Eli5: How does nausea work? Is it purely physical or is it a psychological thing?

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In: 86

Answer 1

It’s both but not equally the same for each person. While a smell or motion might cause nausea for someone, another could be entirely familiar and “immune”. An example is a rollercoaster. Most can tolerate a ride that flips them upside down (vertical). Fewer tend to tolerate spinning (horizontal) over and over. When it comes to smell or taste, I believe tolerance has a lot to do with it. Something as simple as changing a child’s diaper can result in dry heaving or flat out vomit. “Psyching yourself out” can turn a level 1 nothing into a level 10 panic induced nauseous nightmare.