Emetophobia (Fear of vomiting)

This is a more common phobia than many people realise. It is essentially the fear of being sick, seeing someone else being sick or being sick in public. They may also fear the ‘out of control’ feeling that being sick evokes.

The emetophobic will go to great lengths to avoid situations where there is even the slightest chance that they may feel sick. They will prohibit their diet and cut out certain foods they think may cause sickness. Going out can sometimes become a problem, if there is a sickness bug going around, they may find they have to sit on the end of a row at the cinema just in case they feel sick and have to escape. They will also avoid any medication if one of the stated side-effects is nausea. Probably because of the steps they take to avoid any possibility of sickness, they are in fact rarely ever sick.

Emetophobia is particularly difficult for mothers. Faced with the possibility that their child may be sick can lead to extreme anxiety and guilt because they aren’t able to cope with their child’s sickness. Many emetophobics avoid motherhood altogether or delay starting their family because of the fear of morning sickness.

Emetophobia is often accompanied by other fears and phobias which together can have a very debilitating effect on the sufferer’s life. The good news is that there is help available. A treatment plan including cognitive therapy and hypnotherapy can help get to the root cause of the problem and eliminate the issues you have around sickness, leaving you free to get on with your life.