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.
4 Comments on “Who’s Afraid of Vomiting? (Fearless February Day 5)”
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Catherine Austen writes books for kids and teens, short stories for adults, and reports for corporate clients. She lives in Gatineau, Quebec.
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Catherine Austen 
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.
I was feeling increasingly frustrated with my emetophobia as it caused me to experience extreme paranoia and prevented me from enjoying activities that I would otherwise love.
For example, while I loved going to concerts, the mere possibility of someone getting sick due to alcohol consumption on the way or during the event would fill me with anxiety.
I stopped attending parties altogether as I was afraid people might get sick after drinking, which led to me losing most of my friends. Even if someone expressed slight nausea, it was difficult for me to be around them.
I couldn’t watch movies without someone reviewing them first, and I stopped going to cinemas, despite my passion for film.
Then, I discovered large communities and read through the entire discussions, despite having little hope. They were talking about some online program but I didn’t believe.
To my surprise, I noticed positive changes in myself after completing the initial steps. I appreciated that finally, someone understood how I felt.
Fascinating. Phobias eat away at one’s life. I’m glad you’re taking steps to change! I’ve done some exposure therapy to deal with my fear of heights. Slow and steady wins the day. Best of luck. Thanks for sharing your story here.