I keep having this ongoing emetophobia, i.e. fear of vomiting, ever since I was a small boy. I used to get all sorts of gastroenteritis, stomach virii, etc., which caused me to vomit way more than the average person does. Even as a teenager this emetophobia lingered.

When I was 21 I almost died due to having a bad reaction to caffeine pills, during which I vomited over and over.

A month after, I somehow caught viral labyrinthitis, causing me vertigo and severe nausea, where I vomited over and over uncontrollably.

Since age 23, I ended up with chronic acid reflux and indigestion with caused me a lot of bloating and nausea, which more or less continued steadily until I was almost age 29.

For some reason, my emetophobia goes way up when I am alone and away from my parents. I really am not sure what to do about it. If I ever see or hear anyone vomiting, I can get seriously anxious and probably would come close to a panic attack.

Even though I am 30, I still have terrible flashbacks to when I was 6, 7, 8 and various points of my childhood where I vomited for example in the classroom or in public places, humiliating myself.

Hearing about norovirus and that stuff causes me to be paranoid about this. I am also scared sometimes that if I eat something I could end up with food poisoning.

I was wondering if anyone here had emetophobia due to their past and how they got it under control.