Emetophobia and Fear of Vomiting – Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

Emetophobia and the fear of vomiting are a much more common anxiety issue than many people realise. Only recently I was talking to an anxiety client who mentioned in passing that she also has a fear of being sick. It’s one of those irrational fears that rarely gets talked about and can be hidden quite well and so many sufferers feel pretty alone with their worry.

Emetophobia is a fear of vomiting or of seeing other people being sick. Although it can be hidden quite well by avoidance, the anxious thoughts and feelings can creep into all sorts of situations, can dominate your planning before you do anything and can have a limiting impact upon your life. As with most anxiety and fear, you fear being out of control in a situation whether either you or someone else is, or could be, sick. Yet, in trying to control for the possibility of it happening, you actually feel less and less in control.

You may worry that you will be sick and so you pay attention to every physical sensation you have, especially in your stomach or throat. Many people with emetophobia that I work with may not have actually been sick for a long time. As a result, they can become convinced that every physical sensation is a sign that this is the time it is going to happen, that this time is different and that you are going to vomit. Of course, that anxiety causes more physical sensations and so your anxiety and fear spiral upwards higher and higher.

Some people with a fear of vomiting are only worried about being sick themselves. For many, there is also the fear of seeing others being sick (which could bring the increased risk that you will also then be sick). You may avoid some situations around others, or activities you associate with an increased risk of people being unwell. You may even struggle watching if an actor on TV is sick. Certain sounds, such as coughing or burping, may place you on edge. And if you know someone has been unwell then you probably try to avoid them, even if they are now better again. Rather than being supportive and empathetic, if someone says they feel sick then your first instinct is to get away.

Being sick or around someone being sick is an unpleasant experience. Most people get through it, forget about it and move on if it happens. With emetophobia, the fear and anxiety lurks and influences your decisions before you do anything. You can be on high alert in public places. And if something was to happen, it already feels like it would be the worst possible thing that could ever happen to you.

Hypnotherapy for Emetophobia

Nobody likes being sick but, after recovering, most people remember it as something unpleasant that happened and don’t give it much more thought. With emetophobia and a fear of vomiting, you can be constantly worried about being sick, or being around someone else who is sick, and it can take over your thinking and what you feel safe and comfortable to do.

Even when no one is being sick, you may find the possibility forms part of your thoughts before you do things and when around others. The fear and anxiety can keep you on edge, and you will avoid certain social situations or other activities where people may be unwell (such as on rides, and on boats and planes). When the anxiety takes over you find yourself worrying about all the negative possibilities and you catastrophise about what could happen. Your breathing rate can increase, your heart races, you feel tense and restless and your thoughts can race.

When you are anxious, it is common to feel sensations in your stomach and throat. Your fear latches onto these feelings and you become more and more convinced that the feelings are different this time and that you may be sick.

Your anxiety levels can vary depending on the situation you are in. And you will struggle with, or avoid, many higher risk situations. Some people with emetophobia struggle if someone on TV or in a film vomits (even though you know logically it is just acting). You may worry about the location of bathrooms and will likely do all you can to avoid hospitals and other medical environments. Some people struggle with revisiting places where they’ve felt sick before, or where you’ve previously seen something associated with vomit. Even the word ‘vomit’ itself can be something that you struggle with.

Nobody wants to be sick. However, it is a normal human thing in certain circumstances. You know that your fear of vomiting is irrational yet that knowledge won’t stop the never ending cycle of worry and anxiety.

Whenever and however it started, it is possible to overcome this irrational fear using hypnotherapy. You can start to calm your feelings and reign your thoughts back in. You can get on with doing the things you want to do knowing that, should something happen, you will be able to calmly and confidently deal with it.

I’ve also covered emetophobia in a couple of previous articles:

Sick of your Emetophobia? Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

Overcoming Fear of Vomiting and Sickness – Hypnotherapy in Ely

Emetophobia – A Fear of Vomiting

Emetophobia can have a severe limiting effect on your life. Even when you do things, they are still flavoured with anxiety, fear and dread. You worry about being ill yourself and about others being sick. You avoid situations where there is, in your fearful perception, an increased risk of encountering vomit. You may avoid alcohol and being around others who are drinking. Travel, such as boats and planes, can create anxiety. Even the sound of coughing or burping can be enough to set you on high alert.

When someone else says they feel sick you will want to escape the situation. When sickness bugs are going around you can find your anxiety exacerbated and the risk of you or others vomiting dominates your thinking. Even someone looking a bit pale can cause your attention to fixate on whether they are likely to be sick. And if someone in your household is sick, you will avoid them and find yourself caught up surge of panic as you try to keep your distance.

You may, or may not, be very successful at hiding your fear from others. You can avoid some situations and no one else necessarily knows what you are thinking and feeling about any given situation. Yet the more anxious you feel about the possibility of you or someone else being sick, the more you can find your thinking dominated by it. You can feel restricted and limited and feel unable to do the things you want to do, let alone look forward to and enjoy them. It becomes an ongoing pattern of fear, dread and anxiety.

However, it is possible to break that pattern and to start thinking more calmly and logically about situations around others, about any bodily sensations you notice and about sickness in general. Hypnotherapy can help you to be calm, confident and in control over your own thoughts, feelings, actions and reactions. And if you could use some help to overcome your emetophobia then get in touch and let’s meet for a free initial consultation to discuss how we can work together to help you feel better and better.

To your health and happiness, 

Dan Regan

Award Winning Hypnotherapy for Anxiety Ely & Newmarket

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