Emetophobia @ WDW

[SamIAm21]

I am severely afraid of becoming physically ill better known as "throwing up". However, I have no problem when someone else gets sick around me. I have held my friends' hair while they hover over the toilet many a night after drinking, but I have never returned the favor. I was afraid that I might be sick from morning sickness during my pregnancy, but luckily, I didn't have morning sickness!

I haven't thrown up since I was eight (I'm in my 40s now) and the last time I did that, I was all alone at Girl Scout camp. That cemented my fears...

If my daughter is sick or anyone is sick around me, it doesn't bother me in the least, but I once had food poisoning and paced for about eight hours straight willing myself to not throw up. And I didn't. People were hurling for days due to this food poisoning and I just wouldn't let myself, although I'm sure I would have been better faster.

I feel for anyone who has a problem with this because it's almost like something you can't avoid in life.

 

[Dopey420]

Ha HA, I vomited last Sunday night for the first time in years! It was terrible!

 

[tiink3rbella]

I am severely afraid of becoming physically ill better known as "throwing up". However, I have no problem when someone else gets sick around me. I have held my friends' hair while they hover over the toilet many a night after drinking, but I have never returned the favor. I was afraid that I might be sick from morning sickness during my pregnancy, but luckily, I didn't have morning sickness!

Your one of the lucky ones who can handle seeing it! I honestly get the creeps just walking by small garbage cans or even buckets. I also get scared when people cough so much because I'm scared it'll make them sick.

 

[MickeysGirl]

I'm right there with you tiink3rbella! Whenever someone says they don't feel well, I end up giving them the third degree....how don't you feel well? throw up don't feel well? I also tend to walk around constantly on the look out for those "body signals" that someone around me might not feel well. Whenever I go to a public restroom, I get out as fast as I can in case someone might come in and be sick. I guess that is the definition of a phobia. It is so severe that it affects your daily life.

 

[bangzoom6877]

I also grill people when they say they are sick. Worst of all, I am a teacher and when one of the kids returns with a note from their parent that they were home sick, I ask them if they are feeling better and what they had. I think my students think I am just testing them to make sure the note is accurate and they did not cut my class and write a bogus note (I teach high school). On the flip side, I freak out when a student comes back with one of those "too-much-information absence notes" in which the parents describes in full detail that the student was home vomiting all morning and that's why they did not make it to school. Worst of all is when a few students seem to come down with the same stomach bug, one after the other. To me that means something is going around and there is an increased chance of catching it from them. So, I carry anti-bacterial gel in my purse even though I wash my hands very well before eating at work, I guess it's kind of my security blanket in addition to good hand-washing in the restroom.

Hey, at least I don't have a phobia of the common cold, which surfaces much more than stomach viruses usually do (knocking on wood...wow this really is a serious issue since I do not wanna jinx myself by saying what I just said). Okay, everyone by now is sure to think I am a complete nut for all this! But this is very real, and I try not to let it stop me from doing fun things. Now hopefully I will not chicken out on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in July, and hopefully when I return home I will be able to say either that I had a great time on the ride or that my older son was still not tall enough to ride so we did not go on the ride. Not that I chickened out at the last minute. We are gonna be in MK 2 days on our trip. Who knows? I may even go on it both days!

-Bonnie

 

[tiink3rbella]

Wow I really wasnt expecting this many people to get these feelings! I guess its alot more common then I thought

 

[Eljay]

I DEFINATELY do not want to go near mission space haha. I think thats cause the time I was down there a woman died a few days after from a headache she got on it... Supposedly she had preexisting medical problems.

The non-spinning side of M:S is probably not going to make you sick. I get motion sickness really easily and I love the mild version.
On the other hand, there will be people exiting the ride who have ridden the full-motion side of the ride and if you don't want to witness vomiting, I would stay away. I have never personally seen it, but if you do a search, you will find many discussions about it.

 

[Diznygrl]

I second staying away from Mission Space. I rode the green version, but at the exit you can still see people who are having bad reactions from riding orange. I saw a guy vomiting into a merchandise bag sitting outside the Mission Space gift shop (aka the exit). I just hope he removed his souvenirs first!

 

[ZoZo]

Aren't phobias the pits? I feel for you. I don't have a fear of throwing up, but have a rather extreme phobia of going to the dentist (and, ironically, my father is a retired dentist!).

