AKA The fear of vomiting:
Yes it's a very real phobia!
How can Rapid Transformational Therapy or RTT help people with emetophobia?
Deep inside the multiple strands of your complex mind is a command to never vomit! This program has been set by your juvenile self.
In order for me to answer that question I must first explain how we develop phobias in the first place. Marisa Peer the genius behind the revolutionary therapy explains that this can happen when an imprint is formed in our juvenile mind during our early years of development. The imprint happens as a result of an adults' reaction to an event and the child’s misinterpretation of the event as extremely traumatic. It's not complicated but a little complex in that it requires a series of events to trigger the phobia and a very specific type of therapy to resolve. Most often this phobia develops as the result of the perfect storm.
Upon witnessing the event or sometimes just over hearing something which the child deems as traumatic they forms a mental note to avoid that situation or event at all costs. The imprint is formed in the way of a belief that vomiting is really bad. Like all beliefs the more you think a thought the deeper it becomes engrained in your brain and the easier it is for it to be accepted as the truth. One client has a phobia of swiming because of overhearing her parents talk about Jaws the movie. She cannot even swim in a swimming pool. Another one of my clients had a fear of bees but had never been stung. She remembered overhearing that her uncle suffered an anaphylactic reaction when he was stung. The mind of a person with emetophobio is a spaghetti junction of comorbid issues that surround this cetral phobia. There are you usually other anxiety and mood dissorders. The most comon are Generalised panic dissorder, hypochondriasis and obsessive–compulsive disorder.
This phobia links a powerful association between vomiting and fear, which can persist long after the initial event. Clients report feeling out of control, scared, alone, inadequate, helpless in whatever the situation is remembering that they are experiencing these things as children. More often than not it stems from witnessing someone close to them being sick or they themselves having a nasty experience with vomit. In some cases it's more than one such event. Vomiting is a violent act and the sounds that come along with it can be alarming to young minds.
Another possible trigger is anxiety or stress, which can exacerbate pre-existing fears or phobias. For example, someone who is already prone to worrying about illness or contamination may become more fearful of vomiting during times of heightened stress or anxiety. Children who grow up around anxious or hypochondriac parents are predisposed to develop a phobia.
Clients with emetophobia are always on high alert. Worrying about anything that could potentially make them vomit. Mothers have a tough time when their children are poorly as they live in the fear that they may catch the illness or their child might throw up. Young woman go as far as to avoid getting pregnant because the thought of morning sickness is unbearable. It's an extremely limiting phobia for every client but especially sad for teenagers. They are unable to enjoy the fruits of young adult freedoms. Like going out with friendsto public places such as concerts, clubs, pubs, movies, parties.
Dating is difficult because they have to contro everything they eat in order to avoid food poisoning, being too full, feeling nauseous, alcohol is usually avoided too. So no street food, casual take outs, buffets breakfast etc.
Self-imposed restrictions
Clients have a constant all-encompassing need for controlling their environment in order to carry out the order to avoid vomiting.
Food restriction:
Meticulously restrict their food intake and in some extreme cases may avoid food for days. They have to check food labels for best before dates. Avoid foods typically known in cases of food poisoning such as seafood, meat, oily or rich foods. They regularly have anti-nausea medications, teas, antacids to settle their stomachs.
Travel restrictions:
Public transport is tough as they often smell of sick or are not clean enough. Trains and plains are a challenge as one cannot jump off if they don't feel well.
When making social plans, they think of every possibility and will phone ahead to see if the family or friends they are visiting are ill or have recently been ill. They will miss an event if they are. Boats are also a no no in case they get motion sickness.
The definition of Phobia is:
A phobia is an intense and persistent fear or anxiety of a specific object, situation, or activity. The fear is excessive and unreasonable and can cause significant distress and impairment in a person's life. Phobias can be specific, such as emetophobia. The fear or anxiety associated with the phobia is often out of proportion to the actual danger posed by the object or situation. Phobias can be treated with therapy, medication, or a combination of both.
When I ask my clients what would happen if they were to vomit? They answer in an abstract way or in a childlike manner. They may say, "It would just be the worst thing that I could imagine happening to me, or the thought of doing that is like thinking of dying, I just can't bear to think about it or I don't want to even talk about it." There is this avoidance and excessive unreasonable reaction to the thought.
It is for this reason I have great results with Phobias through root cause extraction using Rapid Transformational Therapy to explore what is happening at that abstract subconscious level of the mind. To really unravel that twisted, knotted ball of yarn with its many strands of protection and illusion to keep that core belief hidden safely in that center.
Interesting fact:
Most people with emetophobia never vomit again once they develop the phobia!
Our bodies need sleep to rest and repair to begin to make sense of what is true about our limitations. Lack of sleep also goes hand in hand with phobias of this nature so it is advisable to give your body a chance to relax even if you are awake. I suggest you do this by listening to my hypnotherapy audio. The calmer we feel the more resources our body has to reduce stress and reducing stress reduces anxiety. This is a highly exhausting phobia pulling on the fight or flight alarm often. If you or someone you know needs my help. Please book a discovery call on my website. There is a free Rest and Repair audio that will help you on your journey to wellness.nidiaharris.com
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