I’m deathly afraid of the stomach virus to the point where I have a legitimate phobia of throwing up. Believe it or not, this fear is incredibly common, and it has a name: emetophobia.

Twenty minutes in: rocking out to Modest Mouse and eating a peanut butter cup. Thirty minutes into the drive: nausea, a racing heart, and a vivid expectation of death.

At 5:30 this morning, I found myself curled up with a bathrobe and a rug.

Sure, vomiting is unpleasant. I don’t know a single soul who looks forward to getting the stomach virus, but most of my friends and family members can puke, if needed, with a staggeringly positive attitude and a calm demeanor. Why can’t I? Why am I so afraid of it?

Yesterday, I presented a list of my fears from A through M. Many different types of fears made the list — from the more serious (like anxiety itself) to the more whimsical (like joke-telling). Now, here are the rest of my alphabetical anxieties.