Have you ever talked to a therapist about this? The right therapist can help you develop coping skills when you feel panicky. There is a dental fears research clinic at University of Washington, and I started going there about 7 or 8 years ago. They have a therapist on staff who helps people deal with their phobias. They help each individual decide what will work best for them - it's very specific to each person. They helped me so much - I worked with the therapist to develop my own coping strategies (which include deep breathing and other methods). It has helped me enormously -- it helps me feel more in control of my fears. Perhaps a therapist could help you, too!

 

[tiink3rbella]

I just hope he removed his souvenirs first!

Haha that made me giggle

 

[JulielovesDisney]

In my 15 tips, I have only seen one person get sick. I've seen throw up on the ground before in passing, but only maybe 4 times. Stay as far away from Mission:Space as possible. That always has a problem with vomiting since it's such an intense ride.

 

[tiink3rbella]

Have you ever talked to a therapist about this? The right therapist can help you develop coping skills when you feel panicky. There is a dental fears research clinic at University of Washington, and I started going there about 7 or 8 years ago. They have a therapist on staff who helps people deal with their phobias. They help each individual decide what will work best for them - it's very specific to each person. They helped me so much - I worked with the therapist to develop my own coping strategies (which include deep breathing and other methods). It has helped me enormously -- it helps me feel more in control of my fears. Perhaps a therapist could help you, too!

I've thought about going to see one a bunch of times. I actually used to go to councilling when I was younger but not for the phobia reasons, I didn't tell them I was scared of throw up I really should of though because they couldn't figure out why I had such bad anexity. I'm kinda scared to go in case they might try to expose me to people getting sick to try and make me better! I'm also not sure because I read they may prescribe medication and I really don't want to have to depend on a pill to make me better... I know one day when I think I'm ready I'll get the help I need but I guess I'm still not ready for it yet

 

[tiink3rbella]

Oh I'm also just a little curious. Say someone gets sick in those bags... are they disposable? Are they just plastic bags? That would be really yucky if they left it there

 

[Diznygrl]

Oh I'm also just a little curious. Say someone gets sick in those bags... are they disposable? Are they just plastic bags? That would be really yucky if they left it there

They're the same kind of airsick bags one would find on an airplane. I would HOPE people who use them have the decency to take them off the ride with them...

 

[Lucky4me]

You are not alone.
I'd rather go through 12 hour natural childbirth labor than throw up.

I know this because I've had four kids and can count on one hand how many times I've thrown up in my life.
I taught my kids very young to get into the bathroom quick and to clean up after themselves. My husband was in charge of anything they missed.

I've never had it happen in public, but the anxiety comes right before it happens. I've never felt such emotional and physical stress.

I'm feeling queasy just writing and reading about this.

 

[bangzoom6877]

Despite my above posts, believe it or not, I have gone to therapy for my phobia and it is actually much better now than it was years ago. It hit its peak when I was about 22 to 23 years old. This may sound funny, but I kind of panicked when I got engaged, because having children became a reality and I realized I was truly grown up and had to face my fears. I was petrified of morning sickness, which did not happen to me, at least not the vomiting part, for either of my pregnancies. I was also terrified to take care of a child who is vomiting, which still is an issue for me. I suppose I will cross that bridge when I come to it, which should be sooner than later.

Exposure therapy is not recommended for emetophobia. A therapist cannot ethically tell you to do something that may be harmful, even if only mildly harmful, to your health. It is not the same as exposure therapy to something else you are afraid of, say like elevators. In a case like that a therapist may recommend first stepping into an elevator and getting out before the doors close, to familiarize yourself with its safety, gradually working your way up to riding in an elevator without as much anxiety or panic. It is also known that exposure does not work on emetophobia as it can with other phobias. Often times, people with emetophobia finally vomit from some cause (alcohol, medication side effect, virus, food poisoning, etc.), thinking that they are now cured of their phobia...only to awake the very next day with the phobia back in full force, sometimes even more intense than before that incident. I have experienced this myself a couple of times, thinking I am finally over my fear and even so elated about it...only to find myself even more afraid the following day.

