Catherine Austen
Creative Writing
Who’s Afraid of Vomiting? (Fearless February Day 5)
Emetophobia. Fear of Vomit.
I’ll spare you the photos and make it brief.
There are some people so afraid of vomit that they won’t eat out in case of food poisoning. If there’s a flu going round, these folks are calling in sick. Some emetophobics can’t even be around children (or bush parties). No school janitor jobs for these fraidycats. No burping the baby. And no watching The Exorcist – devil shmevil, it’s the projectile vomiting that’s really scary.
Even just the idea of vomit makes emetophobics… well, vomit — thus creating a vicious (and viscous) circle of panic and terror, with a wicked bad smell.
Personally, I’d rather live with this phobia than go through exposure therapy. Bad luck, emetophobics. (Or not – it’s the emetophiliacs who have the real problem).
In 28 Tricks for Surviving Grade 6, no one admits to an obsessive fear of vomiting. (Andrew is afraid he might vomit during the public speaking competition, but that’s a whole different thing.) And that’s for the best. I prefer my comedy nausea-free.
Enough said about today’s fear. Everyone go wash your hands now.
(“No Vomiting” sign thanks to David Castil Dominici from FreeDigitalPhotos.net.)
And if you have emetophobia, leave a comment and maybe you will win a book.
2 Comments on “Who’s Afraid of Vomiting? (Fearless February Day 5)”
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Catherine Austen lives and writes in Gatineau, Quebec.
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Afraid of it? No. Strong aversion to it? I’d say that’s a healthy thing.
Yeah, me too. I can’t say I’m terribly fond of vomiting, but I don’t panic at the thought. There really isn’t any normal aversion that some poor soul doesn’t turn into a phobia. This is certainly a weird one.