Fear of Vomiting

Yes, I’ve helped many people to overcome this problem.

The main aim is to instill faith in the client’s own body, that they’ll only be sick if they really need to. Also to strengthen their belief in their own immune system which normally protects from infection. It is also important to reduce the client’s excessive attention to the physical sensations in their stomach, because people with emetophobia tend to assume that any sensation in their stomach means they’re going to be sick. Theapy also aims to reduce excessive hand-washing, which is very common in emetophobic people.

Yes, this is a common phobia especially in girls and women.
Generally the person has a fear of vomiting themselves, but they’re also afraid of seeing other people vomiting because they fear the other person has a “bug” which they might catch.

Emetophobia can begin with a traumatic experience of vomiting excessively.
Or maybe a child sees someone else vomiting, when they and the adults around them are already stressed by something else.
All the stress and fear is bundled together and attached to the thought of vomiting.
Even a normal experience of vomiting could be very distressing to a child if they’re not used to it, and if they don’t understand what is happening.
Some children who have not been “sicky” as babies are very frightened the first time they are sick, because they think there is something badly wrong with them.
Vomiting is a very powerful experience because it involves all our senses.
And it’s frightening because we cannot stop it.
It is happening in our body but it’s out of our control.
This is more of a problem for people who like to be in complete control of everything.

Fear of being sick can have a huge effect on peoples’ lives, depriving them of many normal activities.
They may avoid public transport, or any place which they can’t immediately leave if someone started vomiting. 
They know that some other people have motion sickness in planes and boats, and of course there is nowhere to escape if someone does start being sick.
Since this problem normally begins in early childhood, people may be very worried as they go through the normal stage of socialising and drinking with teenage friends.
Most British teenagers have been sick on occasion due to not yet knowing how much drink they can handle.
This is never a pleasant experience.
But for the person with emetophobia it is so horrifying that they may avoid socialising altogether, just in case they see someone else throwing up.
People with emetophobia may refuse to try any unfamiliar food in case it makes them feel sick.
They may be excessively cautious of food which someone else has handled.
They may avoid restaurants altogether, or if they do eat out they stick to very familiar foods.
They may also wash their hands excessively, even fifty times a day or more, which can cause severe kin irritation.
In extreme cases some women even choose not to have children simply because they don’t think they could cope with their child being sick.
For more about how hypnotherapy helps overcome phobias, click HERE.
For more about how hypnosis is actually like, click HERE.

Obviously to wash your hands after using the toilet and before preparing food or eating. As regards restaurants and takeaways, you can check the food hygiene ratings on the government food standards website. That is not a phobia, just a sensible precaution.
Apart from the above it’s best to rely on your own immune system. Too much hygeine is actually not good for you!

Therapy sessions are £60 per session, which is about the average going rate in this area.
How many sessions you need varies from person to person, as no two people are the same. However in my experience it’s normally between three and eight sessions. You should be seeing some improvement after three sessions.

Yes, because eating out and other normal behaviours are rewarding in themswelves, so you’ll be motivated to go on doing them once you start. This is not like seeing a hairdresser where you keep on going back on a regular basis.

Phobia for emetophobia won’t work if the woman “needs” to have emetophobia for some other reason. For instance, maybe a woman just doesn’t want to have children, but feels unable to say this clearly to her partner. Her subconscious mind may then give her emetophobia to prevent her doing what she doesn’t want to do. In this case the couple need to express their wants and hopes and fears clearly to each other and to themselves, and hopefully come to an agreement.

You can contact me now by calling 01392574669 or use the contact form below.
Remember to tick the “consent” box or the form won’t send.
I see clients in Exeter, at Holmedale Health near Magdalene Road car park.
You can also use the form to contact me with any other questions which have not been answered on this page. You will get a personal reply, not AI-generated and not a sales pitch!

You can ask any question in the contact form.