It is a terrible phobia. Vomiting is something we have no complete control over, especially when it comes to other people around us. That is something my therapist believes is an underlying issue with emetophobia...the issue of a fear of losing control and a need to be in control (of yourself, not of other people, even if you cannot deal with seeing or hearing others vomit). It's interesting, and so many people out there do not even realize how common this phobia is.

On the bright side...I have gotten much better with therapy. I am also much more open about my fear of vomiting with people who are close to me. Instead of telling people I don't like to throwup (duh, who does?!), I actually tell them I have a phobia of vomiting. And I have yet to meet the person who treated me differently for it or gave me a dirty look, or acted like it gave them the creeps. Just a simple phobia (though huge to those of us who have it), like claustrophobia or any other phobia.

Take care,
Bonnie

 

[Sehsun]

I too have emetophobia and was really interested to read this thread. I am incredibly relieved that many people share the same phobia as I do.

When visiting Disney, I am afraid that with the high guest attendance, I would catch something there. The first thing I do when I go through the turn-styles is put hand sanitizer on my hands or go straight to the restrooms to wash my hands. I just recently started doing that this year because they have the biometric finger scan thing.

I am more scared of catching a stomach virus from a guest rather than hearing/seeing someone get sick due to motion sickness. Seeing someone get sick would make my heart race and make me nauseous though, regardless of the cause.

During Thanksgiving I was ill. It started out with a fever and a body ache, and then the main symptom was nausea that would come and go. I went to a walk-in clinic and was diagnosed with a stomach virus. I never threw up, but I certainly felt really nauseous at times. I only felt better when I sat/laid down. One night I woke up in the middle of the night feeling really nauseous, and wondered if I should go to the bathroom just in case. I ended up fighting it and fell back asleep somehow.

Anyway.....I have only ridden on the Green version of M:S mostly because I am afraid to ride next to people who might get sick on it. If I ever do end up riding the Orange version, I will definitely only ride with experienced riders who know they do not get sick on it. However, after reading people's responses, I think it would be a good idea to just stay away from the ride itself, since the exit of the rides meet up and I don't want to risk seeing somebody who is ill.

bangzoom6877, it is interesting what your therapist thought about emetophobia, it being an "issue of a fear of losing control and a need to be in control" because I have been to the therapist in the past and have dealt with control issues (not including the emetophobia).

Thank you everybody for sharing, it really makes me feel better to know I'm not alone. And thank you tiink3rbella for starting this thread.

 

[Manda]

I don't have a phobia of others vomiting, but I have a phobia of myself vomiting in public. It started when I was pregnant and vomited on trains, street corners, shopping centers, restaurants, etc. It got to the point where the first thing I did when I entered anywhere (and still do even though I'm not pregnant and haven't been pregnant for over four years) was look for the bathroom. Since then, whenever I feel the least bit nauseous, I freak myself out to the point that my blood pressure drops and then I pass out (vasovagal syncope). Just happened to me at work last week actually. I've never had problems at Disney though. I think I'm too busy obsessing about other things.

 

[tiink3rbella]

On the bright side...I have gotten much better with therapy. I am also much more open about my fear of vomiting with people who are close to me. Instead of telling people I don't like to throwup (duh, who does?!), I actually tell them I have a phobia of vomiting. And I have yet to meet the person who treated me differently for it or gave me a dirty look, or acted like it gave them the creeps. Just a simple phobia (though huge to those of us who have it), like claustrophobia or any other phobia.

That's great that you are better! Of course I understand your not completely cured but with thi phobia just getting better even a little bit can really make life easier, I'm sure.

Thank you everybody for sharing, it really makes me feel better to know I'm not alone. And thank you tiink3rbella for starting this thread.

Thank you for sharing your experiences with this phobia, because I know how hard it can be for people to talk about it openly.

 

[bangzoom6877]

OMG, I am completely freaking out here! Just found out there is a terrible stomach virus going around in my area (NYC), so I am completely nervous now about all of us catching it. My son's last day of school was today and ours is tomorrow (DH and I are both teachers) so that makes me feel a little better but still.....

It's a norovirus, the type that causes bad vomiting. Needless to say I get this way whenever something like this is around. And I have had several students recently return from absences with a note stating they had a stomach virus (some even said the child was vomiting all day...too much info!). Then I get so nervous and anxious that I feel nauseous (or just nerves in my stomach), and then I convince myself I have it. Help!

-Bonnie