Hypnotherapy for Emetophobia or Fear of Being Sick

Emetophobia is known by many names (emetephobia, phagophobia, vomitophobia, vomit phobia, sickness phobia, fear of vomiting, fear of gagging, fear of swallowing, fear of choking, globus hystericus), but whatever you call it this condition can affect sufferers deeply. There are also a number of other fears that can be associated with a fear of being sick:

Gagging
Seeing others being sick
Choking on food
Pregnancy (due to the possibility of morning sickness)
Drowning
Social phobia

This is a condition that appears to affect more women than men and if you are someone who suffers with emetephobia, you will know only too well that the symptoms can seriously affect and limit your ability to enjoy life to the full as this condition can have a very disabling effect on the sufferer.

Many sufferers will avoid all places where there is a possibility of themselves, or others, being sick: for example pubs, restaurants, clubbing, eating in front of others. Due to the link between eating and potentially being sick, many sufferers are a little obsessive about what, where and with who they will eat. Many view being sick as 'horrible’, ‘dirty’, ‘yucky' etc, and so it is quite common for emetophobics to also have fears of other situations where they might feel the same way: going to the toilet, urinating in front of others (e.g. at a public urinal - shy bladder), or even just being a little bit sweaty.

E-mail: stephen@spalding-hypnotherapy.co.uk