All About Emetophobia, the Fear of Vomiting, & How To Overcome it with CBT, Therapy & Counselling in Wolverhampton & West Midlands

What is Emetophobia?

Emetophobia is the fear of vomiting or the fear of being sick.

Despite estimates that Emetophobia may affect up to 5% of the population, it remains largely unknown because most sufferers feel so “silly” or “embarrassed” about it that often they will not even tell their partners about it for several years!

Although Emetophobia seems to be more prevalent in females, it certainly does affect males and we have helped a number here in our clinic.

The majority of Emetophobia sufferers consult us between the ages of about 21 & 30.

It is unusual for Emetophobes to seek help when they are much older than this, usually because they have learnt to cope with it up until that point and are able to get on with their lives without too much interference.

Fortunately, here at Tranceform Paul has expert knowledge of both how Emetophobia is formed as well as offering an evidence-based approach to overcoming it.

This method is based on an understanding of the causes and factors which maintain Emetophobia behaviours and is based entirely on 100% empirically supported processes for creating changes in those factors.

Common Symptoms of Emetophobia

• Fear of Being Sick oneself
• The fear of other people being sick
• Worry about being sick in public
• Avoidance of Alcohol
• Avoidance of anybody who has been ill recently
• Catastrophising language patterns
• Obsessing about food being cooked properly
• Obsessive cleanliness
• Control issues
• The use of stomach settlers
• Obsessive thinking about germs (Norovirus)

In fact, Emetophobia can present itself in a whole host of different ways, but whichever form of Emetophobia you happen to suffer with, our research-backed & evidence based psychological training programme based on CBT can help you.

Read more detailed information about Emetophobia Symptoms here.

Common Factors in Emetophobia

The majority of Emetophobia sufferers will almost certainly be able to ‘pin-point’ a time in their lives when they were sick, and that it was ‘so bad’ that it has subsequently developed into this phobia.

Whilst it is understandable that people want to be able to identify a certain event that ‘created’ their phobia, there is very little evidence to support this notion.

Most people who have a phobia of flying in a plane have never been involved in a plane crash!

Having worked with a large number of Emetophobia sufferers here in the West Midlands there are a number of common ‘factors’ that we see that are more related to the development of this phobia, including the following observations:

• Sufferers generally have a very high ‘desire for control’ and may even have associated OCD problems.
• They will frequently exhibit a catastrophic thinking style, often learnt from a catastrophic parent.
• They tend to use lots of safety behaviours such as frequent hand washing, avoiding alcohol and checking sell-by-dates on food.
• They often exhibit a high degree of ‘learned helplessness’ and frequently believe that they can never overcome emetophobia.

How Severe is YOUR Emetophobia?

Emetophobia, like all phobias, ranges from ‘mildly inconvenient’ to ‘severely debilitating’ and no two people experience it the same.

If you want to find out how severe your own Emetophobia is, then you might like to take the Emetophobia Quiz here.

CBT for Emetophobia

If you’re committed to overcoming Emetophobia then we highly recommend following our Tranceformental CBT 10 session programme.

The Tranceformental programme is a highly successful & pragmatic course of CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) run over 10 sessions, that will teach you everything you need to know to understand the psychological aspects of your problem.

It can also help you to identify any unhelpful thinking styles, safety behaviours or limiting beliefs that might be reinforcing the issue.

The programme is also available as an online self-help CBT programme. if you prefer not to consult a therapist directly.

CBT is an empirically supported approach used by mental health practitioners around the World.

Free Initial Consultations for Emetophobia

We offer all prospective clients a FREE initial consultation to discuss your emetophobia prior to commencing any treatment plans.

The consultation is free and lasts around 50 minutes.

During this consultation we will discuss the various therapy options that are available to you and make a considered recommendation based on your individual personal circumstances.

Initial consultations are also available as part of our online therapy service.

At Tranceform Psychology we recognise the importance of the therapeutic relationship in helping people to bring about effective change, so its important to be able to ‘meet’ to discuss any therapy treatments BEFORE proceeding.

Our policy is to help people make a fully balanced & considered decision about undertaking work with us, including both the financial and personal implications.