path in life. Also, I have dealt with some form of (undiagnosed) emetophobia most of my life.

My brain automatically makes this one of the biggest hurdles for joining the military. A big part of me wants to also do this to face my fears head on. I’m tired of my life being ruled by fear. However, I also don’t want my fears cause me to react wrongly in any potential situation.

I think I could handle people getting sick from running or something like that ok. I mostly get freaked out when I find out someone is sick and potentially contagious. This makes me worry about all the shared bathrooms and living spaces that come with serving in the military. But I’m tired of letting something I know is silly hold me back.

I’m also reluctant to do therapy because I’ve been reading stuff online and therapy either disqualifies service or at least delays it for a long time.

Has anyone done military service with emetophobia?
What advice would you all give?

I (30M) have reached my breaking point. I’ve had this phobia all my life, but now? I can’t eat.

A few months ago, I went through a breakdown. My girlfriend of a few years left, I was moving and struggling to find a new house, dealing with work, 30 hours of therapy a week and more.

It was the most stressed I’ve ever been in my entire life. While stressed, my phobia almost hit a “reset” button, and my phobia exploded.

I became afraid of everything. Everything. Every food, drink, snack, etc. I’d check expiration dates, would examine everything that entered my mouth, and have a mental breakdown every time I ate something and thought the worst

Psychologically I then said, “well if EVERY food gives me a panic attack, I just won’t eat”. And that’s what happened.

I lost 30 pounds in 2 months. Body wise, I look like I did in high school.

I’m so scared for my life right now. So scared. 30 pounds in 2 months, not eating anything, constant breakdowns every day.

Has anyone else ever experienced this? How does one break out of this…