Emetophobia: Fear of Throwing Up
How to overcome the fear of throwing up?
Emetophobia is a specific phobia regarding the fear of throwing up, feeling sick or seeing someone else throw up. Emetophobia might bring on fears and intrusive thoughts about getting sick or someone else being sick. No one loves to throw up and it can be an uncomfortable experience, but intensity of this phobia brings on much higher distress than an average level. Fear of vomiting can be apart of a persons OCD. But it also can be separate and purely be Emetophobia. In therapy, we will look to distinguish between the two. Often we are looking to see if the Emetophobia is connected with compulsive/ritual behaviors in order to get relief.
Signs of Emetophobia:
Extreme fear and responses to fear.
High levels of avoidance- avoidance of throwing up/being near vomit.
Significant social/functional impairment from the phobia.
Hypervigilance.
Constant on guard, rearranging life to limit the possibility of vomiting.
Symptoms of Emetophobia:
Avoiding certain foods or beverages.
Avoiding saying or hearing the words “vomit”, “barf”, “puke”.
Avoiding vomiting scenes on television or in movies.
You check other people for signs of illness and avoid hospitals and sick people.
Avoiding garbage and other foul-smelling or dirty things.
Excessive handwashing, as well as cleaning food and preparation surfaces.
You throw away food before it has reached its expiration date.
You smell and check food excessively.
You overcook food to kill potential pathogens.
You use antacids excessively.
You avoid eating foods when you’re away from home.
Avoiding trying a new foods or going to new places.
You check the locations of bathrooms.
You restrict or avoid travel, school, work, and social activities.
Difficulty with burping, hiccuping, coughing, or choking.
Difficulty with feeling physically ill, feeling nauseous, “woozy,” sweaty, or heartburn.
Causes of Emetophobia:
Family history of phobias.
Mental health disorders- Anxiety or OCD.
Environmental factors.
Unpleasant past experiences with vomiting.
Treatment for Emetophobia:
Emetophobia, and other phobia can be treated with exposure and response prevention (ERP). Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) looks at the idea that triggering situations and thoughts are at the core of the fears. Ongoing exposure to these triggers without engagement in rituals can reduce the severity felt. As a licensed mental health therapist trained in ERP, I will assist you through the exposures and how to implement effective response prevention measures. If you feel that Emetophobia has had a negative impact on your life, you might consider counseling and ERP to learn how to handle it more effectively. Please feel free to reach out for a free consultation, where we can discuss impacts of Emetophobia and benefits of counseling/ERP.
Exposure Examples for Emetophobia:
Making fake vomit.
Pictures of vomit.
Videos of people throwing up.
Making vomiting sounds.
Exposures are done gradually and collaboratively. Together you and I will look to develop a list of exposures, while further implementing response prevention measures to address the fears. You can learn to face the fears and not have them control you. Phobias have the potential to take power and control away from us. With the right treatment, you can learn to get back what was taken away by phobias.
Further Resources:
https://emetophobiahelp.org/
