Hypnotherapy or CBT?

[Idratherhaveapieceoftoast]

Hi,

Long term sufferer of emetophobia here.

I need to tackle this tomorrow. I'm willing to throw money at it.

My darling little son is ill and I cannot cope. I've never been able to cope, and he's now undergoing tests for various things but at the moment he is throwing up 2/3 times a week and I've had him staying with my mum/her staying over with me/DH taking time off during this period.

If he says he feels sick, I have a panic attack. I actually passed out one night hearing him heaving in his room.

Everyone told me Mother Nature would take over and I'd be fine when I had children, if anything, I'm now worse.

Do I need hypnotised or a CBT therapist? I'm in Belfast. I need this sorted as I'm unable to parent my children properly, I am pathetic.

Please help me.

a combination of ERP based CBT (exposure response prevention) and SSRI's (prozac, sertraline)) seem to work best for emetophobia, from professional experience.

Sister. I hear you. I also have it and cannot cope when my son is ill. I have the name of a therapist and am plucking up the courage to book an appointment. Much hugs.

I would also look at EMDR which can be useful for phobias.

Agree with PP, look into EMDR. The results can be amazing.

You're not pathetic. You've got a true phobia, and that can be hell on earth. ERP (exposure response prevention) is the gold standard. I have a very similar phobia and ERP has allowed me to manage it/live with it. It's not an easy process, and it takes time and effort, but its worth it. I don't think hypnotherapy will be of much use with a true phobia.

I have sent two "web forms" off to clinics in the Belfast area.

I've spent the evening crying my eyes out for so many reasons, mainly because I am failing at being a mum.

I do everything I can to avoid sickness but the child is ill, there's something wrong with him and I need to be in a better position to comfort and help him.

Thank you.

I highly recommend Ken Goodman's self help book which specifically addresses emetophobia using ERP based CBT.

He is based in California but he does have several patients in the UK (via zoom).

From personal experience I would say it is vital you find a therapist with plenty of experience in emetophobia. General CBT for anxiety was absolutely no help at all. Good luck.

I second this. I saw a couple of CB therapists and both were limited in skill, both taking a very generalised text book approach. Regarding my avoidance, one of them spent an age asking me rhetorical "so how do you manage this, and this, and this" questions, in a bemused/incredulous way. I felt like exhibit A, it was soul destroying!

In the end I did ERP without a therapist. I looked at lots of self help websites, and a few self help books, and picked out the exercises and techniques I felt made the most sense/matched my own experience. I guess I became my own therapist.