Ask Me Help Desk - Is this a normal fear?

Is this a normal fear?

I have an intense fear of anything pertaining to vomiting. I'm afraid of getting a stomach virus and feel the need to wash my hands a lot when I hear people have been sick. I'm also afraid of someone vomiting near me and even hearing someone throw up makes my heart beat rapidly. I also can't stand seeing people vomit in movies or on TV and even hearing stories about it bothers me. This started at age 4 when my sister threw up on me in the car. I just looked down at the vomit and started crying and screaming and I avoided my sister the rest of the day. I also caught the stomach flu as a child and had to go to the hospital for severe dehydration. Is my fear normal or am I a complete psychopath? Is there anything I can do about this?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ravengurl92

1. intense fear of anything pertaining to vomiting
2. afraid of getting a stomach virus
3. need to wash my hands a lot when I hear people have been sick
4. afraid of someone vomiting near me
5. afraid of hearing someone throw up
6. my heart beat rapidly
7. can't stand seeing people vomit in movies or on TV
8. can't even hear stories about it, bothers me

You have an obsession. To break its grip on you, you need to seek the help of a therapist who deals with OCD issues. Since this obsession has taken over your life, you can't get rid of of it by yourself. A technique called cognitive-behavioral therapy should fairly quickly help you be more comfortable. Ask about it and learn how to put it in practice for yourself.

No it is not normal and vomiting is normal.

It isn't helpful to see this fear as abnormal or psychopathic.
Fears are COMMON, despite many of them not being normal. Normal just means fitting within the norm, the big bump of things or people on a graph. In other words, most people. Most people don't have your fear, so it isn't normal. Many people have all sorts of fears, so that is normal - to have some sort of fear.

When you were 4, you were young enough to not understand different kinds of sickness, yet you were old enough to remember the event distinctly. Can you recall what you felt? Were you afraid that your sister was going to die? Were you afraid the the vomit was something alien and poisonous that was going to hurt you? How did your parents act? All that might have impressed your 4 year old mind very very strongly, and you might be able to talk about it again and work out the fear.
Good luck.

I think I was afraid I was going to get sick too. I didn't understand that she threw up because she drank too much fruitopia

That's a good start, but it doesn't explain the intensity of your fears now.
Try to think of what may have brought all this about.

I know of several people with this fear and it is in no way related to OCD. Virtually everyone has one or two irrational fears, it's just part of who we are.

I wouldn't call it OCD. It sounds like a phobia.

I'm terrified of being cut, and people holding sharp things. I'm also terrified of anything that prevents me from breathing easily, like things on my face or being underwater. Fears, and even phobias, are normal. They are not a sign of OCD, or any other mental illness. They are a sign that something negative happened to you, often when you were little.

I don't have any real advice on how to overcome your fear. I've found that taking deep breaths can hold off a panic attack, and reminding myself that it won't hurt me sometimes helps. Controlling when, how, and for how long I'm exposed to things helps. Those are just things I've figured out on my own, though, and they might not work for everyone.

I have a fear of cockroaches. I cannot see them on TV, magazine advertisements, or at the zoo. Just thinking about them gives me an anxiety attack. I have rituals that I do to keep my home clean so as not to invite these creatures into my abode. I do not have OCD, I have a phobia. Same with the OP.

Snakes, real ones, plastic ones, photos of ones, snakes on TV, snakes on internet,

I will have some real panic issues.

My comes from a snake with rattle snake, so I know, the cause, but can not break it

*** many people, will throw up, if they see or hear someone else doing it, that part of more "normal" but, when it effects you too much, perhaps time to get some help

One of the funky things about ancient tribal society is that we all shared the food that was hunted and gathered. If someone ate something that was dodgy and threw up then there was good chance the rest would too. It was a mental thing. "If grog ate bad fruit. I eat bad fruit. Grog sick, I could get sick" Cue Vomit. Your brain, once it smells the vomit, will decide whether it needs to vomit as well, the brain is the terminus for this decision, and you have little control.

Regardless, it doesn't sound like an OCD but close. It is a weak showing of what I have read as the "Clean" style. You need to be clean and can't be unclean. It is triggered but the "Unclean" feelings. This is perfectly normal, but the problem lies in the response to this. There is no way to isolate yourself from this but you can help yourself. To begin with you need exposure but you need to approach this with your rational mind. There are, at least as I have seen, two sides to a response, the rational (It is a movie this can't affect me.) and the emotional response (OMG THEY'RE ALL GOING TO DIE AND ME TOO!! ). It is important to tease them apart and understand them. When you start to get panicky about a response. Find a nice quiet and isolated place and write down what happened and how it made you feel. The important thing here is to forgive yourself for the reaction. Don't chastise yourself but accept that you had the reaction and that's okay. This starts to calm down your emotional response.

Good luck. You're perfectly normal. There are a LOT of people who suffer from this and you're not alone. Don't think that you are.

Quote:

Originally Posted by joypulv

That's a good start, but it doesn't explain the intensity of your fears now.
Try to think of what may have brought all this about.

Sorry it took me so long to reply. I don't recall exactly how I felt when my sister threw up on me. I probably thought it was gross and didn't like being wet. I think I was worried that my sister had the stomach flu and that I would get it. As for how my parents responded, I think they panicked and pulled over. I also remember my Mom hugging me on the side of the street as I was crying.