Emetophobia is considered a rare phobia. Yet millions of people globally suffer, often in silence, but hypnotherapy is one way people can get help to change their phobia.
What is emetophobia
Emetophobia is a fear of vomit, a fear of being sick or seeing someone else being sick.
It’s a specific phobia, so it can also be called a specific phobia of vomiting (SPOV).
Anyone can get it; it is seen in children and teenagers, where it often starts.
Women seem to be more affected than men.
As a hypnotherapist and counsellor, I am seeing more clients in their teenage years and young adult life. However, I have seen a client in her late sixties who had this phobia all her life. She didn’t go to work and had a controlled lifestyle where she could choose to do or not do things like travel on buses or planes and eat what she liked.
What causes emetophobia?
The fear of being sick is real, yet it can be challenging to explain to others.
We don’t know the exact cause of emetophobia, but it can be linked to a traumatic event, usually when young, and other fears, such as social phobias.
Watching others or hearing them be sick can be distressing for a child and may cause them to fear being sick themselves.
I have had young people tell me they saw something on social media that made them feel sick and worried.
Sometimes, going into hospitals and being ill might be the trigger.
How emetophobia can affect your life
This phobia can affect you in many ways.
Firstly, it can affect how you think. You might dread going places and think about it a lot. You might think about the possible risks and ways to avoid them. You imagine negative scenarios.
Next, it can affect how you feel. You feel anxious if you go to different places or mix with others who might be sick. You worry about yourself and your health. You feel out of control and might feel frustrated or angry.
And the fear of being sick can affect how you behave. Commonly, you will avoid situations like going on public transport or going to a restaurant. You probably eat the same sorts of foods. However, you may also avoid certain foods and not go abroad because you fear eating new foods. Women might be scared of having a baby in case they suffer from sickness or can’t deal with a baby being sick.
Some people have safety-seeking behaviours. So, they check the labels on food containers to check the ingredients and expiration dates. They may also overcook food and stick to the same kinds of food. They may not drink alcohol because they might be sick of being in a venue where they can observe other people getting drunk and being sick.
Physically, it can make you shake, feel uncomfortable, sweat, and get panic attacks.
It can also affect your relationships, career choices and social interactions. This can result in low confidence and self-esteem.
Can hypnotherapy cure emetophobia? What you need to know.
There should never be a claim that hypnotherapy cures a condition, as hypnotherapy is a complementary therapy that is about a partnership between the therapist and the client. However, clients can feel better with hypnotherapy support.
Imagine this: if you went to see a doctor because you couldn’t sleep, they wouldn’t guarantee that they could cure insomnia with a sleeping tablet. It’s complicated to say that treatments will remedy the problem with every person.
Hypnotherapy is similar. However, there is evidence of hypnotherapy helping people who have this fear of being sick, although there is a lack of large-scale studies. and most of the research studies are not recent
5 Ways Hypnotherapy Can Help
Every practitioner will choose techniques that best suit the client and their expertise; however, the following are methods that hypnotherapists may use to help emetophobia.
- Rewiring negative thought patterns.
- Hypnotic relaxation to reduce nausea and anxiety.
- Desensitisation through hypnotic exposure techniques.
- Anchoring techniques to anchor positive feelings.
- Regression to the cause.
- Reprogramming the gut-brain connection through visualisation and positive suggestion.
How to stop emetophobia: Practical tips to help today
If you are suffering from the fear of feeling sick, you want practical tips that can help fast.
- Reflect on your thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Do you think you have emetophobia?
- See a doctor to check you don’t have any other health problems.
- Do some relaxation.
- Stop your negative thoughts by identifying them and changing them (a cognitive behavioural therapist (CBT) can help you with this, as can a hypnotherapist who is also trained in CBT).
- Find a hypnotherapist who specialises in helping people with emetophobia.
Book a hypnotherapy session to rid yourself of emetophobia for good
You don’t have to live in fear forever—hypnotherapy can help. I know it might be not easy to talk about. You might feel silly and not know where to start.
You might have had the problem for a long time.
That’s okay.
With around 18 years of working in my hypnotherapy business, I have helped many people to overcome emetophobia.
What is unique about my service is that I use a combination of CBT, which is an evidence-based practice to target conscious negative thoughts and feelings and hypnotherapy to address subconscious thoughts and feelings.
Book a free consultation today to learn how hypnosis can rewire your mind. You can find out more, book a session, and start your journey to feeling much better. Day, evening, and some Saturday appointments are online, so you can contact me wherever you are. www.awakenthechange.com/online-bookings/
