Coping with Emetophobia: Fear of Vomiting

I used to have a fear of other people getting sick (as well as myself) but I’ve always been passionate about healthcare so I started working in hospitals. Once I had been exposed to it a few times it started losing its grip on me. My heart still starts racing when someone says they’re gonna throw up or I hear retching, but I’ve mostly gotten over my fear of other people getting sick. The fear of myself getting sick is still going strong tho. It’s worse when my general anxiety isn’t under control.

I honestly self harm when I feel nauseous bc I would rather die then have it happen. I don't know what else to do.

How does being at a hospital help? Hospitals are huge triggers for me bc of people there being sick and germs

Both!! If somebody says they feel nauseous, or I'm in an area near where I know someone threw up, or I walk past a suspicious-looking splat on the sidewalk, or (God forbid) I hear someone else throwing up, I'm immediately nauseous and panicking. Same for me throwing up, although weirdly the last time I ACTUALLY DID throw up I handled it like a champ so I was very proud. Still panic since then though, every time.

i definitely get anxious and panic when others get sick, but i manage it much better than when i am sick. i still can’t be around them, but i can now be in the same place as sick people without losing my mind.

I get frustrated with myself all the time due to this. My boyfriend doesn’t understand. My mom is sympathetic but doesn’t understand, and if I feel nauseous even the slightest bit I have a panic attack because I’m scared I’ll throw up. It’s what I automatically go to. So since I feel alone in my situations I try to distract my mind as fast as possible this sometimes works and other times it doesn’t I am still trying to learn how to cope with it and I hope I get better as the years go by but I haven’t gotten better with it honestly and sadly

For me both are about equally terrifying, though I’d say I’m a little more anxious about myself throwing up. If I feel something unusual or that I think could be nausea or stomach related I immediately go into a state of panic and I have to calm myself back down. If someone else is sick a similar thing happens but I go into more of a flight reaction as well.

taking anxiety meds has been extremely helpful for keeping me calm at a baseline. i still have my ups and downs, but the number one thing that helps me is rationalisation. for example: i think i am feeling unwell. i consider, has anyone around me been sick recently? not usually, no. have i eaten anything weird? not usually. am i nauseous and have a stomach ache? sometimes one OR the other but rarely both. going through those steps helps me a ton. it becomes hard when any of those things are a “yes”, though. that’s my number one problem there, because sometimes there are yesses. i still don’t really know what to do when that happens.