How on earth do you overcome emetophobia?

[ApriltoNovember]

Not sure if I should have put this in health or mental health so opted for Chat in the hope it may reach a wider audience.

I am in my early 50's but for as long as I can remember I have had emetophobia and also the diarrhoea equivalent, not sure if that even has a name?

I don't remember being a child who vomited much but I felt the fear more in early adulthood and during my second pregnancy when I felt nauseous the whole 9 months. Then during my dc's earlier years I lived in constant fear they would come down with a D&V bug and when they did I would be on tenterhooks worrying I'd succumb too.

Over the last few years it has become worse. I have struggled with daily IBS for decades and switch easily between IBS-c and d and since I have been in perimenopause I feel so nauseous all the time (especially during the luteal phase of my cycle when I feel dreadful for 10-15 days). I also have functional dyspepsia which just adds another level to it all. None of this helps my fear/phobia at all.

I am feeling particularly on edge right now because I have spent all weekend with my elderly, dementia ridden mum in A&E, she is now on a ward. Dad was with me at the weekend and seemed to have picked up something like norovirus from there and was unwell on Monday and yesterday my sister has also come down with it. She visited dad at home on Tuesday and I was with her on Wednesday morning cleaning a house together for 2 hours, although we were often in different rooms and on Wednesday afternoon sitting at mum's bedside (although I wore a mask the whole time as they have covid on the ward). I am now in a state of high stress worrying it'll be me next. My dh has this 'if it happens, it happens' attitude and I know he is right but I just can not think that way. I do live in a state of constant anxiety every winter due to this D&V phobia.

I should have learnt to overcome this by now but here I am at almost 53 in a constant state of panic worrying that I will come down with this too. Not helped that I am currently in the luteal stage of my cycle right now and feeling really nauseated and burping. I could cry I am that on edge.

FFS, how do I overcome this? Has anyone had success?

Solution focused hypnotherapy. It’s something hypnotherapists see quite frequently and there is a fairly well evidenced approach to treating it with.

Talk to your GP and ask for a referral for CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy).

There are books about Emetophobia and how to overcome it. Have a browse on Amazon. I bought one a few years ago when DS was going through a bout of, what CAMHS thought, was emetophobia.

This is the book we used. It's quite in depth. Hope it helps.

Hypnosis will resolve this in one decent session with a really good hypnotist. My DH was a practitioner but is retired now and he was brilliant at treating phobias.

However, just like any profession, they can vary in ability, so ask for some recommendations if possible. Otherwise, have an initial discussion with a few and see who you feel the most comfortable with.

(We live in Ireland so I can’t personally recommend anyone in the UK.)

CBT. It works well for emetophobia.

Thank you everyone, that's really helpful.

Another vote for Hypnotherapy for emetophobia. It can be very successful.

I have this and I am currently getting over a hideous stomach bug. Luckily I am mostly blind without my glasses so when I am being sick I take my glasses off and then I can't see it which is the only thing that helps me cope. I also have an amazing DH who takes care of any cleaning up etc and he did it all when DD was little and got a bug (or latterly when she was drunk and threw up!)

I hope you feel better soon. Your dh sounds brilliant.