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Vomiting is not an easy topic for most people, but not everyone has a crippling fear of vomiting.
Up to 6 million people in the UK suffer with emetophobia – the fear of vomiting. The stats may be higher though as the phobia does not have a huge body of research behind it.
Emetophobia is most commonly reported among women. Research suggests that 85-97% of emetophobes are women (Hout & Bouman, 2011; Lipsitz et al., 2001; Veale & Lambrou, 2006).
What is emetophobia?
People with emetophobia have a deep fear about being sick themselves or seeing others vomit.
Emetophobia is often regarded as more complex than other phobias because of its ability to debilitate many aspects of a sufferer’s life. People with this fear often use techniques to avoid encountering anything that could expose them to vomiting or lead them to vomiting such as going out socially, shopping, using public transport, visiting hospitals or drinking alcohol.
Although avoidance might help reduce feelings of fear in the short term, over the long term it can make the fear become even worse and sometimes the sufferer is forced to face their fear. Clients have come to me, for example, who are unable to look after their child when the child is sick, or teenagers who are unable to socialise with friends or go out to eat.
What triggers emetophobia?
As a complex phobia, emetophobia has a number of possible triggers. Many of my clients were triggered as a child by seeing someone being sick as a child. Other clients have become emetophobes after an event in their later life, like a sickness or the Covid pandemic.
There are many triggers which can cause an emetophobic reaction:
Feeling unwell or sick
Feeling out of control
Watching a television show or a movie where someone is sick
Visits to the doctor or dentist or hospital
Fear of germs or infection
Eating foods that you think may make you feel sick
Checking food labels to see if they are out of date
An animal vomiting
How can Solution Focused Hypnotherapy help?
Solution Focused Hypnotherapy has been proven to be very effective for emetophobia. It works on a number of levels.
It helps a client to understand their brain and why it gets to behave and think the way it does. Knowledge brings understanding to respond and engage with the rational part of our brain.
It helps to reduce anxiety and calm down the brain. By calming down the brain, the client is able to reduce their fear response.
The use of hypnosis works at a deep subconscious level to reprogramme a client’s ability to challenge negative or fearful associations. Using the imaginative part of our minds, the therapist helps a client to create a safer and more secure response to situations.
Trauma therapy can also help with clients who have been triggered by an event they can remember.
Both hypnotherapy and trauma therapy help you detach from the emotional trauma that has been driving your phobia.
My therapy process
Our sessions will start with an Initial Consultation where I find out about your phobia and what you would like to achieve from our sessions together. I will also explain about how the brain works in relation to phobias and how you can get back in control.
Future sessions will focus on reducing your anxiety, building confidence and driving positive change. I will help you to challenge your thoughts and fears and bring rational thinking back. Change will be in small steps, encouraging you to move forwards with your life. How many sessions you have will vary depending on whether there are other conditions also being treated, such as OCD and health anxiety.
Contact me
To talk about how I can support you, email me at hello@tamsindenbightherapy.com or fill in my enquiry form.
For all medical issues, I recommend you seek professional advice from your GP ahead of seeking treatment.
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