Exposure Therapy for Emetophobia
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
WARNING: This text uses the "V word" to describe this phobia.
( (ERP)
The fear of being sick or of seeing someone else vomit is called emetophobia. Emetophobia is one of the most common types of phobias or types of OCD.
Its average age of onset is nine years old, meaning that most who seek help have been suffering a long time, and they have often noticed it is getting worse with time. The amount of things you avoid, the amount of reassurance you seek.
Few know what it is called, but many suffer from this fear, which grows to take over your life and that of those close to you.
Emetophobia is a complex fear that determines where you go, what you eat, who you are around (avoiding anyone who looks ill), and saps you of any other focus. It also often brings Panic Attacks and depression, and it is usually only at the point of hopelessness that people with Emetophobia look for help.
For all things related to Emetophobia in Adults, go to Emetophobiahelp.com
Please note that a class on Emetophobia, including exposures, is available with Anna Christie herself. This is a class and not insurance reimbursable, but it is a great option! Emetophobia class for adults
For all things related to Emetophobia in children, you may find more at direct links here. But the two sites are related, go to this site directly for resources for Kids: Emetophobia Kids resources
TREATMENT
At CBT-I & CBT Psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention) is used with Adults, Children and Teens to take your life back from emetophobia. With children, much work is done to help parents be coaches rather than being responsible for helping their children avoid fear by checking food expiration dates, limiting car rides, etc. These behaviors, in the end, actually make emetophobia grow!
Through cognitive awareness of how emetophobia talks to you and the assumptions it makes when there is doubt, we start to remove the fuel that keeps emetophobia present. Asking for reassurance, limiting long trips, checking foods for safety etc., are means by which emetophobia has you behave in ways to give it 100% certainty things are not going to make you sick and that you will be safe. But these behaviors also teach your brain that there is danger, fuel the fear, and slowly take over every bit of your life. Catching emetophobia in its game, working with any physical complaints or panic symptoms, especially stomach aches, we reframe the beliefs and shift away from safety habits that make you feel better for an hour or two but make emetophobia worse. Changing how you respond to fear and even triggering it to train the brain to feel confident that it does not need to avoid being sick.
This is hard work. Recovery from Emetophobia is possible.
This hard work is not as hard as living daily with the rules of Emetophobia, and this hard work
will get your life back.
Some wonderful and reputable sources are listed below. Email INFO@ CBT-I-INSOMNIA-CBT-ANXIETY.Net to ask more about this treatment.
https://iocdf.org/expert-opini...
